Beautifully Made. Never at their expense.

Luxury with Conscience: Why We Are Proudly Cruelty-Free and Vegan

At What's That Fragrance, we believe that luxury and conscience belong together. A scent should make you feel extraordinary and the story behind it should make you feel good, too. That is why every product we create is developed without animal testing of any kind, and is composed entirely of vegan-friendly ingredients.

For us, being a conscious brand means ensuring that no living being is harmed for the sake of a beautiful scent. This isn't just a marketing promise; it’s a principle built into the very foundations of how we work.

No Testing. At Any Stage.

When we say cruelty-free, we mean it comprehensively. Animal testing can occur at multiple points in a product's journey from individual raw ingredients to the finished formulation. We have made a deliberate commitment to eliminate it at every stage:

• Raw Ingredients: We source only from suppliers who do not conduct or commission animal tests.

• Formulation: We blend using established, safe ingredients with well-documented safety profiles.

• Finished Products: Our scents are never tested on animals, utilizing rigorous alternative safety assessment methods instead.

Kind by Design: Our Shift to 100% Vegan

Beyond our commitment to being cruelty-free, we are proud to share that our fragrances are entirely vegan. While "cruelty-free" means no animals were tested on, "vegan" means that no animal-derived ingredients are used within the bottle itself.

Historically, the world of high-end perfumery relied on several animal-based fixatives to help scents last longer. However, modern innovation has allowed us to move away from these practices without compromising on the depth or longevity of our perfumes.

Why we choose vegan ingredients:

Traditional perfumery often utilized ingredients like Ambergris (from sperm whales), Castoreum (from beavers), or Civet(from civet cats). Obtaining these often involved distress to the animals or invasive harvesting. Today, we use exquisite plant-based and lab-developed alternatives that replicate these complex, musky, and earthy notes with incredible precision.

Did you know?

• The Power of Plants: Many of the most "animalic" and deep notes in modern vegan perfume actually come from the plant kingdom. For example, the seeds of the Ambrette plant produce a sophisticated musk scent that is entirely botanical.

• Lab-Grown Excellence: Scientific advancements mean we can now ethically recreate the scent of "white musk" or "suede" in a laboratory, ensuring a consistent, high-quality aroma that is 100% kind to nature.

• Cleaner Formulations: Moving to vegan ingredients often means a cleaner, more intentional formulation, focusing on the purest botanical essences and safe, modern molecules.

The Gold Standard

We align ourselves with the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, which is widely considered the global gold standard. This framework prohibits both the testing of products on animals and the marketing of any cosmetic containing ingredients tested on animals anywhere in the world.

Even as a South African brand, we choose to hold ourselves to this exceptionally high bar. We do it because it’s right, and because we believe you shouldn't have to choose between a premium fragrance and your values.

Our Promise to You

When you wear a What's That Fragrance scent, you are wearing something made thoughtfully—from the sourcing of every vegan raw material to the moment it reaches your skin. No animal was tested upon, and no animal products were used. No exceptions.

Luxury, to us, means nothing if it comes at a cost to living creatures. We are proudly, completely, and permanently cruelty-free and vegan.

For more information on the EU Cosmetics Regulation and its animal testing provisions, visit the European Commission's official guidance at single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu.