A Brief History of Perfumes for Peace

Perfumes dedicated to peace, as a quick Basenotes search brings up includes 33 results. Here's a roundup of the ones that are probably easier to find - in order of appearance:

1999 Time for Peace by Kenzo comes in a masculine version (mandarin, sage, chestnut, tonka bean, amber, cedarwood vetiver and vanilla) and feminine (mandarin, bergamot, blackcurrant, freesia, peony, jasmine, amber and musk).

2001 Imagine... Peace by Bath and Body Works sounds like another nondescript bouquet of sandalwood, musk and flowers (muguet and waterlily). Probably watery and boring...

2003 I Am Peace (Danica Aromatics) was created by a company in Santa Monica that I've never heard about till now, and has notes of white peony, tuberose, jasmine, heather, myrrh and sandalwood.

2006 The Scent of Peace (Bond No. 9) was created as a fundraiser for the UN, whose headquarters are in NYC. It's a nondescript aquatic-citrus-woodsy scent with grapefruit, cassis, muguet, hedione, cedar and musk. Rather forgettable.

2008 - Kenzo Peace is a reissue of the limited edition from 1999: a blend of tonka, musk, heliotrope, cedar, mandarin and vanilla.
 - Peace On Earth (Liz Zorn) now renamed "Solstice" (changed the name to avoid copyright battles with Bond No. 9). This is an all-natural fragrance with white flowers and incense.

2009 Botanical Perfume devoted to peace, 1st Edition (Roxana Illuminated Perfume) was created for Project "Peace on Earth" - an annual worldwide telecast concert of Superstar musicians performing Sacred Music from the most mystical concert venues on the planet: Egypt's Great Pyramids, England’s Stonehenge, Australia's Ayers Rock, Peru's Inca Pyramids, Japan's Mount Fuji, and California's Mount Shasta. It's a cinnamon and spice botanical fragrance. 

2010 Peace Love & Juicy Couture
seems like a crowd-pleasing fruit-punch for the concious teenager, with top notes of Meyer lemon blossom, Hyacinth, Apple and Blackcurrant; heart notes of Sambac jasmine, Star magnolia, Malibu poppy, Honeysuckle and Linden blossom; and base notes of Iris, Patchouli and Musk

2012 - 7 Virtues Middle East Peace
Some of you might remembered that two summers ago there was much talk about the threat of Iran on Israel, and the Israeli government was looking for many excuses to strike and start a war. Thankfully that never happened. But many Israelis and Iranians were very scared of this prospect, and the spontaneous online campaign that ensued showed many Israelis and Iranians around the world showing that they love each other and do not want to go to war.

Inspired by this, Canadian company-with-a-cause 7 Virtues launched Middle East Peace. Combining Israeli grapefruit and Iranian lime and basil, and although citrus goes along easily (and this scent is a not a particularly unusual citrus at that) - the scent still is a metaphor to the alchemy that can happen in the bottle when you allow two or three elements to mingle and marry. I believe it's just as easy to do so in real life, if we let the two sides of the conflict speak to each other. Once the artificial walls of separation and hatred are eliminated, there is only compassion, understanding and willingness to find a solution that will be a win-win situation.

You can continue following this campaign, which shows what real people want in this region: Israel Loves Iran and Iran Loves Israel. Similar campaigns are active for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both online and in real life, for example: Jews and Arabs Refuse To Be Enemies on Facebook, and many other peace organizations in Israel and occupied Palestine that work towards peace and reconciliation from the grassroots level, locally and internationally.

- In Peace by Space NK sounds perhaps a little more promising with peppery pimento and freesia opening, iris, mimosa and suede heart, but still a generic-sounding base of white musk, sandalwood and tonka bean. ore importantly, it has a cause: 10% of net profits from the purchase of each bottle will go directly to Women for Women International's sponsorship program which supports women survivors of war to enable them to rebuild their lives and promote peaceful communities.

2013 Inner Peace by Tisserand is an aromatherapy perfume blend of rose absolute, cardamom, rose geranium and frankincense.

2014 - Axe Peace with citrus, nutmeg and cedar. The name is ironic, because so many peace initiatives are undermined too early with a swift blow of an axe.
- Peaceful Harmony by Philosophy seems to repeat the theme of light florals (neroli, iris, lily of the valley and lotus) with citrus top notes and a musky base (also with cedarwood and oakmoss) that seems to thread in many of those peacefully named perfumes. It's the newest fragrant peace initiative and sounds not much different than the rest of the light, inoffensive, clean fragrances from this brand.