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
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
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.
hey kiddies,
the wait is over - north by northwest is now online. meet our new friends and welcome back our dear werewolf lumberjack! it's been a crazy month getting back into real life and putting this fabulous collection together. but it's been worth it. the new scents are rich, bold and capture the fabulous aromas we discovered along our journey. there's a good dose of artistic license thrown in, but we'll tell you all about our process another day. for now, just enjoy! we've also brought back ONE to help celebrate our anniversary - he can be found under on our classic characters page.
that is all,
the chairman
ps - there's also a new frankensmellie ... surprise!
hey kiddies,
just thought we'd let you know there's a new frankensmellie on the loose ... s11#610. he's a blend of dark greens, tart citrus and woods. but that's all we're saying! give him a try,
the chairman
hey kiddies,
we hope everyone's new year has been off to a great start. here at smell bent, we're busy working on our new spring collection radio dada. based on the art of surrealists and dada artists, radio dada will feature 5 new scents and outrageous combinations. we don't have a release date set yet, but check back soon for more news of its arrival!
in other news, all our limited edition scents, including scrooge and one, will be taken down on sunday. so if there's anything you've been wanting, be sure to pick it up now. other than that, have a fabulous weekend and we'll see you soon,
the chairman
dear friends,
each year, here at smell bent, we like to take time to remember those who may have had a rougher year than we had. though times have been tough, they’ve been particular hard on some and have always been hard on others.
this year, we have created a scent to help benefit an organization which we think is on the forefront of helping others - charity: water. with nearly a billion people in the world struggling for access to clean water, we think the work done by charity: water is more pressing than ever.
for each bottle of scrooge the pooch purchased, 50% of the selling price will go directly to charity: water. for every $20 raised, charity: water can supply clean water to an individual for 20 years.
we hope that you are as excited about this project as we are. scrooge smells fabulous and makes the perfect gift for both guys and gals. due to nature of this project, we will not be selling samples. however, we will cover shipping costs for this purchase and will refund shipping charges if scrooge is purchased in addition to other items. scrooge the pooch is only available at smellbent.com and will be up through january 15th.
thanks for your support and happy holidays,
brent
hey kiddies,
we thought a little treat was in order, so shipping's on us until halloween. all you have to do is pop $10 worth of goodies in your cart. now's your last chance to pick up our limited edition scents before they split town next week. have a happy and safe halloween and check back soon for our winter offerings!
the chairman
Perfume
lets me experience all sorts of things I don’t get to enjoy in real life. In fact, I’ve never been to any of the
places in the Leisure Cruise collection.
I remember Isaac Mizrahi, in the documentary ‘Unzipped’, saying that he
didn’t have to go to Australia to do a collection about it – he could just
watch a Flintstones episode about it.
I thought at the time it was a little glib, but I’ve come to identify
with the sentiment more recently.
An artistic project is usually more about the artist than the subject
anyway. Here, it’s my idea of St.
Tropez, which I like to think of as the South Beach of France – glitzy,
sparkling, glamorous and kinda trashy – rather than the actual reality of the
place. I have no idea what St.
Tropez actually smells like. It’s
not that I’m opposed to finding out; it just isn’t completely necessary.
Now,
I’m thinking this all sounds a bit narcissistic. Panda would say art is narcissistic by nature. I don’t know if I agree, but I’m going
farther with this thought than I should.
The point is when I think about St. Tropez, I think about beaches and
tanning oil and Versace. I think
about rich women in high heels and lots of jewelry. I see Joan Collins (pictured, upper left) and I smile. This I know to be a fantasy St. Tropez,
but it is my fantasy and it is the
basis for our little scent.
I
found myself with some gorgeous Jasmine Grandiflorum absolute. This is a very costly substance and I
had been holding onto it until I found a suitable and worthy project. You’ll notice 3 of my favorite flowers
in the cruise collection – jasmine, rose and orange blossom. You’ll say, à la Miranda Priestly, “Flowers for spring? Groundbreaking.” But I
was feeling festive. Jasmine is a
bit of siren, big and loud and very sultry. To me, this is perfect for my imagined St. Tropez. With a bit of creamy coconut, a squirt
of aloe (for those of you who’ve taken in a bit too much sun on the first day)
and a base built on vintage musk, you get a scent that is feminine, exotic and
utterly beachy.
For those of you who like the beach, I invite you to give St. Tropez Dispenser a shot. She starts big, but mellows into a creamy, dreamy musk that will have men nuzzling on your neck. Pretend you’re a young Joan Collins, at least for a day, and take a trip to a little place called St. Tropez.
the chairman
I
can’t think of a more famous perfume than Chanel nº5. Just look at its staying power – the stuff went on the
market in 1922 and hasn’t been off it since. When Ernest Beaux mixed up the formula for Ms. Chanel, he
did something quite novel at the time and over-dosed the scent with chemicals
known as aldehydes. Now, without
getting too technical, aldehydes are a type of aroma-chemical which have a very
distinct, fizzy scent to them. You
know the sensation you get when you stick your nose over a freshly poured glass
of ginger ale? Aldehydes are the
aromatic equivalent. They
give perfumes an airiness about them, or as one critic said, “they do the heavy
lifting.” Often times, the levity
of a floral scent can be weighed down by the very flower itself. Here, these little chemicals come in
and restore gayness to the entire composition. And if you’re wondering, I’m using gayness in the early 20th
century context, because I can.
Why
this bit of history you ask – well, I feel it my duty to not only help inform
the populous at large, but also give a suitable exposition to the sordid tale
of the creation of my latest fragrance.
In the 21st century, most people have smelled aldehydes and
most people think they smell a tad old-fashioned. Well, as a relatively new perfumer, I like to mess around
with anything I can get my hands on.
So I ordered up a bunch of different varieties – some smell of orange,
some of lemon, grapefruit and so on – and stuck my nose in them. They are incredibly strong and
sometimes, terrifyingly tenacious!
However, they gave me an idea.
Debonair
was part of the smell bent’s debut collection and has since proved to be one of
our most popular scents. Men love
him, women love him – and he’s classy enough for your dad to wear. He’s also got quite a bit of orange in
him. The idea of doing a lighter
version for spring seemed perfect and who better to lighten the mood than our little
friends, the aldehydes. Don’t get
me wrong, there’s only one little devil in our final product – you should have
seen Panda’s face when I made her smell a version with two! But the effect is as unmistakable
nearly 90 years later. Granted, Monaco-Dependent
has different ingredients, but the structure is similar to Debonair’s. Only, when you smell Monaco, you think
“this would be perfect on the beach!”
It’s sexy and subtle - carefree even. The composition is lighter and I think the end product is really
fantastic. I’m quite proud of this
one!
Check it out
and the rest of our new goodies!
tata for now,
the chairman
