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Top 10 Extraordinary Scents, by Jamie Frater Top 10 Strange Ingredients in Perfume, by Jamie Frater 10 Fascinating Facts About Perfume, by Ben Gazur Top 10 Unusual Scents From 18th Century England, by Sophie Quinn 10 Outrageous Perfumes That Could Entice You, by Gregory Myers
We often picture perfumes as delightful, sweet fragrances crafted from flowers, spices, or synthetic elements. But as you'll discover, not all perfumes are pleasant. Some individuals and brands have purposely designed perfumes with revolting scents.
There are also those who have pushed the boundaries of fragrance, creating perfumes that defy our usual ideas of what a perfume should smell like. These are not your typical scents, even if they are pleasant or neutral to some.
10. Corpses
The titan arum holds the title of the world’s most foul-smelling flower. Its odor is comparable to that of a decaying corpse, or more precisely, a revolting mix of cheese, a dead rat, and decaying fish. So what prompted The Eden Project, a UK-based educational charity and visitor attraction, to think that creating a perfume that mimics this repulsive scent was a good idea?
The team behind it marketed the aptly named Eau de Titan to men looking to take their scent in a “bold and entirely new direction.” A spokesperson shared, “The unique scent attracts insects so effectively, so it seems logical that it could also work on humans.” Does this imply they designed a fragrance to help men draw insects towards them? It’s no surprise that it never gained traction.
9. Sushi
Would you like to smell like a plate of warm sushi? If so, Demeter Fragrance’s aptly named Sushi cologne could be just what you’re looking for. The fragrance captures the essence of sushi, but before you wonder why anyone would want to smell like fish, let us clarify that it actually evokes the aromas of rice, seaweed, with a hint of ginger and lemon—no raw fish involved.
Demeter Fragrance’s Sushi cologne doesn’t smell like raw fish because sushi isn’t just raw fish. Sushi is made with rice flavored with vinegar and topped with raw fish. Rice flavored with vinegar but not topped with raw fish doesn’t qualify as sushi, nor does raw fish without the vinegar-flavored rice. That’s sashimi. Despite this distinction, it’s hard to imagine many people eager to smell like vinegar-scented rice.
8. New Cars
A few months ago, the British online car marketplace, Autotrader, launched a fragrance that mimics the smell of a new car. According to Autotrader, the fragrance, Eau de New Car, was inspired by a survey in which one-quarter of people associated the scent of a new car with success. It’s no surprise they marketed it as “success in a bottle.”
Eau de New Car captures the essence of the leather and wax finishes used in high-end vehicles. Autotrader claimed it was designed to “replicate the exhilarating feeling of that first ride in a new car.” However, this concept is a bit misleading, as the perfume is meant for people, not vehicles. Who actually wants to smell like a new car? As they later realized, no one.
Autotrader initially sold this fragrance on their website. A 50ml bottle was priced at £175. However, it has since been removed from their site. While they haven’t explained the reason for its disappearance, it’s likely due to poor sales. They might have better luck if they rebrand it as a car air freshener for vehicle owners. That would probably boost sales.
7. Comets
Ever wondered what comets smell like? To find out, you’ll need to experience The Aroma Company’s Eau de 67P. This fragrance was crafted by British perfumologists to capture the scent of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Unfortunately for perfume enthusiasts, this unique scent was created exclusively for the European Space Agency.
The European Space Agency commissioned the creation of this fragrance after attempting to land on the comet in 2014. Although the Philae lander failed to land as planned, merely bouncing off its surface, it still managed to complete most of its mission, including analyzing the comet’s mineral composition.
This analysis was what the European Space Agency used to understand what the comet smells like. The comet contains ammonia, methane, and sulfur dioxide, which suggests it gives off an odor of rotten eggs, bitter almonds, and cat urine. This is exactly what Eau de 67P emulates.
6. Books
If you’ve ever wished to smell like a book, whether old or freshly printed, perfumers have crafted scents to fulfill that desire. Let’s begin with the fragrance of old books. The beloved, nostalgic scent of old books comes from lignin, a compound in wood pulp used for paper. As books age, they release lignin, producing that familiar old-book aroma.
Dead Writers perfume, created by Sweet Tea Apothecaries, is inspired by the scent of an old book. The name ‘Dead Writers’ was chosen because the creators believe that anyone attempting to recall the author of such a book would likely be reflecting on a writer who is no longer alive.
For those who wish to capture the scent of a book written by a living author, there’s Christopher Brosius’s Paper Passions, priced at $200. If you love the aroma of a new book but don’t want to spend so much on a fragrance, perhaps you should just buy a new book instead. You’ll get both the scent you love and something to read in the process.
5. Rain
Do you recall the fresh, soothing scent that fills the air after a rain shower? That is known as petrichor. This distinct scent is produced when rain hits the ground, causing the soil to release a mixture of chemicals, which is responsible for the familiar post-rain fragrance.
If you’re longing to smell like a rainstorm, Demeter Fragrance, the same company behind the sushi perfume, offers Thunderstorm perfume. According to one reviewer, Thunderstorm has a pleasant fragrance, but it doesn’t last long on the skin. Whether that’s a positive or negative trait depends on how those around the wearer feel.
4. Dead People
Death is a painful experience, and no one ever wants to say goodbye to a loved one. Yet, it is an unavoidable part of life. French perfumer Katia Apalategui has found a way to preserve the scent of loved ones long after they have passed. She encapsulates this scent in a perfume called Eau de Death.
Eau de Death doesn’t have a universal fragrance like other perfumes. Instead, each bottle is uniquely crafted to capture the scent of the person who has died. Katia uses a two-step process: first, she extracts molecules from the deceased person's clothing, and then she replicates the chemical makeup of those molecules to recreate their signature scent.
Katia was motivated to create this perfume after discovering that her mother had kept her late father’s pillowcase to remember his scent. She spent years searching for a way to preserve that memory, eventually collaborating with Havre University chemist Geraldine Salary to develop a technique to extract molecules from clothing. A single bottle of this perfume costs $600.
3. MacBook Pro
A few years ago, three Australian artists teamed up with Air Aroma to create a fragrance that captures the smell of a freshly unboxed Apple MacBook Pro. To do this, they sent an unopened MacBook Pro to Air Aroma’s office in France. After carefully unboxing and studying the materials used in the packaging, Air Aroma recreated the distinctive scent. Once the perfume was ready, both the scent and the MacBook Pro were shipped back to Australia.
Fortunately, this perfume isn’t an official Apple release, so you won’t have to pay $1000 for a 50ml bottle. However, anyone eager to experience the scent of a freshly opened MacBook Pro will still need to buy one, as the artists only created the fragrance for a Melbourne exhibition and don’t plan to sell it.
2. Space
Believe it or not, NASA uses a synthetic scent to help astronauts-in-training familiarize themselves with the smell of space. NASA didn’t develop the fragrance themselves but hired Steve Pearce, founder of the UK-based Omega Ingredients, to do so in 2008. Pearce spent four years perfecting the scent specifically for NASA.
You may wonder why a company that specializes in creating food flavors is making scents for a space agency. The answer is that Omega Ingredients primarily develops scents for the food industry. In an unexpected move, they later released the scent as a perfume called Eau de Space. Now the burning question remains: what exactly does Eau de Space, and space itself, smell like?
Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer because Omega Ingredients isn’t revealing any details. The company has only mentioned that the fragrance was created from a "secret shelved formula based on verified astronaut accounts." Nevertheless, we might have a few clues about the scent.
Don Pettit, a former science officer aboard the International Space Station, described the scent of space as being sweet and metallic, much like sweet welding fumes. Other astronauts have compared the aroma to various things, including sulfur, rum, gunpowder, burnt meat, and even raspberries.
1. Toast
In 2013, the United Kingdom Federation of Bakers introduced a fragrance that captures the smell of toast. Though it wasn’t sold to the public, the perfume was sent to models attending that year's London Fashion Week. The scent became a hit, with models eagerly claiming every available sample.
Although the Federation hinted that they might recreate the perfume as part of a future marketing campaign, it seems unlikely that it will ever be sold. The perfume was created for their "Slice of Life" campaign, which aimed to encourage people, particularly women, to eat breakfast and make bread a daily habit instead of skipping meals.
