#scent project

M7 by Yves Saint Laurent

Noir Extreme by Tom Ford

Himalaya by Creed

Egoiste Plantinum by Chanel

Black Afgano by Nasomatto

Out of these 5, I noted the frequency of scent notes within them to see what fragrance fans were trying to capture about his aura. Here they are in occurrence order, descending:

aromatic & woody - 5

amber & fresh spicy - 4

powdery & balsamic - 3

oud & citrus & musky & warm spicy & green -2

earthy & sweet & vanilla & white floral & animalic & lavender & herbal & smoky & cannabis & tobacco - 1

This is all good and useful, but nothing beats the actual taste test (or in this case, the scent test). I was able to acquire 4 samples through Scent Decant, minus the Egoiste Platinum, and they finally arrived today. As of right now, here are my rankings based on vibes alone:

Black Afgano by Nasomatto - This one shoots through you with such a level of spice that it's quite shocking. In a way, it reminds me of the late 80s through the 90s and it's kind of hard to explain unless you lived through it. It is almost in the same vibe as the infamous Jeff Goldblum purr and I can definitely understand why people recommended this one.

Himalaya by Creed - It's a strong enough scent. Smells like rather stereotypical cologne, but at least it smells. It would not be shocking if someone found out that this is what he wears.

Noir Extreme by Tom Ford - Originally I had this tied with M7 and then about the 3rd or 4th time smelling it I picked up on a sweet note. It's pretty weak compared to Himalaya and Black Afgano, but if he were a subtle cologne wearer, I think he might pick this one over the M7 because while they both smell like standard men's colognes this one has the unique quality of the sweet note that makes me think he would choose it because it's different.

M7 by Yves Saint Laurent - Like I said above, just a standard cologne. Not much to write home about for right now.

So far I haven't tested any of these on skin, so that might change their ranking, but I hope to do that over the next handful of days so that I can get a good idea of how they wear and develop. I also need to see about getting ahold of the Egoiste Platinum so that I can add it to the list.

Updates: The exhibition has run it's course, and we have officially wrapped up the Scent Project. Yumin and I have spent quite a bit of time on this project and it's been great seeing how the project developed and receiving feedback from everyone. We would love to do Part II of the Scent Project - and who knows? Again, thanks to everyone to played a part in the project - in any way possible, and keep watching this space!

And that's that - Yumin has slogged away at lab and painstakingly collected items for our Scent Project installation at the Singapore Management University concourse. We'll be posting our thoughts/ afterthoughts of the post installation and pre installation process - after all Scent Project is about the process and development of the artwork, and this project will hopefully continue till the end of September.

Keep a lookout for our other Scent Tests  - on my part, I've interviewed and asked the people I meet - from different parts of the world, to answer questions about scents to see how people of different backgrounds and cultures smell the world in different ways. 

In between visits to the labs and interview sessions with the elderly at the home, I finalised a list of scents and fragrances I thought would best reflect and capture the essence of memories that have been told orally.

A main problem I identified among the elderly during the scent tests, was that the scents smelt familiar to them but they were not able to identify the scents.

But this isn't just limited to the elderly. Whenever we smell something, we think we know what it is but it can be ever so hard to describe what it is, let alone talk about it. Furthermore, I have observed that the older generation do not really use much of their sense of smell, be it in the present or the past. 

It is difficult and frustrating to communicate with the elderly, especially when it comes to getting their opinions regarding the scents. The language and generation gaps are make it hard for me to relate to their experiences - their thoughts, their mannerism, speech habits, way of life; everything just seems so different as compared to the present. 

For the second scent test, I selected a variety of scents I felt were more relatable to the elderly - firecrackers, medicated oil, old books and shower soap etc. But judging from the results, the answers were not as ideal as expected. 

In order to recreate a scent that smelt exactly like what the elderly had experience before is highly unlikely, that is, unless the actual product itself is used.

After much experimentation with the scents, the ones that the elderly were able to pick out were more distinct and simple; like firecrackers, coffee and fruits - those that had a distinct smell, were easier to guess. 

Some of the scents that i wanted to include such as sewage water, incense, make up etc., were rejected as these compounds consist of too many elements and it would pose as a problem for the elderly as it was definitely harder to detect and duplicate. 

Also, I feel that smell is fleeting - we are aware of the scents around us during the most random moments - such as the scent of garbage as you pass by a rubbish bin, the smell of incense as you walk by a temple or the homely nostalgic feeling you get when you sniff your neighbour's cooking.

So  - how am I to go about finding scents that evoke positive responses from the elderly, when I was born in the 1990s and the elderly in the 20s? I guess, the least I can do was to replicate smell as similar to the original as possible and hopefully try to put myself in their shoes through the many talks with them.