"Scent is the relative of breath. Together with breath it enters human beings, who cannot defend themselves against it, not if they want to live. And scent enters into everyone's core, goes directly to the heart, and decides for good and all between affection and contempt, disgust and lust, love and hate. He who rules scent rules the hearts of men. "
--from Perfume by Patrick Susskind

A New Scent World:
Environmental Fragrancing

It sounds kind of sexy but is it good for us? Let's join the debate.

The involuntary nature of smell permits access and response to unperceived odorants as well as to detectable odors. Odors introduced below the smell perception or detection threshold can nonetheless produce psycho-physiological responses. You needn't be consciously aware of an odor for it to effect psycho-physiological changes and influence your behavior.

And reduced stress among workers exposed to scents, Shimizu is one of an increasing number of construction firms that over the past few years have developed a computerized environmental fragrancing system to deliver such scents into the workplace. Whereby liquid fragrances compressed into mist are pumped into working or living quarters through air-conditioning ducts and vents.

In Britain, scientists at Warwick University are developing scents for a group called Marketing Aromatics, designed to influence staff and customers in work environments for everything from stress reduction to use of scented company stationery with a "corporate odor identity," all tailor-made for each business's needs. So-called "signature scents" are becoming prevalent on both sides of the Atlantic.

Using natural scents to attain therapeutic psycho-physiological effects in medical offices, hospitals, nursing homes, spas or whatever else they might be expected or personally desirable (as at home, where one retains individual controls) is quite different from having government authorities pump fragrances into subways in the hope of deterring urban crime.

At the other extreme The National Foundation of the Chemically Hypersensitive, trumpeting its protection of the innocent from the evils of cologne and after-shave lotion, has demanded that designated "fragrance-free zones" be required in all restaurants and state-owned buildings.

What we are suggesting is you can begin to take control of you own life by following your nose and deciding what you want to smell.

In the section Indoor Air Quality we discuss why it is important to rid your home of synthetic fragrancing. In Make Natural Cleansers we show you how to make your own natural cleansers and bath products and save a lot of money. In Why Essential Oil Perfumes we discuss why we recommend you begin using pure essential oils instead of synthetics perfumes and bath and body products.

We promise: if you rid your own body and home of synthetic scents and integrate essential oils into your life, you will notice a remarkable improvement in how you look and feel!