Open Source Perfume
Sharing the scents of the world wide web.
Preamble
Perfumemaking is one of the most powerful art forms, but its secrets are closely held by a privileged few. The industry prizes perfumers with elite pedigrees, which often prevents marginalized perfumers from joining mainstream perfumeries. The industry also perpetuates exclusionary practices, from exoticizing non-Western cultures to erasing “noses” who develop perfumes, that push marginalized perfumers into self-taught and niche practices. There is another problem: intellectual property (IP). Names. Notes. Formulas. Odors. Colors. These parts of perfumes are protectable by a panoply of IP rights. In other fields, artists can innovate through imitation. But the IP thicket surrounding perfume is so dense that aspiring perfumers cannot easily “sample” fragrances. Instead, scents are left to be locked up and even lost. The free culture movement addressed similar problems in hardware and information by championing creativity without IP, but the perfume industry has remained largely untouched. Perfumery is overdue for a transformation, and one is emerging: open source perfume.
Pitch
As Open Source Smell Culture co-founder Saskia Brown-Wilson put it, ““[w]hat you might refer to as ‘sampling culture’ in music, for example, doesn’t exist in the world of scent. I know a lot of people who got in trouble this way. I think that sampling is important and necessary because it allows people to build on each other’s creativity. It allows us to learn from each other.” The CAT Lab concurs, and we’re here to teach you fragrance fundamentals so you can create our recipes and craft your own.
Preparation
For safety and supplies, Art and Olfaction’s fantastic open source perfume primer is an absolute must.
Pure full-strength materials can be diluted in solvents for efficiency, economics, and ease: it’s cheap and simple to work with resulting dilutions. The CAT Lab’s preferred solvent is DPG, also known as perfumer’s alcohol. Purchase Art and Olfaction’s recommended supplies, along with DPG and the materials identified below, before getting started.
Process
Reviewing Primer. Take another look at Art and Olfaction’s perfume primer, particularly the parts about safety.
Diluting Materials. Using clean pipettes, dilute each of your materials to a ratio of 10% material to 90% DPG. (Ten drops of material to ninety drops of DPG does the trick.) Confirm the composition of each material before diluting, as some are already diluted.
Combining Materials. Line up the 10% dilutions you need for World Wide Web. Using each vial’s dropper or a clean pipette, combine the dilutions to create an accord. (The recipe can be scaled up to create bigger batches.) Play with the proportions of World Wide Web to discover what suits your preferences and body chemistry.
Learning More. If you’re even more curious about the perfumemaking process, consider taking this Atlas Obscura class with Saskia Wilson-Brown herself. (That’s how we got started!)
Perfumes
CAT Lab’s open source perfumes are genderless, wearable, and low-sillage scents, meaning that you can smell it on your skin without it overwhelming the space or people around you. The Lab has launched two open perfumes: World Wide Web and Search Engine.
Internet Infrastructure Series
WORLD WIDE WEB
World Wide Web is the first certified open source hardware perfume. (Its Open Source Hardware Association certification number is UID US002162.) There are two formulations of World Wide Web: funky and floral
World Wide Web is inspired by Internet infrastructure. It smells like walking through a carpeted data center in the 1990s with open windows overlooking the Pacific Ocean—in a good way. The initial hit of gasoline from hexanol-3-cis is a reminder that fossil fuels power data centers that support the web. Bright bergamot reflects the disappearing citrus groves that used to pepper Silicon Valley. The faint scent of wood paneling comes from cedar, also inspired by the wood used to make telephone poles. The lingering musk of the trademark-protected iso e super captures the carpeted floors of a retro data center.
Sample World Wide Web to imagine the Internet as you’d like it to be.
Middle Notes
Hexenol-3-cis x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $6.75/4 ml
Bergamot (Givco) x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Base Notes
Cedarwood, Texas x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $2.50/4 ml
Iso E Super (IFF) x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Total Cost: $15.25 for multiple batches
World Wide Web is CC0. To the extent possible under law, Amanda Levendowski has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to World Wide Web. This work is published from: United States.
SEARCH ENGINE
Search Engine is the second certified open source hardware perfume. (Its Open Source Hardware Association certification number is UID US002176.)
Search Engine is inspired by the ghosts of search results. It smells like a ritualistic cleansing of the racist, sexist, ableist, and classist biases that underpin search results and shape our realities. These issues were exposed by Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble’s groundbreaking work, which revealed that a search for “Black girls” turned up pornography rather than children playing in a park or sitting in a classroom. Like search engines, black pepper is so pervasive that people often forget to think about it. The woody palo santo is associated with purification—and colonization. And the lingering haze of smoke is a reminder that companies are blowing smoke up your ass when they say their technologies are netural.
Sample Search Engine to imagine the results you’d like to see.
Top Note
Black Pepper x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.75/4ml
Base Notes
Palo Santo Key Accord x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
(Note: this accord is synthetic)
Smoke x 1 drop of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Total Cost: $9.75 for multiple batches
Search Engine is CC0. To the extent possible under law, Amanda Levendowski has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Search Engine. This work is published from: United States.
TOUCH GRASS
Touch Grass is inspired by admonishing the extremely online to go outside and reconnect with nature. It smells like picnicking in a field with a dry, warm breeze rising up from the sea. Vetiver, a literal grass commonly used in perfumery, grounds the entire fragrance. Hints of black pepper are a little less spicy than the hot takes of strangers online. Leathery floral labdanum acts as a reminder to stop and smell the flowers. Telephone poles, which fuel communication, are often made from cedar. Citrusy bergamot offers a bright, natural pick-me-up from the darkness of browsing the web. And ambroxan, a synthetic ambergis (another material commonly used in perfumery) provides a velvety mystery that will outlast the web.
Sample Touch Grass to imagine the world you’d like to see.
Top Note
Black Pepper x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.75/4ml
Bergamot x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.50/4ml
Base Notes
Vetiver, Haiti x 4 drops of 10% dilution - $5.00/4 ml
Labdanum x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $4.50/4 ml
Cedarwood, Texas x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $2.50/4 ml
Ambrox x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $2.50/4 ml
(Out of stock until May 17, 2023—consider subbing pre-diluted ambroxan)
Total Cost: $22.25 for multiple batches
Touch Grass is CC0. To the extent possible under law, Amanda Levendowski has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Touch Grass. This work is published from: United States.
BUDDY LIST
Buddy List is inspired by waiting for your crush to log on to instant messenger. It smells like a computer room, if those were still a thing in 2023. A wave of iris and indolene, a signature of jasmine, signal flowering growth. The family’s shared computer chair is captured by musky leather. Smoke remains a reminder that everything, including iconic technologies, can fade. Together, Buddy List fades into a subtle kiss of sunscreen, a reminder that the endless days of summer break are coming to an end.
Sample Buddy List to revisit one’s youth.
Middle Note
Iris x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $4.00/4 ml
Base Notes
Indolene 50 x 1 drop of 10% dilution - $3.50/4 ml
Note: Indolene may arrive as a solid. Gently warm some uncooked rice in a microwave-safe bowl and submerge the indolene until it becomes viscous again.
Leather x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Smoke x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Total Cost: $13.50 for multiple batches
Buddy List is CC0. To the extent possible under law, Amanda Levendowski has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Buddy List. This work is published from: United States.
Internet Icons Series
BLOG
Blog is inspired by that first box of incense you bought from your hometown mall's Hot Topic. Dedicated to Bunny.
Sample Blog to tap into your rawest feelings.
Base Notes
Vanillin Crystals x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $3/.28 oz
Iso E Super x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Patchouli (Dark) Indonesia x 3 drops of 10% dilution - $3.00/4 ml
Guaiacol x 2 drops of 10% dilution - $6.00/4 ml
Total Cost: $26.00 for multiple batches
Blog is CC0. To the extent possible under law, Amanda Levendowski has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Blog. This work is published from: United States.