Earthworm. Dirt. Fig Leaf. Wait, did I make a wrong turn somewhere? Is this gardening 101? Nope! These are just a few of the unique scents in the Demeter Fragrance Library, a fragrance company that creates unusual scents from everyday life.
“The whole idea behind Demeter was to bottle those great scents of nature that people don’t really think about,” says Mark D. Crames, chief executive officer. “We appreciate them when we are outside, but we don’t necessarily think about them as being wearable fragrances. And we set forth to show that those things are beautiful in their own right.”
There are hundreds of scents in the library, ranging from easily wearable (Baby Powder, Angel Food, Jasmine) to not-so-easily wearable but still fun (Funeral Home, Lobster, Play-Doh.)
The amazing thing about the fragrances is that they always hit the scent on the nose (pardon the pun), and each scent is an accurate replica of the original smell. When I got a first whiff of one of the newer scents, Crayon, it reminded me of being a kid, opening up a fresh box of crayons, and spending hours with my coloring books.
Another new scent, Pure Soap, is also delicious. It smells just like a freshly showered husband (or boyfriend!)…ahhhh, yummy.
The time to create a scent from start to finish varies, says Crames. Some scents take a matter of weeks, while others take months or years. Sometimes it’s a matter of fine tuning the scent to appeal to an adult nose, like in the case of creating Banana Flambe, one of the more challenging scents. “Banana by it’s definition tends to be a more child-like scent,” says Crames. “To get a banana that was adult-oriented was hard.”
Other times it’s a matter of chemistry. Two scents that the company has been working on for years, Puppy’s Breath and Baby’s Head, are still in production because of this issue. Natural scents often involve large, organic molecules, which are difficult to replicate, says Crames.
Stuff those stockings: Demeter saves your butt just in time for the holidays
Demeter’s got some delish fragrances for the holidays, including a new scent called Egg Nog. And if you’ve got stockings to stuff, head on over to their Web site, because they’ve got an exclusive offer where you can purchase HUMUNGOUS MINIS (a full ½ oz of fragrance) of any of the scents for a mere five duckets. Can’t decide? Pick up one of my three faves: Thunderstorm, Gingerale or Kahala Hawaiian Surf.
It was so beautiful here in the Bay Area today; I hope you were able to catch some sun. I’m off to the gym right now to lift weights and hopefully burn off the gelato I ate for lunch!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
