HAND SANITIZER

During these crazy days when we have little occasion to show off our perfumes, Brooklyn Perfume Company is offering Désinfectant pour les Mains, usually called “hand sanitizer.”

This light spray is perfumed with Geranium from Madagascar, opulent, exotic, and complex. The banal hand sanitizer becomes something elegant and alluring.

Hand sanitizing is important, not to mention life-saving. Diligent hand sanitizing can help curb the spread of infection not only of the dreaded covid virus, but of any number of little pests. Many of us now have a bottle of hand sanitizer nearby, in a bag or pocket. If properly washing your hands with water and soap isn’t possible, cleaning your hands with a hand sanitizer gives at least a short-lived burst of fresh cleanliness.

Starting in the 1940s, alcohol-based hand sanitizers came to be found in medical settings. But, the appearance of covid-19 in 2019, spurred its use in non-medical environments. Soon it showed up everywhere: in schools, offices, day care centers, dorms, and restaurants. Now, hand sanitizer is a fact of life and clearly here to stay.

Hand sanitizers have become a grocery staple. While the spread of covid infection was rising, there was a massive spike in the sales of hand sanitizers. Choosing a hand sanitizer with 60% to 90% alcohol is found to be effective versus germs and bacteria. Whether these are in liquid, gel or spray form, the effectiveness remains the same. Now available in convenient small bottles, most hand sanitizers come with fragrant or aromatic scents, or with skin moisturizing features, thus elevating the experience of the rather simple but very essential task of hand cleaning.  

Brooklyn Perfume Company includes in its range of products what the French call, “désinfectant pour les mains”. The hand sanitizers come in either 30ml or 100 ml bottles, and come in two scents: Geranium and Wild Orange. Geranium has a citrusy and fruity scent with a hint of spice and rose, lemon and herbs, as though you are standing in a dewy garden. Wild Orange has a deep and rich tangy scent and a strong aroma of citrus.

The 30ml bottle of the hand sanitizer costs $18. If you donate to The Arts Business Collaborative, the cost is $23. The 100ml bottle meanwhile, costs $28 apiece, and if you are to include a donation, it will amount to $33. The donation will help and support The Okra Project that aims to provide home-cooked healthy meals to Black trans folks.