After that she got to work, anointing him with civet and violet, magnolia and lily, narcissus and calembic, as well as drops of other occult fluids whose names he did not even like to ask, fluids extracted from the sap of Turkish, Cypriot and Chinese trees, as well as a wax from the intestines of a whale. By the time she had finished he was convinced he smelled like a cheap whorehouse, which was where he was, after all...

— From Extract: The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie (subtitled: The ancient arts of sex, scent and spin combine in an exclusive extract from Salman Rushdie's new novel) in the UK Times Online (link no longer active, sorry!), with thanks to Tania for the link.