Courtesy of International Fragrance Association of North AmericaAnne-Marie Guarnieri, Allure magazine
If you've got a spare 17 minutes this weekend, pop over to YouTube and watch The Story of Fragrances, a short and sweet documentary from the good folks at the International Fragrance Association of North America (IFRANA). It's a fascinating look at how the scents in our perfumes, cosmetics, and body products get made. And this isn't just for fragrance lovers: It's a compelling bit of background for anyone who uses products or smells them on other people. In other words, everyone.
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"Consumers probably don't even realize how much of an interchange they have with fragrances on a regular basis," says Jennifer Abril, IFRANA president. And according to perfumer Mark Banwer, we probably use fragrances 10 or 12 times a day. I mean, I just did a quick inventory and so far I've used soap, conditioner, hair oil, eye cream, sunscreen, face oil, body lotion, deodorant, perfume, hand soap, hand cream, and cuticle oil. I'm already at 12 and the day's not even over yet.
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You may also be fascinated to learn that the people who create the perfumes we buy at the fragrance counter are often the same people who cook up scents for laundry detergent. Take perfumer Sophia Grojsman. Not only has she made fragrances like Lancôme Trésor, Calvin Klein Eternity, and Yves Saint Laurent Paris, she also invented the scent for Downy. "When it first came out, I could smell it in the streets, and especially the subway. I could smell it on some women and I said to myself, 'Boy, am I proud of myself,'" Grojsman once told me. "I am still very proud of it because everybody does laundry. I did that scent for people who can't afford anything else."
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And what do you know? It also happens to be scent number 13 for me today.
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