50 Fragrant Facts About Perfumes

In 2015, researchers testing the efficiency of mosquito repellents used Victoria’s Secret perfume because they thought the floral fragrance would attract mosquitoes. To their surprise, they found it repelled mosquitoes better than a range of mosquito deterrents.

2. Big cats like tigers and cheetahs are attracted to Calvin Klein’s Obsession perfume. The Banham Zoo has requested people to drop off their perfumes due to low supplies. The fragrance was also used in India in 2018 to catch a reported man-eating tiger.

3. We know what Napoleon Bonaparte smelled like. He ordered multiple bottles of cologne monthly and spread it on himself with a brush. The cologne is called 4711 and the same recipe is still used today as when Napoleon used it.

4. In 2012, an 8-yr-old UK boy found a rock on a beach that he found out was ambergris, and its worth being around $63,000. Ambergris is a solid, waxy substance that is made when a sperm whale has a food irritant like squid beak, coats it in grease, and vomits it out. Perfumeries like Chanel prize ambergris for its ability to fix scent to the skin.

5. Coco Chanel sold her perfume recipe to Jews and when World War 2 broke out got the Nazis to try and help her get it back when it became popular.

In the 1960s, Chrysler created a car, the Chrysler Turbine that could run on many alternate fuels, including kerosene, jet fuel, and perfume.

7. The difference between Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, and Cologne, is that Eau de Parfum has approximately 15% essential oils, Eau de Toilette 10%, and Cologne 5%.

8. The reason perfume is applied to necks and wrists, with behind the knees being the most ideal location. These are pulse points that will warm the perfume and release fragrance continuously.

9. Disney developed a signature scent for Norway in Epcot. It’s called Laila and smells like airy mountains. The perfume is sprayed throughout the day in the pavilion.

10. When astronauts are outside the ISS, space-borne compounds adhere to their suits causing a distinctive scent when they return to the station. The smell is so unusual that NASA reached out to a top fragrance maker to re-create the odor for its training simulations.

In 2012, Dunkin’ Donuts launched an ad campaign in Seoul, Korea where fragrance spray devices installed on buses would release a fragrant coffee aroma when triggered by the sound of the DD radio jingle. The campaign reached more than 350,000 people, and sales near bus stops increased by 29%.

12. A French man has invented a pill that perfumes your farts to smell like roses, violets, or chocolate. 60 pills sell for around $22.00 and he has also developed scented fart pills for flatulent dogs.

13. Every single Holiday Inn has a signature scent. In a recent rebranding, IHG decided to purchase air fresheners in all 1145, using a scent described as “Notes of Jasmine, mixed with Wood, and Honeysuckle.” Also, all the hotels and casinos in Vegas have signature fragrances.

14. In some humans strong odors of cologne and perfume may cause their blood vessels to swell and dilate and, in turn, stimulate the nervous system in the brain associated with head pain, causing headaches and migraines.

15. The first deodorant for men was launched in 1935 (decades after the introduction of deodorants for women) because, at the beginning of the 20th century, body odor was not considered a problem for men; it was a part of being masculine.

Two Swiss companies based in Geneva (Firmenich and Givaudan) produces almost half of the flavorings and fragrances of the world. Chances are that when somebody eats a mass-produced yogurt or a burger or opens a can of fizzy drink anywhere in the world, they are tasting some Swissness.

17. In 2012 Pizza Hut planned to release a limited edition perfume that smelled like fresh dough. Thousands responded requesting the perfume for themselves but only 110 bottles were produced and shared with lucky Facebook fans who won a bottle. The packaging resembled mini pizza boxes.

18. “Teen Spirit” was a real deodorant. One of Kurt Cobain’s friends spray-painted “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on his wall because Kurt’s then-girlfriend wore Teen Spirit, which led to the title of the 1991 Nirvana hit song.

19. Ingredients in the average bottle of Prestige perfume cost about $1.20 to $1.50. The actual liquid in a typical bottle of $150 perfume is less than 1% of the retail cost. The bottle, box, and display carton typically cost four to six times more than the fragrance itself.

20. In 2016, a teenager named Jonathan Capewell died from a heart attack caused by the buildup of butane and propane in his blood after excessive use of deodorant sprays. He accidentally inhaled large amounts over time, as he reportedly had an obsession with personal hygiene.

Antiperspirant deodorants are designed to be put on before bed and not after your morning shower.

22. Major orange juice producers add chemical fragrances called “flavor packs” to their juice to provide the signature taste of their brand because OJ loses its flavor during pasteurization and de-oxygenation.

23. There are paper-scented perfumes and candles that mimic the smell of freshly printed books, old tomes, or libraries. Some scented candles are even inspired by Oxford Library’s ambient aroma.

24. The “musk” smell in colognes and perfumes was originally derived from a gland located between the genitals and the umbilicus of the Himalayan male musk deer.

25. Human poop and farts get their foul smell from the chemical compounds Skatole and Indole (among others). At low concentrations, these compounds smell flowery and are used in perfumes. USA and Israel have used Skatole in crowd control sprays. The stench does not wash off the skin for 3 days.