Former Apple Designers Go All In On Fragrance Ingredient Transparency At New Brand Belnu

When she was diagnosed with skin cancer five years ago, Darcy Moore learned she carried the BRCA2 mutation that magnifies the risk of breast cancer and opted for a preventive mastectomy to decrease the risk.

The health scare double whammy pushed Moore, who’d been examining the ingredients of skincare products since high school, long before the concept of “clean beauty” became table stakes in much of the beauty industry, to double down on her dissection of beauty products, including perfumes, which due to trade secrets protection in the United States don’t have to disclose their fragrance ingredients.

“Perfume was one of the first things I reached for to feel like myself after surgery,” says Moore, a freelance art director at Apple who was previously in-house at the company and has done work for Pinterest and Condé Nast as well. “And I realized I had no idea what was in my fragrance, and I spray that on my neck and chest area.”

To be more informed about fragrance products, Moore researched ingredients and obtained an aromatherapy certification from Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy during the pandemic. Armed with her newfound scent savvy, she launched the brand Belnu with her husband Diogo Soares, also a creative director formerly at Apple, with two eau de parfums: Rose Steady and Bergamot Brio. They’re priced at $170 for a 1.6-oz. bottle and $15 for a .1-oz. mini.

On its website, Belnu emphasizes it believes in ingredient transparency and posts the full ingredient lists of its fragrances. Its cruelty-free ingredients are heavy on natural essential oils, what the brand calls “safe synthetics” and upcycled ingredients derived from materials that would be otherwise discarded as waste.

Each of its fragrances contains an upcycled ingredient—Rose Steady has cedarwood upcycled from furniture discards in Texas and Bergamot Brio has an upcycled floral absolute from Tunisia—and adhere to the principles of green chemistry, the scientific philosophy of making goods that aren’t hazardous and polluting that’s a pillar of Belnu’s business. Moore explains that lab-produced fragrance ingredients consistently yield the same scent. Natural ingredients cultivated in different places and in different climates can render variable scents.

Moore says, “Ingredient transparency is a way to empower customers, giving them the agency to choose products that align with their own standards. If customers have full visibility into their skincare ingredients, why shouldn’t they have that for their fragrance wardrobe? While I can confidently say our fragrances are cleanly formulated to meet Belnu’s high standards, I understand there are those like myself who value making that final call. To me, ingredient transparency isn’t just a matter of building trust, it’s a responsibility to customers who deserve full visibility into what they’re putting on their skin.”

“Ingredient transparency is a way to empower customers.”

Controversial in the beauty industry, fragrance ingredient transparency has been difficult to achieve even for advocates of it such as Credo. The clean beauty retailer’s fragrance ingredient policy instructs brands to disclose the type of fragrance they use—essential oil, organic, synthetic or natural, for example—but not a complete fragrance ingredient rundown. At Belnu, Moore encountered opposition to her demand for fragrance ingredient transparency.

“Transparency isn’t commonly offered, at least by the two fragrance houses I’ve worked with,” she says. “In fact, the first house I partnered with advised against it, arguing that full ingredient lists could confuse customers and open the door for scrutiny. I understand this concern. Seeing something like methyldihydrojasmonate can sound alarming, but, in reality, it’s a synthetic floral compound that smells like jasmine and is gentler on both skin and the environment.”

Belnu is self-funded and has a one-year contract with one of its perfume suppliers instead of tapping it on a per-project basis. Moore says, “As a small brand it can be hard sometimes to ensure you have a perfume house available to work on your project when you have smaller order quantities, so this puts us in a good position to grow the collection.”

Moore and Soares are splitting responsibilities as they guide Belnu. Moore focuses on product development, content and storytelling via Belnu’s blog, Top Note. Soares specializes in graphic design, packaging and imagery. Belnu’s packaging is recyclable. Moore and Soares collaborate on the visual aspects of the brand and have a phalanx of freelancers to assist them in execution.

Belnu is sold exclusively on its website, and it’s sticking to direct-to-consumer prior to expanding into wholesale to grasp customer preferences. The brand has pledged to donate 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations. Eventually, it plans to multiply its fragrance range and branch out to commerce on TikTok and Instagram. To build awareness, Belnu sent boxes with a full-size fragrance and a card to Los Angeles area influencers. Brand collaborations, online advertising and influencer partners are future possibilities.

Moore and Soares depend on their design expertise to convey Belnu in digital channels. The brand has a dreamy minimalistic aesthetic, and it explores the link between fragrance and emotions. In remarks on its site, Moore says, “I hope you’ll find beauty in creating your own Belnu ritual to Turn Inward and Connect Outward.”

She elaborates, “Belnu is distinguished in the way we talk about our fragrances. We see our creativity as a competitive advantage. Because scent is an invisible medium, the benefits aren’t something you feel until you get the product, so leaning on visuals is the best way.”