Saturday, September 3, 2011

Are edible perfumes the future of International Perfumery?

Once upon a time the ancient Egyptians and other peoples of the Far East used to burn herbs to evoke scents and aromas. It was the first form of perfuming. Later perfumes became solid and than liquid as we knew till recently.
Today researchers are looking for new forms of perfuming, of capturing scents and aromas.




Remember when I first posted about Le WhifDeveloped by a Harvard professor, David Edwards, who was researching in the medical field on aerosols and inhalation, and in collaboration with students, designers, engineers and entrepreneurs from Le Laboratoire, a center for art and design in Paris, Le Whif was launched as a device for eating chocolate by breathing. This was the first seed for the development of edible perfumes.



Beneo and a Bulgarian candy company called Alpi have also teamed up to introduce to the European market a new way of perfuming, from inside out, as fragrance is incorporated as the candy is consumed, and than released through the skin pores. 


We can't deny that violet candies and rose candies are in the market for ages. But they only brought the aroma-taste of these flowers. The scent was captured in the mouth and that was it. Today, the products are being developed just like the edible cosmetics, that bring beauty from inside the body.



Swallowable Parfum  is a new product that has been being developed by Harvard biologist Sheref Mansy and body architect Lucy McRae consisting in a swallowable perfume pill that is digested to excrete fragrance through out  the skin surface by perspiration. Tiny droplets will rest on the skin releasing unique fragrances. The skin, as Lucy McRae describes, becomes a platform, an atomizer, and will give a new definition to it.
Swallowable Parfum takes advantage of natural enzymes produced in our body to release fragrant molecules from larger structures.
Truth is that we have al experienced eating certain types of food and smelling odors through transpiration. I once heard from a Japanese that western babies "stink" of sour milk. I would not mind if my sweat would smell like 31 Rue de Cambon by Chanel!




Fuwarinka, a Japanese company launched in the market the Fuwarinka Scented Gum, the chewable perfume. It is said to bring the fragrance of roses and peaches to the entire body and not just for the mouth, once the gum is chewed. The fragrance is excreted thought the pores, leaving the skin perfumed and also bringing healing benefits to our health.


My questions are concerning the performance of these new technologies. For how long will we be able to smell the fragrance on the skin? What if we want to stop the process? With sprayed fragrances it is very easy - washing off with an instant shower. But what if I swallow the pill and somehow it gives me a major headache only a few minutes after it starts to be excreted? 




Another question raised: is my poop going to smell like perfumes one day? If so, I won't mind a fresh scented Sicilian lemon fragrant poop! I think these researchers could also focus in perfuming human excrements and gas. I would not mind my child's farts if they smelled like Guerlain's Mitsouko! Can you imagine perfume pills being swallowed to  release and transform our poop into fragrant toilet surprises? They could team up with air freshener companies!






Watch the sensual video SWALLOWABLE.
Credits: Director / Vision: Lucy McRae Synthetic Biologist: Sharef Mansy Parfumer: Mona di Orio




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Swallowable Perfum? OK, this is freaky! And the intro video on the site? You would 've thought that they would tone down the fact that the perfume would circulate in your bodily fluids. Instead they make it a point! Who would be willing to ingest something artificial (I suppose it needs clinical trials since you eat it) just to smell "nice".

I suppose if you 're desperate you can have a couple of slices of basturma and have your body smell of Goutal Sables.

+ Q Perfume Blog said...

Honestly speaking....as much as I love perfume i think I would not swallow perfume pills - carcinogenic chemicals are dangerous I guess. What about a perfume patch? Something to decorate the skin or the clothes that release smell? That seems more commercial to me!

Anonymous said...

Tattoos are everywhere nowadays. How about scented invisible tattoos?....

Patricia said...

Wow, scented patchs or invisible tattoos, how wonderful ideas!
But I would like to try these perfum pills, just once for testing.
My only concern is: who will tell me if it smells good or not?
I'll have to trust in the opinion of the people around me.
I realy like to test my perfums by myself.

+ Q Perfume Blog said...

I think the patch would be a great idea - it could be superficial - scented with the perfume, or just like those nicotine patches - that would work as the pills but straight to the blood, without having to swallow.
The tattoo is also a great idea, but than you would have to love the fragrance to have it for life - if just like a regular tattoo.
As for the pill - you would smell the fragrance once it is released by your pores.
My concern is if I am in a bad day perfume that nothing seems to satisfy my nose.
MOS - is the tattoo permanent?

Henrique said...

You made me laugh about the mitsouko fart idea lol It seems that this is a fragrant section where there is interesting ideas, altough, just like you, i'd be very concerned about the health problems of eating pills to exhale the aroma. Plus, i have the impression there is still a lot of research to be done in order to produce a complex aroma this way. I think i'll stick with the usual form of aplying perfume - it's easier to remove something if you don't like it :)

+ Q Perfume Blog said...

Dear Rick, me too. I don´t really think they should waste time in these researches. It would be much more profitable to develop new ways of holding fragrances longer on the skin, or develop new notes, new combinations etc etc etc

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...