Fragrance is the smelly, elusive elixir that gives personal care, cleaning and other products their scent. The International Fragrance Association says fragrances contain more than 3,500 chemicals. Some are toxic and can cause a range of health problems. The FDA regulates cosmetics, including perfumes. But the substances used in fragrance mixtures don’t have to pass through FDA review. Manufacturers also aren’t required to list fragrance ingredients on product labels.
The art of frgrance has been around for centuries. It started in Europe during the Renaissance, when towns like Grasse were stench-filled cesspools where leather workers would cover their bodies with scent to avoid offending the noses of their wealthy customers.
The eighteenth century saw a boom in perfumery, with scent becoming an expression of status. The court of Louis XV, who reigned from 1715 to 1774, was known as “La Cour Parfumee,” and the aristocracy wore a different fragrance each day of the week. Perfumers even marketed their wares by class. A perfumer named Jean-Louis Fargeon suggested that the upper classes wear his eau de toilette while the lower classes would opt for his eau de cologne. Fargeon’s perfumes weren’t cheap. He hoped that the middle and upper classes would buy into his brand, which he called “the high-class smell.” His swank scents worked: he became the world’s leading perfumer.