This Week in Fragrance: Car Smells, Chanel, Scented Jewelry, Power Scents and Lola

by: Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison

Could that aromatic new car smell actually be bad for your health? BBC's Jim Travers reports HERE:

"'It’s a chemical cocktail made up of lots of toxins,' said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director of the Ecology Center in the US state of Michigan. The Ecology Center has been monitoring and testing chemical levels in car interiors for years, and has noted some improvement. But Gearhart says there is still work to be done."

Chanel is in the news both for being denied a trademark for one of its fragrances and for a successful dupe. Cally Squires reports in Cityam.com:

"There was a whiff of dejection in the air for luxury fashion and fragrance house Chanel this week, as the application it made to trademark Jersey – the name of its lavender scent – was denied by the UK Intellectual Property Office. The brand argued that the perfume was named after the favourite textile of Coco Chanel, but the island felt a trademark would 'limit the opportunities for entrepreneurs in Jersey'."

Additionally, fellow Cityam.com reporter Edith Hancock reports that sales of discount retailer Original Factory Shop's not so original Chanel No 5 knock-off has gone viral:

"Original Factory achieves an annual turnover of around £200m for the private equity firm, and no wonder - a £5 bottle of perfume the firm says smells just like the iconic Chanel No 5 is flying off the shelves at the retailer after only being on sale for a few days. Ironically named Opulence, Original Factory claims to have sold so many bottles of the fragrance that it's already had to order another shipment. The firm owes the success to its 'likeness to the Chanel classic'."

Beadinggem.com's Pearl Blay has shared the work of Russian polymer clay artist, Maksim Mantuli of Lixori in an article discussing the artist's fragrant jewelry. Blay believes Mantuli's work is perfect for those who prefer not to wear scent on their skin:

"It is a subtle release of the scent unlike other fragrance designs I have seen.  All his designs have holes in the back where drops of perfume are placed.  This I suspect is the unsealed polymer clay which will take up the scent. Alcohol based scents probably won't last very long but essential oils or those used in candle or soap making might fare better."

Over at Womensvoices.org, Alex Scranton ponders Procter & Gamble's removal of 140 fragrance chemicals from inclusion in their products:

"There is a lot to like about P&G’s updated fragrance ingredient palette, but they don’t provide details on why they decided to remove some toxic chemicals from their fragrance palette while choosing to keep others....what’s particularly interesting about P&G’s recent steps towards ingredient disclosure is how it demonstrates the evolution in fragrance ingredient disclosure that has occurred in recent years."

Madonna's daughter is all grown up and ready to model for Stella McCartney! TheDailymail.com's Charlie Lankston discusses 19 year old Lola's new fragrance campaign for Pop:

"The 19-year-old student, designer and model appears alongside a host of other young influencers in the new campaign for British designer Stella McCartney's latest fragrance launch, going virtually make-up-free in the ad images, allowing her to show off her natural beauty. Modeling soft lilac-colored hair for her modeling debut, Lourdes, who is known as Lola to her friends and family, posed with Canadian musician Grimes, actress Amandla Stenberg, and animal activist Kenya Kinski-Jones for the Pop fragrance shoot."

Lola pictured at left.

Lee Kynaston for Fashionbeans.com reports on 7 ways to use fragrance to one's advantage:

"Forget the self-help section and cash-swindling life coaches, when it comes to getting ahead in life, it’s fragrance that’s your best friend. From appearing more confident and successful, to improving your memory, to coming off as poll-toppingly attractive as the likes of Clooney, Pitt or Styles, all you need is a quick spritz. And if you don’t believe me, then believe hard-nosed science: here’s a selection of popular men’s fragrances containing life-enhancing notes that white-coated boffins are getting behind. Scrap ‘The Secret’; it’s all about The Scent."

One of many examples that Kynaston presents is the power of specific notes:

"We’re all familiar with the strategy of faking it ’til you make it, but if you’re fresh out of chutzpah, then give yourself an olfactory pep talk with a scent containing the Holy Trinity of ‘success notes’: patchouli, black pepper and sandalwood. A study by Creston’s Marketing Sciences Sensory Unit revealed that guys who wear these three notes – found in many men’s fragrances – come across as being more successful and accomplished than those wearing other fragrances, particularly those containing leather and cedarwood, which – contrary to lore – actually run the risk of calling you out as a bit of a loser."

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