"Fragrance-Free" is the Most Important Label When Choosing Cosmetics

Naris Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (Representative: Hiroyoshi Muraoka, Headquarters: Fukushima-ku, Osaka City) sells sunscreens with various textures, such as cream, gel, powder, and spray types, through multiple sales channels including general distribution like drugstores, mail order, and door-to-door sales. Ahead of the arrival of full-fledged summer, we conducted a questionnaire survey to understand the awareness and actual conditions regarding cosmetics and daily necessities, including sunscreens, which see an increase in users, and their scents. We also confirmed changes in awareness by comparing some results with past surveys. The contents are summarized below. (Implementation period: March 16 to April 23, 2026. Survey method: In-house internet survey. Target: Women aged 20 to 59. n=2,085. 'n' varies depending on the question.) [Survey Topics] 1. When purchasing cosmetics and daily necessities, the most emphasized label content is "fragrance-free." Overall, about 30% emphasize "fragrance-free." Older age groups tend to emphasize the "fragrance-free" label more. Among the younger generation, the emphasis on "fragrance-free" is about 20%, showing a large difference by age. 2. Items used that are "fragrance-free": 1st "Facial skincare products," 2nd "Sunscreens." About 40% use fragrance-free sunscreens. For "Facial skincare products," about half of those in their late 40s use "fragrance-free." 3. Reason for using fragrance-free items: "I dislike various scents mixing." The generation around 40 has many reasons for using fragrance-free items. There are many sensitive reactions to scents, such as "I don't want to bother people around me," "I dislike the scent of body odor mixing with fragrance," and "I dislike the scent changing." 4. Trigger for using fragrance-free items: "Felt sick from fragrance" is about 20%. The generation around 30 uses them most selectively. 5. Less than half of the younger generation correctly understands the meaning of "fragrance-free." About 80% of the older generation understands it correctly. [Survey Results] 1. When purchasing cosmetics and daily necessities, the most emphasized label content is "fragrance-free." We asked 2,085 women aged 20 to 59 nationwide about the labels they emphasize when purchasing cosmetics and daily necessities. "Price" was intentionally omitted from the options. Overall, the top choice was "fragrance-free" at 25.6%, accounting for about 30%. This was followed by "colorant-free" at 20.1%, and "alcohol-free" at 19.5%. On the other hand, the percentage of "nothing emphasized" was 21.1%. Looking at this by age group, the tendency to emphasize "fragrance-free" is relatively higher among older age groups. It remains at about 20% up to the early 30s, but is about 30% from the late 30s onwards. Also, not only for "fragrance-free," but the number and percentage of items emphasized tend to increase as age goes up. This is thought to be because the items emphasized increase based on past experiences. Items that increase in emphasis with age include "paraben/preservative-free," "country of origin," and "all ingredients." Regarding "fragrance-free," it was the 2nd choice only for the late 20s generation (after "colorant-free"), but it was the 1st choice for all other age groups. Looking at the 2nd choice, it varies by age: "alcohol-free" for early 20s, "colorant-free" for early 30s, "paraben/preservative-free" for late 30s, "alcohol-free" for early 40s, and "country of origin" for late 40s and above. It is interesting that "fragrance-free" is the 1st choice for all age groups except the late 20s. 2. Items used that are "fragrance-free": 1st "Facial skincare products," 2nd "Sunscreens." We asked about the fragrance-free items they use. Overall, the 1st was "Facial skincare products" at 40.0%, followed by "Sunscreens" at 35.6%, approaching 40%. The 3rd was "Base makeup products" like foundation at 35.3%. It was surprising that about 20% answered they use fragrance-free items for "Hand creams," "Body wash products like body soap," and "Hair care products like shampoo," which generally have scents. 11.2% "do not use fragrance-free items." We compared this with a survey on fragrance-free items used conducted in January 2020. (The target age was 20-59, same as this survey, but n=15,051, so the scale is different.) The 1st was "Facial skincare products" as in this survey, but the 2nd was "Base makeup products like foundation," and the 3rd was "Point makeup products like lipstick." There was a 10.6 point difference between the 1st "Facial skincare products" and the 4th "Sunscreens" in the previous survey, but in this survey, the difference between the 1st "Facial skincare products" and the 2nd "Sunscreens" was 4.4 points. This suggests that the number of sunscreen users is increasing and the usage scenes of sunscreens are getting closer to skincare. Looking at this survey by age group, for the most common "Facial skincare products," it is in the 30% range up to the early 30s, and in the 40% range from the late 30s onwards. The highest is the late 40s, with 47.3%, about half, using fragrance-free products. For "Sunscreens," it is in the 30% range for the 20s to early 30s, increases to about 40% for the late 30s to late 40s, but drops to about 30% in the 50s. "Base makeup products like foundation" is below 30% only for the early 20s, but 30% or more for all older generations, showing no age difference. "Point makeup products like lipstick" is also about 30% for all generations, an item with no age difference. Items like "Hair care products like shampoo" and "Laundry detergent" tend to increase with age. 3. Reason for using fragrance-free items: "I dislike various scents mixing." We asked 1,428 women aged 20 to 59 who use some kind of fragrance-free item about their reasons. The 1st was "I dislike various scents mixing" at 32.6%. The 2nd was "I dislike things with scents" at 22.6%, and the 3rd was "I like things without scents" at 22.2%. This was followed by "Because I don't want to bother people around me" at 13.5%, and "I dislike the scent of body odor mixing with fragrance," confirming a certain segment of people sensitive to scents. Looking at this by age group, there is almost no age difference for the 1st reason, "I dislike various scents mixing." "I dislike things with scents" and "I like things without scents" seem similar and reflect differences in preference, but while there is some variation by age, it cannot be said there is a large difference. The early 40s was the generation that selected the most items. Items like "Because I hate scents getting on clothes" and "Because my skin doesn't agree with anything but fragrance-free" were selected by over 10%, and the percentage selecting "Because I share it with my family" was the highest among all generations. 4. Trigger for using fragrance-free items: "Felt sick from fragrance" is about 20%. We asked the 1,428 people who answered they use fragrance-free items about the trigger. Overall, the 1st was "Felt sick from fragrance" at 19.5%, the 2nd was "The item I chose happened to be fragrance-free" at 8.9%, and "Skin trouble" was 8.8%, approaching 10%. Looking at this question by age group, the 1st "Felt sick from fragrance" is about 20% for those in their late 20s and above. The low 14.4% for the early 20s may be influenced by a lack of experience due to age. When we individually asked those who answered "Change of seasons" for the reason, opinions like "When it gets hot, strong scents become unbearable" came up. It was also found that many in their late 30s, 11.4%, switched to "fragrance-free" triggered by "Pregnancy/Childbirth." It seems there is a tendency for people to choose unscented products not only because their own skin quality changed due to pregnancy/childbirth, but also out of concern for direct contact with their child's skin. From the results of survey 3, it is also clear that a certain segment switches to fragrance-free items as their family grows, such as "Because I share it with my family." 5. Less than half of the younger generation correctly understands the meaning of "fragrance-free." From the surveys so far, it was found that awareness of "fragrance-free" is relatively low among the younger generation and tends to increase with age. Therefore, we also asked about their understanding of "fragrance-free." "Fragrance-free" means cosmetics that do not use fragrance, not that they have no scent or are odorless. However, overall, 24.9%, about 1 in 4 people, perceive it as "something with absolutely no scent." Looking by age group, in the early 20s, 38.0%, about 40%, have a different understanding, and the percentage perceiving it as "something that does not use fragrance" is 46.5%, less than half. As age increases, "something with absolutely no scent" drops to the 10% range, and for those in their 40s and above, about 70% perceive it as "something that does not use fragrance." [Overall Discussion] Our company conducted this survey with the thought that the prolonged intense heat in recent years might be changing the selection and usage scenes of cosmetics. We found that many people emphasize "fragrance-free" regarding labels at the time of purchase. We also found that more people are seeking fragrance-free sunscreens. Depending on the concept the product fulfills, our company develops both fragrance-free products and those using fragrance. We consider the positive psychological effects that scented cosmetics have on users to be one of the values cosmetics can provide. On the other hand, in environments where people sweat a lot due to intense heat and high temperatures, we also think it may become difficult to cope well with changes in scent. It is thought that the value of sunscreens will increase as a necessary item to protect the comfortable lives of many people. As the number of people using sunscreens and the situations in which they are used increase, it is imaginable that fragrance-free items will be more sought after in the future. Although this survey was limited to adult women, we would like to grasp the needs of people in various positions and utilize them in product development. [Our Company's Fragrance-Free Initiatives] Fragrance-free does not mean "odorless cosmetics," but cosmetics that do not use fragrance. Since achieving fragrance-free products with the makeup brand "Dressique" in 1981, our company has been refining our technology for developing fragrance-free products for 45 years. With the manufacturing technology for cosmetic ingredients at that time, there was a unique odor due to low purification technology, and masking the raw material odor by using fragrance was the general manufacturing method for cosmetics. The reason our company started making fragrance-free cosmetics was not simply the discomfort of having an odor, but skin troubles caused by fragrance for our customers. 1981 Our company's first fragrance-free cosmetics "Dressique" Since April 2001, it became mandatory to list all ingredients in cosmetics, and currently all raw materials are displayed. Before that, however, there was an obligation to display only 102 types of ingredients designated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as having the potential to cause allergies, known as "designated ingredients for display," and "fragrance" was one that needed to be displayed as a designated ingredient. Cosmetics made from raw materials with low purification technology and low purity not only have an odor but also cause many skin troubles due to impurities. In addition, fragrance deteriorates due to heat and light, making it a major cause of skin trouble. Furthermore, even among fragrance-free cosmetics, there are those that have an odor, and those that develop an odor over time. By thoroughly managing factories to prevent odor transfer, starting from the development and adoption of high-purity raw materials, our company wants to continue providing safe, comfortable, and highly effective cosmetics to our customers. 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