But traditional ingredients like oakmoss still tied perfumery to its ancient past. Now that this link is being severed, the challenge for the industry is to use technology to replace what’s been lost—by developing new ingredients, both natural and synthetic, and using precise software-controlled machines to find new combinations that capture old essences. But with more ingredients getting restricted every year, the hunt for replacements has grown more complex, and perfumery is in danger of losing the scent.
— From Engineering Replacements for Essential Perfume Ingredients, a long consideration of the effect of IFRA regulations on modern perfumery, over at Wired.
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I agree about prohibiting only on the substances that causes a significant damage to health, such as a cancer. Anything can act as an allergen (our own body can act as an allergen to itself- self-imune diseases) and then in the future it’ll only remain few substances to be used at perfumery. What will happen to the star-anise of my LL Au Masculin???
I think every perfumista agrees…but too late, this has basically already happened.
This is an excellent read. How interesting that it is in “Wired” magazine.
I thought that was interesting too!
Amusing typo:
Man, Manufacturer of the ersatz oakmoss and a host of other perfuming ingredients, makes its home in a steep wooded valley near the village of Le Bar-sur-Loup, where its compound of utilitarian modernist buildings exudes a sometimes confusing array of smells into the country air.
Seriously, though, fascinating (if depressing) article. Thanks for sharing; I never would have thought to seek out perfume-related content in Wired.
That was a good read. I do agree that most people today just want something pleasant yet forgettable.
Why just not put warning labels on it? There are warning labels on cigarettes, yet those are worse for a person and much more cancerous than an rose oil and oakmoss perfume. Down with the IFRA!
I think we need to come up with some good labels ourselves, such as, “Warning: this perfume will have strangers sniffing your neck”.