Fragrance is a mixture of more than 3,500 chemicals that scent our personal care, cleaning and cosmetic products. Many of these chemicals are linked to health harms, including hormone disruption, allergic contact dermatitis, respiratory irritation and even cancer. Manufacturers are not required to list the individual fragrance ingredients on the product label. Fragrances often contain phthalates, synthetic musks and other chemicals that have been linked to reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and carcinogenicity.
In addition to a combination of scent chemicals, perfumes and colognes also include solvents, stabilizers, UV-absorbers, preservatives and dyes. Perfumes and colognes are often sold at various concentrations, which may not only differ in the amount of perfume oil used but may use different fragrance oil mixtures entirely. For example, Chanel No. 5 comes in EdP, EDT, and the now-discontinued EdC concentrations, which each have their own scent oil compositions (EdP is the original 1921 version, EdT was introduced in the 1950s, and the current EdC is a mixture of different perfume oils).
Scent can be an important part of a person’s personality and appearance. Studies have found a link between scent and memory, as well as an emotional connection to smell. Some people use perfume to help alleviate anxiety and stress or to boost self-confidence.
Until the nineteenth century, most perfumes were composed of natural aromatic oils. Today, perfumes are mostly made from manmade mixtures of fragrant chemicals and essential oils. While most perfumes and colognes are manufactured by companies that specialize in producing them, they often buy fragrance mixtures from a variety of sources. The odorant chemicals in these mixtures can be derived from both petroleum and natural raw materials.
A perfume’s aroma is primarily determined by the blend of fragrance oils it contains. These can be a mix of natural extracts, such as absolutes, essential oils or tinctures. An absolute is a fragrant material that has been purified from a tincture or pommade by soaking the scented plant material in a chemical such as ethanol to dissolve the non-fragrant molecules without dissolving the fragrance-containing compounds.
Compared to natural scents, perfumes that contain synthetics are often cheaper to produce. However, the cost of natural oils can vary widely depending on when and where they are harvested as well as how they are processed. The process of synthesis can make some synthetic fragrances less expensive than their natural counterparts, but others can be significantly more costly due to long synthesis routes and the high demand for precursor chemicals. The odor threshold of many fragrance chemicals is very low, so they need to be heavily diluted when used in perfumes. This is one of the reasons why perfumes can cost as much as $90 a bottle or more. It is also why many consumers prefer the simplicity and safety of organic, natural-oil-based perfumes. Many people also enjoy the option of blending their own perfumes, which can be a fun way to tailor the scent to a particular occasion or mood.