Demeter is one of the more well known pioneer companies that create fragrances based on daily, meaningful scents.
The founder of Demeter, Christopher Brosius, intended to trigger the memories of the fragrance user and to transport a person back to a memorable place or time through these smells.
Some of the more bizarre scents created by Demeter include the following:
Sushi
Demeter's unique sushi scent actually smells like sushi with the delicious sweet scents of sticky white rice, seaweed, ginger, and lemon. Of course, minus the smell of fish. Ewww...
Fiery Curry
This is one of the fragrances in the Herbology Collection by Demeter. Unlike the scent of the hot Indian curry, this particular scent is inspired by the spicy Thai gravy (Thai version of curry). This fragrance is made up of a blend of lemon grass, kaffir leaves, lime, galangal and cilantro.
It has a sweet, citrus smell with a hint of galangal and small, hot chili called "Prik Kee Nu" by the local Thais.
Turpentine
Demeter’s distinctive turpentine scent has a hint of fresh pine smell, reminiscent of the sharp smell of turpentine.
Even though, to some, this fragrance smells like wet paintings, you’d be surprised that it actually has its own loyal following.
Earthworm
The scent of earthworm is actually a richer version of its close “cousin” - Demeter’s Dirt.
It is not the smell of earthworm (I wonder if earthworms have any scent at all), but rather the scent of a worm's habitat, which is in the moist soil with a hint of decomposed leaves.
The founder of Demeter, Christopher Brosius came up with his own line of fragrances known as CB I Hate Perfume in 2004 in Brooklyn.
Similar to Demeter’s concept of transporting a person back to a memorable place or time, CB I Hate Perfume also have several unorthodox fragrances:
Burning Leaves
This perfume smells like burning maple leaves with a sweet caramel scent plus an extra hint of that warm, smoky aroma in the autumn.
In The Library
This smells more like the sweet pulp of paper and includes hints of musty leather and woody aroma, which can transport you back to wonderful experiences of being in a library full of musty books!
"Comme des Garcons" is another unconventional fashion house founded by Rei Kawakubo, which has a list of unusual “anti-perfume” scents as follows:
Tar
This scent is actually part of Comme des Garcons’ Series 6: Synthetic.
It has a mixture of exciting scents like gasoline, rubber tires, leather and exhaust smoke.
However, not as stinky as it sounds, this gives out a sweet and tangy scent of tar and is more importantly, quite wearable.
Garage
This scent is also part of the Comme des Garcons’ Synthetic Series.
The odor is a blend of musty leather, plastic, motor oil and gasoline.
When it dries it smells more like sweet liquorice and a woody aroma with hints of smoky incense.
Burnt Rubber
If you want to smell like burnt rubber, Comme des Garcons’ Odeur 53 definitely may be the answer.
It is said to contain 53 different, unconventional fragrances such as distinct burnt rubber smells, oxygen, metal, fire, carbon and nail polish among others.
It is certainly smooth with clean notes.
However, it is rather impossible to smell every single component, which makes this scent all the more complex and unique.
Stilton Cheese
The Stilton Cheese Makers Association (SCMA) of UK came up with this creation of “cheese” perfume as part of a campaign to encourage the public to eat more Blue Stilton cheese.
The Eau de Stilton is a “fruity and earthy” cheese perfume which is produced by ID Aromatics, a Manchester based perfumers, for the SCMA. Even though the Stilton cheese has a very distinct mellow cheesy aroma, this perfume is actually smooth and wearable.
Besides the cheesy notes, other ingredients in this fragrance include grape seed, yarrow, sage, angelica seed and valerian.
Mmmm... makes me hungry just thinking about it!
