Weird Wonderful Wafts: Wasabi, Starfish, Brown Scotch Tape

Continuing our look at the weirder, more adventurous side of perfumery… The weird perfume notes we’re looking at today are wasabi, starfish, and brown scotch tape. Read till the end for a secret fourth weird note…

Wasabi Perfume

The House of Oud Wabisabi 

Notes

Italian brand House of Oud employs the uniquely sharp and pungent Japanese horseradish, often turned into a creamy paste for culinary use. It’s a truly unique blend that brings together the fresh, green spiciness of wasabi and the brightness of citrus fruits. The white florals are gorgeous and as bright as this formula demands them to be. It has a green cologne feeling. If you want to invest in a bottle, I must let you know that it isn’t known to last long. 

Starfish Perfume

Calvin Klein Crave 

Notes 

This one’s a blast from the past– the perfume launched in 2002 and is a bit of a cult favorite after CK has stopped producing it. It comes in a case that looks like my prescription glasses case. A little bit of the futuristic aesthetic that has aged very well two decades later. It’s a light and airy aromatic perfume. Quite easy to wear even with the strange note in the mix. A splash of greeny freshness like a light, cold drink on a hot summer day. 

On to the starfish part. There’s a fresh marine note that conveys the starfish synthetic accord. I hear that it does smell a little fishy, but is bearable.

Brown Scotch Tape (and Industrial Glue) Perfume

Comme des Garcons Comme des Garcons 2011

Notes

Avant-garde is the norm for Comme des Garcons and their Comme des Garcons 2011 is simply one of their many strange yet good fragrances. You’ll get the industrial smell from the start– like an unfathomably large warehouse– clean and sterile. It brings that clean touch together with the florals, making it more of a floral than you’d expect. The scotch tape and industrial glue notes aren’t just there for the gimmick– they last on you throughout the life of the fragrance. The brown scotch tape is what I’d call the feeling of unrolling tape and feeling the light stickiness of it at the tip of your finger.

Though it’s a strange combination of notes, Comme des Garcons more than make it tolerable– they make it pleasant.

If you want to know more about weird fragrances, check the Weird Wonderful Wafts tag. Our last one was all about nail polish, fog, and candle wax perfumes.