• About
  • Login to comment
    • Bluesky
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Archives
Browsing by tag: los angeles

The scent of a damp forest floor

Posted by Robin on 10 June 2026 3 Comments

A thunderous soundtrack swelled from ambient minimalism to cinematic triumph, peppered with bird chirps and the howls of monkeys. The scent of a damp forest floor wafted through the air, dispersed by a device I wore around my neck. The walls seemed to shift around me, and my heart began racing. It was exhilarating. It was mesmerizing. I felt like I was going to be sick.

This was my initial experience of Dataland, billed as “the world’s first museum of AI Arts,” co-founded by media artist Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç and opening to the public on June 20.

— Read more in My Queasy, Forest-Scented Stroll Through LA’s New AI Art Museum at HyperAllergic.

A.I., with human intervention, is used to generate Dataland’s scents, created in partnership with L’Oréal’s Luxe division, and its tastes — chocolates created with a local partner, Valerie Confections. “We can look at a Rothko and feel incredible emotions,” Anadol said, “but that artwork will never feel us back.” Unlike the artworks in Dataland.

— Read more in At the Ambitious New A.I Museum, You Feel the Art, and It Feels You Right Back at The New York Times.

L’Oréal Luxe’s Fragrance Métier team developed 12 bespoke rainforest-inspired scents using a proprietary fragrance model and data from Refik Anadol Studio’s Large Nature Model. The fragrances include concepts such as Scent of Data, designed to evoke the rhythm of algorithms, and Scent of Rain, which recreates the smell of rain-soaked earth through advanced scent-capture technologies.

— Read more in L’Oréal Luxe partners with DATALAND to create AI-powered immersive fragrance art experience at Global Cosmetic News.

Fragrance clubs are transforming what was once a solo ritual into something communal

Posted by Robin on 21 May 2026 Leave a Comment

Across Los Angeles, fragrance clubs are transforming what was once a solo ritual into something communal. From rooftop gatherings in West Hollywood to casual park meetups further east, these hangouts tap into a growing desire for laid-back, low-stimulation ways to spend time together, offering an alternative to the usual rotation of restaurants, bars and crowded nights out.

— Read more in Sniff and find connection? These hip fragrance gatherings tantalize L.A.’s ‘smellers’ at Los Angeles Times.

Thunderstorm, butter cookies and guineps

Posted by Robin on 14 October 2025 Leave a Comment

She remembers smelling the thunderstorm, butter cookies and guineps.

“It was really rainy, it was dark, and everyone was out dancing in the streets except for the chickens who were hiding in the doorstep.  And I just have these really visceral scent memories from that moment of the earth and the rain and the fruit,” Lawrence said. “So this perfume is kind of this balancing act between the first experience of grief but also the celebratory nature of this moment with my family.”

— Na-Moya Lawrence on making a perfume inspired by her great-grandmother’s funeral. Read more in What does death smell like? This LA perfume exhibition takes your nose into unusual territories at LAist.

You can smell the food from miles away

Posted by Robin on 6 February 2025 Leave a Comment

I am 28 and I have lived in Los Angeles my entire life. Funny enough, the first things I thought of while reading this article were food places — In-N-Out being one of them. There are In-N-Outs all over L.A., and you can smell the food from miles away while driving near one. The lovely smell of hamburgers and fries will never get old. Aside from In-N-Out, we are known for our street food, including taco stands. You can find multiple taco stands in just about every corner of L.A., and the smells are amazing.

— Read more in What’s that smell? Readers share the scents that remind them of L.A. at Los Angeles Times.

Pine Sol, almost but sweeter

Posted by Robin on 3 November 2023 2 Comments

[Jack] Kelly and [Natalie] Coffen approach a bush that looks like rosemary, but with lighter green leaves and thinner stems. California sagebrush, Coffen explains while plucking an oily sprig, was an early form of perfume: “Cowboys used to rub it under their armpits.”

Kelly gives it the first whiff. He says he smells eucalyptus, camphor, and menthol. Coffen smells something else – candied lemon peel. “Pine Sol, almost but sweeter,” she says.

— Read more in The nose knows! Get a whiff of LA during Griffith Park ‘scent saunters’ at KCRW.

Older articles »

Advertisement

Search

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

9 July ~ damage poll

11 July ~ summer reading poll

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2026 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.