A MAG is a Modern African Girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things which may interest a MAG.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Doré Fasolati, this week's subjects: Scents and moods, Dior catches several birds with one stone, RIP Mary Quant, February 1930 –April 2023 -93), Acetaldehyde.

Scents and moods

Our sense of smell is the strongest of the five senses, (some now say we have more than 5 senses) and also the one most tied to memory and emotion. 75% of all emotions generated every day are due to smell. Scent affects mood, concentration, memory recall, and emotion. Research shows there is a 40% improvement in mood after being exposed to pleasant scents.

Smells are handled by the olfactory bulb, the structure in the front of the brain that sends information to the other areas of the body's central command for further processing. Odors take a direct route to the limbic system, including the amygdala and the hippocampus, the regions related to emotion and memory. Many studies have shown that scents can alter our perceptions of experiences and influence human behavior, such as buying behavior and visiting nicely scented places, but the reasons for this are not yet well understood.

Strong odors may cause some people to feel a burning sensation that leads to coughing, wheezing or other breathing problems. People who smell strong odors may get headaches or feel dizzy or nauseous. If an odor lasts a long time or keeps occurring, it also could affect mood, anxiety and stress level.

Dior catches several birds with one stone. The brand has teamed up with “Parley for the Oceans”, a non-profit plastic ocean debris collection NGO which tries to recycle plastic, Dior is a taker, and 96% of its latest beach cloth collection is made out of these recycleds. So we now see surfboards with Dior on it.

Recycling, fashion, leisure, publicity, CO2 imprint, lots of birds in that sky. The big impact it has, “use recycled rather than new” is becoming mainstream, and so much the better for all of us. And of course, you can always differentiate yourself from others by insisting on Ghana plastic, presently collected by Togbe Ghana, a.k.a David Kumordzi with his NGO called Let's Go Clean the Beach, though he burns it and makes pavement bricks out of it. Dono what happens with the smoke though.....

RIP Mary Quant, February 1930 –April 2023 -93). A lot of big fashion names have disappeared in less than a year that this M.A.G. blog exists. Coincidence? Not really. Until the 60's fashion from the utilitarian wartime standard of the late 1940s was predominant. Then a lot of things all of a sudden happened, and all at the same time. Europe was picking up after the devastatingly impoverishing Second World War, the economy expanded, unemployment was not an issue and the youth had money in their pockets to spend. And thus could afford to express their opinions toward their parents and tell them they wanted something else. The transistor (predecessor of the computer chip) was invented and made it possible to have a portable radio the size of a big packet of cigarettes, as against the stationary main room radio which could hardly be moved and which was controlled by the boss in the house, and the youth was ready for new styles of music like rock and roll and listened to it. And they created their own radio stations, oftentimes so-called “pirate stations”, without a license, which made it even more interesting for these revolting youth to tune into. So new fashions appeared, and boundaries were moved. Op-art, the mini skirt, the hot pant, it was a huge high wave of experiments (the word Tsunami had not yet been popularized), and as long as it was different it was welcome.

Mary Quant was one of the first to open a non-traditional shop, for the youth, open almost 24 hours a day, drinks and rock and roll music being served, as against the stately 10 to 6 o'clock warehouses like Marks and Spencers. Many of the icons who are now passing on one by one made their debut during this period, and are now, yes, old, and are passing on. Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, André Courrèges, Yves Saint Laurent, Baby Jane Holzer, Edie Sedgwick, Tiger Morse, Rudi Gernreich and Emanuel Ungaro all operated in this 60's-70's period. A lot more things happened during that period, but that is not what this blog is about. By the way, Mary Quant named the mini skirt after the Mini, the Morris Mini, still driven by a gentleman by the name of Rowan Atkinson, a.k.a. Mr. Bean

Acetaldehyde This chemical, with a nice flowery scent, is often used in non-natural perfumes (synthetic perfumes). I recently web-searched it and just copy-pasted some of it into this blog. Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet https://www.nj.gov › eoh › rtkweb › documents People also ask What are the health hazards of acetaldehyde? Breathing acetaldehyde for short periods can hurt your lungs. Acetaldehyde can also hurt your heart and blood vessels. Contact with acetaldehyde liquid or vapor can hurt the skin and eyes. It is not known if breathing, drinking or eating small amounts of acetaldehyde over long periods will hurt you. Exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency. ► Exposure to high concentrations can cause headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, and passing out. DANGEROUS FIRE and EXPLOSION HAZARD. ACETALDEHYDE – Delaware Health and Social Services https://dhss.delaware.gov › dph › files › acetaldehyde faq Search for: What are the health hazards of acetaldehyde? Are aldehydes safe? What are the safety precautions in acetaldehyde? What is the hazard class of acetaldehyde? What are the major hazards of ethanol? What is the main hazard of unstable chemicals?

Smells too good to be true? And the price is too good to be true?

Lydia...

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