Fragrance reformulation guide and Era-Dating (complete)

Perfume reformulations 101:

  Hello fragrance fam! My names John, I'm the owner of VintageDecants.com. A site built for sampling early versions of fragrance. I'm not a perfumer, nor have I worked in the industry. I'm an avid fan and long-time collector of fragrance. I've compiled this blog, to help explain what and when perfume reformulations are.

I'll also be introducing an easier way for you to identify your perfumes, with a method I've created called "Era-Dating", enjoy!

First edition versions are going to be the closest to the perfumers original creation and vision. When ingredients are removed or restricted, It's like if you were trying to cook a recipe, without it's original ingredients expecting it to taste the same. 

For most of the world, perfume ingredients are commonly regulated by IFRA (The international fragrance association) and the EU (European Union). Their goal is to make perfume universally safe for both our health and the environment often targeting ingredients with allergy causing components.The simplest way to think about it: The EU regulates (makes the law), and IFRA recommends (sets the industry standard). If a brand wants global distribution, they will generally have to abide by IFRA's guidelines. You can learn more about IFRA's recalls through their official site here: https://ifrafragrance.org/standards-library 

2. If you want to pin-point the exact date of reformulation for a specific brand, you have to cross reference images of boxes and bottles and identify when ANY new aesthetic changes happened during the era. Reformulations have always ran concurrently with ANY new aesthetic changes to the box, bottle or sticker. 

 

In 1979, as a conservational issue, CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) banned the use of endangered natural deer musk within perfume. To my nose, natural deer musk could be either anamalic, or could also smell clean and comforting, reminding me of the smell of classic saddle soaps. Vintage Equipage by Hermes is a great example of a perfume that used natural deer musk with a soapy aroma. Note: I've smelled deer musk from some brands well into the mid eighties. You can visit CITES official site here: https://cites.org/ 

Using scientific data from RIFA (The research institute for fragrance materials), In 1981 IFRA issued a 4% maximum concentration for musk ambrette, only to completely restrict the ingredient entirely two years later in 1983. Musk ambrette was a heavily used synthetic note in vintage perfumery as a low-cost/high-yield replacement for deer musk. I would consider musk ambrette to have a comforting/warming aroma to it. The common comparison I could relate this with would be Warner batches of Polo, vs the Cosmair versions released after 1984. To identify this era you'll need to cross reference when, either aesthetic or industry, shared timelines happened for the perfume. 

*Examples of shared industry timelines:

1984: Warner turns into Warner/Cosmair

1986: YSL changes from Charles of the Ritz to Parfums Corp

1984: Guerlain changes their packaging to the gold and black boxes.

1986: Patou changes their numerical batch code, to alpha-numerical.

  

   

  

1. The modernization/barcode era: This wasn't an officially mandated reformulation. Brands during this era were subsidizing their formulas for international mass production. In 1989 the introduction of barcodes (Universal Product Codes) on perfume boxes, is what turned perfume from a regional luxury item (e.g., a US formula and a French formula), into what could be sold as a unified worldwide commodity. To accommodate for supply, some perfume houses traded in their harder to source raw materials for ingredients that favored low costs and high yeilds. Personally I find these changes were small during this timeline. You can identify this era if the box contains a barcode, WITHOUT a Green Dot symbol.

2. IFRA's Amendment 25/Green Dot era: Passed in 1990 with a majority of It's reformulations taking place from 1991-1993. This was the first major reformulation that marked the transition from "voluntary suggestions" to the strict modern regulatory environment we have today. Fragrance houses realized they could be sued if they didn't comply. This led to mass reformulations where brands updated their entire catalogs simultaneously. New restrictions were placed on the following ingredients; Oakmoss And treemoss' were restricted to 0.6%. Nitro musks like musk xylene and musk ketone were restricted. Voluntary restrictions due to ethical concerns were strongly suggested for animalics like castorium and civet. Because of environmental shortages from india, endangered mysore sandalwood was either removed or reduced from most formulas.  You can identify this era generally if the box or bottle has a Green Dot logo, the bottle will be 1992 or newer (reformulated).

 

In 1995, the 29th amendment from IFRA restricted the concentrations of three ingredients: Coumarin 1.6% (tonka bean), eugenol 0.5% (clove/cinnamon) and isoeugenol 0.02% (carnation). Oriental and fougere fragrances like Opium, Youth Dew, Cinnabar, Azzaro Pour Homme and more, had to have their formulas reconstructed.

 Additionally in 1996, the EU established the INCI system (international nomenclature of cosmetic ingredients). This mandated ingredient lists to be printed on ALL boxes, with the formating to include a translation of the ingredients. (E.g., using both "aqua" and "water")

*Shared timelines:

1997: Azzaro pour homme changes It's bottle style

1995: Paco Rabanne pour homme changes It's bottle style

1996: Drakkar Noir changes It's box style

1997: Short list of ingredients appears on ALL Chanel boxes

1997: Short list of ingredients appears on ALL Dior boxes

 

In 1997, the European Union's Council Regulation brought CITES (the same group that had deer musk removed in 1979) rules directly into EU law. This strengthened the control over any CITES listed species, or their derivatives, being imported into or moved within the EU. This alongside other numerous conservational acts that had been leading up to this, effectively removed animalic and rare resources from mainstream perfumery. This meant synthetic alternatives would now be used for notes like ambergris, civet, castorium, and mysore sandalwood. In contrast, some popular middle eastern perfumes like Montale and Amouage would keep using natural animalics until 2011. Currently the use of any naturally based animalic ingredients are rare, but can still be found within some high-end niche artisanal perfumery. 

Shared timelines:

1999: YSL Adapts to the PPR-Gucci era

1999: Guerlain's Samsara and Heritage, (mysore sandalwood fragrances) changed bottle styles

2001: YSL Kouros Fraicheur is discontinued (With Civet)

2003: YSL Kouros Cologne sport is released (With no civet)

 

 Example of Guerlain's Samsara, that received an aesthetic changes in 1991 and 1999 signifying reformulations (reductions/removals of mysore sandalwood).

 

 

In 2006 the 40th amendment introduced the QRA (Quantitative Risk Assessment) framework (the long ingredient lists), which was originally launched with a set of 30 ingredients with standards attached to them. A standard is the allowable safe level (concentration) for an ingredient used. Brands were required to list any ingredients on their packaging that had standards attached to them.  Many companies knew this change was coming and some as early as 2004, were already updating their formulas. Not all designers wanted a long list of potential allergens listed on their box. In some cases, they had their perfumers reduce, remove or substitute the ingredients with alternatives to shorten the lists. Some fragrance profiles that relied on raw materials changed dramatically after this era. 

  

 

In 2008, the IFRA 43rd amendment banned the use of natural oakmoss/treemoss within fragrance. Oakmoss (Evernia prunastri) is a pivotal ingredient, that was featured in almost every perfume for it's fixative and harmonizing qualities. The introduction of two replacements were:

 

The QRA framework continued to advance, creating numerous new standards for previously unrestricted fragrance notes. The price of "treated" (IFRA compliant ingredients with their allergens removed) materials was costly and because of that, it inadvertently pushed mainstream perfumery away from it's use. Leaving primarily niche and designer private lines, to use the expensive compliant materials.

What would eventually become the industry standard, were synthetic aroma chemicals. They're cheaper to source, with less ingredient restrictions. Notes like iso-E-Super, amberwood, and ambroxan would all largely gain popularity and substitute other more expensive ingredients. 

 Additionally In 2017, the offcial EU cosmetics regulation successfully banned lyral (a synthetic version of lily of the valley) from fragrance. Lyral (Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde) was a widely used aldehyde, with fixative capabilities. Made popular in fragrances like Versace L'homme, the Chanel Allure series, the Armani code series, the L'Homme series and countless others. After this era you'll typically notice within a lot of perfumes, the color of the liquid will be a lighter color than previous versions. Due to the removal of raw materials in the formula.

 

In the 49th amendment passed in 2020, IFRA introduced the QRA2 framework (Quantitative Risk Assessment 2). It's an updated and stricter version of what the QRA originally was. It included an additional 73 ingredients that received new standards. The system expanded from 11 categories, to 12, with additional sub-categories for better organization. 

The QRA2 also introduced "Aggregate Exposure Settings" for ingredients. A system that sets the allowable ingredient concentration within fragranced products, by recognizing consumers may use other scented products daily. (e.g. shower gel, lotion, soap, air freshener) This calculates the concentration deemed as "safe", by looking at the total dose an individual may be exposed to from all sources. This new measuring system created a huge amount of new standards that were placed on over 70 new ingredients.

The 49th amendment also fully removed lilial as an active ingredient. Lilial (Butylphenyl Methylpropional) was a floral aldehyde with fixative properties, that was used in an extremely high amount of fragrances.

 

 Listing 80+ allergens in text would take up the entire back of a perfume box. Regulators now encourage Digital Labeling. This allows brands to only need to provide the full list via QR code or online.

  

 

   More identification ques to help identify era 9 (2023-2025)

 

   

 

In closing: 

 

As we step farther away from the use of raw materials and head towards the synthetic revolution, I conclude; regardless if it's vintage or modern, fragrance is still great thanks to the skilled perfumers! Constantly adapting and evolving their craft alongside their ever changing palette of ingredients. My opinion is It's the reformulations that cause the building blocks of great fragrances to fall apart but I guess it's part of evolution!

Cheers and enjoy the journey.