Our Scents

Some of what we make has a scent added. Some doesn't. Either way you get to know exactly what's in there and why.

This page is the standard we hold a scent to, and the current list of what meets it.
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How we think about it

Scent Is a Small Decision We'd Rather Not Get Wrong

Most scented skincare says one word on the label: fragrance. Behind that word can sit dozens of undisclosed compounds, and fragrance is the ingredient dermatologists point at first when skin reacts to something.

We'd rather name what's in there. So when we scent something, we can tell you the species, the part of the plant, where it grew and how it was extracted. And when we don't scent something, we say so plainly instead of adding a masking scent to make it smell like nothing.
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What a Scent Has to Clear to Get In

Two things, and they don't change as the line grows.

It has to be a real botanical we can name to the species. Not a fragrance oil, not a blend somebody else formulated and won't break down for us.

And it's there for the smell. That's the whole job. We don't claim a scent does anything to your skin, because we can't substantiate it and we're not going to pretend otherwise.

What We're Scenting With Right Now

In The Alamo

Frankincense

Fresh and clean. There's a resinous, slightly woody note underneath, but not the heavy sweetness people expect when they hear frankincense. It sits under the tallow and honey rather than announcing itself, and it fades within a few minutes of going on. Not a men's scent or a women's scent. Both.

Botanical name
Boswellia frereana
Plant part
Resin
Origin
Somaliland
Cultivation
Wild grown, certified organic (USDA NOP)
Extraction
Hydrodistilled
On the label
Wild-harvested Organic Frankincense (Boswellia frereana) Resin Oil

When Nothing Is Added

Fragrance-free means we didn't put anything in to make it smell like something. It doesn't mean it has no smell at all. A fragrance-free tallow butter smells faintly of tallow and honey, because that's what it's made of, and we didn't add anything to cover that up.

That's the distinction worth knowing when you're reading any label, not just ours. A product sold as unscented has often had a masking scent added to neutralise a base odour, which means an unscented product can contain fragrance and a fragrance-free one can still have a smell.

If your skin reacts to scented things, start with a fragrance-free option.
beef tallow skincare whipped body butter

Hide & Honey

Scented or Not, You Can Read the Label

The body butters start from the same base: grass-fed, grass-finished beef tallow, raw and unfiltered Texas honey, and vitamin E. What changes is whether we added anything for scent, and when we did, we'll tell you exactly what it was.
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Questions About Scent

What do your scents smell like?
Each one is described above, in its own words rather than in perfume language. We try to tell you what it actually smells of, what it doesn't smell of, and how loud it is, because a scent description that could apply to anything isn't much help when you're deciding.
Is the scent strong?
No. Scent is a small percentage of the jar and it sits under the smell of the tallow and honey rather than over it. If you're used to conventional scented lotion, ours will read as almost bare by comparison. That's deliberate. It's meant to be noticeable when you put it on and gone a few minutes later, not something the room knows about.
Which should I choose if I'm sensitive to scent?
A fragrance-free one. Blanco is ours. Essential oils and botanical extracts are still fragrance, and natural origin doesn't change that, so if scented products have given you trouble before, start with nothing added and see how your skin does.
Why not just use fragrance oil? It's cheaper.
It is cheaper, and it would let us make a jar smell like anything we wanted. The reason we don't is that fragrance is a single word on a label covering a list you never get to see, and the whole point here is that you can read the label. A named botanical costs more and limits what we can do. We think that's the right trade.
Where do your scent ingredients come from?
Each one lists its species, plant part, origin, cultivation and extraction method above. We buy from suppliers who can tell us what's actually in the material rather than what's typically in it. If you want to know something specific about what's in a jar, ask us and we'll tell you.
Can I use a scented one on my face?
Most people do. Scent is a small percentage of the jar and it's diluted in tallow rather than applied neat, which is how any botanical of this kind should go on skin. If your face is reactive, start with a fragrance-free jar, and patch-test on your inner forearm either way.