Get your favourite fragrance and look at the ingredients list. What does it say? It's probably a mix of water, alcohol and "parfum/purfume/fragrance".

Most products you use will have this as an ingredient but do you know exactly what it is?

Unfortunately, only the company truly does. Legally, "parfum" and "perfume" can be anything from a blend of organically certified essential oils, plant absolutes, synthetic fragrances or animal derivatives.

This information is commercially sensitive and these fragrance blends that are unique to particular products are the most secretive as the companies do not want a competitor replicating their most lucrative scent.

I have had bad reactions to creams in the past and the only thing I could put it down to is it had fragrance in it. If one cream makes your skin react and another with the same ingredients doesn't, the addition of a different fragrance blend is probably your allergen.

What can you do?

Unfortunately, not much. They don't have to tell you what it is so most simply do not. If you want to look into this further:

1) Research your favourite perfume/product with perfume listed and make your own decision on it.

2) Liz Earle and Neals Yard both have natural perfumes out and they categorically state that they only use essential oil blends. Other green brands are also branching out into perfume so check reputable sites. With your normal products, a point you'll find we often come back to: Natural brands will tell you what they do because they are proud of doing it. If they only use a blend of essential oils for their fragrances, its likely their website will tell you this.

3) Get blending! Perfume is simply a blend of essential oils. Buy a small roller bottle (or reuse an old one, like the Neals Yard "Remedies to Roll"), fill it with a carrier oil and add your essential oils. You can just add one or get reading up on blending and create your own bespoke fragrance. Considering one bottle of perfume is at least about £30 now, buying a small bottle of carrier oil a few essential oils and something to keep it in will not set you back this much. You save money, solve the problem of not knowing whats in your perfume and recycle something you would otherwise have thrown away all in one go.