Olfactory Fact #117: Perfume & Moonshine share a Common Ancestor

The world’s earliest recorded perfume chemist is Tapputi, a 2000 B.C. Mesopotamian woman who processed flowers, oil, calamus, and other aromatics–through a device which is considered to be the world’s very first still. 

This Playboy Has a New Line

What do you get when you cross legendary perfumers Coty with iconic playboy Hugh Hefner? Four of the most scent-sual upscale men’s colognes to hit the market.

Recently launched at a celebrity-packed event at the Hotel Rivington Penthouse, the new Playboy Fragrance Line includes the musk-based Vegas Playboy, Hollywood Playboy, Miami Playboy, and Malibu Playboy. With its consumer products business now one of the company’s most profitable divisions, Playboy Enterprises Chairman and CEO Christie Hefner has has high hopes for the fragrant new partnership venture. “Just as Francois Coty revolutionized the fragrance industry over 100 years ago, my father started a revolution over a half century ago. There is no one better to work with on the development of Playboy’s first global fragrance.”

Olfactory Fact #180: In Versailles, You Can Still Smell Napoleon

Among the over-1200 lost fragrances housed at the Versailles Osmotheque (perfume library) is St. Helena, the actual cologne developed for and worn by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Denver Post Asks the Whiff Guys!

“Fragrances can be key to helping families manage emotions at home and cope with holiday stressors, says Russell Brumfield, author of the book Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age.”

Sheba R. Wheeler of the Denver Post offers some common-scents tips on getting your home holiday-ready RIGHT HERE!

Where’s the Beefcake?

“Behold the scent of seduction, with a hint of flame-broiled meat.”

Just in time for the holidays, fast food giant Burger King has jumped aboard the celebrity signature scent bandwagon with the release of FLAME™, possibly the world’s first Body Spray for Men and Vegan Repellant all rolled into one. BK’s marketing execs are no strangers to the idea that Sex Sells, as evidenced in the chain’s recent Whopper Virgins campaign, so be prepared before you click that link: Visitors to the Fire Meets Desire site are greeted by a sensual Barry White-ish soundtrack accompanied by downright disturbing images of the chain’s iconic King lounging naked on a bearskin rug.

Eau de Beefcake may never rival Chanel No.5, but then again, neither does the price tag of $3.99.

UPDATE: For the skeptics who thought this idea stunk from the git-go, Burger King sold out its entire limited edition stock of Flame within two days, and the product is already finding surprising new life at online auction site eBay. At least one bottle, sold on December 23–just days after the product was released at a cost of $3.99–drew $100.00.

Inmates Prefer a Light Scentence

In Chapter 25 of Whiff!, Scent to the Slammer, the authors propose a novel approach to dealing with the tensions–even riots–which are frequently fostered in our overcrowded jails and prisons:
Read more

Olfactory Fact #148: Fertility Makes Women Smell Better.

Studies show that females of child-bearing age demonstrate a greater sensitivity to odors than males, but those with lower estrogen levels, such as prepubescent girls and post-menopausal women, perform comparably with men.

Don’t Drink & Drive? Po-leeze.

It’s not what you are, it’s what people think you are that matters. Such might be the tag line for a new product called AntiPoleez. Unlike most breath fresheners, says the website, AntiPoleez doesn’t work by masking stinky breath with a minty cover-scent. This product is supposed to neutralize the odors by increasing “the consumption of odor-producing molecules by the epithelium of the mucous coat of the respiratory passages, resulting in clean, fresh breath.”

Now, don’t let the name–or that busty female cop logo on every page of the website–or the fact that AntiPoleeze is available in a FratPack, a Double-FratPack, and a Party-FratPack–fool you. The makers of AntiPoleeze emphasize that they are “…concerned about alcohol abuse and continue to encourage responsible drinking,” and that creator Vladimir Slasniv developed the product for his own personal use after his girlfriend objected to the smell of alcohol on his breath, NOT for the benefit of those drunk-driving menaces who might be, oh, say, looking to evade breathalyzers. “We give our Law Enforcement Officials more credit than to think that a lozenge could prevent a police officer from getting drunk drivers off the road before they hurt themselves or someone else.”

Brazil Embraces Endorphin Branding™

How important is the sense of smell to Brazilians? Well, for the Bororo, body odor is associated with the very life force of a person, and breath odor with that person’s soul. The Desana believe that
all members of the same tribe share a like-smelling odor, and ensure the genetic health of future generations by allowing marriage only between people with different body odors.

It’s no surprise, then, that the scent marketing phenomenon should take off in this highly scent-sitive region, and taking off, it is. From fashion brand Le Lis Blanc (which linked its olfactive logo to its consumers’ positive experiences) to baked goods company Bauducco (whose highly successful campaign diffused a chocolate fragrance into movie theaters in conjunction with a visual ad), the scent marketing phenomenon is taking off in Brazil. Janice Zanatta, olfactive marketing consultant for Good Smell Consultoria in Curitiba, Brazil, believes her country’s growing interest in scent branding is a direct reflection of the Brazil’s diverse and complex culture. “Our culture is highly sensorial in many aspects,” says Zanatta. “Its colors, rhythms, textures and forms require a great spectrum of scents to express and communicate all this diversity.”

“Big global brands set the trend which spurred scent marketing in Brazil,” says Elaine de Oliveira, olfactive marketing consultant for Biomist, one of the pioneers of scent marketing in São Paulo, Brazil. “Brazilian brands, big and small, are now creating their olfactive logo, a scent signature which helps generate brand recall.”

Marcelo Ginzberg from Air Berger, a French consulting firm that established an office in Brazil in June 2008, wholeheartedly concurs. “A wide variety of businesses have been adopting olfactive logos—hotels, spas, medical facilities, pharmacies, gyms, restaurants, banks and supermarkets have capitalized on scent marketing to attract consumers.”

WRAL Asks the Whiff Guys!

Vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie and gingerbread? They’re the smells of Christmas, filling the air. And they’re an easy way to make your home feel instantly warm and holiday-ready

Catch the full story HERE!

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