I explained this to other participants of a workshop in a dream last night:
The difference between natural and synthetic aromatics in perfumery can be compared to that between wood and metal.
Naturals are like wood: forgiving but variable – every board is different, so you correct by nose and work with the grain. Woodworking is a centuries-old craft that can be learned with simple tools.
With naturals, as with wood, the origin matters. Where and how it grew becomes something you feel and work with. With synthetics any origin difference is a spec on a sheet.
Synthetics are like metal: perfectly consistent batch to batch, but unforgiving. You can build things from metal that you simply can't build from wood, but you need specialized tools: electric cutting tools, gas-powered welding torches, special protection equipment. In perfumery, there are thousands of synthetic aromatics that are like the different metals that go into a specific steel alloy – alone they are useless, but in a specific combination they create very specific properties.
Working with wood is more hands-on, working with metal is more tools-on. The directness of contact differs. With wood you feel the grain, with metal you think about the grain.
Hybrid perfume is like a table with a steel frame and a wooden top. The steel frame gives it its strength and superior durability and also reduces the cost in mass production, the wooden top gives it the warm, natural surface that you interact with.
For a beginner, the table with a steel frame would be more challenging than a pure wooden table because they'd need the tools and knowledge to work with both. This is one reason our workshops use natural aromatics: they have a far lower barrier to entry. The trade-off – that they're less suited to cost-driven mass production – simply doesn't matter in a workshop setting.
What they offer in turn is much more valuable: working with them is more direct, more connected to place, more in your hands, and that's what a workshop is for.