Last week I cut an armload of lilacs to bring in the house. All year I’d been looking forward to the sliver of spring when I could put them in every room of the house. By carefully balancing on my compost bin, I could even snip some of my neighbor’s darker lilacs growing over the fence for a really lush bouquet.
As the lilacs warmed in a vase on my mantle, their fragrance filled the house. I buried my nose in the flowers, breathed deeply, and thought: Glade Plug In. My flowers smelled like a synthetic air freshener! And these were real lilacs! Glade stole my lilacs from me. Now, even lilac-infused Jean Patou Vacances and Frédéric Malle En Passant have lost their appeal.
Robin’s review of The Different Company Pure Virgin, in which she compared the fragrance to detergent, drove it home for me. Industry has co-opted some of the smells we used to love. Now, instead of an industrial product reminding us of nature, nature reminds us of an industrial product.*
In the United States, laundry detergent smells like clean musk. Many people, on opening a box of laundry powder, expect a snoot full of that soapy musk to indicate sudsy cleansing power. As a result, anything with too pure a dose of clean musk smells like Tide laundry detergent to most Americans.
Powder is another fragrance used to make products smell delicate and clean, like a baby. (On the other hand, powder with violet, rose, or iris often smells like cosmetics.) Naturally, the feminine hygiene industry wanted their products associated with this innocent, fresh feeling, so they turned on the floral powder, creating what March at Perfume Posse christened the “Tampax fresh accord.” Since then, some unknowing perfumers have turned out fragrances that remind me of a certain time of the month.
I suspect one of the reasons a lot of people don’t like a dominant rose note in perfume is because they’ve smelled it too many other places not in the garden, so it doesn’t register as special. For instance, I stayed in an upscale chain hotel last fall that pumped rose-scented fragrance through its elevator lobby. Similarly, mint and lemon can smell like cleaning products. Mint evokes mouthwash. And how often have you smelled something lemon and thought Lemon Pledge?
Of course, different cultures probably have different associations with certain notes. I’ve seen banana-flavored toothpaste in French grocery stores. To Americans, to whom cinnamon is as daring as toothpaste gets, banana toothpaste is crazy enough to bring home as a souvenir. I don’t know what French or Japanese or Russian laundry detergent smells like, let alone their baby wipes, sanitary napkins, or furniture polish. Maybe lily of the valley is an industrial trigger in some cultures. Or jasmine.
What can we do to win back our gardens and our perfume? I know it sounds odd for a perfume writer to say, but we can minimize the reach of industry’s scent-stealing tentacles by using unscented products as much as we can. We can save our fragrant indulgences for nature and perfume — perfume we choose. A culture without canned air freshener might be a culture that really enjoys its lilacs.
*I fess up to a snobbery about Glade Plug Ins, despite the “Glah-day” television commercials. I even admit that if lilacs reminded me of Cire Trudon candles I might feel differently.
Note: image is window lilacs [cropped] by Muffet at flickr; some rights reserved.
Really interesting article, Angela. I totally agree about using unscented products. I tend to do this anyway because I don’t want anything to clash with my SOTD!
And it can be to BUY unscented products. I bought some Bic razors today (surely no scent there, right?) and just now was opening the package and lo and behold it says they have “lavender scented handles”! Good grief.
I meant to say “it can be difficult to buy unscented products.”
I knew exactly what you meant!
I do the same thing–as often as possible I buy unscented lotion, deodorant, etc. But, as you say, it can be harder than a person would think! I accidentally bought scented trash bags once. I made a mistake with a (ahem) “monthly” purchase a little while ago, and let me tell you, I’ll never buy that brand again. Disgusting.
Scented trash bags smell so disgusting! Worse than garbage.
And then once that scent mixes with the garbage it’s really awful.
Exactly.
I agree. They’re foul.
Most typical Russian laundry detergent smells like US detergents, cause we use the same Tide and other P&G brands, as well as US&EU shampoos, deos, shower gel… You hardly find the difference in our stores.
Our local brands often use ‘natural’ perfume additives, they call it grandma’s secret. 🙂 Sage, St. John’s wort, soaproot, bellflower, even tar (one of my unexpensive shampoos smells quite like Cuir de Russie 🙂 ).
I like the idea of shampoo that smells like Cuir de Russie! I think many Americans would be suspicious of a leather-scented shampoo, though.
I try and buy unscented products too because, like Jill, and I suspect many others here, we want to smell like our fragrance, not like yucky lotion X smells. (And I completely despise the fact you can’t get unscented shampoo for hair. Most drug store shampoo smells truly chem awful.)
I remember many years ago when I was in college, a student friend from Africa told me that shed always get headaches when she first got to the US because of all the chemical deoderant smells we have. Our poor noses are probably taxed more than we think each day. All I know is the more our air fresheners get close to our fine fragrances, the more I am craving something earthy and simple to combat it. I just put some Nag Champa incense sticks in my car to smell it up. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would eventually crave that smell, I’d thought you were insane. But here we are. No clean musks for me. Give me my stinky, earthy smellies!!
PS – as far as industry vs. nature/fragrance…. my biggest struggle is with what I think of as the “pepsi accord” that shows up in fragrances like Youth Dew, Sikkim, etc. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I have to work hard to get around it.
I didn’t even think about the impact of food–and soda–smells on fragrance! I don’t drink enough Pepsi (none really) for the smell to be lodged in my brain. I wonder if it’s a sweet patchouli-nutmeg thing?
I don’t know, but that famous Russian caravan tea has the same aroma/taste whatever it is. My dad drank a lot of Pepsi when we were growing up, so the smell reminds me of him a bit I think. Either way, it’s ingrained in my smell memories.
Interesting! Russian caravan tea sounds good to me right now too.
The first time I tried Azuree my comment was “cola slurpee spilled on a leather jacket”. Stetson has a Pepsi-ish smell, too. I don’t mind it – it kind of makes me laugh.
Now I’m going to have to get out my bottle of Azuree!
Yes – I forgot about Stetson. Pepsi. I like the smell of it on other people.
If you live near a Whole Foods, they sell their own fairly inexpensive brand of shampoo/conditioner in an unscented version. I was so happy to find it.
Thanks for the tip!
Yes, thanks for the tip. I need to check out some organic or soap making websites. I think maybe I can get it online.
Ann – Saffron Rouge is a great site for organic stuff. No affiliation….
Hi Anns,
have you ever tried samples of products of paula’s choice?
she also has a shampoo and because she samples every product it is a nice way to try
We don’t have as many scented body products as you seem to have. I have never seen scented tampax or sanitary towels anywhere in Holland (or France). Nor is air freshener commonly used.
Fortunately I have never smelled either Glade or Lemon Pledge so my lemon and lilac associations are with the actual fruit/flower.
I use an ecological detergent and ecological cleaning products. So my washing is very lightly scented with lavender.
Olfactory associations are very strong aren’t they. I can’t smell lavender without thinking of the Plateau de Valensole in Provence, where it is grown and harvested.
In my mind, you’re lucky not to have everything in your toiletries cupboard smell like something else.
Your memories of lavender sound so nice! I see lots of lavender-scented cleaning products in chichi stores, but often they smell more like grape juice than lavender.
http://www.sallessurverdon.com/img/aujoura.jpg
That is what I am reminded of whenever I smell lavender! I hope the link works.
I am so glad that we are not so “overscented” here. Isn’t it odd though that a country that has perfume laws/restrictions should be using so much scent in everything else?
Your lavender scented products bring up a gorgeous image! That’s much better than smelling real lavender and thinking of bubble bath.
I’m n Australia and, like you, I don’t think we are so surrounded by scented products. I’ve never known scent to be pumped through hotels. Air freshener is not commonly used, although you can buy it of course. People don’t scent their cars much. Unscented body products – except for shampoo – are getting easier to get.
My pet hate is shampoo. People who say they hate perfume will happily wear strongly scented shampoo (and deodorant). I think that IS the way the ‘I hate perfume’ people wear perfume these days.
I got a free sample of some wonder face cream from Chanel the other day and it smells quite strongly of a fruity scent. Not unpleasant, but not what I want on my face. But again, I think these products satisfy people who won;t wear perfume but like to scented.
A lot of lipsticks are highly perfumed, too. I don’t mind a hint of vanilla, like in MAC, but some of the others are hard to take.
I agree-we dont seem to have the same scented products here, we dont have musk scented washing powder (although I would try it if we did as I quite like musk) I have looked for a lilac scented air freshner to no avail (I think there was one on the supermarket shelves a few years ago). Nothing sanitary has a smell that I can notice with the exception of toilet rolls that can have a slight floral scent. My favorite washing up liquid-no dishwasher sadly- just smells clean. Are we lucky here?
It’s always nice to have choices, but I think you’re lucky!
YES!! 😉
And in rural Australia the only advertising you see for ‘scent’ is for various freshener things…they are certainly trying to sell them!
I think from what I’ve read that this ‘functional’ fragrance is much bigger than the perfume side, and I’m often struck by the irony of a statement such as ‘it smells soapy’ when the manufacturers have appropriated fine fragrance signatures to use in soap!
Its infuriating to a perfume lover like me that a lot of the complaints and “allergies” are coming because of the overuse of aromachemicals in so many everyday items.
I remember feeling quite bemused, even cranky, many years ago when I first smelled scented toilet paper.
Any competition with my Ormonde Woman from industrial products is strictly discouraged! And I certainly don’t want that competition from toilet paper and wet wipes.
Yes-scented toilet paper is just wrong!
I’m with you there on the “I hate perfume” people with their scented products. Herbal Essences hair products are ridiulously strong. Here I was forgoing my favorite fragrance at work only to be choked up by stinky haircare and lotion chemicals in a closed-up meeting room! /rant. lol
Interesting and insightful review! Having grown up with allergies I know how difficult it is to escape our hypersynthetic fragrance world. As an adult, it seems obvious that I don’t want my deodorant to compete with the scent of my perfume!
On the note of toothpaste: I spent some time in Korea and there they have pine needle flavored toothpaste.
I love the idea of pine-needle scented toothpaste!
Sounds great to me! I would definitely try that.
I can’t tell you enough how much I love this post. I’ve spent several years studying Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra, in which representations take the place of the real thing, and I definitely see this occurring with scent associations. I already hear people say that citrus fragrances “smell like Pledge,” and I think that it’s just a matter of time befor people start sniffing real lemons and saying, “Smells like Pledge.”
I’ve got to learn more about Baudrillard–that sounds fascinating. Thanks for bringing it up!
Several years ago, I brought a homemade berry cobbler to a friend’s house, along with some homemade whipped cream – just heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. One of the guests was quite anxious about the “fake Coolwhip” and just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Coolwhip is actually “fake whipped cream.”
Oh, that’s funny! And rather sad.
I must admit: I was stunned, especially since the person in question was rather well educated.
Wow. That’s a first.
Oh boy. We could have a whole other discussion about food and authenticity.
That would be a really fun alternative Lazy Poll!
I’m afraid I’d get on my high horse and never dismount!
That is so funny, but I believe it. Lowfat/fat free Coolwhip is REAL lowfat chemical whip afterall. It still tastes good. But not as good as the real whipping cream. Oh, yummy. Now I want a pastry. A real pastry. I don’t think people know how to taste food anymore either.
I’ve had a few odd looks, too, when I’ve brought a dessert to a dinner party and asked for a beater to whip cream. Most of my friends are hip to real whipped cream, but there are still a few who like the faux whip from a tub.
Well, it’s hard, as loaded down w/fake sweeteners and sodium as they are. Yuck.
Yes, nothing can compare to fresh whipped cream. I even like it with a little less sugar (I’m also a sour cream fanatic). But every now and then I get a craving for the chemical stuff. My sister and I always enjoyed the straight-from-can-to-mouth method of the canned whip. 😀
Real, homemade ice cream from thick cream from happy, pasturing cows is another treat straight from heaven.
Excellent point, Valentine!
Baudrillard was my first thought as well: fragrance in the age of the hyperreal! (Urgh)
I did a little reading on Baudrillard last night–fascinating. You guys are so smart. I learn something new every time I post something, I swear.
I love this post, and I totally agree with you. We have the opportunity to choose unscented in practically everything, and why not do it? Clean should smell like nothing. Clean is the absence of filth. There are more choices now than ever as far as scent-free or sensitive skin detergents and cleaning products. I’m totally on board with this!
We’re definitely lucky to have unscented choices. What’s so surprising is how many things are scented. A person has to make an effort to find the unscented cat litter, even.
Oh, don’t get me started on cat litter! I use the Arm & Hammer, and sometimes my husband buys their scented ones by mistake.
Don’t get me started on cat litter, either. My cat refuses to use the scented stuff, but if I’m in a pinch and have to pick something up at a convenience store, the scented stuff is usually all they have.
Kitties can be so darned particular.
My cat, lovely grumpy old thing, has massive asthma attacks if we have scented cat litter by accident. I like the pine pellets, but I can’t always get them and I hate switching on the poor grumpy old guy.
I must have spent 5 minutes at the pet aisle yesterday at the supermarket trying to find unscented cat litter. I finally did, thank goodness.
If Fresh Step ever stops making their non-dyed, non-perfumed cat litter, there will be trouble with Precious Princess Pookie Bear. Let’s hope that never happens.
I’m guessing that her trouble would fast become your trouble.
Beware of angry cat owners – we can always send the poo of our distressed cats to them if they discontinue. That’s my favorite too.
Princess Pookie Bear!!! I love it!
My cat uses a litter called Cedarific. It comes in a huge bag, costs about 5-6 bucks, and is made from all natural cedar. Aside from the stray whiff of cedar, it’s really very clean and absorbs odor, even if I miss a litter cleaning for a couple of days, I still really can’t smell anything. We just have to remember that our furry companions have so much more sensitive noses than we do; I know many a cat owner who’s feline has gone berserko because of a really awfully-scented litter.
I totally agree as well. I use unscented deodorant, lotion, laundry detergent, and dryer sheets. I absolutely hate those plug-in things – it wouldn’t be so bad if they were subtle or not so chemically smelling but they are overpowering. I do like to have a light lemon fragrance for some cleaning products (dish detergent, general cleaners) since it signifies “clean” to me (but I still like lemon in fragrances, as long as there is something else in there too). I too have the lilac/air freshener thing.
And even though I use mint toothpaste, I still love mint perfumes. I even like mint ginger ale (a Pittsburgh thing, where my mom is from), which most people who we give it to declare it tastes like mouthwash!
Fortunately, it seems like lemon and mint are easy to give a twist to that makes them feel much less like cleaning products. I love Jo Malone’s jasmine and mint and the mint in Cartier Roadster, and the lemon in Shalimar is indispensable, I think.
Mint ginger ale sounds amazing.
There’s something about a plug-in air freshener that is just so wrong. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t even like those wands-in-a-bottle things. I love the smell of wood floor, fresh flowers, coffee from the kitchen, and fresh air. In the evenings, a scented candle is nice, and once in a while I like to burn a nice incense, but that’s it.
I hate plug ins and all other aroma spritzers too. I was at my sister’s house last year (who loves those things, btw). I was sitting near this enormous corner cupboard on top of which she had one of those air misting dispensers. Needless to say, I got a light and gentle spritzing of the freshner she was using and the droplets fell from the sky. Every 15 minutes. I couldn’t figure out what was going on! By the time I did, I was not a happy camper. I was about to whip out my Chanel 19 purse spray and douse her in revenge. But I figured the gesture would be lost on her. People who love those things don’t realize how annoying they really are.
They’re masking the smell of real life, which can smell so good! I realize in some environments it’s handy to have air freshener (I’m thinking of my office, where some of our clients don’t have access to regular showers) but for most of us, the smell of a home richly lived in is delicious.
I’m definitely on the scent-free bandwagon when it comes to personal care products. From soap (unscented glycerin soap from Whole Foods, 1.49 a bar) to unscented skin care (CeraVe facial cleansers and moisturizers are awesome)….and even deodorant (rock crystal). because I absolutely don’t want anything to clash with my SOTD. Finding truly unscented products in the US isn’t as difficult as one might think…but you have to be careful, because sometimes, clever companies add ‘masking fragrances’ or even essential oils, to their ‘unscented’ offerings, in an attempt to cover up the smell of the product’s ingredients.
Do those rock deodorants really work?
Been using them for YEARS. I love ’em because they’re unscented, they don’t leave that gross yellow perspiration stain in my shirts and a single stone will last me well over a year – provided I don’t drop it! The one downside: They’re only deodorants and just stop the stinks….they do nothing to combat perspiration. So if you perspire heavily, they’re of no use.
Not getting a white mark on clothes is a huge draw. I’ll have to check them out.
I like the “liquid rock” ones that come in a roller ball. They work OK for me. Sometimes in the summer when it’s really hot and sweaty, my underarm will get a small rash if I only use rock, or after I shave there. I use both regular unscented deoderant and rock on alternative days. You should check it out – it’s very interesting.
Liquid rock? There are lots of products I don’t know about!
I just switched to the Crystal brand and am pleasantly surprised by how much I like it.
Long story short, almost 3 years ago I lost my right kidney, and my body hasn’t been the same. Nothing worked, and I had the dreaded stinky one under arm thing going on, and I was ruining shirts left and right. I tried many and nothing worked. I finally decided what the heck and a month later and in the crazy Texas weather, no staining, no odor and I will gladly have those with some under arm wetness.
We have already been in the 90’s with very muggy weather and I haven’t had a problem with my underarm area. No rashes or razor bumps.
If the wetness gets to be too much, I will just hop in the pool or stay inside with the AC blaring. 😉
Give it a try, you will only be out a few dollars and even though mine is pomagranit scented, once on, I can’t smell it.
I have to admit I’m curious. I’ll give it a try!
I have the rock “stick”, the liquid rock roll-on, the liquid rock spray… all because over the years, I’ve become allergic to everything else. Annoying though, bc as stated earlier, it does nothing for perspiration. I finally found ONE anti-perspirant I can use, that doesn’t leave stains on clothing (at least, not that I’ve seen yet), AND that is unscented. So of course, it costs nearly $30. I’m using that for the warmer months, then will go back to the “rocks” in the fall.
Where I live, on the Gulf Coast, aka “Hell on Earth”, it is the antiperspirant function that it needed the most. I don’t seem to get really smelly, but I can’t stand the sticky feeling I get if I forget to use antiperspirant. Yuk!!!
Sounds like the rock isn’t for you!
But does this mean that the functional fragrances are getting better in quality, i.e. closer to nature? If you do happen to use those products, I guess that’s a good thing.
Like many who have responded, I try to avoid scent as much as possible in the products I buy. I don’t use air fresheners at all, and use unscented soap, body lotion, and cosmetics. My husband makes homemade laundry detergent, so we don’t have that overwhelming **fresh!** Tide smell on our clothes.
I’d love to know how one makes they’re own detergent! That’s a pretty nifty trick…and I’d imagine it’s better for the environment too.
The recipe I use is:
1 c. grated pure soap (i.e. Ivory)
1/2 c. Washing Soda (available in the laundry section of your grocery story)
1/2 c. *either* Borax OR baking soda
Use about a heaping tablespoon per load. I keep it in a canning jar and shake it before using. I’ve found that a paste made out of a small amount works great on spots.
Oh, and you’re right – it’s cheap and green!
Wow – a tablespoon is all that’s needed for a whole load? We have a He (high efficiency) machine and the CEO keeps telling me I use too much detergent.
Rap, I’m going to save this recipe to try soon! Thanks!
This is great! I’m definitely going to make some.
Do you have soft water (or a water softener) where you live? Our water is very hard, and I would no sooner wash my laundry with soap than I would wash my hair with soap. I can’t imagine that it would get anything clean.
I’m in central Ky. with a limestone base here, so our water is very hard. I’m happy with the cleaning results, but that said, I’m not doing laundry for children. Still if you Google homemade laundry detergeant, (which is where I found the recipe) most moms are very happy with it in the reviews.
I meant to add that 1/2 cup vinegar is a great rinse to get rid of any residue, although I’ve not had any problems – even washing wool and cashmere in it.
That’s good to know. I have very hard water, too. Lots of calcium.
Here’s a site with a recipe that looks like the one we use: http://www.homemadelaundrydetergent.info/homemade-liquid-laundry-soap-front-or-top-load-machine/. Honestly, though, we use more in the machine than they call for. My husband’s recommendation is to “see if the water feels soapy”. The bar soap we’ve used is Lever 2000.
Another recipe for powdered detergent from bargaineering.com:
Grate 1/2 bar Fels Naptha soap (or you can try other soaps) in a food processor.
Add 1 cup Borax,
1 cup Washing Soda, and,
1 cup Baking soda.
Process until mixed.
Use about 2 tablespoons per full load of laundry.
It’s not for the purpose of saving money; I think it’s better for the environment, it doesn’t have the strong “laundry musk” smell, and the clothes feel softer.
Fels Naptha is amazing stuff. I keep a bar near the laundry sink to put on stains before I toss something in the washer, and it really works.
I think some of the industrial fragrances that mimic nature are pretty good, but others fail. Most things that are supposed to smell like lavender, for instance, seem really fruity to me. Fruit flavors seem off, too–strawberry is cartoonish, apple too pie-like, etc.
*their. Good Lord. It’s only Monday?
Can you believe it?
A very fun and interesting post, Angela. Thankfully, I’ve never smelled a Glade plug-in, and I try to be as unscented as possible (other than my perfume obviously). I clean with vinegar and as I said above, I make my own laundry detergeant. There’s a bit of a smell from the Ivory soap in it, but it rinses out and the clothes are scent free. My shampoo is scented with lavender e.o. so of course it’s gone once I rinse my hair. And I’m a person who can luckily go deodorant free. 😉
That’s one of the nice aspects of the naturally scented products – they don’t last as long as the commercial brand products – so virtually unscented.
And make the perfect blank canvas for a beautiful perfume!
If you like unscented products, how it is possible to clean with vinegar?
It really has a strong scent, quite unpleasant… I hate it as much as I hate Glade.
Vinegar does have a strong smell, but it can dissipate in as few as 10 minutes. The acidity in vinegar is what kills germs. You can also dilute it with water to cut that aroma, and also add herbs or lavender to it, althought that doesn’t always work for me either. I used to put vineagar in my small home carpet steamer to do the carpets and it really does the trick without all those nasty harsh carpet cleaning chemicals. I like a diluted vinegar spray to clean around the kitchen b/c it’s non-toxic. But I still keep a bottle of Lysol liquid around for really ugly problems.
lol! Ann S. is right – it dissipates very quickly, and I don’t really mind the smell.
So it is just me.. But I find vinegar one of the most terrible smells in the world. If someone uses it for cleaning, I smell it for the next week and it is really nauseating. I feel like it never dissipates.
This is just another proof how individual is our perception of different scents.. 🙂
I think some people are really sensitive to the smell of vinegar, too. It’s one of those odors that can nauseate some people instantly.
yep, on board with unscented products. Last thing I need is some industrial product fragrance interfering with my expensive and wonderful perfumes!
The one product that I find the MOST irritating is scented deodorants….may smell fine in the container but most of them on a hot sweaty body are worse than if the person wore no deodorant at all! Just VILE!
Same problem with scented feminine hygiene products. Gross. I saw a commercial brand of deodorant–can’t remember the brand now–that actually broke the mold and advertised that it smelled like patchouli! It had a more exotic name, though. Midnight Nature Girl or something like that (that’s probably really far off.)
Oh–Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo makes a great “mostly” unscented shampoo and body wash. I’m sure there’s a bit of a masking scent in there somewhere (most unscented products do). BUT it doesn’t linger –and that’s really important to me. (doesn’t hurt that it’s like $1.19 for a big bottle)
That’s a good tip and a good price.
Thanks for the shampoo tip. I’ll have to check that out. Right now my fav drugstore shampoo is the Organix coconut one, which is creamy and milky smelling. Then their mint one. Otherwise I am always at a loss if I have to pick out something different. It is agony to smell all that horrible fruit chem crap and imagine putting it in my hair when the rest of me will smell soo good!
A far cry from unscented, but the L’Oreal sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners smell pretty fantastic, scented with rosemary, juniper, mint, etc. I don’t *think* the scent lingers, though my hair is much too short to get anywhere near my nose to be sure. 🙂
I never find that the scent in shampoo lasts very long anyway. By the time my hair is dry, it just smells like nothing–the fragrance is dissipated. I have only ever found one brand of unscented shampoo in any of the stores around here, and it was awful. It didn’t get my hair clean at all–it left it feeling gummy and greasy, and after giving it 2 or 3 tries, I threw the rest of the bottle away!. Unfortunately, this has been my experience with many “organic” or “natural” or “enviromentally correct” products. They don’t do what they are primarily intended to do, and they usually cost 3 or 4 times as much as “regular” brands.
I use the Patene Nature Fusion line (Moisture Balance formulation, I think) because it was recommended by Paula Begoun as being both very effective and mildly scented. It has a vague, not unpleasant vegetal-milky smell which dissipates very quickly. Not cheap, but my hair seems to go kind of dull with some of the really inexpensive brands.
My hair is curly and kind of dry, so I tend to use special shampoo that doesn’t suds up much. Of course, it’s much more expensive than regular shampoo, but I don’t use much, or shampoo often, so it’s o.k. I don’t think it has a smell at all, actually.
That’s funny – I recently tried En Passant, and thought it smelled like an air freshener. Then for several years I thought either our Tide or the Bounce dryer cloths resembled Jardin de Bagatelle. Last year, I bought a bottle of Christianne Celle’s Chevrefeuille and thought it smelled like laundry detergent (albeit a very nice one). It really IS frustrating when life and art collide like that. On the one hand, it’s great if the daily products resemble your preferred scents – cheap ancillary products! On the other, our scents no longer feel so special. In the case of En Passant – It’s a real shame that I couldn’t appreciate its beauty and delicacy because “life” gets in the way.
I don’t necessarily use “unscented” products because of the fragrance suppresants manufacturers use. I just try to purchase based on fragrances I like that I know won’t interfere with or at least will compliment my fragrances.
It sounds like your “harmonizing” approach with products works pretty well for you!
To me, fresh lilacs always smell a little better, a little fresher, fuller and sharper. I don’t mind products with fragrance as long as the products are well done. I love spring in VA: while there are not as many lilacs, the laurels smell gorgeous and there are many unfamiliar scents in the evening breeze (if there’s not too much pollution or pollen – I’ll leave that for another post…). Lucky to have found you all to make me appreciate both the perfumes in the air and in the bottle!
I bet if I smelled real lilacs next to a lilac-scented air freshener I would have a new appreciation for the real thing. Maybe that’s what I should do to break the spell.
Great post! Like many others here, I adhere to unscented household and personal products as much as I can. However, I do make exceptions for the, um, exceptional… like the subtly sandalwood-scented baby shampoo our Brazilian nanny brought back for us.
That shampoo sounds yummy!
Ditto – that sounds gorgeous! I love other countries. Here we have Elmo’s fruity disaster shampoo, and in Brazil? Sandalwood. Ah, how lovely.
Just as long as you don’t start thinking of Tam Dao as smelling like shampoo! Seriously, though, it does sound nice.
Great post, Angela, and so sorry about your lilacs! I would about kill for a bunch of fresh lilacs – they don’t grow here and if we get any they are imported from warmer places and quite spendy.
I enjoy scented soaps and body washes, but most of them don’t really linger. But I don’t use any scented laundry products and think scented hygiene products are plain unhealthy.
When I was a little kid I was a Glade spray addict. My poor grandparents, who partially raised me, usually had some, and my grandma would let me play with it. I was probably responsible for the hole in the ozone layer. lol – she also let me do the experiments shown on commercials on tv – I know I ruined her strainer smearing Vaseline on it to see if it held water, and wrecked a roll or two of paper towels pouring pitchers of water into them. So cool, though, that she indulged that curiosity.
Your grandma sounds A-okay in my book!
Ha – nice stories. I tried to help my mom one time by polishing the wood furniture with vaseline. 😉
Oh no!
I’m totally in favor of unscented toiletries and cosmetics. It annoys me greatly that good perfume is marginalized, and industrial stuff invades absolutely all aspects of life. And it seems like the my least favorite cloying smells have the most staying power.
Fracas reminds me of restroom freshener 🙁 I can’t seem to break the association. Long before I smelled Fracas, I got used to this air freshener at my university.
Oh no! A tuberose-scented air freshener? I wonder how that affected grades.
I use scented shower gels and sometimes use scented body lotion/cream/butter in place of perfume, but even when I like the smell of a hair product (and sometimes I do!) I don’t want my hair competing with my perfume.
I live in Podunk, Florida, so it can be hard to find unscented products on the shelves of the local Publix (oh, for a Whole Foods or even a Costco), but I do use unscented laundry detergent and dryer sheets. Gotta say, though, that I love the smell of Pine-sol. It says “newly cleaned home” to me.
Pine Sol reminds me of school corridors. The janitor at one of my elementary schools must have used it.
It sounds like you might use OperaFan’s method of choosing scented products that harmonize with what you like.
There are several natural smells that, used individually, just smell good and wholesome and clean to me – pine, eucalyptus, lavender – and I love them in soaps and detergents (lifting a fresh bundle of eucalyptey laundry from the machine is always a satisfying moment). These smells, to my knowledge, are related to plants that have natural anti-bacterial effects so perhaps this is a good purpose for their scents.
But does it affect how you feel about real lavender and eucalyptus? Or maybe you don’t have eucalyptus trees and lavender out in the yard.
Hmmm, not really, no. I suppose I was trying to think of scents that I welcome in products, rather than those that freak me out – apple-scented dishwashing detergent; that ‘fresh’ scent (something like cucumber and green bananas) that seems to accompany anything aloe vera, for a few. I think it partly boils down to application. I can’t stand air fresheners, and have trouble with stain removers and degreasers, I’m constantly asking myself what chemicals are in them to require such a heavy disguise.
Aloe scented things are a little bit of a puzzle, since aloe has such a faint, almost medicinal scent. Eucalyptus sounds much better.
There are no problems in obtaining unscented or lightly-scented natural products where I live (Pacific Northwest) and there is a wide variety of personal care products and detergents available, so everyone can find sth suitable. The bigger problem is in my opinion, the fragrances they use for “scenting” public spaces, hotel rooms and toilets. They simply give you no choice. After spending a night at certain hotels I get up sick and with a massive migraine!
I also live in the Pacific NW, and for the most part stores are pretty good about having unscented products. But I still need to make sure the products I buy are the ones that don’t have the Tampax fresh accord.
Yes, tampax fresh accord is simply unbearable! Brrr.
I buy Avalon shampoos and body washes and their scent does not bother me at all. For dishes and house cleaning I like Ecover and Mrs. Meyer products. They are scented, but it definitely is not the TFA!
I have some Mrs. Meyer’s window cleaner that is a nice change from the usual windex smell. I’d like to try making my own someday.
I use mostly unscented things, but I admit to just buying a bottle of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Rosemary Laundry Detergent. I love it!
H, I mostly use unscented laundry products. I have to say, though, for bath towels and linens, I love either Mrs. Meyers or one of the 7th gen detergents (something like bergamot/white flowers?).
I didn’t read all of the other comments so forgive me if this cartoon has been mentioned already! Your topic today, as well as my living in Seattle, make it particularly apropos.
Posted on my fridge door is a cartoon of a father and son hiking in the forest and the son asks his dad “why does it smell like Home Depot out here?”
Grrr!
That’s perfect! No one has brought it up yet–thanks for the comment!
That’s very funny. I love the smell of cut wood. I think the freshest air I ever smelled in my life was at the Hoh Rain Forest. I love the PAC NW.
Do you love Bois Farine?
Ann, I know exactly what you mean, and you’re making me homesick 😉
I admit to not being able to wear citrus fragrances because they remind me of cleaning products, even Tauer Orange Star, which my husband thought smelled like “dish soap”.
My grandmother would always bomb her house with cans of Glade or Lysol air freshener and my mother LOVED potpourri when we were growing up. It took me a long time to get over those dusty bowls of dried crap that were all over our house, scented either with “Christmas from Hell” or “When Good Roses go Bad”.
Damn bad pot-pourri is so so horrible. I harbour a particular distaste for the versions dyed blue.
Real dried flower petals is one thing, but when it’s something so dried out that you’re supposed to add special potpourri oil–well, it’s time to dump it.
I’ll chime in on my least favorite household scent: PineSol. My neighbor uses it – fully concentrated – to clean her patio and it chokes me up every time….
It is potent stuff.
That’s a good example of the cheapening of scent (of real plants as well as fine fragrances) because of what we call in the industry “trickle-down”: not too many years after No. 5 became popular, everyone wanted their soaps and bath oils and hair sprays to smell that way… Same thing happens to every perfume trend – we end up finding it in every day products such as shampoos, hand soaps, feminine hygiene and cleaning agents. Not a glamorous retirement…
I wonder what we’re up for next, then? D&G Light Blue shampoo?
Haha! Pantene ProV (my mom uses this) smells kind of similar…
It’s happening!
I can’t smell my soap or shampoo after I get out of the shower…
I don’t really have very many ruined associations and I haven’t really had trouble finding unscented products.
We don’t scent our home with anything, except my mom burns candles, usually sage-scented ones.
A bit off-topic but the “fake Coolwhip” comment made me think of it
I always find it very odd when kids say they don’t like fruits (and vegetables, but that’s not as strange to me.)
You’ll eat artificial grape flavored candy but not grapes?
That’s funny! I hadn’t thought of that before.
That’s bc food manufacturers have added so much extra sugar to everything, kids can’t tolerate anything without it. Didn’t have trouble w/my oldest, who never had a sweet tooth, but the little one is just awful. Finally got her eating veggies, though.
It would be so hard to raise a kid to eat well, with all the junk food around! I think Cheetos should be saved until a gal is old enough to eat them with her gin and tonic.
I am wondering if I am really the lone dissenter on this site, or just the only one to offer any comments on this particular article. I LOVE scented soaps (and body washes, although I prefer real soap). A shower or bath with unscented soap would definitely be missing something. I love to lather up a richly scented bar and take a big whiff of the lovely aroma radiating from it. I love the way the scent subtly fills the warm air in the shower. For me it is one of the most exquisite small pleasures of everyday life. I don’t really care so much whether my shampoo is scented–I care far more how well it cleans my hair. The brand I have found to work best for me has a rather subtle scent, which is fine with me. I wonder whether it all depends on whether you have perfume-eating skin (like me) or scent glue skin? The fragrance of soap or shampoo doesn’t linger on me long anyway. By the time I have toweled off, my skin doesn’t seem to have any discernible scent, and my wet hair just smells like wet hair. I don’t really notice that my laundry detergent leaves much residual smell in my clothes either, at least not after they have been out of the dryer for a few hours. I have never seen unflavored toothpaste, and do not think I would care for it anyway. I would just as soon eat unflavored food. The only areas in which I do have a decided preference for unscented products are lotion and antiperspirant, precisely because they do linger on the skin and I don’t want them to clash with my perfume. I don’t use much lotion anyway, but do use antiperspirant every day, and not every store carries the unscented types. More than once I have had to buy scented because I was tired, I had used up the last sliver of my last deodorant stick that morning, the store I was in had nothing else, and I didn’t want to make a special trip across town to another store just to get one item. In those cases, I just try to find the least intensely scented product available.
I feel the same way about soap/shampoo/laundry detergent. I like scented soap although I can never smell it.
I’ve had toothpaste without any flavor and I did not like using it all. I love mint in perfume so mouthwash and toothpaste have not ruined mint for me XD
I’m glad you still like mint! It’s so refreshing in the summer, especially.
Dissenting is encouraged! (Especially when it has such lovely descriptions of scented soap.)
For me, scent is worse in particular things. I don’t like air fresheners, and I don’t like scented laundry detergent or kotex, especially. I accidentally bought a “spring fresh” laundry detergent last time, and even as frugal as I am I’m tempted to throw the rest away. The odor sticks to my clothing, and I don’t like it. I don’t like scented deodorant or lotion, either–although some scented body creams are gorgeous! But then I wear them like perfume.
Maybe for me it’s about controlling my fragrance. If I choose to spray my sheets with scent, I feel in charge, plus I can choose something I feel like smelling right then. I don’t know.
And I sure like flavored food!
50 Roses, I’m with you. I think that may be because the scents here are not as strong as the US, but also because my sense of smell is quite dull – and add to that a perfume munching skin!
Since I only became conscious of the world of smell a couple of years ago, I am still delighted to smell something that has been scented. I enjoy most olfactory stimulus because I probably don’t get much through my congested nose!
Also, using a luxury soap – that fragrant creamy lather is definitely something I love. But, I would rather use something with little or no scent than something harsh and synthetic…
If the scented things smell wonderful to you, and you choose them, it’s a luxury. But when you can’t bite into a banana without thinking of shampoo, well, scent fail.
I agree with you on the soap. I love scented soap. I tend to buy the artisanal soaps in France, that are – for the most part – very lightly fragranced. Enough to be enjoyed under the shower, but not enough to in any way overpower any other fragrance one might apply.
The one thing I can’t seem to find is a hairstyling product without scent. I would love that.
Hairstyling products can really pack some fragrance. They must require it to counteract the smell of something in them. So many of them are fruity, too.
I like scented bath/hair products, even w/my scent glue skin (and hair). I don’t find that they linger all that long, though some shampoos/conditioners do. My hair is too short now, though, for it to matter, since the scent isn’t discernible without movement. I don’t like scented laundry products, though, bc those just won’t go away. I also have an amber reed diffuser, but I don’t smell it anymore. I know other people do, though. I’d rather my house just smell “clean”, but it would have to BE clean, and it rarely is. Just not enough time in the day.
Well my hair is very thick and shoulder length so I do get whiffs of styling product, when I use it. I often don’t because of the smell. The advantage is though that when you visit a perfume store and they ask you if they can spray your hair, you get to enjoy that smell a lot! The last time that happened to me my hair was liberally sprayed with Carnal Flower. I can tell you it was pure bliss! I will have to save for that one.
I’ve had long hair most of my life, so I know just what you mean. I finally lopped it all off last fall. I didn’t really use styling products when I had long hair, though; it was just the shampoo/conditioner that I’d smell.
I think hair styling products are worse than shampoos and conditioners, for the most part. Maybe because you don’t rinse them out.
One of the nicest home smells, I think, is after you’ve had a fire in the fireplace. My house isn’t particularly clean, but it smells like my life, and hopefully even fresher in the warm months!
That scented tampax sounds ridiculous. Is the thought that you want to smell nice on the oputside, therfore you should smell nice inside too?
In Sweden, we are big on unscented stuff. Every brand that does baby/kids products and wipes etc has unscented products in evey range. Same for laundry. I and many with me doesn’t use laundry softner because of the environment. For the dishes, most stuff smells like lemon or pine. But I see a new trend coming on and I don’t like it.
Recently, I bought two new bottles of liquid hand-whatever you call it, when you wash the dishes with your hand s in the sink- soap, simply because they were labeled to smell the novelties “Sea” and “Cucumber green tea”. The first smelled of the cheapest calone/saltwater/beachy horror you could imagine. And the scond like a migraine coming. Brr! I’ve never seen anything in that genre scented that way, so I had to get them both. And boy I do regret that.
At least it sounds like you won’t ever confuse the real ocean with liquid dish detergent!
This is a very interesting article and I have enjoyed reading everyones posts.
I never really thought about scents in this way. The older I get, the more picky I become. And I love to sniff all the new household products that come out, and then pick some to bring home. Yes I will own it, I am the one who was excited about Dawn’s new Pineapple and Dragonfruit dish soap. I guess if I have to do dishes, I want a nicely scented experiance.
I am forever on the hunt for a really good lemon scented candle. Everything I pick up, smells like pledge IMO.. even the ‘natural verbena’ scented ones.. Perhaps I am falling into the ‘yep, dead on pledge’ camp. BLECK.
And I even got stuck on the “smells soapy clean” fragrance merry-go-round. Do we even know what a true soapy clean smells like anymore?
I really did like the Purex Naturals line. It was just a nice clean scent, however they do not make an HE line for this. If they did I would buy stock in the company.
Speaking of Purex, I am really enjoying the new crystals they just put out. The blue ones are a little overpowering, the yellow ones are nice and not fake smelling, but I think my favorite are the lavander ones. A nice lavender vanilla scent,but not overpowering.
Maybe we have just become bombarded with scents in everything, and we think we *need* it for everything now… and I am such a sucker for plug in type fragrances (if you can find one that won’t choke you) and candles.
Thank you to the poster who suggested the different types of vinager cleaning methods. This sounds like an interesting summer project (and possible science fair project BONUS!) to try this summer.
Now after some yammering, this article has really made me stop and think about household fragrances in everything.. If I try to do the non scent thing, worst case, I can always whip out a can of frebreeze and spray to my hearts content.
You love your home fragrances! That’s nice. The problem for me is that I’m starting to confuse the natural scents I love so much–flowers, etc.–with industrial products that mimic them. That’s what makes me sad. It sounds like, except for Pledge, you’re immune, lucky you.
Oh, so true!
But I think we are lucky to have access to beautiful cheap air fresheners. We should count our blessings now, because for sure there are some horrors right around the corner, and not of the plug-in variety.
We’ll look at each other through our ashy tears and cry, “remember when everything smelled so good?”
Great article though, as always!
That’s so funny! Maybe we ARE in the good old days.
Exactly! I always try to use unscented products. But the scents sneak in anyway. I’d propose counter-balancing by spending more time in nature (oops, and off the computer). There’s this great book about “nature deficit disorder” and children and adults alike suffer. So if the lilacs smell like Glade, that’s because you smell Glade more often than real lilacs. Of course, it is more readily available. (My own story – a friend’s hand soap made me think someone was wearing Carnal Flower! I didn’t get the hand soap name…I was having a good amount of wine, so maybe that’s why I thought it was Carnal Flower.)
Hey, that’s a great idea! Maybe by spending more time with actual forests, oceans, lilac bushes, and mint leaves the industrial products will take the backseat.
Excellent idea!!!
I try to solve this little buggar of a problem by not using scented stuff other than my perfume or Bath/Body Works scented lotions. I use nonscented detergent, deodorant (tho I do use a good dose of cornstarch powder w/my Tom’s of Maine Unscented on warmer days, but it’s usually not that strong), and I steer clear of all manner of Glade-type products, especially sprays. For one thing, I have a cat, and I heard that Glade sprays and the like are not good for animals. Another, I have enough probs keeping my allergies in check, I can’t imagine sneezing my way through a pine-laden house all the time. And, also, there is such a thing as sensory overload. Sometimes it’s nice to keep the schnoz pipes clear of any particular scents; this way, I don’t become sick of my perfume. (I mean, Goddess forbid)!
You know, where personal hygine products are concerned, especially, people just don’t want to smell au naturale. I think most folks are afraid of those very normal odors that might make others turn around and laugh and gape and stare at them. So people just cover it up with secented tampns and lilac deodorants. I mean, I want to smell as nice as the next gal but there is very much such a thing as over doing it. And we wonder why people with allergies are on the rise. More and more people are becoming allergic to perfumes – any kind of synthetic fragrance, really – so if there comes a day when we can no longer wear personal fragrances outside of our own houses because everyone and their uncles/aunts/cousins are allergic, then we have only ourselves to blame, I suppose. And I hold Glade and other such sprays/”home fragrances” directly responsible for that scenario.
It is curious, really, why,besides my fore-stated theory, is there such a push from industrial-type people to drench everything under the Tuscan Sun with a fragrance. Could it be as simple as – drumroll please – Scents Sell?!? After all, that’s what really drives industry, isn’t it? Money. Moolah. Dough. Bucks. Dinero. I have a sneaking suspicion that’s what it’s really all about. I mean, the company that makes Glade isn’t going to pay for all that Claritin that we’re gonna need when those sprays get to be too much.
You can tell I’ve given this a lot of thought lol; as a former psychology student and current perfume fan, I find this topic quite interesting.
Lots of food for thought here! Scents do, indeed, sell. I suppose they eventually create their own market, too. It’s so funny that I’m making a pitch for staying away from scented products so that we can enjoy perfume more, but there you have it.
You know, I was thinking about what I wrote above about allergies, and I never realized until this post how much they get in the way of discerning the different notes in the perfumes that I put on. Like today I wore my Viva La Juicy sample, and I was really trying to sniff out the wildberries and the amber and the pralines (at least thoses were the notes listed on the card), like a true perfumista, and I could detect most of them, but the allergies just made it a lot harder to pick them out, you know? I’d like to become really discerning with various perfume notes like everybody else here, but, alas, my kleenex will just have to work overtime for that to happen (I know, eww…).
Don’t give up! Unless it’s the perfume you’re smelling that is causing the allergies, of course. Identifying notes and appreciating perfume has less to do with a super-keen sense of smell than it does with getting to know a lot of perfume.