Fragrance (or perfume, scent and redolence) is a mixture of more than 3,500 chemicals that gives personal care, cleaning and other products their distinctive smell. Many of these chemicals have been linked to health problems, including cancer, reproductive toxicity, allergies and sensitivities. Fragrance ingredients are regulated by the FDA, but companies are not required to name them on product labels.
Fragrances are a combination of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. Until the nineteenth century perfumes were mostly composed of natural aromatic oils, but today the majority of perfumes are made from synthetic mixtures. The US Food and Drug Administration does not regulate perfumes or colognes, but it does regulate personal care products containing fragrance ingredients. These are called scented cosmetics and include lipstick, body lotion and deodorant.
Many people confuse the words aroma, perfume and scent, but these have distinct meanings. The word aroma refers to the odors of flowers or other growing things. Perfume is a concentrated blend of scent chemicals. Scent, which is more neutral in connotation, is the more general word used in everyday speech to describe a pleasant or unpleasant odor.
When you wear a scent, your skin and hair absorb it through tiny pores called olfactory receptors. The scent molecules move through your skin to reach the brain, which then interprets them as a particular aroma. Scent is associated with memory, emotion and mood, so it can affect your sense of well-being. It is also believed to have a direct effect on your hormone production, so the type of fragrance you wear can affect your mood and emotions throughout the day.
Using perfume and cologne can help reduce stress, depression, anxiety and muscle tension. People who work in high-stress jobs also find that perfume and cologne can improve their performance. There is even a connection between scent and sexual desire.
The olfactory receptors are influenced by both the intensity and the balance of a fragrance. The higher the concentration of a perfume, the stronger and longer-lasting the scent is likely to be. In addition, a perfume’s notes (top, middle and base) have different effects on the olfactory system, so a perfume with more top notes may be perceived as lighter and more refreshing than one with more base notes.
A fragrance’s oil concentration is reflected in the names of its various dilutions: parfum, EdP, EDT and EdC. However, the exact perfume oil composition will vary among manufacturers. For example, a perfume named Chanel No. 5 in EdP, EdT and the now-discontinued EdC concentrations actually contain different perfume oil mixtures.
Fragrance manufacturers use a variety of methods to create perfumes from the ground up, from fragrant extracts (essential oils, tinctures and absolutes) to base notes and other chemical combinations. The resulting products are tested on paper blotters (fr: mouillettes) and then sold to customers. The process of creating a new perfume can take weeks or even months to complete, and it is often tweaked by adding or subtracting various components.