Ruta Degutyte of Art de Parfum: Combining The Essence of Minimalism and Ethical Excellence
Written by Kristina Kybartaite-Damule
Minimalist, clean, and creative—these are the key words that define Art de Parfum, a brand founded in 2015 and the recipient of multiple prestigious award nominations. In an interview with PlezuroMag, founder Ruta Degutyte shares a behind-the-scenes look at the craft behind their renowned perfumes.
Ruta Degutyte / Photo: personal archive
Art de Parfum is celebrated for its minimalist style. Their perfumes lay in rounded, muted green glass bottles with matching caps, all made from recyclable materials—a testament to the brand's commitment to high ethical standards since the beginning. On social media, their approach is refreshingly understated; you won’t see hundreds of influencers showcasing gifted products. Instead, their fragrances exude an “if you know, you know” aura, a hidden gem for those willing to explore beyond the often noisy surface of the perfume market.
However, those who are fortunate enough to discover Art de Parfum’s fragrances, tend to love them. Their numerous awards speak for themselves: the Beauty Wellness Award 2023 in the Fragrance for Women category, the Eluxe Magazine Award for Best Up-and-Coming Ethical Brand, and the Best New Niche Fragrance 2020 at the Pure Beauty Awards, to name just a few.
There’s good reason for this acclaim. As Ruta Degutyte shared with PlezuroMag, authenticity and genuineness are at the heart of every creative process. With Art de Parfum, she resists chasing fleeting industry trends or following external expectations. Ethics are a cornerstone of the brand’s philosophy, evident in their final products—a commitment that has not shifted for nine years.
Art de Parfum / Photo: personal archive
In the interview, Ruta Degutyte also reflects on her Lithuanian roots, how her upbringing has shaped her creative vision, and reveals the key that keep Art de Parfum relevant in the fast-paced world of perfumery.
How did you discover the perfume industry, and how did you decide to work in this field?
I was born and grew up in Lithuania and my professional background is in marketing and consulting, with a degree in International Business together with an MBA. For many years I worked in marketing for Red Bull but in 2010, I decided it was time for a new challenge and took the radical step of moving to Australia where I started my consultancy as well as small trading business in Sydney. I’d been there 2 years when the financial crisis hit, which in a way, was a blessing for me, as it forced me to revaluate my life and its direction.
I had grown tired of the corporate world, and I had savings, I had courage, and I just decided one day…why not leave and start my own company? So, I moved again, this time to London and as Perfumery has been a lifelong passion for me, I founded Art de Parfum.
Since I was a small child, perfume had always fascinated me. When I was around 8 years old, I started messing around with potential ingredients, trying to make tinctures of stones, leaves, daisies, and so on – using water, of course, because I didn’t understand about ethanol, perfumer’s alcohol. They didn’t smell that great of course, but that didn’t stop me!
Art de Parfum / Photo: personal archive
After I visited Grasse in France for the first time, and met with people working in the factories there, and after having spoken to experienced and even some retired workers from the industry, I began to learn more of the realities of the world of fragrance and the actual business of making perfume. Now I have to say that I have no formal training as a perfumer beyond what I have taught myself. So I engaged a young, super-talented perfumer working out of the South of France to help translate my visions into reality, and together we hunt down the most exquisite raw materials from all over the world.
I am a true conceptualist though, I spend a great deal of time, dreaming up ideas and concepts, and unusual ingredients and combinations to try.
What is the idea behind your own brand. What message do you want to send to your customers?
The first thing that I find most important to state, is that Art de Parfum never plays to the gallery. It’s terribly dangerous for any creative person, no matter which genre of the creative arts, to steer your work or ideas towards fulfilling other people’s expectations, you generally produce your worst work when you do that.
I deeply believe that being genuine and authentic is the main driver in any creative process. I saw a gap in the market for perfumes that communicated powerful emotions to clients, but in a clean, uncluttered way. I essentially make perfumes to please myself, in the hope that they connect with others in the same way. For example, if you take Sea Foam, it is a Nordic sea scent. It’s connected very much to my childhood memories of the Baltic Sea but it resonates with everyone who remembers seeing and smelling the ocean for the very first time.
Ruta Degutyte / Photo: personal archive
The other most important thing for me to communicate to my customers, is that I take ethics extremely seriously. My raison d’être when I began Art de Parfum, was to make all my products cruelty-free, nano-free, and GMO-free. All the raw materials used in my perfumes are ethically sourced. I make sure that our perfumer doesn’t use any raw material that has a question mark about its sustainability, ethical harvesting, or has impact on local farming communities. I also don’t use any animal-derived products. I also thought a lot about how I wanted my perfumes to be packaged. Our bottles are made from recyclable materials and our packaging is all biodegradable.
The other most important thing, of course, is how the perfume smells. But I also wanted the presentation to send a message of sustainability, simplicity and beauty. Mine are minimalist so they have to be perfect in every dimension. The box feels like textured linen and opens like a book, and the cap is of a cool, textured wood.
It took time and effort to ensure that our business was ethical from top to bottom, but it is totally worth it. Other companies are now following this path, but we were certainly one of the first in niche perfumery to take this approach.
In the huge market of fragrances, how does Art de Parfum manage to stand out?
It’s true that the fragrance market has now become enormous, much more so now than when I began in 2015, and seems to be expanding exponentially week by week! There is so much noise out there, but at the end of the day, you have to remain confident that the quality of your work will resonate despite the noise!
Can you tell our readers a little about your background? Your roots are in the small country of Lithuania. When did you move to France? Did this influence your works in any way?
I think my upbringing has a lot to do with my ability to leap head first into things with a great deal of confidence, although sometimes a little naive! I was born in Lithuania to a family of academics and dreamers. My father is a prominent philosopher, Algirdas Degutis, who has authored books such as “Language, Thought, and Reality” and “Individualism and Social Order.” My mother, who sadly died when I was young, was an interpreter, and my stepmother, Grazina Miniotaite was famous philosopher and political researcher. My family helped me to understand that my dreams were just ambitions waiting to be realized – and that I should allow nothing to get in my way!
I initially set up my business in London, and operated and distributed it from there. However, Brexit happened which made things extremely difficult to operate from the UK. And if that wasn’t enough, the pandemic hit also, and I was pregnant at the time, and where we lived in Richmond was London’s ‘Covid Central’, so my husband and I decided to escape London and rented a beautiful chateau in the South of France, where we could live around trees, flowers and wildlife. We actually had a wonderful year there and decided that life in the South of France was our future and began looking for a permanent residence. After much searching, we bought a house close to Grasse, which of course makes perfect sense!
Ruta Degutyte / Photo: personal archive
You have received many awards for your works. What does it mean as an artist?
I can’t lie, it’s been extremely flattering and of course validating to receive these awards! It’s really an industry ‘pat on the back’ which serves mostly as encouragement and extra motivation to keep driving me forwards! When you do everything yourself (with the aid of a few staff of course), it can be exhausting and sometimes demoralising so these do provide extra strength. Awards also serve as a kind of benchmark to judge yourself against others in this increasingly competitive market.
Do you have a fragrance in your collection that you are especially proud of?
It’s extremely difficult to pick one, its like asking to choose your favourite child. It goes in phases, but in a nutshell, I am a big fan of clean vibrant fragrances, so yes to Sabotage, Kimono Vert, Le Joker, Gin & Tonic Cologne from the Art de Parfum range.
Do you have any upcoming perfumes and if so, can you share some details?
Yes, coming soon. Smiles.
Thank you for your time.