AN EXPERIMENT

I bought perfume. I know, what was I thinking?

I've ranted and raved about the evils of perfume, but the key is not the perfume -- it's the nasty extra crud that's in it, i.e., phthalates, toluene, coal tar. I've never tried real perfume, the kind made the old-fashioned way with botanicals and maybe some alcohol or other oil as a carrier. So I looked around at a few sites and picked Ayala Moriel. I didn't have a particular reason, except that she is really good at communicating. I wrote to her asking questions about perfume and toxins, she wrote back and was pleasant, professional and sympathetic with my concerns. That spoke volumes to me. I ordered a box with 10 samples in it. And believe me, the samples are tiny. I chose the 10 randomly, reading the descriptions and looking up perfume terms. As with many other professions, perfumers have their own jargon. I wanted to give perfume as a present to a few young women and maybe keep one or two for myself (if they weren't too awful).

The descriptions are delightful: Spicy roses with incense and amber dries down to a powdery snow of fluffy fur. And: The scent of the West Coast rain forest after the rain.
I've tried a couple of the samples on myself and they are divine. They're subtle, they don't leave that horrible trail of smell everywhere you go -- they're too intimate for that. I'm glad I tried this. It's important for me (and you too) to know that perfume is NOT the problem. Toxic chemicals are. Enjoy.