Upcircle Santelle EDP Review

[unpaid/sample] Would you know if your favourite fragrance is vegan? It’s a good question and one that I hadn’t thought of before Upcircle Santelle EDP landed on my desk. The answer is that it very well may not be – it’s common now for fragrance brands to use artificial musks but ambergris (whale fluid) still crops up fairly often. Honey, beeswax and milk would also render a fragrance not vegan. I mean, if you’re neither vegan nor vegetarian, it’s not something you need to worry about but you need to do your research if you specifically want vegan because it’s not a given.

When I tried Upcircle Santelle EDP it was completely different to what I’d expected. I saw the words ‘clove leaf’ and immediately dreaded the spritz but in fact, it’s a very gentle, soft and skin-like scent. I can detect the sweetness of the orange peel with none of the sharpness that can come with that ingredient – it just merges perfectly with the clove leaf.

The upcycled part of the USP of Santelle is that the clove leaves are salvaged from the food industry where the buds are used while the leaves and stems are left behind. The orange peel is sourced from South America (can we talk about the carbon footprint?!) where again, it’s a remnant from the food and juice industries. So, my overall impression is that this is a very light fragrance that on me, at least, needs reapplying quite often. I generally don’t mind reapplying because who gets tired of that scented spritz, but it’s not always practical or economical. I know that some people are very overwhelmed by ‘big’ fragrances in which case Santelle is ideal for them but if you like your fragrance loud and proud, this isn’t for you. It’s £45 HERE.