248 JOURNAL .OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS following troubles in various preparations: the discoloration due to intense sunlight the attack on cardboard boxes and containers by a very humid atmosphere the precipitation in perfumes caused by intense cold. In creating a perfume the perfumer is not always required to provide a similar complex for a whole range of products, and in those instances where only a handkerchief perfume is required the problems are eased somewhat, but where a similar tonality is required for powders, creams, etc., then several factors must be taken into consideration, for example, discoloration and irritation in creams and the stability of a compound in an alkaline base. Face creams should be perfumed with a delicate fragrance. It must be borne in mind that the day creams are usually covered with a perfumed face powder whilst the night or deansing creams are removed after a short while. The oxidation of ingredients in powder preparations must be taken into account and those ingredients which oxidise readily should not be incor- porated into the perfume. Care should be taken not to use ingredients which will polymerise, and products which may affect the colour of a face powder must be eliminated. The latter does occur, although it is not a common feature of perfume in face powder. The action of strong alkalis such as bath salts creates quite a problem and often a fragrance is completely destroyed. Only perfumes of proved stability in this medium can be used, and care must be taken to ensure that there is no adverse effect on the colour. In lipsticks any component with a bitter taste must be eliminated and care taken not to include those aromatics which easily cause irritati6n. Although many aromatics are known to do this to a greater or lesser degree, quite a number' have been used successfully for some time in perfumes for various lipsticks without any declared ill effects. The perfuming of toilet soaps presents its own difficulties. To prepare a soap perfume the perfumer should be aware of the type of soap to be manu- factured, and whether it is to be a high-priced product or a cheap quality. Soap is used primarily as a cleanser and secondly as a beauty aid, and should therefore possess a pleasant fragrance. The perfume in soap must be noticeable and pleasing during its usage, and in most instances should leave a pleasant fragrance on the skin. The perfume should be consistent through the life of the tablet and not be changed by the mode of use. It is slightly less difficult to adapt an existing fragrance to suit a soap than it is with many other toiletries, if there is no objection to discoloration, although many components will be altered a little in odour by the influence on the soap base. Many aromatics are not stable in soap, and soap is affected by them, but the perfumer should be aware of the effect of various aromatics in soap and take the necessary precautions. If there is to be a complete disregard of aromatics that are not stable, discoloration in soap will have to be accepted, and that is one reason why so many soaps are coloured. The colour helps

THE ART OF THE PERFUMER 249 to cover much of the discoloration caused by the perfume, and if all known aromatics which cause discoloration were to be eliminated the perfumer would have a very limited number to work with. This would result in only a very small number of perfume complexes. Care must also be exercised to produce a product of quality, and the soap base should be carefully controlled to prevent the development of rancidity and to ensure that the odour of the base is as silent and as fresh as possible. The odour of so many soap bases influence the result of the perfume, and if on}y a base is used that is in itself fresh and clean a much better result will be obtained at a lower cost, as the amount of perfume can be reduced when there is little basic odour to cover. There is a tendency to use cheaper compounds in soap than are used in other toiletries, and although soap will absorb the odour of some of the impurities in the aromatics it must not be assumed that this is good practice. If the preparation is carefully made and there is little basic odour to cover, the use of a good quality perfume can be advantageous and the result will be more fragrant and pleasing, but there can also be a reduction in perfume content. Nail varnish perfumes present their own problems, too. Whilst it is not possible to cover the basic odour of the varnish it is possible to adopt a perfume which remains after the varnish has dried. This perfume must not have any deleterious effect on the varnish, such as interfering with the drying properties or affecting the colour in any way. Although this is obviously known to the cosmetic chemist, the perfumer should be a/so aware of these problems, and not include products which are known to affect the properties of a nail varnish. This is a further instance in which the perfumer and chemist must co-operate to get the best effects. With all this in mind it is quite impossible to have an identical perfume in a range of products, and some compromise must be adopted. In arriving at a compromise the perfumer is often requested to prepare perfumes to a price limit and is therefore forced to downgrade the quality of a compound. The selling price of most cosmetic preparations will permit the use of a good perfume, that is, a perfume of good quality and taste. Only very few per- fumes can be produced at a reasonably low cost. There are no standards, but one can be guided in floral complexes by their proximity to the natural perfumes of flowers. These natural perfumes possess a very high standard of quality, and it is this standard that the perfumer is always striving to achieve as in all instances of artistic development, an aesthetic taste is necessary. We are all aware that it is not possible to satisfy all tastes and that odour appreciations vary considerably, but the experienced user can easily judge a good perfume. The fact that a perfume does play an important part in the evaluation of a cosmetic product must not be overlooked. Often we see preparations that have a complex completely unsuited to the product, being either of a wrong type of perfume or of cheap quality. Not all corn-