Will we one day be able to sniff appreciatively and ask “is that the new Salman Rushdie you’re wearing? I’m getting hints of post colonialism …” What might a JK Rowling smell like? Unwashed teenage boy, perhaps, with a whiff of owl droppings. Ian Fleming would be suave, sophisticated – sandalwood, maybe, with topnotes of gunfire. I don’t think I’d want to smell what they’d come up with for Irvine Welsh.
— From Making scents out of novels at The Guardian, an article that wonders what might ensue if others follow in the novel-as-perfume footsteps of Floris Madonna of the Almonds. Many thanks to Nancy for the link!
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I want to try that Ian Fleming. Topnotes of gunfire– makes me think of the scent of a struck match, or the smell of fireworks. Have I been missing something, or are there any fragrances that have that “hot chemical” note? (Does Demeter have a “Fourth of July” scent?)
Terre d’Hermes has gunpowder, doesn’t it? Or something like?
I think TdH lists something like that. I think I remember reading that Ellena was going for the smell of those rocks that snap when you bang them together. Flint-ish.
My interpretation of the note is similar to what black cats smell like when you get them wet. Maybe black cats dipped in orange juice.
I’d like to see this more.
Yes, flint-ish. And the Comme des Garcons + Stephen Jones has the same sort of thing.
Hmmm…
How about Eau de Truman Capote with cold blood notes sweetened by aroma of overflowing ashtray and cheap booze?
Hemingway’s cologne could be a fruity daiquiri base with a soupçon of old dead shark floating one an ozone base
LOL…not sure I need either
The Capote has potential! And I look forward to Hemingway Extreme, with the bull’s ear accord.
What an interesting aritcle. Thanks for the link!
Am I the only depraved soul who is interested to see what that unwashed boy with owl droppings perfume is all about?
While I love all things Harry Potter…I’m afraid I draw the line right about there.
Especially when you consider that the Harry Potter marketing did not draw the line at booger and vomit-flavored jelly beans. :0 A perfume that smells of teenage boy and owl droppings…may very well smell like just that!
Would think it would sell anyway…
‘Tis true. Speaking of, isn’t there supposed to be a “Twilight” fragrance? I imagine the tweens will be buying that in droves. (Heck, if it smelled good, I might buy it, too. I’d just be embarrassed to admit what I was wearing!)
Yes, there was one! Don’t know if it was limited edition or not.
Maybe the Harry Potter fragrance would be “magical” ……
I’ve been gaga over the prefects’ bathroom — with taps for hot and cold water, and scented bubbles and all….
Yeah, why can’t I have a bathroom like that??
I rather like the idea of that book-smell-in-a-can thing! lol
Just grab some CBIHP “In the Library”. Though I confess, I was rather disappointed in that one.
Yep!
Armani’s newest flanker! – Da Vinci Code
smells like old paintings, intrigue, catholic dogma and deception?
Don’t forget frankincense and myrrh!
heheheh they’re just using that incense to cover up all the smell of all that deceit !!!!
Probably would smell a lot like L’air du desert marocain.
Walt Whitman: The smell off earth, accented with pond water, beard sweat ,cat-tails, spice and Cuckoo bird droppings- Moi Walden
Sylvia Plath: A mix of Apres Le Ondee, Lilly, gall and rotting black bouquet of roses-Winter Dans Le Coeur.
And so on.
LOL…love the Walt Whitman.
This may be sharing more about me than is sensible, but I would buy a fragrance inspired by Sylvia Plath! Rotting black bouquet of roses? Sign me up!
lol — don’t forget the lingering miasma of depression…
I was going to ask if depression had a smell, but then realized anything I wore in high school would suffice.
You could probably have a whole lot of scents from Tolkien’s oeuvre–something that smelled of gingerbread, butter, and seedcake, and another that smelled of ethereal, imaginary tree flowers. . ..
Ohmigosh, can you just imagine the fragrance and flanker fodder that series could produce??? Holy cow, it boggles the imagination. …..however, I do not wish to sniff anything to do with mountain trolls, wargs or orcs. blechhh.
No Eau De Golem for you?
oh I think about this allll the time
I love Kafka and Camus (I knoooww, that’s what everyone says)
Right now I’m reading Faust in German.
so they could come up with a Goethe one too.
But I have no ideas
I’m not sure I want to think of fragrances for any of those authors…Harry Potter is one thing, but hard to be frivolous with Kafka, Camus or Goethe.
Oh I don’t know… la Peste de Camus could smell like CdG Ouarzazate (wrong country, but close enough) mixed with Harissa and just a tad of decaying flesh……. and ozone notes
LOL…but I’d hate such a thing!
I actually do think about this sort of thing though…