While you might think that as a perfume freak I’d be consumed with all things scented, the fact is that I prefer to be judicious in what scents my world. As a consequence, I gravitate towards certain products that, while not without smell, are without a distinct fragrance. I thought I might list some of my favorites:
Hair
Philosopy’s Curly Head hair serum is a nice medium-weight silcone hair serum. Despite the name, the ingredients don’t really do anything special for curly hair, and are completely appropriate for any hair types needing shine or manageability. Two ounces don’t sound like a lot, but one bottle lasts me nearly a year, and I use it every single day. Their Memory hair gel holds nicely without stiffness, and for my below shoulder length hair I only use a pea sized amount to preserve the natural waves in my hair. Beauty Without Cruelty’s Leave-In Conditioner actually does carry a fragrance, but it fades off within a couple minutes, providing me with a nice option for detangling while moisturizing my long hair. It is a silicone free product, so I can use it in conjunction with a serum. However, I know this is also a product of choice for hair product junkies who deliberately try to avoid silicone additives.
Kitchen
Seventh Generation Free & Clear Dish Liquid doesn’t produce as many suds as a regular dishwashing liquid, but it cleans just as well. Moreover, it thankfully doesn’t dry out my hands as much as those regular liquids, and rinses much more easily. Trader Joe’s Automatic Dishwashing Detergent costs me all of three bucks, and works better than the heavily scented and dye-bearing detergents you normally encounter at the grocery for the dishwashing machine. Unfortunately there is no way to obtain it online, and can only be purchased through brick and mortar stores. But if I’m unable to make the trip all the way down to my Trader Joe’s, I go to Fred Meyer and pick up Seventh Generation’s Dishwashing Powder, which costs a bit more, and doesn’t work quite as well as the Trader Joe’s brand, but still gets the job done. I’ve found that despite my chronic perfume use I rarely cause my husband to sneeze, but running the dishwasher with things like Cascade brand detergent does, and how. Neither the Trader Joe’s nor the Seventh Generation induces this reaction in him, and as a consequence, we use them at our house exclusively now. He got sick of sneezing, and I got sick of saying Gesundheit a million times in a row. For cleaning countertops and my table I use plain old white vinegar and water. I know it sounds like it won’t work as well as the more impressive sounding commercial sprays available, but really, it works just fine. Commercial sprays contain surfactants that do aid in wiping away messes, but I don’t mind putting some rather minimal efforts into cleaning up these smooth surfaces. On the rare occasion I do want scent, I like to add a couple drops of Sunshine Spa’s Omar oil, which lends a floral-pine like scent to the spray.
Body
Unrefined shea butter works wonders on dry skin. It’s not precisely scentless, bearing a faint odor reminiscent of pale anise and cardboard, but it’s nothing that interferes in the least with a daily perfume, and the scent is nothing anyone else will pick up. I strongly recommend this eBay seller’s product. Her product arrives in a simple baggie, but it is easily transfered to a Tupperware or disposable Ziploc container. And it’s emminently more affordable than the more popular refined versions sold at much higher prices in far lesser quantity. It’s lovely stuff to use, and spreads just as nicely as the more expensive stuff loaded into overpriced tins. However, I do like carrying around a small tin of shea butter to use on my lips, and for that I turn to Pre de Provence. Their wee 7 ounce tins of refined shea butter moisturize nicely, make a fairly good treatment to put under lipstick/gloss to keep it from slipping off, and never come unscrewed or pop open in my purse. L’Occitane Hand Cream has a cult following, and for good reason. It is awesome. It mostly just smells pleasantly soapy to me, and as long as you’re not slathering it on everywhere, the scent fades soon enough. For lighter lotions, Lubriderm doesn’t have the sexy glam edge of high end brands, but it does the job, and that’s what counts. If you get really desperate, and have nothing else on hand, I’d also suggest Crisco for sore, chapped skin - feel free to laugh at me if you must. I can honestly say it protects and relieves really icky dry skin surprisingly nicely. It does cause some greasiness, however, which shocks exactly no one. Pre de Provence’s Milk soap bar is not precisely unscented either, but I find that the smell is minimal and washes thouroughly from my skin. Escential Lotion and Oils also makes an excellent shower gel, which they do sell unscented (for online shoppers, select “none” in the drop down menu.)
Laundry
My hands down favorite is All Free and Clear. I won’t even bother mention others I’ve tried that are nice enough, but not nearly as good. The powder works well, but we generally choose the liquid. I’m not sure one can buy this online at all, but it’s easily found at most stores here in the US. My skin is impossibly sensitive to clothing detergents for some reason, and this is one of the very very few that has never caused a rash on me. And it blessedly doesn’t impart a scent to my clothing to interfere with my perfume habit. I refuse to use fabric softener or dryer sheets: These products contain chemicals that can yellow your clothing and break down fabrics much quicker than if you simply do without them. So if anyone here does use them and has suggestions, please take a moment to share your recommendations for ones that are not scented, as I’m sure that not everyone feels the same as I do and others will appreciate hearing your ideas. For stain remover, nothing beats using plain old Ivory soap or Dreft baby detergent. Specifically, it’s awesome with organically based stains. I’ve even gotten PRUNE JUICE out of white baby onesies with those. I rinse the item in water, rub a bar of Ivory or use water with Dreft to make a paste to apply to the affected area, let the item set overnight, and then toss it into a load of wash the next day. I’ve yet to find a stain-remover that erradicates discolorations as efficiently.
Have any of your own personal favorites you choose for unscented products? Please share them!
Philosophy and Seventh Generation products can be purchased online at drugstore.com, and the other items hyperlinked are already tied to an etailing shopping source.
The If oil is another story. While it too is a rather uncomplicated affair, the way the oil unfolds seems to capture some ephemeral moment, like bending a tender stem to the point just before it breaks. In some ways If oil reminds me of