WHAT IS THE FRAGRANCE LOOPHOLE? AND WHY IT MATTERS

what is the fragrance loophole? and why it matters … wearing perfume do you ever experience headaches? with certain shampoos or lotions do you feel instantly overwhelmed or even sick because of how strong the scent is? I know personally from working in a beauty department for 5 years in retail that scents do have an effect on our day to day lives. because of how negatively fragrance impacted my health I steered clear of it for many years until I discovered DIME. With DIME is where I began wearing their eau de toilette products about a year ago. they’re stunning and I’m glad that there are brands formulating safer options.

Beautycounter launched their eau de perfum today!! which if you’re familiar with how perfume works – eau de perfum is a longer lasting formula and is a finer fragrance form. I’m excited about this new innovation and can’t wait to deep dive in the details with you!

there is a ‘greenwashing’ technique where on the front of the bottle you’ll see words like “free of ___” or “free from ___” or “cruelty free” which is great but let’s take a deep dive as to what IS in the products not just what isn’t. if you see the word ‘fragrance’ in the ingredients list (on the back) – the company is withholding additional ingredients from you – that word is a blanket term and currently there is no law that requires full disclosure of ingredients.

to me and to many others, that is a problem. I’d like to know what I’m putting on my body and on my family as well.

WHAT IS THE FRAGRANCE LOOPHOLE? and why it matters

A lack of regulation allowing companies to hide ingredients in their fragrances, citing “trade secrets” as an out. Which means they don’t have to disclose the ingredients in their products. That means dozens or even hundreds of chemicals can be masked under generic terms like “fragrance” or “parfum.”
Fragrance ingredients are oftentimes the most toxic chemicals in the market, which makes this loophole particularly problematic.
Hidden ingredients can include known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, such as:
- o Diethyl phthalate, which makes scents stronger and helps them last longer, is an endocrine disruptor.
- o Styrene, another scent strengthener (often giving scents a sweet smell), is a known carcinogen.
- o BHT, which is a preservative, has known respiratory and reproductive toxicity issues.

WHAT MAKES BEAUTYCOUNTER’S CLEAN EAU DE PARFUM DIFFERENT?

Rigorous Safety Screening: We assessed every fragrance ingredient against 23 human health & environmental endpoints. Ultimately, we screened over 300 ingredients—of which only 20% passed without restriction. We also added 60+ new ingredients to our Never List.

Full Ingredient Disclosure: Like all our products, we fully disclose every ingredient that we use. That’s why our ingredient list is so long—which is something we’re proud of.

Mindfully Made: Our formulas use a blend of natural and safer synthetic ingredients. This allowed us to use a safer synthetic in place of sandalwood, which has been harvested to the brink of extinction.

Third-Party Verifications: We make sure our formulas are tested and verified via outside agencies. All our fragrances are EWG VERIFIED, safe for sensitive skin, and Leaping Bunny Certified.

Advocacy: Over a decade of advocacy work, including lobbying for full ingredient transparency, has brought us here. In that time, we’ve pushed industry standards, laws, suppliers, and science, gathering the research and experience that led to the creation of our own Clean Eau De Parfum.

But the work isn’t done. This year, we’ll be urging Congress to support the Safer Beauty Bill Package, which will help close the Fragrance Loophole in the US. And, in Canada, we’ll be urging lawmakers to adopt stronger laws for personal-care products.

SHOP THE SCENTS HERE