What Perfume Makers Won’t Tell You? on GreenBiz.com is a quick look at the chemicals that aren’t listed in perfumes, some of which are allergens or disrupt hormones.
In bolded text throughout the report are words like “secret chemicals,” “multiple sensitizers,” “multiple hormone disruptors,” and “widespread use of chemicals that have not been assessed for safety.”
Culprits named include:
limonene
linalool
eugenol
I’m going to read this report in full and decide whether there’s an actual concern here, but my initial instinct as a perfumer is that these elements are contained in pretty innocuous items. Limonene is an organic compound in citrus that gives things an orange smell. Linalool is a naturally-occurring alcohol found in flowers and spice plants. Eugenol is a chemical compound in extractions from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf.
I’m not discounting this report all together, and I’m certainly interested in the synthetic elements that they study as well as the natural elements. But I also think the phrasing and presentation of the report preys on people’s emotions without fully educating consumers about these substances, how they are found and used in perfume, and the testing and regulation the industry is already following.
I’ll update this post once I’ve dug into the report further.
Interesting Vancouver 2009 was held the evening of Friday October 23th at The Vancouver Rowing Club in Coal Harbor.
Interesting Vancouver a multi-disciplinary conference. It seeks to impart new knowledge, things you’ve never known, or thought about. I talked about perfume and how to smell. The intimacy of this talk doesn’t really come across in the video presentation but it will give you an idea. Also the first part of the presentation was lost due to technical difficulties.
Interesting Vancouver always has a degree of spontaneity, unexpected moments, lessons and humour. I highly recommend Jer Thorpe’s presentation for all the above.
The other day, Ad Age’s CMO Strategy Section ran a column by Harald Vogt on scent marketing. Vogt may not be entirely impartial on the topic – he is the founder and chief marketer of the Scent Marketing Institute – but he makes some good points when he questions why so few marketers employ olfactory marketing strategies [...]
Carnal Flower by Dominique Ropion is part of Frederic Malle’s Editions de Parfums. Dominique spent 2 years perfecting the formula for this perfume, which reportedly has the highest concentration of tuberose on the market.
So what? The “what” is that tuberose is a really heavy, dark, sexy floral essence. Tuberose flowers are white and light looking but they pack a powerful punch. Dominique’s perfume is not light but it’s not heavy either.
The first notes on my skin were citrus and green but as the hour wore on, the scent evolved to be a dull heady floral (and I mean that in a nice way). Most floral perfumes become really powdery on me but this one smelled a bit smoky and camphorous. It’s a bit like smelling the wrapper of a stick of Juicy Fruit next to a bouquet of tuberose.
Hey, Hatshepsut is my favourite Egyptian king. He was a she and she rocked! Hatshepsut is kind of pronounced like “hot chep soup”, like hot chicken soup.
This is a 3,500-year-old perfume bottle that a German research team discovered in March 2009 and there is still some ancient oil in the bottle.
Christina Aguilera’s new perfume Inspire was a big hit in Tel-Aviv thanks to a great marketing stunt.
Mizbala of Tel-Aviv placed tens of thousands of quality clothes hangers, with a perfume sample and a branded Christina Aguilera label in public locations all over the country. (Via AdPulp c/o James @ AdHack)
The campaign is called “Sometimes It’s All You Need to Wear.”
The perfume sold out in 1 week.
Perfumer Notes
Inspire is a beautiful white floral, with a lightness of touch, twisted with colourful fruit notes. This is a fragrance that’s classic and enduring; sweetly feminine and sexy, with a vibrant freesia top note and a heart of beautiful Tuberose flower, one of Christina’s favourite ingredients.
“It Stinks Like Sex in Here” is not the subject line of an email that I was eager to open. Funny enough, it was a forward of an article on Heartbreaker by Jenna Jameson. Yes, sex pots now get into the perfume game. The perfume industry can generate more money for celebrities than the movie industry, apparently more than the porn movie industry too.
Heartbreaker, eau de parfum spray 100ML/3.4OZ, item#1207, $50.00
Heartbreaker is young and sexy, with an attitude! The top note, is a fresh splash of sparkling raspberry Champaign garnished with lovely rose petals. After a taste of champagne, the middle note or the heart of the fragrance, takes us into the night of blooming jasmine and magnolia flowers, to keep the mood casual but seductive. The base note, surprises us with the infusion of sophisticated sandalwood and tonka bean wrapped in an intoxicating morning of amber.
Neuroscience Marketing has an article on how we need to know the name of a scent in order to better recall it at a later date.
In studying perfume, this is certainly the case. The more that I am able to describe a scent, the more names for scents that I know, the better my recall and the better my ability to create combinations.
In San Francisco, I was in the Polo store and had a whiff of “Love,” Ralph Lauren’s perfume that launched in the fall to huge fanfare. The huge part was really the price tag, £2,000 a bottle.
Marketing Week UK did a profile on the launch expenses and the various aspects of the marketing campaign. In brief, it was a ballsy move to launch a premium perfume into an economic crisis, especially one aimed at 25-year-old women with high discretionary spending. Although what do 25 year olds know about economic crises anyway? Good market.
I left the Polo store with a sample of the Eau de Parfum. It’s lovely at first. Sparkly, then amber, with a slight floral smell. Initially I thought it was a chypre, there was something lovely and green, but it quickly announced itself as a floriental. Like most perfumes on me this one becomes quite powdery (1-2 hours later) then disappears (6 hours later). Love at first sight but it doesn’t stay the night.
The luxury limited edition has a 47-carat amethyst in the 24-karat gold painted cap, and it comes with a lucite stand. This is what you’re paying £2,000 for, not the juice, which they now sell in smaller quantities, in plain bottles for anywhere from $50-600 depending on bottle choice and quantity.
For the perfumers in the crowd:
Top: Chinese magnolia, mimosa
Heart: Bulgarian rose, ylang ylang, mai rose
Base: amber, iris root, patchouli, vetiver, musk, vanilla
There’s also chatter about the Goji berry, reminiscent of aged red wine, and vintage champagne sparkles with a cool green water accord. I guess the initial whiff of a chypre wasn’t a total miss on my part.
Love, Ralph Lauren is lovely but not a perfect scent for me.
I have a great group of friends who get together randomly for art night. I usually sketch (or get totally distracted and spend most of the time talking). But lately I have been enamoured with making perfume. I’m working on a spicy oriental at the moment: cloves, cinnamon, coriander, cardamon, orange, with a dry woody base. It’s not going well but the photos look good.
“Chandler Burr is the New York Times’ first-ever fragrance critic. His knowledge of the history, culture, emotion, economics, science and global geography of scent may be unrivaled. Come along with Chandler as he leads the Camden Opera House on an interactive, hyper-articulate and hilarious olfactory journey.”
Despite my bleary eyes, lack of sleep and general clumsiness today, I managed to dress up and go on a field trip to the Chanel Boutique, where I was lucky enough to secure, not one but, two sample bottles! These are generally given out if you purchase one of the regular bottles for $245.
