A review by nuriti
The Case Against Fragrance by Kate Grenville

1.0

As someone with an academic background in olfactive chemistry, it shocked me that something like this got published. Doesn't pop science at least fact check? You want to make a case against fragrance that's fine, but you really need a science-literate editor or co-author otherwise you just look stupid. This book has a profound lack of understanding of the basics of organic chemistry let alone human olfaction and the complexities of reaction and sensitisation. There are incredibly liberal interpretations of study results as well as straight-up junk science. Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal. There are inferences here that are beyond logical leaps into obfuscation. There is also no accounting for dosage and application. Ya, if you inhale an 80% solution of 1-4-dioxane for an hour it will cause liver failure, but it's not bioaccumulating and you don't absorb enough through skin contact to be harmful. The .0001% solution in a fragrance that is airborne for 10 seconds in a sprits isn't going to hurt you. You are at far greater risk driving your car on the interstate with the windows down for an hour breathing in the exhaust fumes or going to a salon to get a keratin treatment or acrylic nails put on.