Don’t take our word for it. Here’s every fact on this site, with its evidence grade, its caveats, and a link to the source, so you can check us.
We start you on the strong ones: findings that have been replicated or come from one large, well-controlled study. Moderate and weak facts are here too, labeled for what they are. Use “Link to this fact” to share a single card.
Fragrance is everywhere / Review of other studies
A 2022 review of 37 studies found that phthalates, parabens, aldehydes, and aluminum salts are the contaminants most often reported in perfumes, colognes, and related scented products.
Weak evidence: Non-quantitative review with factual slips; cite primary studies for numbers.
Source: Kazemi 2022, Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering Link to this fact
Fragrance is everywhere / Measured in people or real products
The same perfume does not come off the skin the same way every day: in women not on the pill, a fixed dose of vanilla on the forearm was rated about 3 times stronger on cycle day 22 than during menstruation.
Weak evidence: 18 women (9 per group), 25 male raters, no hormone confirmation, no unperfumed control, no statistics printed, storage time unreported.
Source: Chróst 2021, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology Link to this fact
Fragrance is everywhere / Review of other studies
Deodorants alone are estimated to deliver roughly 1,000 metric tons of fragrance per year to the German population, based on standard daily-dose, dermal-retention, and perfume-content assumptions.
Weak evidence: A calculated estimate from published dose and market-size figures, not a measured total; depends on assumed 1% dermal retention and 3-5% perfume content.
Source: Klaschka 2012, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health Link to this fact
Fragrance is everywhere / Review of other studies
The review lists perfumes, hair sprays, soaps and nail varnishes as products that contain phthalates, but names no specific phthalate for those products and no musk, UV filter, paraben or terpene.
Weak evidence: One generic sentence; it supports no fragrance-specific neurotoxicity claim.
Source: Jocsak 2026, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Link to this fact
Fragrance is everywhere / Other evidence
In a 30-person Shanghai lab study, a floral-musk perfume blend from Shiseido (jasmine, musk, muguet, rose, bergamot and others) was linked to faster reaction times on a go/nogo button task after a 15-minute simulated drive (about 445 ms vs 484 ms with no scent).
Weak evidence.
Caveats
Small crossover, young adults, nobody drove (watched a video), participants could smell the scent so it was not blinded, odorless rather than placebo-odor control, no air concentration measured, scent supplier employed the first author, and stats treat paired data as independent.
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.