We tested eight fragrances
to check for phthalates.
Five of them are top sellers
from some of the largest
perfume manufacturers,
including Celine Dion
Parfums Eau de Toilette
Spray by Coty, Clinique
Happy Perfume Spray,
Elizabeth Taylor White
Diamonds Eau de Parfum,
Estée Lauder Beautiful Eau
de Parfum Spray, and Liz
Claiborne Curve Eau de
Toilette Spray. Here's what
else we tested and our
surprising findings:
- All the fragrances
we tested contained at
least these two
phthalates:
Di(2-ethylhexyl)
phthalate (DEHP), which
is banned in cosmetics
in Europe, and diethyl
phthalate (DEP), which
is not banned and was
present in much larger
amounts. Our findings
seem counter to a
fragrance-industry
survey that reported
DEHP use is down to
zero.
-
- Two products-Aubrey
Organics Jade Spice Eau
de Parfum and Aveda Love
Pure-Fume Essence-went
into the test group
because the companies
say they don't contain
any phthalates. But we
found DEP, DEHP, and
diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP)
in the Aubrey Organics
product. Aveda's perfume
contained DEP and DEHP.
-
- Estée Lauder says
that DEP is the only
phthalate used in any of
its products, but we
found DEHP along with
DEP in Estée Lauder
Beautiful and its
Clinique Happy. (The
company also owns Aveda.)
A Liz Claiborne
representative told us
that none of its
products contains DEHP,
but we found that
chemical-plus DEP-in Liz
Claiborne Curve.
-
- We tested Christian
Dior Poison Eau de
Toilette Spray because
in 2002, tests by the
Environmental Working
Group, Health Care
Without Harm, and
Women's Voices for the
Earth found that it had
four types of
phthalates, more than
any of the other 16
fragrances tested. The
2002 study found DEP,
DEHP, dibutyl phthalate
(DBP), and benzyl butlyl
phthalate (BBP) but our
tests showed only DEP
and DEHP.
-
- We bought Happy,
Poison, and Beautiful in
both the U.S. and
Europe, and found the
E.U.-banned phthalate
DEHP in all the samples.
-
- No fragrances
mentioned phthalates on
their labels. But by
law, they can list the
word "fragrance" without
citing any of its
components, including
phthalates.
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