Evening star., 1943-07-16


| In hand. Many of the rarest OF ma.
ture's perfumes are duplicated in
the laboratory. Some of these are
within range Of everybodys pocket
book where formerly a few ounces
of the natural scent cost a princely
sum.
Shampoo soaps, depilatories, de-
odorants, lotions and and creams
are as stable part of the chemical
industries production as, for ex-
ample, dyes and synthetic fibers
Nail polish and Its removers are, In
fact, tank-car activities.
George B. Bradshaw, assistant
manager of the Du Pont Co.'S fine
chemical division, recently de-
scribed some synthetic perfumes
perfected to date" He told, for
example of "Astrotone" synthetic
musk, equivalent to the active in
gradients derived from the Tibetan
musk deer, basic of all Classical
perfumes. This the chemist pro-
duces from fatty oils derived from
plants or animals. Other musk like
odors come from coal tar.
THE ancient art OF perfume max
ing has undergone extraordinary
changes because of new materials
made possible by modern science"
said Mr.. Bradshaw. THE perfume
Of today is skillful blend of the
{ natural and synthetic.
: "'Skatole' is a chemical duplica-
ton of civet, another classical per-
fume base, while 'Indole' matches
jasmine and is regarded as the sine
qua non of exceptional perfumes.
AS attractive in every way as their
T. natural counterparts, except in name,
are isobornyl acetate and terpinyl
propionate. They practically replace
pine needle and rosemary oils and
are often used instead of lavender.
This pair is made from turpentine.
Only a short time ago it took
nearly 25 tons of violets to make a
single ounce of the natural oil. To-
: day the violet odor is produced syn
) thetically. Until recently ton of
roses was needed to obtain 10
ounces of the natural Oil. Now this
pdor is produced in the laboratory
Lilac, available to every one,
could not be produced, irrespective
of labor and costs, until 1t was made
hy synthesis, for no satisfactory
means has ever been found Of ex-
tracing the natural oil. Moreover,
there is no known natural extract
SO sweet or so peculiarly powerful In
odor as synthetic lilac. Similarly,
there was no hly-of- the valley per-
fume until it was produced syn
thetically.
The chemist has evolved numer-
Gus shades of each odor type. He
has created entirely new perfume
bases. The whole gamut OF aro-
mates now consists of perhaps a
thousand materials against a for
tner fifth of that number, with the
list of synthetics being constantly
increased.
But the greatest result of all came
when the chemist developed syn
thetic musk.
Musk is the most important sim
gle material used in perfumery. 1t
is a fixative, which means that it
blends into one fragrance the many
odors used in perfume, and con-
fers permanence on the odor. A
flXative is required in every per-
furne. Better than any other known
substance. musk performs this func-
ton, blending and exalting all other
perfume materials. 1t is highly
powerful and sweet, and is said to
be the most fascinating Of all odors
to human beings.
So great has been the demand for
musk in modern perfumery that
the male musk deer of Tibet, from
whose glands the natural musk
grains are extracted, was being ex-
terminated. The cost of natural
musk has reached $3.50 pound. If
It could be had In perfectly pure
state, 1t would be worth some $40,UUU
q pound.
Into this picture came the chem
ist. He developed synthetic musk
which is as powerful as the intrinsic
essence of natural musk. This is
"Astrotone"
There are others, especially i'm
portant to the American woman, be-
cause they replace previously i'm
ported and now largely unavailable
natural scents. Anlsic aldehyde sup
plies hawthorn odor and is a ST.
isfactory substitute for lilac. DIM
thoXybenzene possesses m1mosa-
like scent. Cinnamic aldehyde re-
places Oil of cass!a from China with
its cinnamon aroma.
Perfumes enter into our daily
lives to a tar greater extent than
most of realize" said Mr.. Bradshaw.
''For every ounce of scent sold as
such. thousands of gallons are sup
piled to soap and cosmetic manu-
facturers. Lipstick, cold creams and
toilet goods rely on chemically pro-
duced pleasant odors. There is, by
the way, no difference between per-
fumes and synthetic fiavors for
foodstuffs and those for medicinals
except difference in use.
Many of the objects which we
consider daily necessities would be
unusable because of bad odor, were
it not for perfumery. They are used,
for example, in fabrics to cover up
the unpleasant odor of certain tex
tile finishes. Similarly, they enter
into paints, leather, linoleum, medi-
cines, ink, foods and a multitude of
other products"
"Soapless soaps" represent an
other important contribution Of the
research laboratory to our daily
CA:Jo.. N/.L