Custom Fragrances Recreate What a Book Character Smells Like (and more)

Red wine spilled in a Birkin bag, smeared lipstick on suede, Maraschino cherry juice and stale cigarette ash. These are just a few ingredients in a new fragrance called Die Hot With A Vengeance, which also happens to be the name of a new book of essays by Sable Yong, a former beauty editor at Allure magazine. To accompany the book, she commissioned a scent from boutique parfumier Hoax Parfum, starting with the creative brief that she wanted the perfume to “smell like a rich, evil woman's Birkin bag.”

This may be more than a clever marketing tie-in for a book too. In another story this week, the Washington Post reported on the booming fragrance industry, pointing to record growth and also the cultural shift where younger people are “casting off the idea of a signature scent for an aromatic palette of self-expression.” It seems perfume in the $100 - $200 range feels like an approachable luxury, and consumers, particularly men, are more open to buying “a scent for every occasion” which has led to a 19 percent spike in sales among shoppers 25-44. As this idea of signature scents continues to gain traction, it will be interesting to watch if we see more custom perfumes attached to movies, cars, homes and other places and products in our lives.