Mid Brain reports:

In one of the oddest stories I’ve heard in a while, Kate Moss admitted that she thinks gasoline is one of the best scents in the world. According to the report I read at CosmeticsDesign.com (which I have to assume is partially tongue in cheek)  she is considering creating a gasoline-inspired perfume. This started me wondering what perfumes would cost if we bought them like we do gasoline – by the gallon!

Velvet Hour by Kate Moss

Description: With her new fragrance, Kate invites you to be part of her Velvet Hour, a brief, precious moment as dusk settles, when the air is electrified with possibility.  It is all about entering an intimate, almost ritualistic moment of intense sensuality and seduction.

Cost per ounce of fragrance = $40/ounce

Cost if it was a gallon of gasoline = $5,120/gallon

Angel by Thierry Mugler

Description: Evokes the emotion of tender childhood memories together with a sense of dreamlike infinity. (But then again, don’t we all?)

Cost per ounce of fragrance = $90/ounce

Cost if it was a gallon of gasoline = $11,530/gallon

No. 1 by Clive Christian

Description: Does it really matter?

Cost per ounce of fragrance = $2,150/ounce

Cost if it was a gallon of gasoline = $275,200/gallon

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Hmmmm, I think it’ll be cheaper to build the world’s first hydrogen powered car rather than use perfume as gasoline!

What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a bottle of perfume? Leave a comment and embarrass yourself in front of the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Mid Brain reports…

Scientists have recently developed a way to genetically modify certain flowers to produce higher levels of fragrant compounds.  This research may even lead to the development of flower-odor producing yeast lines which would eliminate the need for flower harvesting.  Depending on your feelings about GMOs (genetically modified organisms) this could be good or bad news.

What are GMOs?

GMOs are plants (or animals) that have been genetically manipulated to express some useful trait. In this research, scientists took petunia plants and inserted a gene from another flowering plant to get the petunias to produce more fragrant compounds.  It worked.  These new plants make 10 times the odor molecules as natural petunias.

GMO controversy

While the benefits of genetically modifying plants and animals seem great to some people, others are appalled by this manipulation of nature.  They worry scientists don’t know what will happen by tinkering with biology that has evolved over centuries.  Maybe a killer plant or animal that wipes out our natural ecosystems might inadvertently be created.  To supportive scientists this seems like a extremely low possibility.

GMO Cosmetics good and bad

To people with no problems with GMOs, this new research demonstrates a number of benefits.

1. Reduce the amount of synthetic chemicals in your cosmetic.
2. Reduce the amount of land required for plants to produce cosmetics
3. Reduce the cost of natural compounds

On the other hand, these GMOs do run the risk of infecting the natural ecosystem and changing things in unforeseen ways.  Is it worth the risk to the environment for more natural, less expensive cosmetics?  That’s not a question that this Beauty Brain can answer.

How do you feel about GMOs in your cosmetics?  Leave a comment and let the rest of the community know.

When we’re not answering questions, we here at the Beauty Brains read press releases, Twitter feeds, RSS feeds, blogs, and just generally Internet surf to find the latest news in the world of cosmetics. A recent story about Burger King launching a fragrance inspired this post about 10 strange fragrances.

10 Weird Fragrances

1. Burger King Fragrance

According to this story, American fast food giant, Burger King is launching a men’s body spray known as “Flame”. It claims to be a “scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat.” You can purchase it through their website, Firemeetsdesire.com

And I thought the Axe marketing was strange

2. Kiss Fragrance

Would anyone really want to wear a fragrance dedicated to four sweaty guys in demon makeup? Someone thinks so because you can get your very own KISS fragrance on Amazon.

Kerosene and stale beer never smelled better

3. Play Doh Fragrance

Demeter takes the cake when it comes to odd fragrances. Their Play-Doh Fragrance is odd but would you believe you can get scents of Earthworm and Mushroom. Check out their how line on their website Demeter Fragrance.com

Earthworm and Mushroom…yum

4. Vulva Fragrance

We wrote about this odd fragrance a while back.  Their website is still working so they must selling something. They describe the fragrance as “precious vaginal odor filled into a small glass vial. Not a perfume but a beguiling scent for your own smelling pleasure.”

Your own smelling pleasure? Ewwh

5. Cheese perfume

This one proves that if you can eat it, someone wants to smell like it. Stilton Cheeses launched their own scent a couple years back. Not sure if you can still get this one.

Cheese makes everything better

6. Ageless Fantasy fragrance

Knocks eight years off your life?  We actually received a sample of this Ageless Fantasy fragrance, but had a difficult time reviewing it. It smells fine enough. We just couldn’t figure out how to prove it made Sarah look 8 years younger. Try Ageless Fantasy Fragrance yourself.

Sounds like something the Smell & Taste Institute would have come up with.

7. Wode Paint Fragrance
The world has been clamoring for a fragrance that also paints your skin right? Wait no longer. Wode paint has got you covered. You can see the fragrance/paint in action in this video from Trendhunter

Don’t worry, the paint disappears

8. Penn State Perfume

They may be going to the Rose Bowl but this one doesn’t smell anything like roses. Wouldn’t you rather smell like Joe Paterno anyway?  Read all about Penn State perfume here.

I hope Ball State doesn’t come out with a fragrance

9. Republican Fragrance

Didn’t get your fill of politics this summer? Well you can smell like a Republican all the time with Republican fragrance. Available in Democrat and Independent versions too.

I wonder if it smells like an elephant?

10. Whale Vomit Fragrance.

This one is actually supposed to smell pretty good. I just couldn’t get passed knowing the origin. Is there ever a good reason to smell like mammal vomit? I don’t think so.

Of course, that’s a typical Saturday night for Sarah

Were there some weird fragrances that we missed? Have you tried any of these? Leave a comment and let the rest of the community know.

-Mid Brain

How would you like to download your favorite fragrance as easily as getting a song off iTunes? Well, if things develop as these researchers think it might, you could be doing just that.

According to scientists at the Weizmann Institute, they’ve been able to create an odor map showing relative similarities between smells. They did this by listing chemical characteristics of 250 known odorants and identifying the most important in terms of smell. They looked at brain scans of animals exposed to these smells and found similar odors produced similar scans. They were then able to predict brain scan patterns based on chemical characteristics of unknown odors.

When this map gets more detailed, scientists will be able to analyze a fragrance, generate a digital “map” and communicate it through the Internet. It would then be a simple matter to reconstruct the odor pattern from known chemicals.

iSmell is born

Well, maybe they should use a different name.

-Mid Brain

• Discount Perfume
• Jennifer Lopez Perfume
• DKNY Perfume
• Versace Perfume
• Men`s Cologne
• Fendi Cologne

Would you like to be able to download odors through your computer? What fragrance would you want most? Leave a comment and let the rest of the Beauty Brains community know.

Jansen Needs Justification:
Hi to both Left and Right Brains, I am currently using a eau de parfum called Allure Homme Sport by Chanel, and it is the MOST long-lasting fragrance ever. (And Yes, I am a bloke ). One of my chemist friends told me that this is to do with the exclusive alcohol that Chanel uses in their perfumes, as it probably has a low boiling point and so the fragrances are more volatile. I wonder how true this statement is? Thanks in advanced!

The Left Brain is Left Justified:
Thanks for the question Jansen, it’s always a special treat when we hear from our male readers! But while we chemists usually stick together, we have to disagree with your friend’s assessment of why Allure lasts so long. To explain why, we have to give you a quick lesson on fragrance chemistry:

Fragrance are complex mixtures of natural and synthetic chemicals designed to create a specific scent. The fragrance ingredients are mixed with alcohol (specifically ethanol) to dilute them to a usable level. Ethanol is used because its safe, it’s a good solvent and it evaporates quickly. In fact, the alcohol is the FIRST thing that evaporates. That’s why when you first spray on perfume you want to wait a few seconds before smelling it. Otherwise you get a nose full of sharp alcohol odor. As the alcohol flashes off, the other ingredients in the fragrance are more noticeable; these ingredients are loosely grouped into 3 categories depending on how fast they evaporate.

• Discount Perfume
• Jennifer Lopez Perfume
• DKNY Perfume
• Versace Perfume
• Men`s Cologne
• Fendi Cologne

Composition of Fragrance

Top notes evaporate quickly so you smell them first. These tend to be lighter in nature – think citrus type scents. They are also the first notes to wear out over the course of the day.

Middle notes evaporate a bit slower and create the body of the fragrance, these are usually a combination of floral and/or fruity notes.

Bottom notes are the heavier longer lasting fragrance components. Perfumers describe these notes with terms like woody, balsamic, smoky, or musky. These notes are the “anchors” that help the fragrance last longer. Bingo!

The Brains‘ Bottom Line:

Allure lasts longer because of the bottom notes in the fragrance not because of the alcohol. And speaking of alcohol, tell your chemist friend he or she should buy you a cocktail to make up for the bad advice!