☆ Are toxic-free perfumes actually safe, do this to reduce stress in 6 minutes, why cook books are thriving

Hey lovely,

Jasmine here, Editor of Daily Rituals, back with your Wellness Dose.

Now, I rarely ask you gorgeous readers for anything. But today, I have a favour to ask. There are over 23k of you reading each week (still crazy to me!), and if each of you referred just one person to sign up - I'd be able to quit my 9-5 tomorrow. And honestly? If I could ditch said job, you'd all win - better content, better brand perks, more events, more freebies - the whole lot (side note: if my manager is reading this, it's all entirely hypothetical for legal reasons, of course). So if you have a girls' group chat, or better yet - your work group chat (instant small talk generator) - please do the Lord's work and help spread the word about The Wellness Dose. Plus, your referral link gets you plenty of wellness goodies (aka a £10 Sephora gift card). So it's a win-win, really. Thank you a million in advance.

Quick update: Last call to join our Manchester Reformer Pilates social this Friday. We just added one extra class at 8pm for those of you who couldn't make the earlier slots. Only 4 tickets left - get yours here.

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The best stories & updates that caught our eye this week → 

• ✨ Office party, ready: There's something about the darker evenings (read: afternoons), rising festive spirit & our events calendar slowly filling up that has us wanting to switch up our makeup routine for something a little more glam. Well, this tutorial has even the novices amongst us covered with a fool-proof full beat, and now we really want to buy this too.

• 💖 Rising stakes: Could this be the new way for brands to stand out in a crowded athleisure market? Copenhagen cool girl brand Exercere recently opened their first IRL space - but it's not a flagship store. Instead, they've opted for a permanent Pilates studio that's as minimalist & chic as their core collections. Smart, but the stakes are high. For it to truly build their brand world and generate new customers, every touchpoint has to deliver: the class schedule, the teachers, how it feels when you walk in for the first time. Sure, they now have a beautiful space for content (handy), but the real test? Whether people come back - not for the 'gram, but because the experience delivers. The one missed opportunity: turning founding members into community leaders. Each should get an Exercere piece to wear, a monthly discount, first dibs on drops, event invites & referral credit to spend online.

• 🍪 It's homemade: Sales of baking cookbooks are up more than 80% in 2025 (this is the bestseller), with the rise expected to increase as we hit the holiday season. Although some suggest it's driven by nostalgia, we think there's more going on. We're worn out after being back in the office most of the week, seeking simple pleasures that don't require leaving home & likely wanting to know what's actually in our baked goods now we're all more health-conscious. But if you don't have the patience for sourdough starters, this book is a must-have to help batch cook your work lunches & get some time back in your busy week. And breathe. 

• ⏰ Short and sweet: Often, when we're feeling the heat, the things that bring us back to feeling like ourselves again get cut. And as high performers, it can often feel "pointless" if we're not doing something in full & at our best effort. Well, next time you're thinking of skipping a micro-self-care moment - here are two studies to remember: the first showed that just 6 minutes of reading reduced stress hormones by a whopping 68% (we'd bet extra if there's some smut on the cards too...). The second: 10 minutes of meditation increased mindfulness and reduced anxiety as effectively as 20 minutes for most people.  Don't forget - those micro-moments compound too.

• 📅 Book this: The London wellness events calendar just got a big sprinkle of wholesomeness as we head at full speed towards December. Here are a few of our favourites: this Wednesday, enjoy a full-body frequency reset after work with yoga to a live DJ, conscious breathwork and social sauna to finish at Shoreditch &Soul. For something to get the creative juices flowing, head to this beautiful Notting Hill Pilates studio on November 28th for Christmas mug painting and a mat Pilates class. On the 29th, we're likely to be feeling the seasonal craziness, so this candlelight Deep Rest Ritual will be your go-to sanctuary to reset the mind and body. And last on our list - head to 1Hotel Mayfair on December 6th for a morning of red light therapy, yoga, meditation and intention setting for the New Year with The Self Love Lab.  

• 🍝 Cook this: Admittedly, this isn't for everyone, but you're not everyone. If you could add one of the most nutrient-dense foods into your weekly rotation, in a meal you likely already have and enjoy, would you? This slow-cooked beef mince and ox-liver bolognese is an easy way to get nature's multivitamin in without it overpowering the recipe thanks to the beef-to-liver ratio. If you know already it's not for you, go for this instead (albeit you’ll pay much more..).

Also caught our eye..

★ Lights off: It’s time for a dark shower according to this popular doc.

★ Work with your brain: Apparently this routine is the sweet spot to max out your deep work sessions.

★ Breakfast hack: According to a study, adding this oil into your breakfast line up could reduce inflammation.

★ Calling all studio owners: This is mandatory reading ahead of 2026.

Are we being cleanwashed?

You swap out your go-to fragrance for a "clean" alternative, feeling smug about reducing your exposure to endocrine disruptors. Maybe you even like a few #cleanbeauty posts now you're in the club. Then you stumble across this Instagram post from toxic-free advocate Catherine Lockhart:

Sorry, what? Not only do we not know what half of that even means, but that's not what we were led to believe when clicking add to cart. Are the perfumes marketed as "non-toxic" and "safe" actually any better for us? Let's find out.

★ First up, what does "non-toxic" even mean?

Well, since there's no legal definition - we’ve all got our own take on it.

For Lockhart (and many clean beauty advocates), truly non-toxic means entirely natural - no synthetics, ever. But most perfume brands take a broader approach, seeing non-toxic as inclusive of “safe synthetics” e.g formulated ingredients that have been tested and shown not to cause harm at the levels used. 

★ But are "safe synthetics" actually safe?

This is where it gets complicated. A synthetic ingredient is considered "safe" if it's: not cancer-causing, doesn't impact DNA, doesn't mess with hormones at expected exposure levels, doesn't accumulate in your body, and passes allergen testing. A pretty low bar, right? 

These safety assessments typically look at individual ingredients in isolation, not cumulative exposure. So when you layer perfume with your deodorant, haircare, skincare, body lotion, and cleaning products - all potentially containing similar synthetic compounds - does that cumulative exposure change the risk profile? Probably, but the science is still catching up.

It's likely why Lockhart (and others in the clean beauty space) take a precautionary approach and avoid synthetics altogether, since we don't yet fully understand the long-term effects of constant, layered exposure.

★ How bad are the brands not marketed as "clean"? E.g. Gucci, Tom Ford.

Check the back of almost any bottle and you’ll find “fragrance” or “parfum” in the ingredients list. That one word can hide all sorts - natural and synthetic. But, it’s allowed because perfume formulas are protected trade secrets, so working out what's good and less so is pretty tricky. 

For the ones that are available, or they’ve been assessed by the Environmental Working Group (who’s out here doing the Lord’s work in the clean beauty space) - it's a bit of a mixed bag. Gucci, for example, has one fragrance rated as good and another as a high hazard. So, good news, you might not need to skip your favourite fragrance, but check EWG before you buy it. And if it's not listed, ask ChatGPT whether it's classed as "clean" according to the EWG. 

★ So... back to the post that started it all - can we trust "clean" fragrance brands?

In short - yes, depending on what your version of “clean” is. If it’s all natural, then most of these won’t work for you. But if you’re comfortable with safe synthetic options that do away with parabens, phthalates etc then you’ve got plenty more options (this is our current fave).

The DR Verdict: So what should we actually do?

• Check the ingredients - knowing what they've put inside the catch-all "parfum" is important. If in doubt, check EWG, Yuka or run it through ChatGPT if it's not listed.

• Think about your overall toxic load - haircare, skincare, cleaning products, cooking utensils, clothes. If you've cleaned those up, a fragrance with safe synthetics is likely fine. That said, the cumulative exposure question is real - no one's tracking what happens when we layer synthetic compounds across dozens of products daily for decades. 

The bottom line: Lockhart's post isn't wrong - and we commend her for her service, truly. Those brands do use synthetics, but "safe" ones by European standards. Worth noting, she also sells her own clean beauty brand so it’s certainly in her interest to be vocal about her “safe synthetics argument”. That said, as we've learned, "safe synthetic" isn't an oxymoron if you're comfortable with current (imperfect) safety testing. As with most things in wellness, the answer requires you to do your own assessment on what's right for you, based on what you're aiming for & how realistic it is for you.

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