There are many unusual perfume scents, including lobster, Stilton cheese, Play-Doh®, fireplace, pink lemonade, and even old books. The last one is created by mixing scent compounds found in trees, the resins used to bind books, and ink. Most oddly scented perfumes can be created because of the fragrance synthesis — a development achieved in the mid-20th Century, which allows perfumers to create a wide range of scents very cheaply.
More about perfumes:
- Classically, perfumes were made with fragrances from seven families: single floral, floral bouquet, amber, woody, leather, chypre, and fougere. After fragrance synthesis developed, an additional six families were added: bright floral, green, citrus, aquatic, fruity, and gourmand.
- Most perfumes consist of three layers: top, middle, and base notes. The base notes often can't be smelled until a person has worn the perfume for about 30 minutes.
- Creating a new perfume from scratch generally takes between six months and a year.