Cetalox and Everclear: "Not" Not a Perfume

So, back in October, my friend Sam and I attended the Supernatural Sessions at the W3LL PEOPLE studio in Austin.  We had a great time, had a couple of local, natural cocktails, and scored a huge goodie bag full of awesome free samples.  Afterwards, we headed down the road to Barlata for tapas and another round of drinks, took a selfie, then went back to Sam's house where we split up that goodie bag like a poker pot.  :)

Image source:  Elizabeth Kertesz

I was planning to publish a blog post about the whole thing, but never got around to it.  Then by chance, I noticed that Crystal, from Clean Beauty Craze beat me to it.  Doh!  Seriously, she wrote up a great post about it - so here is the link - read all about it!

That was over a month ago, and in the meantime, I have been testing out some of those products from the goodie bag. A few of my favorites are the Resurrecting Wash and Rinse from Dear Clark, which smell heavenly, and a new product called Bio Tint that W3LL PEOPLE is planning to release soon. But interestingly enough, the thing that really caught my attention was a perfume.  A perfume called "Not A Perfume" made by Juliette Has a Gun.  

Now, for the past year or so, I've been researching all the ingredients in my beauty products, and one of the first things I learned was that the word "Fragrance" on an ingredient list denotes an undisclosed, proprietary blend of chemicals, often including phthalates and allergens, and EWG's Skin Deep database gives the ingredient "Fragrance" a score of 8 (High Hazard).  So I have been avoiding fragrance in general, and perfume in particular.  "Not A Perfume" got my attention though - I like the name, I got it in a goodie bag at a green beauty event, and even though the ingredient list includes the word fragrance, there was a note on the packaging that said it was allergen free. Also, it's made in a perfume house in Paris, which is kind of charming.

My first impression of the scent was that it smelled "clean and crisp".  It only has one fragrance component, called Cetalox, which is a synthetic form of ambergris.  I couldn't find much information on the safety of Cetalox in the Skin Deep database or elsewhere, but the MSDS states that there are no known health hazards associated with it.

After going so long without fragrance, I think I really missed smelling good, because I sort of fell in love with this product.  However, since the ingredient list contained the word "Fragrance", I had to make sure it was free of phthalates, parabens and formaldehyde, so I emailed Juliette Has a Gun, and at 3 a.m. my time (the following business day in Paris), I received an email from a lady named Ophélie Lagref confirming that it is indeed free of those nasties.  So, with the green light, I started using the sample, and now it's completely gone.  I wanted to buy a full bottle of the stuff, but even though it's called "Not A Perfume", it's still just as pricey as any nice eau de parfum, $80 for 50 mL.  So I couldn't justify buying it for myself, since part of my goal here is to stay on a low-cost budget.  I thought about asking my husband to give me a bottle of it for Christmas, but the poor guy lost his sense of smell a long time ago, so that just seemed cruel.

I read a couple of reviews, like this one from Beautiful With Brains, and noticed that one of the biggest criticisms of Not A Perfume is that it is simply Cetalox (also called Ambroxan) diluted in ethanol...and you know, that got those wheels turning in my head...  Could I make my own batch at home?  Before I knew what I was doing, a vial of white Cetalox crystals arrived in my mailbox.  I headed over to Craftiques, purchased a vintage perfume bottle for a great price, then swung by the liquor store to pick up a bottle of Everclear, and BAM! - I ended up with some sort of solution that smells an awful lot like Not A Perfume for a fraction of the price.

Image Source:  Elizabeth Kertesz

Honestly, I cannot recommend that my readers try this at home.  Everclear is extremely flammable, and the Cetalox MSDS says to keep it away from heat, but in order to get the crystals to dissolve, I ended up heating the mixture in a Pyrex measuring cup in a water bath on the stove, which was scary.  I didn't have the proper equipment or know-how to do this, so in retrospect, I think it was a little too dangerous.  Also, even though I eventually got most of the crystals to dissolve, there are still a few floating around in there - so I must have done something wrong.  And, yes, I feel kind of guilty for going out and making a knock-off version, especially after I told Ophélie that I was planning to purchase a bottle.

Still, my bootleg version of "Not" Not A Perfume smells great, and I wear it everyday. Something about dabbing on perfume everyday makes me feel so elegant. After conducting this little experiment, I want to learn more about the art of natural perfumery, so I've placed a couple of books on hold at the library, and hope to report back at a later date with better advice on the subject.