Welcome to Smelly Games!

First off, thank you so much for being wiling to play this little game with me. My hope is that you enjoy the materials, but as with all of the content that I post, my true hope is to edify those in the fragrance community. I believe, especially for fragrance influencers, that exposure to the raw materials used to compose fragrances will lead to more meaningful discussion and reviews of perfumes, and ultimately, increasing their ability to fund their journey through the deep tunnels of perfumery.

1. This is an oil, and it may smell very familiar. It may be essential in the composition of floral perfumes. You may smell a touch citronella and even mint…but don’t think too hard 🙂
2. You know this bean if you love gourmands. The smell is somewhat sharp, even though it is diluted to 2.5%. This is the primary odor constituent of a bean that has been banned in the USA. They are big and dark brown. Don’t worry about it’s ‘toxicity’ unless you’re eating your perfumes…
3. Smells a little burnt huh? You may even smell something kinda meaty. This is extracted from a tree. We use this at very low levels to impart smokey nuances sometimes.
4. Don’t be fooled by it’s soft nature, it lasts for a long time. This material is WIDELY used in perfumery and some perfumes use it at very high percentages, like 20% of the perfume! It has nuances of jasmine but you may also smell something…lemony. Pro Tip: Put it on a tissue and place it by your bedside..you’ll get whiffs all night!
5. This is an oil that comes from a tree as well. You might get a hint of ‘pine’ 🙂 – What on earth is this?? It’s not sandalwood…but…
6. This one is obvious. Just let your nose tell you exactly what this is. I bet you’ll guess correctly the first time!
7. Bright, very volatile, toppy, citrusy.
8. This is a fan favorite. Ever had Earl Grey Tea? This citrusy fruit is kinda like the cousin of #7.
9. That Cotton Candy material. This is like refined white sugar for perfumery…nearly an ‘all purpose sweetener’.
10. This is a ‘super amber’ – a ‘woody amber’ and what you have is at 1%..it’s a superpower.
11. Millions of people put flavor creamer in their coffee every morning. It is natural sweet, but dry and nutty as well.
12. This might be a little tricky, because there are a lot of ‘these’. It’s fresh, clean, kinda metalic (if you smell it enough) and somewhat citrusy and waxy.
13. This is part of a soft-but-powerful creamy woody family. Lasts for ages on fabric and paper. It’s powerful.
14. This one might be a bit hard. It’s a natural material. Herbaceous and slightly citrus nuance. Fresh, sligtly warm and if you let it dry for long enough you may smell a warm tobacco like nuance…like, waaaaay in the back
15. The material for when you aren’t a perfume 🙂
16. Irisy, woody, powerful, and smells like the color light purple.
17. You may think this is odorless at first. It is not. If you cannot smell it initially, leave the strip overnight or even for 24 hours and go back and smell it. Ultra elegant and has so many nuances that its hard to describe. It will present new odors at each 24-hour interval. It will last for what feels like a lifetime on paper. Don’t throw the strip away!
18. Drizzle this on your icecream or whatever bready desert you have! It’s easy to make this by cooking white sugar 🙂
19. Musky right? It’s an elegant musk, and somewhat creamy and if you leave it long enough you may smell somewhat balsamic notes.
20. It’s just finished raining, and you go out and lift and old rock from the mud….why does it smell like that??
21. Fruity, floral. Smells kinda red right? You probably smell berries, and maybe even fruit from a tree, but not an apple, more like a plum. Ridiculously powerful. IFRA limits this to less than 0.05% of the finished fragrance.