Skylar perfumes are formulated without many of the ingredients most commonly flagged as toxic in conventional fragrances, including parabens, phthalates, and over 1,300 ingredients restricted by the European Union. That makes them significantly cleaner than most mainstream perfumes, though “non-toxic” isn’t a regulated term, and no fragrance is entirely free of potential sensitivities.
What Skylar Leaves Out
The biggest concern with conventional perfumes is what hides behind the word “fragrance” on a label. In the U.S., brands can list “fragrance” as a single ingredient without disclosing the dozens or even hundreds of individual chemicals that make up that scent. Many of those undisclosed compounds include phthalates (linked to hormone disruption), parabens (preservatives that mimic estrogen), and synthetic musks.
Skylar takes a different approach. The brand discloses every ingredient and scent note used in its products, which is unusual in the fragrance industry. Its formulas exclude parabens, phthalates, and what the company calls “commonly known toxins and CMRs,” a category that refers to substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction. The brand also removes 36 fragrance allergens known to trigger allergies and asthma, and adds 10 more allergens to the EU’s already strict list of 26 banned ingredients.
How Skylar Scores on Safety Databases
The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database, which rates cosmetic products on a 1-to-10 hazard scale, gives Skylar’s Vanilla Sky fragrance a score of 2, meaning low hazard overall. For context, many conventional perfumes score much higher due to undisclosed fragrance chemicals.
That said, no fragrance scores a perfect zero. EWG flags the “fragrance” ingredient in Vanilla Sky with a score of 8 out of 10, noting moderate concerns for endocrine disruption and organ system toxicity, along with high concerns for allergies and immunotoxicity. This is partly because EWG applies a precautionary rating to any ingredient listed as “fragrance,” even when a brand discloses its components elsewhere. Cinnamon bark oil in the same product received a score of 3, primarily for allergy potential. The remaining ingredients scored 1, the lowest possible concern level.
The gap between the overall product score (low) and the individual fragrance ingredient flag (high) reflects a quirk of how safety databases handle transparency. EWG’s system penalizes the “fragrance” category broadly because most brands hide ingredients behind it. Skylar’s full disclosure doesn’t fully override that built-in caution in the scoring algorithm.
Hypoallergenic and Sensitive Skin Claims
Skylar markets its perfumes as hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested, and safe for sensitive skin. To back this up, the company runs safety testing on candidates who have sensitive skin. The brand is also vegan and cruelty-free.
It’s worth knowing that “hypoallergenic” has no legal or standardized definition in the U.S. Any brand can use the term. What sets Skylar apart is the specific step of removing 36 known fragrance allergens, which are the compounds most frequently responsible for contact dermatitis and respiratory reactions from perfume. If you’ve reacted to perfume before, this removal list is more meaningful than the hypoallergenic label itself.
Even so, plant-derived ingredients like cinnamon bark oil and vanilla extract can still trigger reactions in some people. “Clean” doesn’t mean universally tolerated. If you have known fragrance sensitivities, testing a small amount on your inner wrist before wearing a full spray is still a smart move.
What “Non-Toxic” Actually Means for Perfume
No regulatory body defines “non-toxic” for cosmetics or fragrances. The FDA doesn’t approve or certify perfumes before they hit shelves, and terms like “clean” and “non-toxic” are marketing language, not scientific classifications. That’s true for Skylar and every other brand using those terms.
What you can evaluate are specific, verifiable choices: Does the brand disclose ingredients? Does it exclude known endocrine disruptors? Does it go beyond U.S. regulations, which are notably looser than those in the EU? On all three counts, Skylar checks the box. The brand exceeds EU standards (which already ban or restrict over 1,300 cosmetic ingredients that remain legal in the U.S.) and provides full ingredient transparency, which is rare in the fragrance world.
Skylar is one of the safer options available if you’re trying to reduce your exposure to the synthetic chemicals most commonly criticized in conventional perfumes. It is not, however, a product with zero bioactive compounds. Every fragrance, natural or synthetic, contains molecules designed to interact with your body’s scent receptors, and some of those molecules carry mild irritation or allergy potential. The difference is that Skylar removes the worst offenders and tells you exactly what’s left.