Sarah Bellum says:

I’ve always been a fan of fragrance and have even  aspired to a career as a perfumer myself.  Just imagine – being one of the special few who actually get to CREATE new scents – how exciting! Almost anyone can reproduce a visual memory (like a favorite place) or a sound memory (like humming a catchy tune). But it takes a special kind of person to actually “remember” smells in the way perfumers do.

Sadly, the so-called “experts” has always told me that you have to BORN with a “good nose” to be able to detect and remember all the thousands of scents you’d have to know to create new perfumes.   Not everyone, they say,  has the right olfactory equipment to be a perfumer. Could this be true? Could I be banished from my career of choice by bad nasal genetics?

Passion for perfume

The answer, according to Science Daily, can be found in a recent study conducted by researchers at the Laboratoire Neurosciences Sensorielles Comportement Cognition and the Institut des Neurosciences de Grenoble. Researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to look inside the brains of professional and student perfumers.  They found that the degree of brain activation depends on the subject’s level of expertise and (here’s the important part) this capacity develops with experience.

Follow the link above to learn how you can activate your brain (specifically the primary olfactory cortex) just by remembering a smell.  And the  good news for ME is: I can still be a perfumer!!

If you’re like me, you LOVE the Twilight movies and anything else vampirically romantic. So of course you’ll love this new perfume inspired by the scent of human blood.

A Milan-based company has launched a new scent called ”Blood Concept” which comes in four varieties named after blood types. (Of course the product doesn’t actually contain any real blood.) According to Antonio Zuddas, one of the product’s creators “Blood Concept is just a celebration of human life through an interpretation of its evolutionary process.” To which I respond “WTF???”

Is anybody out there even remotely interested in blood perfume or do we file this one under “good gag gifts for Halloween?”

Would you like to hear more about ridiculous products that you should avoid? Check out our free guide on How To Save Money On Beauty Products.

Sere says…Hi Brains! I’m an Italian girl who’s trying to do her best to understand something in the complicated world of skin care. I read Paula Begoun’s opinion about fragrance, and from what I could understand, she’s quite severe. I mean she says we should definitely go for truly fragrance-free cosmetics, since fragrance, both synthetic and organic, cause irritation. Even when we cannot actually see skin reactions (like redness etc..), still it’s taking place underneath the skin’s surface, leading to long-term skin damage. So..that is what i wanted to know from you..is it true we should avoid fragrance in cosmetics such as face creams etc, even if we’re not allergic to any of the components of fragrance?

Left Brain smells something fishy
While we love the Cosmetic Cop, I think in this case Paula is overstating the fragrance problem here. You can safely use products with fragrance as long as you are not allergic / sensitive to the components.

What’s wrong with fragrance?

The truth is many people are sensitive to different ingredients found in fragrances. Fragrances can be made up of from 75 to over 100 ingredients so manufacturers aren’t required to list all the component materials. However, they are supposed to list the ingredients that most commonly cause allergic reaction. Here is that list.

Most common fragrance allergens

1. Amyl cinnamal
2. Amylcinnamyl alcohol
3. Benzyl alcohol
4. Benzyl salicylate
5. Cinnamyl alcohol
6. Cinnamal
7. Citral
8. Coumarin
9. Eugenol
10. Geraniol
11. Hydroxycitronellal
12. Hydroxymethylpentylcyclohexenecarboxaldehyde
13. Isoeugenol
14. Anisyl alcohol
15. Benzyl benzoate
16. Benzyl cinnamate
17. Citronellol
18. Farnesol
19. Hexylcinnamaldehyde
20. Lilial
21. d-Limonene
22. Linalool
23. Methyl heptine carbonate
24. g-Methylionone

If you happen to be allergic to one of these ingredients and it is in your product, then you may experience inflammation at the skin surface and below. This isn’t because the ingredient is penetrating the surface, rather it is triggering a chemical response at the surface of your skin.

However, most people are not allergic to the ingredients in fragrances at the levels they are used. So, if the fragrance doesn’t contain an ingredient to which you are sensitive, then there is no proof that it will cause you problems.

Marketing Strategy

It certainly isn’t wrong to tell people that they should buy products that are fragrance free because even if you are not allergic to a particular compound, less exposure to chemicals is better. Sometimes repeated exposure to a compound can cause you to become allergic.

However, the advice for everyone to avoid all fragrances is not based on science. It’s being overly cautious. It’s a bit like when doctors tell pregnant women they shouldn’t drink any alcohol even though there is no proof that drinking a small amount is in any way harmful.

It also seems strangely coincidental that one of the marketing claims for Paula’s Choice products is that they are “100% fragrance free”.

Beauty Brains bottom line

While many people are allergic to fragrance ingredients and would do well to avoid products with fragrances in them, there is no reason that everyone should avoid fragranced products. Fragrances make the product experience more enjoyable and if they don’t bother your skin, feel free to keep using them.

Are you allergic or sensitive to fragrances? How do you feel about them in your beauty products? Leave a message and tell us what you think.

Neveen needs to know…I know a girl who wears exactly my same perfume (actually my body spray).  You can tell she’s been there from how the place smells afterwards. So why doesn’t my perfume last long enough to be in my own room? Is there some sort of “way” to apply body spray or is it just skin types?

The Right Brain responds:

As Jami and EKD45 pointed out in our Forum, there could be several answers to your puzzling perfume question.

The dose does it

From your question, the problem could be simply a difference in fragrance intensity.  If that’s the case, it could be the dose. If she’s applying a lot more it’s logical that there will be more residue when she leaves the room.

Concentrate on concentration

The type of fragrance is also important. Many brands make a “body spray” scent that’s a diluted version of the pure perfume. So two people could both be wearing Marc Jacobs Daisy but if one is wearing the perfume and other the body spray or cologne, you could smell could different.

Olfactory oddness

Fragrances are notoriously unstable over time – especially if they are exposed to light or heat. If you just bought a new bottle of Vera Wang Princess and she’s just spritzed some on from a bottle that was in the trunk of her car all summer, you might not smell the same.

Site of the scent

Just like in real estate, location matters for fragrance. If you apply a scent to your pulse points, and other warm parts of your body, the fragrance will volatilize faster and smell stronger.  Perfume that’s applied to cooler areas, like your hair or your sweater, may smell a little weaker.

Befuddling body odor

As Jamie said in the Forum your personal body chemistry could be a fragrance factor as well. Although we’ve never seen any specific research proving this, it does make sense that your body chemistry can affect fragrance. We see that effect all the time in formulating – the same fragrance oil will bloom differently in different bases. That’s because the chemicals in a shampoo or a skin lotion interact with the chemicals in the fragrance making the scent change, sometimes dramatically. In theory, the same mechanism could be happening on your skin.

What do YOU think? Have you noticed that perfumes changes on different people? Do you have a favorite fragrance that you can’t wear because it doesn’t smell right on you? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Mid Brain reports:

In one of the oddest stories I’ve heard in a while, Kate Moss admitted that she thinks gasoline is one of the best scents in the world. According to the report I read at CosmeticsDesign.com (which I have to assume is partially tongue in cheek)  she is considering creating a gasoline-inspired perfume. This started me wondering what perfumes would cost if we bought them like we do gasoline – by the gallon!

Velvet Hour by Kate Moss

Description: With her new fragrance, Kate invites you to be part of her Velvet Hour, a brief, precious moment as dusk settles, when the air is electrified with possibility.  It is all about entering an intimate, almost ritualistic moment of intense sensuality and seduction.

Cost per ounce of fragrance = $40/ounce

Cost if it was a gallon of gasoline = $5,120/gallon

Angel by Thierry Mugler

Description: Evokes the emotion of tender childhood memories together with a sense of dreamlike infinity. (But then again, don’t we all?)

Cost per ounce of fragrance = $90/ounce

Cost if it was a gallon of gasoline = $11,530/gallon

No. 1 by Clive Christian

Description: Does it really matter?

Cost per ounce of fragrance = $2,150/ounce

Cost if it was a gallon of gasoline = $275,200/gallon

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Hmmmm, I think it’ll be cheaper to build the world’s first hydrogen powered car rather than use perfume as gasoline!

What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a bottle of perfume? Leave a comment and embarrass yourself in front of the rest of the Beauty Brains community.