Puzzled I kept walking up and down the hallway where it smelled like Cutter bug spray. Then it dawned on me that I had purchased a soap I usually don’t buy (forgot to get my usual natural soap the other day). I asked my husband whether he noticed the smell. He replied ”smells like chemicals, what I grew up with.” At Target I had scanned the 6-packs of soap bars – nothing natural available. The lesser of two evils seemed to be a 2-pack of soap that promised cucumber and green tea scent. Sounded reasonably good. But my sense of smell has changed over the years of not using mainstream cleaners, toiletries and cosmetics. I have not even repurchased my once-favorite perfume because I now smell artificial fragrances from a mile away.

Not only did that soap bar have this artificial green tint of pistachio ice cream (which clashed with the mellow beige bathroom, although that was minor), it also smelled so overwhelmingly synthetic that I had to get rid of it.