Wednesday scent of the day 7/9

Posted by Robin on 9 July 2025 120 Comments

It’s Hump Day and National Sugar Cookie Day. Birthdays: Oliver Sacks, Tom Hanks. What fragrance are you wearing?

DeniseH commented yesterday that what she would miss after nine months in space were natural odors, not perfumes, and that is pretty much how I feel. For the next three days I’ll wear perfumes that come close to natural smells on earth, starting with the scent of soil, CB I Hate Perfume Black March.

Reminder: on 7/11, imagine you are an astronaut and you’ve just returned to earth after nine months in space…

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Differences in olfactory perception

Posted by Robin on 9 July 2025 2 Comments

Though the main goal was to collect data, [Antonie] Bierling and her team did some analysis and drew a core conclusion: “The most crucial finding of this data set is really to appreciate that there are differences in olfactory perception,” she said. For example, around 250 participants described benzyl acetate as smelling like nail polish remover; around 170 others said it smelled like a banana or other fruits.

“Both are actually correct,” she said. “This is actually, in my opinion, not just noise.” Benzyl acetate is present in both nail polish remover and bananas, and “humans get to know a molecule in a certain context."

— Read more in How Smell Guides Our Inner World at Quanta Magazine.

Parfum d’Empire Madagascar Le Baume Vanille ~ new fragrance

Posted by Robin on 8 July 2025 11 Comments

French niche line Parfum d’Empire will introduce Madagascar Le Baume Vanille, a new fragrance…

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The daily lemming

Posted by Robin on 8 July 2025 Leave a Comment

From Comptoir Sud Pacifique, a new body oil in Vanille Extrême. Currently available in the EU in a pre-launch bundle with 100 ml Eau de Toilette, €110. (It is not on the US site as of yet.)