Q. Why Are Some Perfumes Colored? How Do They Differ from Colorless Perfumes, and What Should I Watch Out For?

A. Look closely and you will find perfumes that are clear and colorless, others that are slightly colored, and others with a pronounced color.

First, why do perfumes have color? There are two possible reasons.

① When Natural Fragrance Materials Have Color

Among natural fragrance materials, many essential oils have color, so they impart color according to the amount used in a perfume. Many are pale yellow, while essential oils from resins and similar materials can be dark brown. (See The Illustrated Guide to Fragrant Plants.)
The inherent colors of these essential oils change as they are exposed to light or air or as time passes, much as wine changes color as it ages. This is due to oxidation and evaporation. For this reason, essential oils are stored in brown, light-shielding glass bottles in a cool, dark place with little temperature fluctuation. This is also why the same storage method is recommended for perfume.

A perfume may change color during storage, but synthetic fragrance materials can also discolor, so a color change alone cannot tell you whether natural fragrance materials have been used.
However, some higher-priced fragrances use specially decolorized essential oils to keep the perfume deliberately clear and colorless. Decolorization costs money, so I think only a minority go to this trouble. Jean-Claude Ellena (in Japanese) does not particularly like colored perfumes and therefore generally creates colorless ones.

② When Color Is Added to Express the Perfume’s Image

In another approach, regardless of whether the fragrance materials themselves are colored, color may be added to express the perfume’s image.

For example, Louis Vuitton’s perfumes are each colored to express their particular image.

The colors of Louis Vuitton’s perfumes are enhanced with pigments. However, stabilizing a perfume’s color while maintaining its radiance and clarity is extremely difficult and complex. That is why we have worked with color specialists, or colorists, from the very beginning of our perfume launches.

Jacques Cavallier

Precautions

As for applying perfume, whether it is colored or colorless, it is generally meant to be applied to the skin. When doing so, avoid getting it on your clothes.
Colored perfume can of course cause stains, but depending on the fabric, particularly silk or cotton, other perfumes can also stain.

There are also several general precautions when wearing perfume. Please see the following for details. ↓↓