A few years ago, I lost someone I loved deeply to cancer. That loss changed me, it opened my eyes to how fragile life is, and how much of what surrounds us can affect our health in ways we don’t always realize.

Since then, I’ve become incredibly mindful of what I put in my body, but I soon realized it’s even harder to control what goes on it. Especially when it comes to fragrances, something so personal and emotionally tied to our identities.

Many traditional perfumes don’t fully disclose their ingredients, leaving consumers in the dark and research has shown that some commonly used fragrance compounds, like phthalates and certain synthetic musks, have been linked to hormone disruption and, in some cases, even potential carcinogenic effects. For someone like me, who’s lived through the trauma of loss, that uncertainty feels like a risk I can’t afford.

So my partner and I created Ecoluxea.