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Why is synthetic such a taboo?

post #1 of 8
7/31/10 at 12:26pm
Thread Starter 
I've noticed that on many of the fragrance reviews on here, there's often a comment saying "aweful, sythetic mess" or something along those lines.

a) what the heck does "synthetic mess" even mean?
b) whats so bad about synthetics?

I just don't understand the issue with something smelling synthetic. If it smells good, i wear it, irrelevant of sytheticness
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post #2 of 8
7/31/10 at 12:34pm
Synthetic is not invariably a criticism around here. When used in a negative sense, it typically implies one of the following:
(1) inferior replica of a natural component
(2) unwelcome suggestion of man-made materials such as detergent, plastic, medicine

While individual views vary and some of us have commitments to all-natural perfumery, I expect the majority of us (myself included) would agree that modern perfumery has been greatly enriched by synthetic aromachemicals.
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post #3 of 8
7/31/10 at 12:37pm
The use of synthetics is not taboo, and without them the art of perfumery would be hobbled. Smelling like household chemicals is taboo in my book, and while it may be easier to achieve floor cleaner accords with synthetic ingredients, I'm fairly certain it can be done with expensive natural ingredients as well. It just takes talent.
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post #4 of 8
7/31/10 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Off-Scenter View Post

The use of synthetics is not taboo, and without them the art of perfumery would be hobbled. Smelling like household chemicals is taboo in my book, and while it may be easier to achieve floor cleaner accords with synthetic ingredients, I'm fairly certain it can be done with expensive natural ingredients as well. It just takes talent.

This
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post #5 of 8
7/31/10 at 12:52pm
I'm sure a few people out-there would dismiss a perfume because it smells synthetic. Personally, I just find synthetic to smell unpleasant. If something smell synthetic and good I am all for it, and I got a few perfumes that do (Narciso Rodriguez is one of my favorites). Another issue is the fact good smelling synthetic fragrances are available in drugstores for $10.

Ultimately, as long as something smells worth the price tag, it's a good fragrance regardless of it smelling synthetic or natural.
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post #6 of 8
7/31/10 at 12:56pm
I personally will attest that fragrances that don't smell like anything of natural origin tend to turn me off. It's nothing conscious, it's an automatic response as far as I can tell. And it's not the use of aromachemicals in perfume, it's when the finished blend just doesn't smell like it's natural. That's one reason why many of the aquatics tend to really turn me off. They just don't smell like they are constructed of material that could possibly be of natural origin. And I do realize that the majority of the ingredients used on today's fragrances are synthetic aromachemicals. I've played a fair amount with natural and synthetic perfume components, and a few ingredients can literally make me gag (they just happen to be synthetics BTW). For instance, I bought a bottle of AdP Colonia Intensa. All I smell in Intensa is an aromachemical called Amberwood Forte; this is one of the ingredients that can make me gag. I get the same effect with Coolwater and GIT. Whether it's dihydromyrcenol, or another ingredient, it smells very synthetic and can make me gag.
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post #7 of 8
7/31/10 at 2:20pm
It's probably a "50/50" kind of thing, meaning that a large part is that the frag is too synthetic and a large part is personal preference. Probably the more you sample the more it tends to be on the synthetic side, meaning that you become better at determining which frags are more synthetic than others. Last night I wore Worth Pour Homme Haute Concentration and was really impressed by how "natural" I thought it smelled, but I also know that 2 years ago it would not have impressed me as such. Instead, I would have been more focused on the notes.
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post #8 of 8
7/31/10 at 4:21pm
Well the actual definition of synthetic is basically man made, or referred to as "fake". With that said, synthetic in a fragrance to me just means not as natural smelling as say some of the stuff from the Hermes house, or Creed's or other niche fragrances. But i usually only pull up the word synthetic when something is overly synthetic. For example: Chrome by Azzaro. The citrus doesn't smell anything like cutting open an orange or lemon, and there's lingering metallic notes. It just doesn't smell natural. Whether or not it appeals to you is another story. I don't use the term synthetic in a bad sense, unless otherwise said, then it will be explained as well. Synthetic in a fragrance to me means unnatural smelling. For that matter, the majority of fragrances smell synthetic to some extent.
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