I had this long, angry post about the IFRA (International Fragrances Association) Amendment #43 and its destruction of natural beauty products, the political misguidance and the bad science it seems to be representing, the consumer fear mongering it so feverishly supports and promotes, and the seemingly "meh" response among my perfumer friends, even those bent on using only natural ingredients. I had this long semi-witty diatribe about what it's doing to the niche perfumery world, how one of my friends is having to close her shop to reformulate, etc ad nauseum.

And then I came across Magickal Realism's Trashion perfume series, an experiment at using only synthetics in creating perfumes, an attempt to realize the world that IFRA seems to want so badly for consumers.

In the perfumer's words:

The protest of this formulation is in its syntheticism; IFRA wants to create a world of nothing but synthetic perfumes, and this is an example of what you'd get - a smell with little substance beyond the first hit. Think of it as hands on education about what an all-synthetic world could get you.

Brilliant and said much better than I could have at expressing my anger at all of this (if they're regulating oakmoss, why not polycyclic musks containing galaxolides? why not parabens? you can't regulate one with a modicum of moral superiority and not the others on the transparent agenda of "known to cause allergic reactions"). This is the kind of action I've been seeking from fellow perfumers. I don't want to just roll over and take it, despite how much or how little pull I think IFRA would have over some of us in the end as it stands. Regardless, kudos, Diana, for you are sheer genius.

As for me, I won't be reformulating anything. Caroline uses such little oakmoss in the end that it's no point, and while I use an essential oil of jasmine in quite a few of my perfumes, it is not sambac. I'll simply continue to strive for transparency as I always have. I actually plan to open a synthetic-related shop at some point, mostly because of my interest in chemisty & science, but, like I said, I will always tell you what's what. Till then, go support Diana, and say no to IFRA.

I plan to post a follow-up entry at some point with more informative links for those outside of the industry going "bzuh?". Watch for that soon!