Does Everybody Hate The Dole & Gabbana Baby Perfume?

High end fashion house Dole & Gabbana claims they’ve bottled the sweet smell of an infant in its new fragrance “per I bambini” which means “for the children” in Italian and is said to be inspired by the smell of baby’s breath.

As you might imagine, there’s been quite an uproar, from people who think it’s silly, to those who fear it might be harmful.

And those who think that this is the latest, most striking evidence of a consumer culture run amok.

according to Patricia Dalton of Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia says like other baby products, the new perfume probably won’t have alcohol or the harsh chemicals found in adult fragrances.

Supposedly, per I bambini will be redolent of citrus, honey, and the "innocence of childhood."

You can imagine the hilarity - and the derision - this elicited. "Silly" and "idiotic" were the least of the barbs.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a nonprofit advocacy group, declared that the very idea of baby perfume "stinks" because many fragrances contain irritants, allergens, and other substances of concern.

Don't babies already smell great? (Except for the obvious times when they don't?) Of course, baby products have been scented for ages. If the point is to evoke warm feelings, it works!

Expose people to the traditional scent of baby powder, and whether they're 30 or 80, they get all goo-goo-eyed and nostalgic, said Pamela Dalton, a Monell Chemical Senses Center researcher in Philadelphia, who studies how scent and emotion interact.

What really irks critics is this: Scenting a product that has another, presumably higher, use isn't so bad, but an outright perfume - it's not as if the baby is getting ready for a date - is over the top.

D&G, meanwhile, isn't talking. A spokeswoman in New York said that, beyond a tweeted announcement by Stefano Gabbana a month ago, the head office has released no more information. So all we know is that it's coming. I am noting that they will have to start talking the story is picking a lot of negative press and this cannot be the only topic trending from the upscale fashion house.