Here they are, the finalists for the 2014 Prix Eau Faux, our contest to honor creative fragrance writing or “faux ad copy” (you can read about the contest here). Huge thanks to everyone who entered! 

The judges (me, Angela, Jessica, Kevin, and our guest host, Arielle from The Scents of Self) have whittled the field of 54 entries (exactly the same number of entries that we got in 2012) down to 7 finalists.

In order to make this as fair as possible, I won’t post the names of the entrants until after the winner is selected, and I respectfully ask that the entrants not “campaign” for votes here or elsewhere…just let the best entry win. Votes will be taken through 12 noon (Eastern Time) Friday, and I’ll announce the winner on Saturday.

Here are the entries, presented in the order in which they were received:

Dude d'Oud by Cowabunga Oud

The illustrious house of Cowabunga Oud was born of a recent partnership between esteemed perfumer Jean-Baptiste Bois-Prétentieux of Paris (né in Grasse) and celebrity nose Riptide "Ty" Sequoia of Huntington Beach. Dark, mysterious resins of Arabia chillax in the SoCal sunshine in their exclusive line of oud sports fragrances.

Dude d'Oud, their debut masculine fragrance, is a Middle Eastern tribute to California surfer culture. It is the scent of a man who makes a splash in his world each day, weaving these days into the billowing fabric of his saga over a thousand and one nights. Dude d'Oud is made available in EdT, EdP, or as a limited edition attar presented in a flip-flop-shaped flacon. Among its captivating notes are oud, aquatic notes, oudh, marine notes, aoud, seaspray accord, and agarwood.

This summer, be sure to complement your bottle of Dude d'Oud with Cowabunga Oud's forthcoming EdC inspired by the fragrance, to be entitled "Dude d'Oud Doux."

Pillar Fragrance Flanker by House Mad Libs

We are (strong emotion) to announce a/an (adjective) new version of the (over-the-top positive adjective) Pillar Fragrance from the (self-aggrandizing adjective) house — Mad Libs!

Pillar Fragrance Flanker! (Color), (state of being), (social status adjective). Pillar Fragrance Flanker (Pour Homme, Fresh, Sport, Noir, Intense) is about (social standing adjective) and (level of quality). This fragrance represents the (ranking) of the (overused adjective) House Name (type of person). (His, Her) (personal quality) and (characteristic) persona is enhanced by (his, her) (nationality) style, providing (him, her) the power to (action verb) all limitations.

Picnic in the park by #imPr0v34

#imPr0v34 of San Francisco represents the first ever niche perfume line dedicated solely to third wave, west coast perfumery. Inspired by improvisational theater, its founder Art Bollocks envisions the creation of single perfumes at single locations in single days using "found ingredients" only. Each fragrance is in the style of Marcel Duchamp and draws heavily from Dadaism as well as semiotic theory and the works of Henri Magritte.

#imPr0v34's debut scent, Picnic in the park, is the work of the reclusive outsider artist Dumbodor. An outcast from the world of perfumery, he created Picnic in the park during a one day visit to Golden Gate Park. Top notes of Sliced bread and fresh fruit poetically embellish the main accord of dent de lion and parched grass. Underlying the ostensible levity of the top notes, the meaty basenotes of barbecue smoke and cold cuts soon proclaim themselves. These precious ingredients are blended in a base of Pabst Blue Ribbon, bottled in objets trouveuse, artfully wrapped in paper napkins, and sold on Etsy.

B Spoke Perfumery: True to the Individual

What happens when you combine a Ph.D. in chemistry with a sabbatical in Grasse? For Beatrice Best, a Spokane University professor, the result was a fragrance laboratory that reproduces and intensifies clients’ pheromones for irresistibly alluring signature scents. On June 1, B Spoke Perfumery launches www.bnosebest.com with a FREE offer for the first 500 respondents: a pheromone harvesting kit with instructions for trapping a perspiration sample on a sterile gauze pad. Within eight weeks of submitting their samples, respondents will receive a mini coffret containing B Spoke’s four unisex fragrances, each custom-blended with their own lab-replicated pheromones.

The coffret, valued at $200, contains

• B Guiling, a Dionysian potion of jasmine, red-wine accord, and styrax
• B Oudh-iful, a bounty of oudhs from three continents
• Just B, a clean white musk, and
• B Spoke Zarathustra, a bold blend of coffee and ginseng.

Inspired by her middle-school celebrity clientele, Best is also launching an all-natural, pheromone-optional children’s product range called B Tween, available at Nordstrom in September.

Paroxsym by Faramond Métissier

Faramond Métissier was found as a child wandering the desolate sidewalks of Manhattan's Meatpacking District. He has steadfastly refused to learn human speech. He communicates only through fragrance and is considered the world's first completely feral perfumer.

Paroxsym is his debut perfume informed at every level by his experience as a twenty-first century enfant sauvage: an anguish of roses assaulted by the unmusicality of coriander and held in perpetual thrall by snarling dogs of vetiver and peppermint. Only tuberose forgives.

Toner by Antiperfume

In response to the angst experienced by perfume lovers who have the misfortune to find themselves in “fragrance-free” workplaces, Antiperfume introduces a line of scents replicating the aromas of a modern office. Now you can indulge your desire to wear perfume without offending your fragrance-averse coworkers. Only you will know — “It’s not perfume, it’s Antiperfume”.

Our first release is Toner, meant to evoke the familiar smell of fresh printouts. The eco-friendly, recyclable bottle takes the form of a toner cartridge, allowing it to be kept discreetly in your cubicle for midday touch-ups without arousing suspicion, and is available in HP, Epson, Brother, Canon, and other popular styles. Coming soon are Correction Fluid, Highlighter Ink, Super Glue, Rubber Cement, Weak Burnt Coffee, and Stale Doughnuts. Antiperfume is available at popular office supply stores nationwide.

Ennui by Perfumista au Passé

Blasé new perfume company Perfumista au Passé presents its first fragrance, Ennui, the perfume for the perfumista who has smelled it all and wants it all in one bottle.

Aldehydes, oud, pink pepper, fruitchuli, aquatic notes, womanhood, girlhood, manhood, vanilla, benzoin, the mists of Avalon, lavender, honey, tea, unspecified white florals, iris, magnolia, sunsets, spice, laundry detergent, laundry dryer sheets, lilac, leather, pencil shavings, licorice, suede, freshly opened notebooks on the first day of school, Guerlainade, verbena, bodily secretions, your blood type, ginger, cumin, cotton candy, sweat, rays of sunshine, oakmoss, chocolate, air, vetiver, ambergris, tobacco, saffron, jasmine, sandalwood, and pink grapefruit are all reproduced in a laboratory under IFRA’s strict new “no natural materials” rule and are brought together in a 1000ml bottle. Ennui — if you can get around to smelling it, it will be full bottle worthy.

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