Fragrance is the mix of more than 3,500 chemicals that gives perfume, cologne and other personal care and cleaning products their scent. Manufacturers aren’t required to list fragrance ingredients on the product label, and some can trigger a variety of health problems.
The fragrance that triggered a revolution in marketing: Its sleek black bottle, jet-black hair and red lips evoked Picasso’s daughter, who starred in its debut ads. The first perfume to introduce the sheer floral category, Pleasures was inducted into the Fragrance Foundation Hall of Fame in 2021 and became one of the most recognizable celebrity scents.
It was the first fine fragrance to use the synthetic chemical dihydromyrcenol (or linalool) and used the Elsa Peretti-designed flacon as a sales powerhouse. It also introduced the concept of a “face” to fragrance, with Halston starring in its debut ads.
A fragrant solution containing 10-25 percent perfume concentrate, it was the precursor to aftershave lotions and splash colognes. It was named after a village in Turkey where rare black roses grow. The fragrance is infused with the woody odour of the plant vetiver, or khus khus, and the herbaceous odour of oak moss. The fragrance was a hit from the start, with a bottle sold every 30 seconds in 2020, according to market research firm NPD.