Licensed smell investigator!

Posted by Robin on 20 November 2013 12 Comments

Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado. But that doesn't mean residents want the air to smell like a pot rally...And that's where licensed smell investigator Ben Siller comes in. A member of Denver's Department of Environmental Health, he's trained to use an olfactometer to determine if people are breaking laws that protect the purity of Denver's air.

— Read more at Denver's Smell-O-Scope Targets Marijuana's Skunky Scent at NPR. Plus, read more about the Nasal Ranger Field Olfactometer here.

Kinski ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 18 April 2012 43 Comments

Kinski fragrance

If you’re going to anoint me with a male-celebrity fragrance, chances are I’d prefer a perfume inspired by Klaus Kinski rather than David Beckham, Tim McGraw or the Pope. Mr. Kinski was interesting for one thing, a wild character — the inventor of his own weird myth (featuring a man-god who did what he wanted — propriety and the feelings of others be damned). Put another way: for perfume inspiration, give me a talented nutcase with over-the-top (legal!) appetites instead of a bland money-grubber.

Does Kinski smell like Kinski? If someone had given me an unmarked bottle of Kinski Eau de Toilette and asked me to wear it and report back on what type of person it evoked, I’d have said a sexy person, a man of a “certain age” who lives in a secluded, art-filled home, which he refers to as a “cabin.” He might also keep an exotic pet…a lemur? He smells of rich amber-y perfume, smokes a joint every now and again, and always has orchids or roses in big silver vases on his desk (with a single blossom tucked in his jacket’s lapel). I’d imagine this man to be a traveler…

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Jonathan Adler Hashish candle ~ home fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 29 December 2010 23 Comments

The Jonathan Adler Hashish candle was on my Best of 2009 list, but I’ve never gotten around to reviewing it. What better time than now, when the house or apartment needs some scenting before the onslaught of New Year’s Eve guests (and if you’re staying home alone, a good perfumed candle makes things cozy-contemplative and festive).

Hashish’s listed notes are black currant, green apple, wormwood, patchouli and moss. Hashish is a pungent, “manly” fragrance. As the Hashish candle burns, I smell fruity tobacco mixed with earthy patchouli and moss. The “ripe” fruit notes don’t smell like candy or fruit fresh off the bush or tree; these are intense, fruit-in-liqueur aromas. Weaving in and out of the Hashish composition is the spooky scent of wormwood — green, sweet and a tad medicinal. I also detect a slightly vanillic sweat-musk accord; sometimes this sensual aroma smells like cedar-cumin, other times like dark, boozy chocolate. All Hashish’s simmering fragrance notes produce a complex perfume that, every now and then, resembles the scent of burning marijuana…

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Nasomatto Black Afgano ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 15 July 2009 53 Comments

Nasomatto Black Afgano bottle

I’ve been known to let people sniff a perfume I’m wearing and tell them an outright lie: “Oh, this? It’s built around a molasses-corn silk note that’s just been developed!” or “The perfumer was trying to re-create a country scene. Imagine a field in early summer: the scents of cows, manure, grass, damp earth, and a near-by forest full of blooming honeysuckle!” I tell these “stories” with a straight face and excitement in my voice and often people believe me: “That’s what it smells like!” they say.

I do believe it’s possible to pull the proverbial wool over the eyes (and noses) of even the most jaded perfume lovers if you wrap vibrant images, an exotic storyline, and “forbidden,” “rare” and “hard-to-import” ingredients around a new fragrance; maybe it’s even EASIER to pull the wool over perfume lovers’ eyes because we often have well-developed imaginations, and we desperately want new perfumes to be BOLD! OUTRAGEOUS! ORIGINAL!

I became excited about Nasomatto Black Afgano as I read news releases about its formulation…

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Fresh Cannabis Rose Eau de Parfum, Bath & Shower Gel, and Body Cream ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 27 April 2008 29 Comments

Fresh Cannabis Rose fragrance

Fresh is promoting Cannabis Rose, their latest fragrance release, as the sensual, seductive partner to 2006’s male-targeted Cannabis Santal. When I first sampled Cannabis Santal, I thought of Linda Richman (Mike Myers) from the old “Coffee Talk” sketch on Saturday Night Live, who would have said, “Cannabis Santal is neither cannabis nor santal. Discuss.” Instead, that fragrance was a chocolate-patchouli cousin to Thierry Mugler’s Angel, and it sold well with women as well as men.

Cannabis Rose gives a more typically feminine first impression: a winsome burst of fruity rose, similar to many fruity-rose notes on the market today. However, this citrusy floral introduction only lasts for a minute or two. The fragrance’s extended heart is a musky cluster of patchouli leaves. It’s still not a literal translation of marijuana, but it’s herbal enough to feel a bit rebellious. (The promised chocolate note isn’t evident, which is fine with me; without it, Cannabis Rose can move further away from Angel-imitation.) This scent is odder and trickier than its demurely arty packaging (delicate scrollwork, stylized rose blossoms) would suggest. A darker rose note emerges late in the drydown, marrying the patchouli and “oolong tea” in an earthy bouquet with poetically wilted petals…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Licensed smell investigator!

Kinski ~ fragrance review

Jonathan Adler Hashish candle ~ home fragrance review

Nasomatto Black Afgano ~ fragrance review

Fresh Cannabis Rose Eau de Parfum, Bath & Shower Gel, and Body Cream ~ fragrance review