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Natural Perfume

kminty3kminty3 Raw Newbie

My friend chastiszed me for wearing conventional perfume.. I know.. I know.. very bad. So what do you all do for an alternative? I was thinking of mixing some vanilla/ coconut essential oils.. any suggestions on good products or how you deal with the no perfume thing

Comments

  • KelleySKelleyS Raw Newbie

    I wear conventional perfume also. I don’t think you are “very bad” for doing it. Honestly, I think most people on this board are entirely too hard on themselves. You are already taking great measures to live a clean life that most people aren’t. We are exposed to so many toxins on a daily basis just from living on this planet that I don’t really think that a spritz of perfume is going to kill you. I do use natural personal care products, other than my perfume. It just makes me feel too sexy and glamorous to give it up!

  • i used to be a conventional cologne wearer until i became vegan 9 years ago. it was hard to not have some kind of scent. i’ve learned to love my own “musky” smell. anyways, i was shopping at whole foods the other day and was in the health and body section and i noticed that there’s an organic brand of perfume with a few varieties of scents and they all smelled so effin’ good that i coulda snorted away all night long on them. seriously, had i had 30 bucks to spare, i woulda bought one. here’s a link: http://www.natures-gate.com/shop/showCatalog.as…

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    I have bought vanilla essential oil that comes in a carrier oil of jojoba so it was less expensive and lasts longer on you, it comes in a bottle just like the regular essential oil. There are other options at the health food store. I’ve found coconut oil way too strong smelling, it takes a lot of essential oil to cover the smell cause I tried dropping it right into the tub to make it scented and it didn’t really work. Grape seed oil or jojoba are probably better choices. I wear straight patchouli but it’s definitely not for everyone!

  • I also use the conventional stuff. First of all, I paid a lot of money for them. Second of all, they smell great. Third of all, I paid a lot of money for them – oh, did I mention that already. :) Once they’re used up, I will probably look into an alternative. :) Peace, Karuna

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    karuna – I hear you! Last year I chose Marc Jacobs Orange perfume as a mothers day present and not long afterwards I discovered the bad news I never wanted to hear, it’s full of chemicals!!!!! I just couldn’t wear it so it sat on my dresser for months while I felt guilty about my husband. But I thought it would look worse sitting there full so I very quietly POURED IT DOWN THE DRAIN, into the public water supply, I suppose. Ouch. But I knew it would be my last bottle ever, unless they start making them with real stuff again. Honestly, I really don’t think he cares.

  • I dont need perfumes. I smell like pineapples. Especially in the mornings and when I sweat. But I do keep plain ol’ rosewater on me when I want to smell like something other than a pineapple.

  • KelleySKelleyS Raw Newbie

    amysue, you should have sent the marc jacobs perfume my way!

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    I have an allergy to conventional perfumes. When I go to meetings I have to sit in back just in case I start coughing or have a breathing problem from the “smells.” I also have a problem with mens deodorant etc.. I could never understand why mens deodorant has to have such a strong odor. Anyway, I don’t wear colognes, it is just natural me.

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    I can’t even stand to be near someone who wears conventional perfume anymore. It just reaks to me. It is unattractive and I start coughing and gagging. I think you become more sensitive to that sort of stuff the cleaner you get. There are so many options to conventional perfume that you don’t have to worry. I think the straight pure essential oils smell the best. I like Patchouli myself – (what can I say I am a hippie). But I also have some Amber that I love too. Other than that I just like coconut oil – I like to smell tropical!

    There are also some natural, small companies that make mixed oils that interesting smells if you are looking for something unique. I have had a few oils by a company called Arcana – they come out with new soaps and scents very season or holiday. Some of the products are vegan and some are not. But they are definatley interesting smelling. I emailed them and the lady said they are all natural. No chemicals. My favorite is Murder Ballad Blues – it has a cutey kitty on the front playing violin and it smells like berries! the soap is purple colored. It has a wild berry in it I forgot which one. I don’t wear it that often buy I like to treat myself to the scent once a while.

    The “bad” thing about conventional perfumes is that alot of them contain irritants – to your skin, lungs, and nasal passages. Most of them are mostly alcholol and some contain formaldyde (of course they are not going to tell you that). Very bad for breathing in and absorbing in to your skin. But even worse is the environmental damage that producing these conventionals does – the smoke stacks are major pollutors from producing that stuff. So, if you are not concerned with the health aspect than think about the environmental impact. Don’t know about which companies use sweatshop labor too – most of that conventional stuff is made in China or another Asian country.

    About a year ago, I sold on Ebay all my old stuff I didn’t want – people will buy up your old perfume and stuff on there if you don’t want them.

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    Beany and queenfluff,

    I’m also sensitive to perfumes and scents, including the ‘natural’ ones. Some of the scents leave me gasping and sneezing, and/or with a headache and sore throat. But even when it doesn’t make me sick, I just can’t stand it. It smells like bug spray to me. It’s pure agony to be in a room with someone who’s doused herself in it. Those who wear it can’t smell it on themselves, and some people just pour it on.

    What really bugs me is getting slimed. Being hugged, touched, patted by someone wearing it gets it on me and my clothes. I’m miserable until I can get home, throw my clothes in the wash and hop in the shower. The checkout ladies at my local health food store sample all the scented hand lotions and get the stuff all over the bags and products they touch. And the so-called ‘natural’ stuff uses much of the same toxic waste as the conventional perfumes etc.

    Did you know that most of the ingredients in conventional scents must be disposed of as toxic waste?? And that most perfumes contain known carcinogens? Our FDA and Congress bows to pressures from industry and allows this to go on. These scents are everywhere – in soaps, lotions, detergents, etc. as well as perfume.

    Google ‘perfume toxic’ and you will be amazed at what you find. I’ve included some links below.

    http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetic…

    http://www.ourlittleplace.com/perfume.html

    http://www.alive.com/793a2a2.php?subject_bread_…

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    Ok, I’m on an (unscented!) soapbox now. Here’s an excerpt from one of the sites on perfume toxicity:

    “Tests conducted at Anderson Laboratories of West Hartford, Vermont in 1998, researchers determined that emissions from fragrances caused various combinations of sensory irritation, pulmonary irritation and decreases in functional observation battery indicative of neurotoxicity. Chemicals that stimulate the trigeminal nerve system have the capacity to trigger not just irritant trigeminal effects but also excessive neurological firing and excitotoxicity in vulnerable individuals, leading to attention deficit disorders, disorientation, spaciness, memory problems, concentration difficulties, mental confusion and cognitive deficits. I wonder? Could these chemicals actually be the cause of Alzeimer’s disease that is now being seen in people as young as 55-60?

    Anderson’s independent laboratory research revealed that several typical eau de parfums have readily demonstrated toxic properties. “When mice breathed these vapors [for one hour], they developed a number of signs of neurotoxicity (tremors, loss of balance, twitching, abnormal repetitive movements, altered posture and gait, etc.); some were so severely damaged they died as a result of breathing these fragrance products. Mice also developed decreased expiratory air flow as if they were having an asthmatic attack while breathing the eau de parfum. These were normal mice just prior to their exposure to these fragrance products.” Anderson’s research and findings, Acute Toxic Effects of Fragrance Products, were published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal

    In March 1999, the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported that: “Women exposed at work to organic solvents are 13 times more likely to run a risk of major fetal malformations, and many of the jobs in which such exposure is common tend to be dominated by women. The list of suspect chemicals reads like the contents of a toxic waste dump: aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, trichloroethylene, xylene, vinyl chloride, acetone and related chemicals. The solvents and many others are part of many people’s workday world and can have significant consequences for infants, such as deafness, spina bifida, heart abnormalities and extremity defects.”

    Even the American Lung Association’s pamphlet, “Facts About Home Control of Allergies and Asthma,” recommends methods of controlling allergy and asthma triggers: “source elimination, particularly of tobacco smoke, wood smoke, pet dander, cockroaches, indoor molds and fumes from household cleaners and perfumes.” What is is that the ALA knows that we the average consumer doesn’t?”.....

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    I don’t have this problem since my husband and I both hate perfumes. Lades and gents: please don’t slather anything on – it should be an intimate quantity! Nothing more rude than a person that stinks up an elevator with her perfume. Unless she stinks it up with her malodorous stench that is! Sometimes I put a drop of essential oil here or there.

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I work from home so I am not around lots of people much, but the other day I went to London and was nose to armpit with thousands of people all day, wow cooked people smell bad! I never realised it before, I could smell bad breath, weird body smells and then the perfume covering it all up. Maybe I have got really sensitive about smells or something I couldn’t believe what I was smelling lol!

    I love to use essential oils, especially lavender, jasmine, sandalwood and rose. If you use some olive, hemp or coconut oil as a base and massage it all over your body not only will you be giving yourself a lovely aromatherapy session but you’ll smell like an exotic floral garden all day.

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    After spending some time on the Cosmetics Database by EWG I went through our place with a fine toothed comb and got rid of anything and everything personal care and house hold that was toxic. Including all my great smelly perfumes. Whole Foods carries there great essential oil scent blends that come in a small 1 dram roll on container, a bit smaller than a lip gloss. They smell great, have a variety of scents to choose from are to worry free. This is their website: http://www.kuumbamade.com/ZenCart/index.php my favorites are Tunisian Jasmine and Tunisian Opium, oh and White Ginger. Well actually I love Zen Rain too and China Musk. Black Coconut is awesome … They are all just great!

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Wow, the Cosmetics Data Base is really turning people around! It started for me when I met a woman who worked for the non-profit who puts it out at an event. I remember her saying, it’s not just that these products have chemicals that are known carcinogens in them, as many opponents will say, they’re in such miniscule amounts that the products are safe – it’s that women are using multitudes of them every day. If you take parabens for example, now becoming well-known as carcinogens, if you’re using shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, face cream, eye cream, deoderant, hand soap, etc. etc.all with parabens every day, that adds up over time. I just like having the information so that you can make an informed choice and weigh your options.

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    Some of the worst stuff is in detergents and those dryer sheets. Blech!

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Good idea zoe! I’m going to mix lavender and olive oil for a lovely body scent.

    Agreed greenie – detergents are awful. I’m going to make my own.

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    If you guys are interested in non-toxic living (not just with the cosmetics but that is definately one of the biggest areas!), I highly recommended “Home Safe Home” by Debra Lynn Dadd. I don’t think she is raw or anything but she came down with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) and had to alter her whole lifestyle – new bed, sheets, cosmetics, cleaning products – all non-toxic and natural. And when she did it there were not as many alternative as there were today so she had a hard time.

    Her book is really informative (even stuff you would never think about it). I redid my house based on some of her suggestions and it got me into reading labels more and looking up ingredients on the net. Not to say you have to ditch EVERYTHING at once (that would cost you a small fortune) but just changing to organic cotton sheets really helped my sleep. She includes alot of make at home stuff too – cheap and affordable and safe!

    She has a website too: http://www.dld123.com/

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    queenfluff,

    Thank for the info on Home Sweet Home and the link. Very informative.

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    I used to wear conventional perfumes, but who knows what they do to you. I only wear natural stuff now and make most of my own body products. I usually give them as gifts too.

    When I was doing my research for the scents, I came across a study that had been repeated twice on the top scents men like to smell. Twice, lavender and pumpkin pie placed in the top three. I mixed lavender and other spiced essential oils that would be in pumpkin pie together and it was really nice. I sold room fresheners, colognes and bath salts made from it. They sold really well.

    I am not much for patchouli; however, it is a strong base notes and carries a scent longer than anything else (in my opinion). I mixed a drop of patchouli with several drops of nutmeg and diluted it in vodka for a cologne. It was an experiment and I really liked it (but I didn’t record the exact measurements). Almost every time I wore it I received compliments.

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    the one thing i would request is that you consider at the very least a perfume that is cruelty-free.

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    My DH is SAD. His body odors really can be bad. (to me) and the products he wears got me to the point that at night I woke up just barley breathing. I finally made him move into another bedroom. Some times those who don’t eat raw, cant understand how sensitive raw eaters are to the unnatural environment. So thanks for all the information, I can now sit him and the family, in front of a computer and say, READ!

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