smell bent

back in the lab

hey kiddies,

we hope everybody is having a great new year.  we're hard at work on our newest collection, vocabulary.  it's a little departure from our normal stuff, but we think you're gonna like it.  if everything goes according to plan, it should be up by the end of the month or the first week of february.  the creative process is always exciting and full of surprises.  so you never know for sure!  

    there are a few scents which will be coming down with the update, so stock up if you've got a fav in the list.  but north by northwest is gonna stick around at least until the end of february.  with mountain high in the running for a fifi, we think it's only right!  

happy monday,

the chairman

out with the old, in with the ???

dearest kiddies

we hope you're having a great holiday season.  ours is going swimmingly, but that doesn't keep us from the plotting and scheming our next big adventure.  we're pleased to announce our newest endevor is full steam ahead and should be hitting sb.com in about a month or so.  that said, the line needs a little trimming.  the following scents will be taken down shortly ...

Tibet Ur Bottom $

The Spray Tan Incident

Desperado

Lobster Cellphone

Fuzzy Teacup

Mots Verts

Disagreeable Object

Exquisite Corpse

Wee hope you've enjoyed these smellies and who knows, they might sneak back sometime.  But for now, they're headed into to the archives.  So if one of your favorites is in the bunch, now's the time to snag a bottle.

happiest of new years,

the chairman   

 

ps - if you haven't seen it yet, we've been named "perfumer of the year" ... here

it's official, we're in the running ...

hey kiddies,

some of you more perfume-savvy might already know that the fragrances foundation, awarders of the fifi's, the perfume equivilant of the oscars, recently created an indie category.  not wanting to be left out, smell bent threw a couple of our 2011 releases in the ring.  today, the full list of contenders was released, and we're so happy to be a part of it.  judging is to be held in january, so cross your fingers kiddies and wish us luck!

the chairman

we had so much fun, we're doing it again!

thanks to everybody who came down to uniqueLA, the show was out-of-control.  so when we got the chance to join renegade's holiday show, we jumped.  we'll be selling saturday and sunday, december 10th and 11th from 10am-5pm in Los Angeles State Historic Park.  but while you might come for the smell bent, you'll stay for the 200+ other indie vendors peddling their wares.  best of all, admission to renegade is completely free!  so come down, support local small businesses and get something cool for everybody on your list!

 

 

make it an awesome friday with free shipping + free smellie!

hey kiddies,  

we wanted to make this a friday (through monday) to remember, so we're doing free shipping.  and if that's not enough, we made a special smellie only available this weekend.  Challah atcha Boy is our favorite egg bread in a spray.  And best of all, he's free with every order!  Don't forget our perfect gift program for your hard-to-buy-for friends and family or our winter smellies neither,

the chairman

sb @ uniqueLA

  
 the holidays are getting dangerously close and sb is coming out in full force!  we'll be showing december 3rd & 4th @ uniqueLA, a popup marketplace of local artists and designers.  it's an amazing showcase and we're so happy to be a part of it.  so mark your calandars and get all the details, here.  

the snowman cometh

dearest kiddies,

it's that wintry time of year again and we've pulled out all the stops!  our new collection is full of kooky characters and sophisticated scents.  there's something bound to keep you warm during the long winter nights.  so stop by and give 'em a go - available through february.

xoxo

the chairman

he said, she said: werewolf edition

            it seems the great obsession of the average perfumista is to find a scent that gets as close to the line of filth as is generally acceptable.  i even went on npr to talk about it a few months back.  we love our dirty smells.  perhaps it’s just our animal nature. 

            i’ve gotten something of a reputation for walking up to and/or crossing that filthy threshold.  when i made commando i thought he was pretty benign, but revisiting it, i see that he might be a bit much for the average joe.  untitled #8, which was a commission by lucky scent, was all about taking the idea as far as possible.  many consider the scent unwearable, but it’s as much an intellectual exploration of “dirty” as it is a functional perfume. 

            last fall, i introduced werewolf lumberjack.  it was hot on the heels of the untitled project and i wanted to bring the idea into a more accessible range.  actual musk, that sourced from deer, and which was a staple in the industry for centuries, is incredibly potent.  it’s beautiful, but wearable only in minute doses.  the musk used in both werewolf lumberjack and she-wolf is a synthesized reconstruction of this musk.  it’s warm, acrid and sexy. 

            i was shocked last year to find lumberjack emerging as one of the most popular scents in the line.  his fame actually outlived the run of the series and he became the most requested limited edition in sb’s short history.  that’s when i knew he needed a girlfriend.

            while lumberjack is a potent dose of musk, tempered with spiced woods and animal notes, she-wolf is a play between musk, patchouli and vanillin – the molecule in vanilla responsible for it’s sweetness.  i was messing around in the lab one day when i got frustrated and went for a nap.  when i went to bed that night, i was greeted by a lovely smell on my pillowcase.  some of the test batch had gotten on my sheets and i raced back to finish the project the next morning. 

            she-wolf is sugary and trashy and delicious.  she’s daisy dukes and a tube top.  she is vulgarity done right.  and best of all, she gives lumberjack a run for his money!  if you haven’t tried our lupine friends, they’ll be on sb.com through december.  

 

meet our new friends L'elephant Blanc & The Soap Box Co.

hey kiddies,

we know most of you know us through good ol' sb.com, but we always like making new friends.  so we're pleased to announce, you can now find smell bent on the interwebs @ the soap box co and in real life @ l'elephant blanc.  the soap box carries lots of great indie perfumers and their fabulous bath and body creations.  and l'elephant blanc carries lots of indie artists and the fabulous gifty good they concoct.  if you live in los angeles, we sure to stop by the french quarter on santa monica and check them out!

happy shopping!

the chairman

totem eclipse of my heart

            back in june, i started work on sb’s new fall collection – working title idiomatic.  it was a collection of scents inspired by linguistic idioms.  i’ve been a grammar and word nerd since sophomore year in high school and sb has had a tradition of wordplay since day one.  i had the collection roughly sketched out and had completed 2 of the 5 scents.  i met with matthew, our genius illustrator, to come up with some fabulous art.  by the time august rolled around, i was confident i could get everything done before my summer vacation up to alaska.  i work best under pressure anyway. 

            the alaska trip was kind of a coup.  i had really wanted to go a couple years back after watching too many episodes of northern exposure.  but when my mom suggested i join her and her boyfriend on their summer vacation, i said yes immediately.  i had only been in alaska about 2 hours when i decided to scrap idiomatic and start over. 

    we were standing in a little hut and a man was carving a totem pole.  it was a very touristy moment, but the tradition and artistry were clear.  what struck me more than the photo op was the smell of western red cedar.  i had bought some western red essential oil a couple years ago and had always found the aroma a little overwhelming.  it’s sweet and musty and very particular. having no reference apart from my little bottle, i found it challenging to work into a composition.  standing there, i knew immediately what kind of tree this man was carving.  the smell was intoxicating and i decided then and there what needed to be done.

    totem eclipse is the aromatic translation of that experience.  it’s a blend of the forest smells that surrounded that hut.  it’s the shaving of the totem pole and the fresh western red cedar.  it’s the skunk cabbage that lines the Alaskan forest floor and the earth we tracked back with us.  it’s the moment i found inspiration for north by northwest. 

    the first thing i did when i got home, i pulled out that western red and got to work.  it was finished that first morning back.  you never know when the muse will strike or the wind will change.  totem is all about surrendering to the moment and recognizing it when it shows up.  happy smelling kiddies,

the chairman