A little over 2 1/2 years ago I started this blog. Within a short while I came across a 2007 article on the death of Mitsouko, which was written by Elena of Perfume Shrine. The gist of that article was that Guerlain, which had been acquired by giant conglomerate LVMH, was changing the ingredients in an important milestone fragrance. I did more research, and heard the growing rumblings about suddenly restricted substances, and a word I’d never heard before: reformulation.
(Let’s shorten this to "refo", shall we? Pronounced reef-oh. It can be a noun -- “a refo,” -- or a verb “I think this perfume has been refo’ed.” Rhymes with “repo,” as in “repossessed”: for example, “Goddamnit, the car just done got repo’ed!”)
So the fragrance industry began, very magmaniously, to regulate itself, with self-directed (and self-financed) research groups with initials like RIFM, and the most dreaded of all, the IFRA. How wonderful, that they’d look out for the health of their treasured customers like that! Well, of course, expensive, uncertain, naturally sourced ingredients were suddenly found to have all kinds of terrible side effects, and needed to be replaced by synthetic duplications. Who could have known that that these synthetic molecules would be patentable and profitable?
More and more classic perfumes were remade in a way that rendered them just about unrecognizable. Shelves filled with refo’ed Frankenfumes replaced them. Mass-market and mainstream fragrances began to smell and look very similar -- a little synthetic "white" musk, same as in your favorite laundry detergent, fruit salad, a celebrity’s name. Prices of vintage perfumes on auction sites began to go up -- and up, and up. Bloggers and forum posters began to exclaim in horror over the gutting of the legends -- many LVMH-owned now -- like Shalimar, Joy, Opium, the Diors. Lists of suspected refos sprang up on perfume forums. Still, more and more suspect ingredients were added to the IFRA's no-no list, until ridiculousness was fully achieved.
Here in the perfume blogosphere, we smelled a rat. There are ingredients on this list that I’ve used all my life, that have been used throughout history in perfumery and sometimes food or medicine; I’m still here, and as far as I know, no one has ever died of lemon balm poisoning.
I suspect that the mainstream perfume industry didn’t know that the perfume blogosphere existed (and some still don’t). No one expected an outcry, since a typical perfume customer, who has a “signature scent” and replaces the bottle when empty, wouldn’t notice any difference.
But the bread-and-butter customers are starting to notice. In casual conversation, I’ve been asked several times over the last few months why a signature scent doesn’t smell the same and doesn’t last as long. It’s probably a refo, I say, and tell them what a refo is.
They get mad. To make and bottle one substance while keeping the name and packaging of the much better original one is, as one friend fumed, deceptive.
I don’t think a handful of passionate perfume fans are going to change LVMH much. However, an alternative is springing up: the artisanal perfumer.
I often compare the perfume industry to the music industry, as I am a veteran of the latter business and see the former one on a trajectory eerily similar at times. Those of you who can remember the 70’s can also remember the bloated, gimmicky music that characterized the middle years of that decade: Journey, Boston, Bad Company, Peter Frampton -- the sales figures on “Frampton Comes Alive” alone prove beyond any doubt that we were all on drugs -- but I digress.
The music industry kept pumping out this Corporate Rock, and then out of nowhere, appeared back-to-three-chords-with-attitude bands like the Ramones, and punk, which blew it all away. Within five years, punk and its descendants ruled, and corporate rock was a joke.
The world is different now, and of course music news travels faster than perfume trends, but I hear echoes. There are a handful of people, almost all of them women, mostly self-taught, producing these elixirs in small studios, and promoting them on the web. The fragrances are different too: not sneeze-inducing, elevator-clearing synthetic Frankenfumes, but gentler, closer to the skin, more complex, more modulated.
This event is called “Outlaw Perfumes” because the perfumers have all, rather gleefully I imagine, used natural ingredients that have suddenly popped up on the IRFA’s no-no list.* Hence, outlaws. Outlaw essences, outlaw perfumers; well, I’m pretty typical in this respect I think: after all, who doesn’t love an outlaw?
Details:
"*" You just knew there would be an asterisk, right? Well, the fact is that some of these essences may be photosensitizing, so don't wear them on skin in the sun. Spraying on clothing and/or hair is fine, and even better, makes the fragrances last longer. (See the Appendix for the full proposed no-no list.)
"*" You just knew there would be an asterisk, right? Well, the fact is that some of these essences may be photosensitizing, so don't wear them on skin in the sun. Spraying on clothing and/or hair is fine, and even better, makes the fragrances last longer. (See the Appendix for the full proposed no-no list.)
Each blogger gets a full bottle of one of these artisanal perfumes to give away to a lucky commenter after the conclusion of the group blogging session -- leave a comment and you'll be entered.
I plan to post reviews of 2 perfumes, additional information and related thoughts per day, and so will need to post every day to finish by the 21st. Will I make it? Tune in and see!
The lovely, gracious and diligent other Outlaw Bloggers are:
Perfume Shrine
Thanks to Anya McCoy and Elena Vosnaki for setting all this up!
Appendix: This is a list of oils and absolutes which will be affected by the proposed IFRA Code of Practice.
Thanks to Anya McCoy and Elena Vosnaki for setting all this up!
Appendix: This is a list of oils and absolutes which will be affected by the proposed IFRA Code of Practice.
Essential Oils and Absolutes Restricted or Prohibited by the proposed IFRA Code of Practice (CoP):
Listed on the following pages are the essential oils and absolutes that are affected by IFRA, either because they are listed directly, or because they contain listed chemicals. Including essential oils prone to oxidation, there are some 200 materials impacted by the IFRA Code of Practice. This list has been drawn up to highlight the extensive repercussions of the guidelines, not to suggest that none of the listed oils should be in any way restricted.*
Ambrette seed oil
Angelica root oil
Bakul absolute
Basil absolute
Basil oil (estragole CT)
Basil oil (holy)
Basil oil (linalool CT)
Bay oil (West Indian)
Bergamot leaf oil
Bergamot peel oil (distilled)
Betel leaf oil
Birch tar oil
Black tea tree oil
Boldo leaf oil
Broom absolute
Cabreuva oil
Cade oil
Calamus oil
Cananga oil
Cangerana oil
Cardamon oil
Carnation absolute
Carrot seed oil
Cascarilla oil
Cassia oil
Cassie absolute
Cinnamon bark oil
Cinnamon leaf oil
Cistus oil
Citronella oil
Clary sage oil
Clove oil
Costus oil
Cumin oil
Davana oil
Elecampane oil
Elemi oil
Fenugreek oil
Fig leaf absolute
Galangal oil
Geranium oil
Ginger oil
Ginger lily absolute
Grapefruit peel oil
Ho leaf oil
Honey myrtle oil
Horseradish oil
Horsemint oil
Huon pine oil
Hyssop oil
Jasmine grandiflorum absolute
Jasmine sambac absolute
Karo karoundé absolute
Laurel leaf oil
Lemon balm oil (Australian)
Lemongrass oil
Lemon basil oil
Lemon leaf oil
Lemon myrtle oil
Lemon tea tree oil
Lemon peel oils
Lemon thyme oil
Lemon verbena oil
Lemon verbena absolute
Lime peel oil (expressed)
Lovage leaf oil
Mace oil
Mandarin leaf oil
Marjoram oil (sweet)
Massoia bark oil
May chang oil
Melissa oil
Mustard oil
Myrtle oil
Narcissus absolute
Nasturtium absolute
Nutmeg oil
Oakmoss absolute
Opoponax oil
Orange blossom oil
Orange blossom absolute
Orange leaf oil
Orange peel oil (bitter)
Orange peel oil (sweet)
Oregano oil
Palmarosa oil
Peppermint oil
Perilla oil
Peru balsam oil
Phoebe oil
Pimento berry oil
Pimento leaf oil
Pteronia oil
Rose absolute
Rose oil
Rue oil
Sandalwood oil (Australian)
Santolina oil
Sassafras oil
Savin oil
Savory oil (winter)
Snakeroot oil
Spearmint oil
Spike lavender oil
Styrax oil
Sugandha oil
Taget oil
Taget absolute
Tarragon oil
Tea leaf absolute
Tejpat oil
Thyme oil (thymol CT)
Tolu balsam extract
Treemoss absolute
Tuberose absolute
Vassoura oil
Violet leaf absolute
Wormseed oil
Ylang‐ylang absolute
Ylang‐ylang oils
Essential oils containing “substantial amounts” of limonene or linalool should have antioxidants added to them. IFRA does not define “substantial amounts”, but adding essential oils containing 20% or more of either or both constituents to this list would grow it by 50‐60 further essential oils. Essential oils derived from the Pinacea family should also have antioxidants added to them. This would include a further 25 or so essential oils
