The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (51 page)
Authors: Julie Gabriel
Tags: #ebook, #book
If you have a fair, pink-toned complexion, use subtle colors from light pink to soft plums to enhance your skin tone. For dramatic nighttime use, go for deep plummy (lead-free!) reds for a modern screen siren look. Redheads look gorgeous in apricots and corals, but sheer yet intense raisin tints can really lift up porcelain skin.
If you have a fair, pink-toned complexion, use subtle colors from light pink to soft plums to enhance your skin tone.
As a general rule, lipsticks have more lasting power than lip-glosses, go on more smoothly, and are better for moisturizing your lips. During the summer, or anytime when the sun is shining, try to add some lip protection by rubbing a little bit of mineral foundation on your clean lips before applying the lipstick.
For a quick lip exfoliation, use ripe, juicy papaya. You can use leftovers from a fruit salad or dessert. Mash the papaya flesh into a juicy paste so you get at least a tablespoon of puree. Apply a generous amount of papaya pulp to the lips and skin around the lips. Find a comfortable couch or a recliner to spend a glorious ten or fifteen minutes doing nothing while papaya works on your lips. Rinse off with warm water and enjoy smooth, flake-free lips. For an even quicker exfoliation, rub the inside of papaya skin against your lips for a few minutes.
green
fragrances
i
cannot possibly think of a better introduction to the chapter about natural fragrances than this excerpt from
The Picture of Dorian
Gray
by Oscar Wilde:
And so he would now study perfumes, and the secrets of their manufacture, distilling heavily-scented oils, and burning odorous gums from the East. He saw that there was no mood of the mind that had not its counterpart in the sensuous life, and set himself to discover their true relations, wondering what there was in frankincense that made one mystical, and in ambergris that stirred one’s passions, and in violets that woke the memory of dead romances, and in musk that troubled the brain, and in champak that stained the imagination; and seeking often to elaborate a real psychology of perfumes, and to estimate the several influences of sweet-smelling roots, and scented pollen-laden flowers, or aromatic balms, and of dark and fragrant woods, of spikenard that sickens, of hovenia that makes men mad, and of aloes that are said to be able to expel melancholy from the soul.
Ancient Trade Becomes Hottest Trend
The art of making perfumes in the modern sense began in ancient Iran and Egypt. Persian doctor and chemist Avicenna (AD 980–1037) introduced the process of extracting oils from flowers by distillation and began to manufacture musk and rose water. The Persian poet, mathematician, and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048? –1132) related that Jamshid, one of the first ten mythological kings of ancient Iran, discovered ambergris, myrrh, camphor, and saffron.
The art of distilling and blending aromas was refined by the Romans, but the first modern perfume, made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution, was made in 1370 for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and was known throughout Europe as Hungary Water. In the sixteenth century, France became the center of the perfume art thanks to Catherine de Médi-cis’ personal perfumer, René le Florentin. His laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway so that no formulas could be stolen on the way. By the eighteenth century, aromatic plants were being grown in Grasse, a town in the southeast of France, to provide the perfume industry with raw materials—rose blossoms, orange flower petals, lavender flowers, and cypress cones.
In early days, perfumes were used primarily by royalty and the wealthy to mask body odors. Scents were applied daily not only to the skin but also to clothing and furniture. Perfume substituted for soap and water. Fragranced gloves became popular, and in the seventeenth century, a French duchess was murdered when poison perfume was rubbed into her gloves and slowly absorbed by her skin. Could this story be the inspiration for Poison perfume by Christian Dior?
In early days, perfumes were used primarily by royalty and the wealthy to mask body odors.
When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, the fragrance industry thrived as never before. According to historical documents, no less than two quarts of violet cologne were consumed by Napoleon each month. Same time, he ordered sixty (!) bottles of jasmine extract for his personal use. Venerable French perfume house Creed created a fragrance, Bois du Portugal, for Napoleon, a strong blend of cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, and lavender.
The first completely synthetic perfume wasn’t created until the twentieth century. Coco Chanel is to “blame” for the ever-present chemicals in fragrance bottles. Her Chanel No. 5, the first artificial fragrance, relied heavily on synthetic aldehyde, which belongs to the same group of chemicals as the carcinogen formaldehyde and hangover-causing acetaldehyde. It was a novel, avantgarde concept. Coco Chanel opted for synthetic ingredients not for the lack of money: she believed that artificial scents would emphasize the natural beauty of its wearer. However, the phenomenal success of Chanel No. 5 prompted most fragrance labels to swap expensive natural fragrance ingredients for synthetic equivalents.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the government agency responsible for overseeing product safety, does not systematically review the safety of fragrances and cannot require that fragrances be tested for safety before they are sold. Instead, the fragrance industry regulates itself, through its trade association, the International Fragrance Association, which funds and conducts safety assessments for fragrance ingredients. This self-regulating scheme has led to the widespread use of chemicals in fragrances that raise concerns when it comes to our health.
What we apply to our skins is our personal choice. What we spray in the air for our kids to breathe is a completely different matter. Pregnant and breast-feeding women who indulge in mainstream fragrances expose their offspring to high levels of toxic chemicals when their endocrine systems aren’t mature enough to withstand the damage. As a result, the toxic load accumulates from birth, leading to unknown health consequences that may surface ten or twenty years later.
The wider environmental issue comes into play when you consider what happens to synthetic fragrances when you wash them off your body or launder fragrance-soaked clothes. Most of the synthetic aromatic compounds are discharged into streams, rivers, and other waterways.
Every year the cosmetic industry churns out dozens of designer and celebrity fragrances, not to mention thousands of cosmetic products heavily scented with synthetic chemicals. It’s impossible and unreasonable to expect all manufacturers to switch to natural ingredients that are expensive to produce. Natural perfumes are made of rare, precious essences that are considered too costly by the mainstream industry.
Of course, apart from the higher price, natural perfumes are not without limitations. Because there are no chemical fixatives in a natural fragrance formulation, their composition may be unstable or short lasting. And while synthetic perfume makers adhere to strict concentrations of perfume per alcohol and water base, the formulations for natural fragrances can vary from season to season, and ingredients can smell slightly different, depending on the season of harvesting and the weather condition in the particular area. This means that it’s close to impossible to create a stable composition that will remain unchanged for years to come. Additionally, the use of some natural materials, like sandalwood and musk, can lead to species endangerment and illegal trafficking.
The Musky Controversy
Musk, a popular perfume fixative since ancient times, was traditionally obtained from the gland of the male musk deer,
Moschus
moschiferus
. The animal was usually killed in the process. Between thirty and fifty deer would die to provide two pounds of musk grains. Due to the high demand of musk, populations of musk deer were severely depleted. Musk deer is now protected by law in China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, and international trade of musk from
Moschus moschiferus
is prohibited.
For legal and ethical reasons, many perfume companies use synthetic musk: aromatic nitromusks, polycyclic musk compounds, and macro-cyclic musk compounds. Synthetic musk compounds have been found in human fat, breast milk, and in lakes and rivers. Scientists from State University of NewYork at Albany found synthetic musks in most breast milk samples collected in Massachusetts in 2007 in concentration of “five times greater than the concentrations reported 10 years ago for breast milk samples collected in Germany and Denmark” (Reiner et al. 2007). Synthetic musks, along with bisphenol-A, phthalates, fire retardants, aluminium, and paraben preservatives, are classified as xeno-estrogens, synthetic compounds that mimic the action of the hormone beta-estradiol and activating the estrogen receptors (Singleton et al. 2004). Xenoestrogens are linked to reproductive and fertility problems, as well as breast and uterine cancer in women (Donovan et al. 2007) and testicular cancer in men (Irvin 2000).
Today, the European Union has banned the use of some nitromusks in cosmetics and personal care products. In the United States, all musk chemicals are unregulated, and safe levels of exposure have not yet been set.
Some plants, such as garden angelica (
Angelica archangelica
) and ambrette seeds (
Abelmoschus moschatus
), produce musky-smelling aromatic compounds that are widely used in natural perfumery as substitutes for natural musk. Other plant sources of musk include musk flower (
Mimulus moschatus
) and the muskwood (
Olearia argophylla
) of the Guianas and West Indies. So if you are very partial to musk, choose a botanical musk fragrance from a reputable green fragrance brand.
SHOULD YOU LOVE OR HATE YOUR PERFUME?
An Interview with Serge Lutens
French photographer, stylist, perfumer, and fashion designer Serge Lutens was a creative director for Shiseido and now creates perfumes under his own name sold in Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido in Paris. He uses only natural ingredients and classical techniques in his fragrant masterpieces, such as Sa Majeste la Rose, Santal Blanc, and Douce Amere, which have an extraordinarily devoted following among celebrities and fragrance connoisseurs worldwide. Serge Lutens spoke to us from his home in Morocco:
On life choices:
“Perfumery was not a conscious choice. It was perfumery that picked me. The powerful desire for making perfumes dates back to my first voyage to Morocco, in 1968, when I smelled aromatic waxes, precious woods. . . . I did not know at that time if I would ever be able to turn this desire into reality.”
On breaking the rules:
“My first perfume was Nombre Noir, created in 1982. At the time, the black-on-black packaging had created a small revolution in the world of perfumery. My idea was to remove gold plating, decorations, and all those lavish ornaments that made me feel that perfumery was becoming fake and more about the embellishment than the scents. Black packaging creates an emotion, and today has become a classic design. The juice in itself—to create a contrast— was based on an aroma of white flowers. At that time, my tastes in perfumes were not well defined. Yet, ten years later, in 1992, a new revolution occurred, this time olfactive, with the launching of Feminite Du Bois, a feminine perfume based on masculine cedar. This perfume became a legend.”
On inspiration:
“I do not know if one can speak about inspiration when it comes to perfume creation. Some of my perfumes were inspired by literature and music; others were inspired by plants. A perfume must always awaken a memorable feeling and reconstitute your personal universe. In Datura Noir I tried to create a violent, dominating atmosphere that would evoke images of decadent nights with the bitter aroma of almonds. The first scent I clearly remember goes back to my childhood years in northern France. It’s an overwhelming smell of vanilla and gingerbread cookies from the bakery nearby. The perfume creator makes scents that can stir strong emotions, such as love or hate. He should not have personal preferences in the scents he uses.”
On perfumes and music:
“I do not think, though, that perfumery and music are strongly connected. Perfume is already music by itself. Nevertheless, I like to listen to Johann Sebastian Bach, who is my favorite composer.”
On the allure of perfumes:
“There are two types of people who buy perfumes. The first category determines the perfume like a sociocultural product that helps them create a new identity. This approach helps to market the perfumes, but the success is very short-lived. In this case, you buy an idea, not a juice! Another category of people is attracted by pure smell. They choose more personal scents that relate to them and bring out something new in their characters.”
On personal preferences:
“I do not use perfume often. When I work, it is impossible. I prefer to keep my senses fresh so that nothing interferes with the olfactive tension. However, I wear Ambre Sultan in the evening sometimes . . . and a lot of it!”
On natural beauty:
“Natural beauty, for me, is to exist as one feels. When something is natural, you feel it instantly.”