Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 When a person loads up on all kinds of fragrance products, including dryer sheets (which is really nothing more than laundry perfume, by the way), perfumed lotions, shampoo that's loaded with perfume and brand name soaps and deodorants that have even more perfume, they dull their sense of smell so much that they cannot even sense the subtleties of smell in the world around them, and thus they become mentally numb. They actually lose intelligence. Pretty soon they're just another zoned out person reacting to consumer marketing messages. |
Luca Turin
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 But there is a huge difference: for the past three years I have been designing new perfume molecules for a living, using my decoding method. This involves predicting odour from molecular structure, which was until recently reckoned impossible. The company that has taken the bold step of hiring me as chief scientist is called Flexitral, and I fondly hope that they will not regret their decision. |
| Much less with mixtures: what was special about Granny's perfume is that, unfortunately for you, it was Guerlain's first (1962) version of Chant d'Aromes. It smelled divinely of peachy skin, and no other floral lactonic before, during or since ever hit that exact spot. And furthermore, they messed with the formula some years ago when the bean-counters took over, thereby putting your late grandmother's smell permanently out of reach. |
| Recently, however, it was resuscitated by a physiologist and perfume critic named Luca Turin. While implausible, Turin's proposal is certainly a delightful potpourri of creativity, conjecture, extrapolation and isolated observations. And it's brazen: a universal theory of smell based on one man's olfactory observations.'
Then, a year or so later, came the piece de resistance. |
| Discovered in 1908 by Russian chemists Zhukov and Shestakov, it was sold under the name Persicol and is directly responsible for two of the greatest fragrances in perfume history. The first is Mitsouko, the masterpiece Jacques Guerlain created in 1919 during his arms race with Francois Coty. Two years earlier, Coty had come up with the splendidly abstract but austerely angular Chypre. Guerlain was apparently bowled over by Chypre, and tried to go one better. Typically, his idea was to add a bit of comfortable plush to Coty's austere chic, and he hit upon Persicol. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| When a person loads up on all kinds of fragrance products, including dryer sheets (which is really nothing more than laundry perfume, by the way), perfumed lotions, shampoo that's loaded with perfume and brand name soaps and deodorants that have even more perfume, they dull their sense of smell so much that they cannot even sense the subtleties of smell in the world around them, and thus they become mentally numb. They actually lose intelligence. Pretty soon they're just another zoned out person reacting to consumer marketing messages. |
Luca Turin
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| This behaviour follows a physical law, as familiar to us as other manifestations of the arrow of time. Imagine the strangeness of a fragrance that was like a cologne played in reverse: first the sweet, soft, amber notes, then the spicy heart, and finally, in the dark of night, a blast of fresh citrus. It would be as scary as seeing the bath water sprout a shimmering column, head for the tap and disappear up the pipe.
What loosens the molecules from their perch is heat. On warm skin, the molecules are shaken by thermal motion more violently than on a cold surface. |
| Take the suburban train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite, a twenty-minute ride. Get out of the station, which already feels provincial with its line of waiting Mercedes taxis, their idle drivers chatting to each other, and set off down thp intprminahlp Avptiiip Hn Parr He Clacmv The entire snbtirh emits the sadness of fulfilled dreams. On both sides are the large houses of those who made it a century and a half ago, giving off the curious mixture of luxury and meanness that comes from building them almost as large as the grounds, with only a little room to spare. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 In fact, they serve more of a function of perfume sheets than any other practical function in the dryer.
When people use dryer sheets, they are coating their cloths with a thin film of artificial chemical perfumes. Just like other perfumes, a person’s sensitivity to these perfumes decreases over time to the point where they don’t even notice how potent these artificial fragrance chemicals are.
None of this would be interesting if it weren’t for the fact that these fragrance chemical are extremely toxic chemicals. They are known carcinogens. They cause liver damage and cancer in mammals. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 These sheets really serve no function other than to spread perfume all over your clothing. They're perfume sheets. And these perfumes are not essential oils harvested from flowers out in a wild field somewhere, they are synthetic chemicals, manufactured in a chemical plant, and many are highly carcinogenic. So after washing their clothes to get out all the dirt, people are then coating their clothes with a product that deposits a thin film of toxic chemicals onto their clothes. In other words, the clothes were cleaner before they went through the washer and dryer. |
David Steinman
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 In the case of phthalates and personal-care products and cosmetics, the addition of a small amount of DBP provides just enough "give" to reduce cracking by making nail polish less brittle and more chip-resistant. When perfume fragrances are dissolved in either DEP or DMP, they evaporate more slowly, making the scent linger longer. In hair sprays, they help avoid stiffness by allowing them to form a flexible film on the hair.
Users of high-end phthalates include some of most popular perfumes. |
Dan Buettner
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 Since I'd visited Ushi with Sayoko, Ushi had taken her first paying job, tried to run away from home, and had begun wearing perfume.
"Perfume?" I asked.
"She has a new boyfriend," Setzu offered. "He's only 75 years old."
I look at Ushi as she clapped a hand over her mouth and unleashed one of her blessed hee-haw laughs. When the echoes faded, I sat quietly and let the ladies resume their conversation. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 Aromatherapy met an enemy with the Puritan movement, which lumped perfume and incense in with paganism and witchcraft. And with the advent of modern science, aromatherapy fell further from favor. The natural essential oils, so prized for generations, were replaced with synthetic scents in cosmetics, perfumes, and foods.
It wasn't until the 1920s that aromatherapy began a resurgence. The French chemist and perfumer Ren-Maurice Gattefoss actually coined the term aromatherapy after an accident in his laboratory left his hand badly burned. |
Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron
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 Fragrance-Free: This is supposed to indicate to the consumer that a product contains no perfume or fragrant ingredients, but it ends up having little meaning. Despite this labeling, many products use fragrant plant extracts that can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, or a phototoxic response on skin (meaning they enhance the negative effects of the sun on your skin). Fragrances, natural or otherwise, are not benign ingredients (Source: Acta Dermato-Venereology, July 2007, pages 312-316). |
Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe
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 In those islands, he says, to make the drink they take loaves of pure cacao, powder them, and add cinnamon, sugar, and orange-flower water, resulting in a beverage of great delicacy with an exquisite perfume. Alternatively, one may join this with a whole beaten egg, or substitute two drops of ambergris essence for the orange-flower water. Although vanilla was common in the islands, it was never used in chocolate (it was then believed to be harmful to the health throughout Europe). |
| Equally exotic is musk, a perfume ingredient derived from a strong-smelling glandular secretion of the musk deer, native to the Himalayas, Tibet, Siberia, and northwest China. Musk is one of the most powerful odors known: one grain will scent millions of cubic feet of air.28
So strong is musk that it does not enter into the making of the famous and delicate jasmine chocolate, a speciality of Cosimo Ill's court. Redi guarded this recipe jealously; in a letter to Sig. |
Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron
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| This cleanser is made problematic for skin because it contains menthol and because it is so highly fragranced that you could skip applying your regular perfume.
After cleansing, you're directed to apply the © Protecting Day Lotion with SPF 15 (1.67 ounces). This in-part avobenzone sunscreen won't prevent new acne scars (hyperpigmentation) from forming, but its protective benefit for skin will enhance the natural fading of these marks. |
| This is akin to applying perfume to your face and is not recommended.
© $$$ Gende Day Cream, for Sensitive Skin ($55 for 1.7 ounces) isn't more gentle than most Clarins moisturizers and the fact that it contains fragrance shows they're not taking the needs of truly sensitive skin seriously. Still, this can be a good moisturizer for normal to dry skin not prone to blemishes, and most of the plant extracts are soorhing and anti-inflammatory, which is a nice change of pace.
© $$$ Gentle Day Lotion, for Sensitive Skin ($55 for 1. |
| This average toner is more akin to spraying perfume on the face than anything really helpful.
© Vitamin C Eye Reviver ($18 for 0.5 ounce) isn't much for vitamin C but is still a decent water- and silicone-based moisturizer for slightly dry skin anywhere on the face. The orange flower water just provides fragrance and can be a problem for use around the eyes, though there's only a tiny amount present.
© Vitamin C Intensive Night Treatment ($22 for 1 ounce) contains a significant amount of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in a nonaqueous base with a silky finish. |
| Compared to High Beam and Moon Beam above, the shine is subtle and works under or over foundation or moisturizer to highlight skin, but only if your nose can tolerate the potent rosy fragrance of this product (it's strong enough to clash with your regular perfume). © $$$ Hollywood Glo Body Lustre ($26) is a shimmer-infused body balm that leaves skin shiny but is also over-scented. It's a decent option, but make sure you like the fragrance, because it really lingers.
© Show Offs ($16) are small jars of iridescent loose powder that are pretty to look at but messy to apply. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Even guys that wouldn't wear perfume go out and buy laundry detergent that has perfume in it. When I go to the grocery store, I can't even go near the aisle with all the detergents or I get a headache. I am very sensitive to this because of my sensory acuity. I can pick up subtle sights, sounds and smells thanks to a healthy nervous system.
The manufacturers of products that have triclosan in them keep saying that it is perfectly safe and that it only affects the nervous systems of various organisms. They also say it's safe because you don't drink it. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| They're perfume sheets. And these perfumes are not essential oils harvested from flowers out in a wild field somewhere, they are synthetic chemicals, manufactured in a chemical plant, and many are highly carcinogenic. So after washing their clothes to get out all the dirt, people are then coating their clothes with a product that deposits a thin film of toxic chemicals onto their clothes. In other words, the clothes were cleaner before they went through the washer and dryer. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Even guys that wouldn't wear perfume go out and buy laundry detergent that has perfume in it. When I go to the grocery store, I can't even go near the aisle with all the detergents or I get a headache. I am very sensitive to this because of my sensory acuity. I can pick up subtle sights, sounds and smells thanks to a healthy nervous system.
The manufacturers of products that have triclosan in them keep saying that it is perfectly safe and that it only affects the nervous systems of various organisms. They also say it's safe because you don't drink it. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Actually the more you eat good, organic whole food and stay away from these chemicals, the better you smell, to the point that now, walking up to someone with a bunch of perfume on is a bad experience.
Mike: I have to speak to that, too. You know that aisle in every grocery store that has all the detergent in it? I cannot even go near it. I have actually written about body odor a lot, and when people who eat the milk, the yogurt and the butter and the animal fat, they really begin to take on the smell of those substances throughout. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Across the industry, there seems to be no concern whatsoever for the safety of consumers, and that's why everything from pet food to perfume is now manufactured with chemicals that are well known to cause cancer, infertility, neurological disorders and many other serious health problems.
Believe me: The discovery of phthalates in air freshener products is just the tip of the iceberg. What other chemicals lurk in these same air freshener products? And can you imagine all the toxic chemicals found in high-fragrance shampoos, nail polish, makeup remover and dryer sheets? |
| People have suddenly come to realize that brand-name dog food is so toxic that it will kill your dog, that toys from China contain dangerous levels of lead, that perfume products can contain as many as 21 different cancer-causing chemicals and that even popular laundry detergent products wash your clothes in a toxic brew of synthetic chemicals and artificial fragrances. Sites like NewsTarget and the Organic Consumers Association (www.OrganicConsumers.org) are, of course, trying to do something about this by educating consumers. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Refuses to enforce its own laws regarding unsafe chemical toxins in personal care products, allowing perfume and lotion companies to continue poisoning the public with cancer-causing chemicals that don't even have to be listed on the label, nor proven safe.
Ordered the destruction of recipe books that mentioned stevia. (A campaign to keep the public ignorant of the herb.)
Does everything in its power to protect drug company profits, including discrediting herbs, supplements and alternative medicine. |
Stacy Malkan
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 Tour friends at Unilever Bestfoods12
When Karen Stanston wrote to ask about Eternity perfume, Marie Stuart of Consumer Affairs wrote back: "We are aware of the public concerns about the safety of phthalates and take them very seriously. We use only those phthalates that are important components of our products and have been shown to be safe by scientific risk assessment. |
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