Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

  Oakmoss The other day I came across a blog entry on Nathan Branch's site, and despite trying to register and log in to post a comment, I couldn't. I wrote Nathan, haven't heard back yet, so I just want to put this out there because I feel there was such a misunderstanding of IFRA regulations a correction was needed. Seems Nathan received a lot of bottles of perfume to photograph for Abigail Levin's The Posh Peasant website. As he unpacked the box, his BF, in the next room, began to have respiratory distress. This continued until the bottles were packed back in the box and sealed.  Here is what I tried to post on the blog: Interesting theory, however, incorrect. IFRA regs cover possible skin-related issues (including oral preparations, such as mouthwash), not the respiratory system.  They also drift into the murky world of potential systemic problems, hence the completely incorrect stance against coumarinic raw materials. http://www.ifraorg.org/files/docu

What Madison Avenue Touts to the Detriment of Health - from Cigarettes to Plug-In Air "Fresheners" et al Just a quick follow up to the previous blog on chemical sensitivities causing problems for perfumistas. This appeared a few days ago in the Washington Post. A brief quote from the article: "Collectively, the six products gave off nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acetone, the eye-stinging ingredient in nail-polish remover and paint thinner. (VOCs are compounds that vaporize easily, like fumes from paint and gasoline. Many VOCs are known to be harmful.)" It's very clear to me, and has been very clear for a long time that we are in a state of sensory overload due to savvy Madison Avenue brainwashing. My prediction? In a few years the fragrance fumes of the grocery aisles, the plug-in "air fresheners", the scented candles will all be as rare as cigarette smokers, smoke-filled restaurants and offices and will be viewed as harmful.

Synchronicity has struck. In one day I stumbled upon three perfume bloggers who have written how they have either had to stop using perfume altogether, or at least drastically cut back on their use of perfume. I was idly searching back through the Urban Farmer blog and found this post , dramatically titled The End of Scent. When I read the comments, I noticed that Heather of Memory and Desire discussed her problems with scent and having to stop using fragrance entirely. I was wondering why she hadn't blogged since May - now I know. With Heather, it's headaches, for Lou, well, she had a litany of problems. Savvy, they cut back on scent usage. It's tearing their souls up, but their bodies are healing. It's been barely three years since the birth of perfume blogs. I'm wondering if we're now seeing the "canary in the coal mine" syndrome starting to surface. Often I have read on forums snarky comments from perfumistas about those who complain about st