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Joanna McLaughlin's Articles in Culture and Society

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Secrets of Perfume Ingredients Perfumes rarely list ingredients on their labels but sometimes will describe scents with all sorts of mysterious ingredients from ancient substances (like frankincense and myrrh) to more normal-sounding ingredients (that we still don't understand) like amber or musk. Perfumes frequently contain a lot of synthetic ingredients, sometimes analogs to real substances, sometimes completely artificial (like aldehyde). What You Should Know About Fragance Allergies About 1% of the population is allergic to perfume and many more find it physically irritating. Actually, there are only about eight substances that provoke most of the symptoms, but most perfumes do not list their ingredients. The problem is compounded by the fact that fragrance isn't just found in perfume--it's in soap, air fresheners, foods, and even dental cement. Should Perfume be Synthetic or Natural? Aldehyde is a synthetic fragrance moleculre used in perfume. Despite the global trend toward preferring naturals over synthetics, in the perfume world, synthetics are preferable. Ever since Coco Chanel unveiled a completely "artificial" scent in the form of Chanel No. 5 in 1923, perfumers have been going synthetic. It's more consistent, gives a greater spectrum of scents, and saves the natural environment. Secrets of an Online Perfume Shopper Buying perfume online is increasingly popular, but there are some pitfalls to to the online shopping experience. Internet shoppers should beware of knockoffs and counterfeits. The other problem with Internet perfume buying is that sometimes you have to buy a perfume before you can smell it. But there are ways to take the guesswork out of even that.