Beloveds, I am so happy to announce that I will be curating the newly relaunched Scent & Society series for the Institute of Art and Olfaction! I’m excited to go more in-depth about subjects adjacent to my smelly work here, but that don’t quite fit into Death/Scent’s vibe. Don’t worry though, D/S will still be going forward as usual. To start things off, I will be covering some of the basics about studying scent throughout time and in other cultures, details below.
Category: Research
The Putrid and the Divine Book Club
A few years back, after receiving several requests for more information on topics covered in the blog, I made a lengthy list of over 50 books to indulge our olfactive bookworms. In retrospect, that list was a bit daunting. At first, I was planning to just do an updated tighter edit of that list but…
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Started My PhD
So I rarely go off on tangents here, but given the number of questions I’ve received about my PhD since starting the blog, I thought it might be a good idea to have a little sideline chat. Don’t worry, more smelly death stuff to come shortly, but here are a few words of advice from someone at…
The Death/Scent Reading List
Over the last year I have had several requests for more information and deeper reads on subjects brought up on the blog. So after banging around my shelves a bit, here is the Death/Scent reading list. Some of them are staples of both olfactive and death literature, others are weird and wonderful deep cuts. This…
Disasters, Mysteries, and Perfume: Unearthing the Philistines
In this post, we explore what we know and what we don’t about Philistine culture, thier death practices and how perfume may have played a role in their cosmology.
[Updated] Bottling Ghosts: Can & Should We Try to Capture the Scent of Our Dead Loved Ones?(for $650 a bottle)
In 2015 Kalain, a French start-up opened to a flurry of news articles. They claim to bottle the olfactive essence of your dead relatives for bereavement purposes. The process is simple; send them a scent infused item like a pillowcase, they work their magic, and bada bing bada boom you get a bespoke essence of your loved one Patrick…
Let’s Get Squeamish Together!
Hello Dearies, I wanted to let you know about an exciting new series of events which I will be part of in October. If you find yourself in London next month, come down to Sutton House for Life.Death.Whatever.
Fan of Perfume? Come, Share Your Thoughts!
Hello Dearies, aside from what I have brewing here at DS&LG I am also working on a project for publication in an academic journal. I’m looking at the buying habits and the market’s adaptability for self-professed perfume fans and as part of that research, I’m collecting data in the form of a simple 3-minute survey….
The Chemistry of Death and Desire
What does fleshy tuberose, cooked Brussel sprouts, chocolate, the musk of human sex, faeces, and a decomposing body all have in common?
