Perfume That Smells Like Books
5 
Smell, being closely tied to memory, is arguably one of the most powerful senses. Certain scents are capable of triggering inexplicable feelings of nostalgia and positivity. Vanilla, cinnamon, fresh cut grass, that “new car smell”–are near universal stimuli for pleasant emotions. And the aroma of the crisply printed pages of a paperback is often an argument against e-readers. Intoxicated by the literal act of putting their noses in a book, four creatives from different fields put their other four senses to use to develop a perfume that assures, e-readers or not, the scent of a tangible book will have its own chapter.
Wallpaper* magazine, German book publisher Gerhard Steidl, perfume designer Geza Schoen and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld teamed up to concoct “Paper Passion,” a fragrance than conjures the smell of your newest bookstore purchase.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate all the glorious sensuality of books, at a time when many in the industry are turning against them,” Steidl writes on its website. “The idea is that it should relax you, like when you read a book, to a level a meditation and concentration.”
Lagerfeld, who developed the packaging for “Paper Passion,” inspired Steidl to develop the project with his quote, “the smell of a freshly printed book is the best smell in the world.” Steidl teamed up with Wallpaper* because the magazine immediately like the idea of “pairing the publisher with the perfumer.” The two businesses then contacted Schoen to mix the scent for the Wallpaper* Handmade exhibition in Milan.
“Paper Passion,” the perfume, is nestled between the covers of a book with the same name. More than just a spritz of elegance, the “perfume for book lovers” features text from Karl Lagerfeld, Günter Grass, Geza Schoen and Tony Chambers.
Though it may not seem natural to walk around smelling like a newly-minted bookstore, Steidl insists the perfume is a mark of pedigree.
“To wear the smell of a book is something very chic. Books are players in the intellectual world, but also in the world of luxury,” Steidl said.
Schoen agrees.
“You have a book, you open it, there’s a bottle inside and it smells of a book. It might be quirky, but the idea has a simplicity, a linearity,” she said.
Bookworms will soon be able to purchase “Paper Passion” for $115 on Steidl’s website.
Photos from DesignTaxi
