An important part of being a minimalist is realizing what you can do without. It’s a continual process of discovering One Less Thing that—despite what peers, advertisements, or societal norms tell you—you just don’t need.
Several years ago, I discovered One Less Thing I could do without: perfume.
As a young girl, I associated those fancy glass bottles of fragrance with glamour, sophistication, and femininity—and was thrilled to receive my first one (the lemon-y Jean Naté—oh, the nostalgia!) as a birthday gift in junior high. I graduated onto the hipper Calvin Klein Eternity in high school, had a brief fling with Le De Givenchy during an Audrey Hepburn phase, and spritzed daily with Chanel Allure as an adult. (Yes, I’m girly like that.)
A perfume bottle was a standard fixture on my bathroom counter—that is, until I started learning more about what was inside.
You see, I’d always assumed perfumes were made of pretty things like flowers, sunshine, and rainbows. ;-) I’d never stopped to question exactly what was in the stuff I was spraying on my body. As naïve as it sounds, it came as a surprise to me that I was dousing myself with synthetic chemicals on a daily basis.
As it turns out, perfumes are full of potential hazards—and current laws don’t require companies to disclose them. Neurotoxins, hormone-disrupting chemicals called phthalates, and harmful synthetic musks are common ingredients. But because companies can claim fragrance as trade secrets, you won’t find them listed on the label. Worse yet, very few of the thousands of ingredients used in perfumes have been tested for human safety; their effects on the skin, the brain, the respiratory system, and other organs are simply unknown. (To learn more, visit The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.)
Well, that knowledge was enough to make me drop perfume (and other fragranced products, from shower gel to body lotion) from my beauty routine. To me, smelling like a rose was hardly worth the health risks.
Furthermore, I became concerned about the environmental impacts of perfume production and distribution. Ninety-five percent of the chemicals used in fragrances are petroleum-based compounds, and the manufacture of both the perfumes and their bottles consume a great deal of energy. Not to mention shipping them to shops and department stores around the globe!
It may seem a trivial topic, but fragrance is a multi-billion dollar industry. Walk down any high street in Europe, or into any mall in America, and you’ll see shelves piled high with designer potions; open up any magazine, or turn on any TV channel, and you’ll likely see an ad for the latest celebrity-endorsed scent. And it’s not just a female thing; men’s cologne commands a significant share of the market.
Yet, ironically enough, although such perfumes promise to make us more attractive to the opposite sex, research shows that our natural scents are more appealing.
So as a minsumer, I have to question: do we really want to waste our precious resources, our precious dollars—and possibly our precious health—on something we really don’t need?
For me, giving up perfume is a joyful act of consumer disobedience. It’s also an opportunity to have One Less Thing to purchase, to own, to clutter up my countertop, to affect my health, and to poison our environment. I now get my fragrance fix the old-fashioned way: enjoying the smell of rain, grass, fruit, flowers, and freshly-baked sweets, among other (natural) things.
I’d love to know your thoughts on the topic, and plan to share more of my One Less Things with you in the future.
I’ve been thinking about the chemicals in perfume for a while now. I have less than half a bottle of my current bottle left and once it’s gone, it’s gone. I won’t be buying anymore.
It’s a gradual process for me, slowly reducing or eliminating ‘stuff’
I have never worn perfume, as it gives me allergies. Sitting next to someone on the train who is wearing it will make me really itchy. If someone sprays it near me, I will start sneezing. I always wanted to be someone who wore perfume, and have a signature scent. All the elegant ladies I knew wore perfume.
I am over the desire (maybe it was influenced by advertising) to wear perfume now. I also learnt what was in it and don’t want it anywhere near me. (OK, the whole sneezing/itching thing was a deterrent too.)
I am joyfully perfume free. One less thing to buy, store and one less task in my morning routine.
But how to cope with people who use excessive amounts of it. (It sometimes seems to be sprayed on so thickly, not only can you smell it, you get the chemical taste of it too – or is it that just me?)
OH, this is a subject that really gets me going!! I have a very acute sense of smell. I pitched my perfume 15 years ago when I discovered I had horrible allergies to scents. I sneeze uncontrollably, runny nose, eyes watering and immediate headache (and I mean IMMEDIATE!) happen the second I smell a synthetic/chemical smell as well as natural/environmental smells (like, unfortunately, lilacs which I LOVE!). I *can* handle the smell of a small bit of lavender essential oil (and only certain brands of that as they are not all equal!!) so occasionally when I want to feel a little more “dressed up” or girly I put a little of that on. I buy unscented lotion and sometimes put a few drops of the lavender essential oil in the bottle but not enough to overpower.
My husband and I have always agreed that people’s natural smell is the best. Organic is best…but society and manufacturers have convinced us that “clean” smells like chemicals. If we want our bodies to be clean we need scented soap, shampoo, lotion, gel, hairspray, deoderant, perfume, and laundry soap. THEN we will smell “CLEAN”. It enrages me.
I rarely wear deoderant (even when I exercise – although to be fair I am not a profuse sweat-er) and I know that I DO NOT smell. When the subject of deoderant comes up, people are always surprised to find out that I haven’t worn it in almost 15 years except for the occasional time – and even then only brands like Tom’s or Burt’s Bees or the Rock deoderant. My buddies in my running group and biking group are astounded when they find out that I don’t wear deoderant and they’ve run with me and hung out for coffee afterward with me and had no idea. In other words, when you smell “organic” it is not offensive. If there is an intrinsic problem with a person and body odor, then there is an organic problem with that person and it should be looked into….but from the inside, not by showering constantly and covering up with perfume and other chemicals.
Which opens up yet another subject that is a sore subject with me: that our bodies are not really meant to be showered and “dried out” with all these soaps and chemicals EVERY DAY. We are told that we aren’t clean unless we shower every day and wash our hair every day. So most of us do and then we have to replenish what we are losing in these daily showers by adding lotions and drinking lots of water (always a good thing to drink water but we need even MORE because we are drying ourselves out in the shower!), taking flaxseed to help with dry skin, and sometimes getting medications because we’ve developed dry skin conditions.
It’s a never-ending cycle with these manufacturers……we have the ones selling us all the “clean” products, and then the pharmaceudical companies selling us prescription remedies for the problems we have caused ourselves by buying all these “clean” chemicals. Sudafed and Benedryl for runny noses because of the chemicals, Advil and Tylenol because of the headaches from chemicals, and “severe dry skin” lotions and prescription lotions.
Don’t get me started on the amount people spend on “clean” products for the home that are SO TOXIC for us to smell or be around!
OK…..off my soapbox. Thanks for listening! :-)
Kylee, NO it’s not just you. I can taste it, too! My friends think I’m nuts and I think THEY are nuts for wearing the stuff (and sinking all that money into it)!
Kylee, I know what you mean about the taste. Yuk!
Sarah, you are so right about manufacturers selling us “clean” products, then selling us lotions and drugs to handle the problems created by those products. The constant circle of “buy this to fix that” is sickening. Thanks for reminding us, Francine, to step off the treadmill.
Great post! We’ve had similar issues with perfumed deodorant. It’s the same, really – people are dowsing themselves with chemicals, even more so with the ‘newly found’ anti-perspirants, which are made of aluminum salts.
My wife found a great recipe for making your own deodorant by using only coconut oil (coconut fat, really – since it’s solid in our climate), baking soda and cornstarch. This has no smell whatsoever, but since we’re used to something ‘smelling pretty’, she usually adds two or three drops of tea tree oil.
It works like a charm. At first I was skeptical about it, thinking it’d only work with fragile, little girls who didn’t sweat, but hey… if it works for me, it should work for everyone!
Greetings from the Netherlands :)
I worked in the Fragrance and Makeup industry for 13 years! I worked in Marketing as a Product Manager and in the Field as a Sales Rep. I used to have so many fragrances in my life! Its staggering to work a budget and see how much money goes into getting the “consumer”. It was interesting to see that the cost of the Advertising & Promotion is included in the trade cost of the item… usually around 20%.
I am so over women’s magazines, as all I see is the complete lack of editorial integrity. A “story” on a brand or their “face” (supermodel, muse) usually means that there is a launch coming. So I guess unintentionally I gave them up! Save $20 a month.
However, big thanks to Miss Minimalist as it had never even occurred to me to reconsider my fragrance habit.
I do like to add something when I am getting dressed, perhaps an essential oil would be a good option! hmmmmm
If you want a nice scent without the chemicals, essential oils are great.
I used to wear colognes when I was younger but I haven’t used any for I think the past 10 years because it was one way to save money. Actually strong fragrances make me sneeze so I could only wear selected fragrances before.
Of course Perfumes are made from fossil oil, as are most medication (yay for synthetic aspirin), packaging and a whole slew of other stuff, but still the entirety of the chemical industry accounts for only 15% of all oil usage. The rest goes into energy production (cars or electricity). Thought this might be an interesting fact.
Kylee, I am also allergic to perfumes. I get huge headaches in perfume stores and minor ones from people who apply a lot and they last for many many hours too. Some perfumes are better than others (I had to tell an intern once that she had to switch her perfume because she gave me headaches. That was so embarrassing, because perfume was a big part of her identity).
Perfume is definately a good place to start with the minimalizing. Now that I think about it, slowly eliminating one category of objects after another that I knew I could live without was a huge part of my own paring down process. I think that purses were the first to go. I am a big fan of natural scents. Aka the way people actually smell. I don’t mind the way my friends smell, even when they are stinky, and I have always assumed that this meant that our connection was a good one on some sort of biological as well as the emotional. Sometimes when I’m cutting up a lemon or orange I’ll rub a little bit of the skin on my wrists for a nice scent.
*Oops forgot the word “level” after “biological” up there.
I had never even considered that the ingredients in perfumes could be hazardous to your health. I guess that explains why I always felt ill walking through the perfume departments.
So that means that giving perfume might not be the best gift to give a lady after all.
I’m not a perfume gal. Walking through that department causes headaches and a bloody nose, so I guess I’m sensitive to the smells.
I try not to use anything on my body that contains a scent that is not from an essential oil My soap and shampoo bar are made by a local family: http://www.goatmilkstuff.com The owner is careful to say whether the scent is from essential oils or fragrance oils. I love that about them.
I am with you on all of these points! I haven’t bought a bottle of perfume in almost a decade. It took me so long to use up my last bottle because I gradually stopped wearing it. When I did finish it I didn’t replace it because it was an unnecessary expense. In Australia with our harsh sun exposure, if you put the perfume in a sun-exposed place it can lead to pigmentation which I’ve seen on older women. As I’ve got a little older I’ve become so much more sensitive to strong perfumes making me sneeze that I have to cover my nose or stop breathing when someone wafts by. But I must admit I still love the concept of femininity and a signature scent, but I just don’t practice it. Perhaps I will end up using an essential oil one day – but I do wonder if they would stain my many white shirts??
I’m glad you posted this. I have tried to explain this to my friends whilst they spray perfume about 10 times over and spin around through it, but they usually say something along the lines of “Oh I’ll die anyway!” I think that is an excuse one gives when they do not feel like changing their ways, and that is okay too. But it is important to bring up these things to be critical of what marketers try to instill into us, and what noxious chemicals perfume seeps into our bodies. When I was younger I always used perfume even though in the back of my mind I thought it was too overwhelming. In class I would notice how perfume and cologne rampant people would walk by me, followed 2 seconds later by a dizzying smell of alcohol mixed with flowers etc. Yet I still wore perfume! I’m glad to be more aware now of the chemicals in perfume, as well as more critical of what I accept as a part of my routine. Thanks!
Great post! I have allergies and while I love scent, perfumes have always bothered me – hard to ride in elevators w/o sneezing, etc.. I have no problem with the ‘scented’ Dr. Bronner’s soaps, which are a great way to get a big dose of scent in the tub or shower – I love the eucalyptus and the peppermint. I do use essential oils on my wrists & neck sometimes – rose, patchouli, lavender, with no problems. There is research on lavender as an estrogen-like compound – so be careful with soaking in it over & over, or using a combo of products, like lavender soap & lotion. I assume this is true with any distilled, concentrated thing we put on our skin – caution is the way to go. And if you’re in the mood to Google things, Miss M. is totally right that we prefer the smells of our significant others – there’s a paper about having people sniff t-shirt worn by loved ones and strangers, and while we’re not exactly basset hounds, it’s amazing how we can pick out a shirt worn weeks ago by our spouse. And for anyone who loves perfumes, I have one request – just don’t wear it to hot yoga, please! That scent cloud is deadly ;-)
Yeah, I also gave up perfume as one of the many things I could do without when I gave up big city living for small town life over a decade ago. I was so fed up with having my nose continually assaulted with horrible chemical smells masquerading as perfume. And the men are as bad as the women! One thing though, I dont wear perfume but I get so fed up with the smells added to everyday cleaning things. I use a very good lavatory cleaner, it works and is not tested on animals but the makers have added a disgusting smell to it. Why, ohy why? Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?!
I love using essential oil fragrances. All natural and the scents are lighter and mingle far better with our natural scents/hormones/pheremones. I’ve gotten to the point where a 5$ roll-on essential oil and salt crystal deoderant is all I need. Way less expensive, no toxins, and plenty of lovely compliments once you find the right oil for you. And now when I’m around anyone (male or female) using synthetic perfume/cologne the cloud just about knocks me over! Great post and couldn’t agree more!
Great post! I agree completely–why risk your health to smell like a rose? In junior high I wore perfume that I received as a gift, but when it ran out I didn’t want to waste my own money on something unnecessary. Later, when I learned about the chemicals in beauty products, I started choosing more carefully. GoodGuide.com and CosmeticsDatabase.com have been helpful as I search for the most human- and environmentally-friendly products. So far, making my own has turned out to be the safest.
Thanks, Miss Minimalist!
Wow!! I thought that I was the only person who felt as this blogger. Also because my skin reacts to most fragrances anyway, I have let my friends know that I am difficult to buy perfumes that are suitable for me. I do appreciate essential oils like lavender and oil of orange.
I can’t wait until the day when the fact that perfumes make people sick is common knowledge. I too get a headache, sneezing and/or difficulty breathing. Just a week ago I had to leave a yoga class early because they were burning a cheap scented candle and it was making me dizzy. Smelly candles are another stupid item I can do without!
I too gave up perfume years ago. I’ve always been one of those people who questioned advertising and just could never see the point in wanting to smell like something humans aren’t naturally supposed to smell like. Also, humans have their own scent which can be quite sexy. I’m not talking about being dirty and not bathing, I’m referring to how we smell when we are natural and of course clean.
I have always been fond of scents. The ladies with the matching bags and shoes, fancy clothes and the perfect scents were a sign of luxury growing up as a child in the mountains. :)
As such, I’ve always been one to burn incense, light the candles, simmer the potpourri and wear the purfume. To save money I would stock up during the Christmas sales for the rest of the year.
I had never seriously considered the possibility that certain scents could make one ill–then one day the kid and I went into this nice department store and we each chose a sample to spray on ourselves and walked away. A gradual tightening started in my chest and I literally could not move my chest to take a breath.
At first I was frightened, but I remembered some musical training as a child and focused on breathing through my stomach. I tried to keep the kid calm while explaining to her in sign language that I could not get enough air in my lungs to talk, all the while focusing on “Annie, don’t panic. Use your diaphragm. Slowly breathe in, push your stomach and let the air out…”
I could still smell the perfume sticking to my poncho and ripped it off of me and tossed it in the back of the van. I opened a window and let the rain soaked air inside. It took a few minutes but eventually I could breathe normally again.
When I took that poncho inside I inhaled the perfume again and my chest tightened. That was when I knew, and since I’ve restricted my perfume use and am now slowly making the switch to essential oils and more natural scents. I never want to experience that terrifying tightness again.
I gave up perfume many years ago because, like several other commenters here, I simply couldn’t handle the side effects of the smell. Not long after I stopped wearing perfume, I realized I couldn’t handle the smell of ANY scent. I ended up eliminating commercial cleaning products, fragrant soaps and shampoos (long live Dr. Bonner’s!) and began making my own laundry detergent.
I never thought of these decisions as being “minimalist,” but indeed they are. I’m glad to see I am in good company.
I haven’t worn perfume in quite some time. When I was younger I had to search hard for a signature scent that didn’t make me wheezy, sneezy or headachy. When I finally settled on one I loved (Victoria’s Secret Her Majesty’s Rose) they stopped making it.
Shortly after that I realized there wasn’t much point in “signature scents” if everything that we use has it’s own fragrance added. With the combination of scents in shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, deodorant, makeup, laundry soap, dryer sheets, etc., who needed perfume, and who would notice the scent you wanted mixed with all the other scents?
Now I’m perfume and fragrance free on pretty much everything, except for stuff that has essential oils in it. one less expense.
Love the post! I’m in the midst of developing a line of soaps for people who are looking for an alternative. I’m using all Fair Trade, organic fats and organic essential oils. It’s been fun to come up with some great alternatives, like green tea with bitter orange. Yummy scents with no icky ingredients.
Perfume is something I cannot personally give up, although I compromise by only using natural, safe perfumes from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. I don’t use a lot, mostly just a dab on each wrist…and I continue to use all unscented body and face products otherwise- no “layering” of lotion, powder, etc…
I couldnt agree more! Myself or my husband dont wear any and havent in over 10 years!
One of my pet peeves actually is going into a restaurant to order a meal and eager to smell the cooking but instead get a huge wiff of fragrance from either the hostess, waitress or another diner. It totally turns me off and I almost ;) cant eat my food! I dont understand why people insist on spraying chemicals on…especially so strongly…and wear it into a place where theres food. It should be banned just like smoking in restaurants in my opinion LOL
(we also suffer from migraines, both my husband and myself and cologne/perfume is a huge trigger so we come from that point of view too) :)
Oh I forgot to add, it is also part of us being minimalists too though… its the same thing with jewelry and make up. I only own a wedding ring (and Im a VERY girly-girl) and only use 3 items for make up. I like simple :)
Years ago, I was having a facial and was told that the red veins popping through were from perfume. I dropped it like a bad habit and never looked back. Great post!
Miss M., I apologize that this is off-topic, but Mark Bittman, writer of “The Minimalist” column for the NY Times has dropped his column, effective yesterday. One of the best column’s Mark wrote was on a no-frills kitchen. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dining/09mini.html?_r=1 In it, he claims to be able to stock a kitchen with equipment for $200 and well stock it for $300. He also points out all of the things that we don’t need.
Mark has transitioned to the Opinion Page to shed light on issues related to the food industry.
I never wore perfume when I was growing up, but several years ago I discovered a company named Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab that creates scented oils using vegan ingredients (mostly). They have the best advertising copy and marketing approach that I’ve ever seen (hello online community!) so I ended up buying scads of the stuff. I’ll probably never buy another bottle, but I don’t think I’ll actively get rid of my bottles either. If anyone here really wants to buy perfume, I’d recommend them–but they’re so good at seduction, it’s probably an awful place to send a minimalist. ;)
I grew up in a family of women who loved their good perfume, and a gift of perfume or cologne was sure to come from one family member or another every holiday. I ended up with quite a collection.
But the scents and their strength started changing about twenty years ago, as I noticed a shift in my responses to them. This would be around the time Safari and Calvin Klein scents came out. Suddenly all perfumes started irritating my nose and throat and gave me headaches. I also couldn’t justify the expense. Flash forward ten years without any perfume at all, even on “special” occasions. I do like scents, but gentle ones, barely there ones. Essential oils would be nice to experiment with again, to see if any work with my skin.
Oh my goodness – I’ve just had a lightbulb moment. When I saw the title of the post I thought that I would disagree with Miss M for the first time ever, as I love the smell of D&G Light Blue and use it every day. HOWEVER…. I’ve just realised that I absolutely cannot smell it on me after the first few seconds, which means that I inflict my scent on other people all day every day but can’t even smell it myself. I too, like many other people above, get horrible perfume headaches from other people and from the cosmetics section of department stores, but never realised that I might be giving headaches to other people. Because Light Blue doesn’t give me a headache I was assuming that I wouldn’t be making anyone else feel bad.
We’ve got a great health food cooperative in Manchester which stocks only safe and ethical personal care products so I might have a look for an alternative for special occasions. Otherwise that’s the end of me and perfume.
I’d already planned to switch to coconut oil as a moisturiser as soon as my current L’Occitane jar is finished. As far as I know, L’Occitane products are relatively ok in the overall scheme of things, but I’m ready to give up everything which is subject to excessive marketing and advertising.
It’s amazing how liberating it is as things slip out of our lives on by one.
I don’t like very strong perfumes on anyone including myself.. but I do admit loving to smell like a chocolate bar! :P
It makes me happy to smell a bit of chocolate around me all day. Surprisingly, it doesn’t make me want cake or candy. Very odd.
You are so correct on the topic of fragrance. I quit using perfumes and scents some years ago, now much of what I smell on other people makes me GAG. I stick with essential oils when I want some fragrance in my life. All of my personal care “products” are from the kitchen: coconut oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, epsom salts, sea salt. I love that these common household items are so versatile (and inexpensive!). The only thing I am still having trouble with is toothpaste — baking soda actually thinned the enamel on my teeth so I am looking for alternatives.
PS. To ElizMc — I read and LOVED Bittman’s column about the no-frills kitchen and have incorporated many of his suggestions into ours.
Try adding sea salt to your baking soda. Sea salt strengthens and remineralizes teeth.
I used perfume for many years and then just gradually gave it up. Had a brief fling with essential oils and then phased them out as well. Can’t stand to wear scent in any form (deoderant, lotions, etc. I am cursed/blessed with a very sensitive nose and it seems to get more sensitive as the years go by. I’ll be especially thrilled when people stop drenching themselves in artificial scent and then going to a restaurant and ruining my meal by parking their smelly selves next to me! It’s absolutely overwhelming!
I’ve always been really allergic to synthetic scents, lots of sneezing and even getting rashes. That being said, I really love natural perfumes. I don’t wear them out because many people I know are hyper sensitive to smell, but I like to put them on in the house. I love Pacifica and their vegan, so even though I’m not (vegetarian) I don’t have to worry about animal ingredients in my scent.
I gave away my perfume just last month, and I haven’t burned candles for at least the last three – I love how you said:
“I now get my fragrance fix the old-fashioned way: enjoying the smell of rain, grass, fruit, flowers, and freshly-baked sweets, among other (natural) things.”
me too! and I appreciate them all so much more now :)
Essential oils are great (love lavendar, wild orange (yum) and rose essence, among others. However, be careful where you put them as they can be very irritating to tender spots. And DON’T get them on your clothes.
Glad to know I’m not the only one with perfume issues! Even perfume scents in magazines annoy me!
I love the idea for this series. It reminds me of the time I decided I don’t need every-day make-up anymore. Ever.
I liked perfume as a kid (still love some of those perfume bottles!), but then realized I prefer food aromas over flower aromas, so I gave it up. (I did keep some decorative bottles around for a while, though, just stopped using the perfume inside.)
Except I still used plenty of things with “fragrance” as an ingredient. A few years ago I developed a mysterious rash. I was told I might have developed an allergy to these perfumes, so I switched to fragrance-free soap, shampoo, conditioner, skin lotion, sunscreen, and laundry detergent. The rash remained, but there’s no turning back for me. Dr. Bronner’s (unscented) liquid soap works as soap and shampoo, and vinegar+water works as hair conditioner. (I recently found some of my old stuff in my travel kit, decided to use it up, saw that it works less well, and am now considering throwing it out even though I hate waste.)
I didn’t even know about all the poisons possible in perfume (except for my headaches).
I just got diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (a form of ezcema related to allergies) and the routine my dermatologist recommended will certainly streamline my bathroom–Free and Clear shampoo (essential oils in Dr. Bronner’s are still irritating), Cetaphil Restoraderm
(a kicked-up version of the regular Cetaphil) Wash and Lotion and a Clarisonic machine. The last one sounds like a frill, except that it gets the dead skin/other residue off gently so it won’t flake into my eyes, for example–which has caused blepharitis there–so I also need to use special eye lid cleanser there.) All other allergy-producing things need to go, including all fragranced items (including flavored lippies!–Hello Vaseline!) I will top it all off with sunblock.
My bedroom is going to undergo an even further minimalization (how low can you go?) to further ease cleaning!
I completely agree with this! I actually mentioned it in my latest blog post. I recently went backpacking for six months, travelling as lightly as I could, so perfume was one of the things I left behind. I didn’t miss it while I was travelling, but when I got back I bought a fresh bottle and regretted it almost immediately! There goes £30 on something I will never use. After my antiperspirant stick runs out I intend to switch over to salt deodorant too!
i wear a natural cologne which is not marketed and has no brand name. it cost 12$ for .33 oz and it last a long time. i only use it when going out at night. it is coconut combined with the frankincense and myrrh. its awesome cause no one else has it. my little secret. don’t tell anyone.
ultracool flipflop guy
I ditched perfume years ago, but I make my own spray using essential oils in filtered water if I want a little scent. My daughters like to hug me because they like to smell the gentle aroma of cinnamon on my neck! Just a hint.
hi francine,
as an esthetician for aveda i have attended many classes on aromatherapy. the majority of perfumes on the mkt today contain fixatives and extenders and they are dangerous chemicals that you do not want to be spraying on your body. don’t you love it when you enter an empty elevator and you still smell the last person that was in there? i use aveda’s singular notes. they are little bottles of jojoba oil with one essential oil added for fragrance. they are divine. anyway 3 drops of patchouli mixed with 3 drops of lavender is what i use for deodorant. it has to be reapplied more often than tradional products but it is worth it.
xo
janet
I dab a tinee winee bit of locally made essential oil on my wrists for a nice scent when I am going out & I always draw a positive comment when I walk in a room as to the soft but lovely scent!
I used to wear perfume all the time. I was heartbroken when I wasn’t working and could no longer afford my favorite scent. Your post has enabled me to look at my perfumelessness (yes, I like making up words)in a different way. Instead of scarcity (I can’t afford it), I can view it as an environmental and healthy choice. Yes, its the same thing – not having any. But for me it’s all about how I can frame something. For me the difference between scarcity and minimalism is all how I look at it. Thank you!
Karen – I like the idea of essential oils and filtered water for a little spray scent. I’ll have to give that a try. It sounds like it would fit my needs … cheap, healthy, environmentally responsible.
There is such a problem with so many people having allergies due to the exposure to so many toxins. It has ruined many an outing because someone dining out or serving is so covered in perfume or cologne that we have to leave the area. I believe there should be a system to fine people that destroy other people breathing space. Seriously, it is sad that so many folks are so inconsiderate of others. It’s not a minority that have problems with perfumes and colognes.
I don’t wear fragrance, either…I have a wayyy sensitive sense of smell, and even the slightest bit can set me off. I also get terrible hayfever and can spend all day at my desk sniffing, and I don’t want to be inhaling perfume for 8 hours!
Interesting… My skin turns just about every perfume and cologne. I found 2 in my life that I can wear. I’m not a heavy user, just once in a while usually when going out. Something I’m now rethinking. Thanks!