If A24 Films Were Perfumes

It’s a tradition around these parts that we ring in Halloween with a special post by pairing fragrances with costume ideas, but that did not feel right this year. As we round the corner on year two of this pandemic, I don’t have the bandwidth to pretend as if I might actually be going to…

Spooktacular Fragrance Pairings for Halloween: 2020 Edition

The year was 2015, Obama was still the US president, most of us had never heard of a ‘coronavirus’, no one thought Brexit was really going to happen, JK Rowling hadn’t lost her damn mind, and it was the last time HALLOWEEN FELL ON A SATURDAY! It was the year I started this project, which…

The Sweet Smell of Plague Preservatives

This post is part of the Scented History of the Plague series. If you are not familiar with the history of the plague in Europe, you may want to pop over to our primer first or learn about why miasma was important to the Black Death. In today’s post, we will be discussing the deliciously…

The Rise of Miasma

This post is part of the Scented History of the Plague series. If you are not familiar with the history of the plague in Europe, you may want to pop over to our primer first. In this post, we’re discussing the rise of Miasma Theory during the Second Pandemic and how it impacted European olfactive…

A Holiday Gift Guide For Difficult People

Let’s face it, I’m difficult, you’re difficult, Aunt Kathy is difficult, everyone is a pain in the ass to buy for. No matter what you celebrate this time of year, you may find yourself with a difficult person on your list. It’s not that they are rude or mean about your gift, its just that…

The Perfumed Mummy

Now we reach the intersection of material culture, belief systems, and death with the physical preparation of the body, which used many aromatic ingredients. The creation of the archetypical Egyptian mummy was a complex evolution that embraced the olfactive elements of the putrid and the divine.

Oud, the Wounded Hearts of Sacred Trees

If you are a Fummie, you know Oud and its sweet balsamic smokey woodiness. It is also one of the rarest, and most beautiful scent ingredients who’s path to your bottle is so strange it seems almost mythical. It is also in danger of being lost forever.

The Live Girl’s Krampusnacht Gift Guide

Happy Krampusnacht everyone! It’s that special time of year when we gather round the fire and hope that we will not be carted away to the lair of a horned sasquatch with a sadistic streak and a penchant for children…oh the holidays! It’s in Krampus’ honour that we present this year’s holiday gift guide. If you survive the…

Between Life & Death (Scent the Scene)

In this series, we examine aspects of death and bereavement through art, olfaction, and imaginative thinking. Feel free to follow along at home and leave your take on this scented death meditation below.  This Week’s Muse The Genius of France Between Liberty and Death, Jean-Baptiste Regnault, 1795