Bombshell by Victoria's Secret quickly became a bestselling perfume after its launch in 2010. But in 2015, researchers at New Mexico State University discovered that the fragrance didn't only smell nice. It also repelled mosquitoes. Almost as well as DEET. From the study:
Other studies have shown that floral scents attract mosquitoes, and it is suggested to avoid floral scented perfumes to reduce mosquito attraction. Surprisingly, the perfume we tested, Victoria Secret Bombshell (Fragrance type: Fruity floral notes: Purple passion fruit, Shangri-la peony, Vanilla orchid) has shown to be a strong repellent with effects lasting longer than 120 min. It must be noted that the concentration of perfume we used in this test was rather high and that lower concentrations of the same fragrance might have different effects.
It's not a bad quality for a perfume to have, although Victoria's Secret doesn't seem to be interested in publicizing it.
Finnish ad agency Mirum Helsinki has created a perfume it's calling "Creative Essence." The raw material for it is sweat collected from employees, “in the midst of a workout, a sauna treatment, or in one case, gustatory sweating caused by extra spicy chicken wings.”
The agency is hoping the perfume will serve as a recruiting tool. Explains a rep:
“We believe sweat represents the creative passion we share as creatives. Excitement, goosebumps, the peak moments when our heartbeat rises during the visceral creative process that requires dedication and teamwork.… [It} may even shock people when they first hear about it, but it was a calculated risk we believed was worth taking since our target audience—the most creative people in the advertising industry—would be able to see behind the sweat… They would understand what we actually are talking about: creative talent and all the forms it can take.”
The Calvin Klein fragrance Obsession for Men has the odd distinction of being known to be an aphrodisiac for cats. And not just house cats. The larger, wild variety as well. The NY Times explains:
This fragrance for men includes civetone, a compound originally derived from the scent glands of a civet though now often made synthetically. Obsession has been billed as irresistible to women. But because of the civetone, it is also scientifically proven to make wild cats go gaga. They roll around it, they take huge sniffs, they luxuriate in the smell for several minutes.
They don’t react to all perfumes - with some of them they’re like, “meh,” just like us I guess, some of them they’re not real keen on. But others, like the Calvin Klein one, whatever is in that, cats love it. They really, really roll and cheek-rub and they just look to be in heaven.
From 1925. It came in small bottles designed to look like segments of an orange. Not many bottles of this stuff survive. When intact sets do come up at auction, they can easily fetch over $1000.
Bic is known as a maker of disposable lighters, pens, and razors. But back in 1989, the company decided it could extend its brand to French perfume. So, it debuted Parfum Bic. Syndicated columnist Rick Ratliff (Detroit Free Press - Mar 27, 1989) explained the reasoning behind the product:
Made entirely in France and packaged in little portable spritzers that look more than a bit like Bic lighters, Parfum Bic will retail for just $5 a quarter-ounce, one-tenth the price of a typical French perfume. Parfum Bic already is selling briskly in Europe, the company reports. Already, cocooned in decidedly downscale blister packs, the product is hitting the speed racks of American supermarkets, drug and variety stores. With this product, Bic hopes to create a whole new low-price perfume category by advancing the notion of perfume as a product that can be bought and used spontaneously.
If it's gamble had succeeded, the Bic executives would have looked like marketing geniuses. But of course, Parfum Bic didn't succeed. Within several years, it had disappeared from shelves.
The timing of the announcement indicates it was an April Fool joke, except that Lockheed Martin really created some of this stuff, sent out samples of it, and is giving away bottles of it to people who sign up on its website. Which I think makes it a legitimate addition to our ongoing exploration of weird fragrances. It recalls the moon-smell fragrance created by French designer Barnabé Fillion.
French perfumier Etat Libre d'Orange announced earlier this year that it would launch a perfume made from the amount of waste that is left over from the industry's process of fabricating perfume. Now it's here: a luxury fragrance named "I Am Trash: Les Fleurs du Dechet."
So, what does I Am Trash smell like? Apparently a bit like strawberries. More info: adage.com
Created by Swedish grocery chain Coop as a way to promote their campaign of lessening food waste. The logic here being to teach people that they shouldn't throw out their milk until it actually smells rotten. More info: CNET
Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.