Wolf - 2026
Scent Notes: Black Pepper, Beeswax, Wool, Vanilla, Civet, Fresh Ginger, Patchouli
Ancient Roman author Aelian wrote extensively about the nature of animals and how the human observes and interpret these behaviors. A series of 17 books lay out the entirety of the human understanding of what we thought we knew about animals during the end of the 1st century and beginning of the 2nd century AD. Within one of these books, Aelian describes the tactics in which stock farmers would apply a mixture of black pepper and honey to the genitals of livestock such as sheep and cattle in order to encourage mating and increase reproduction rates within the facility. According to Aelian, this scent combination would primarily affect the sexual desire of the female animal, arguably the more selective and intentional gender in comparison.
Within my blend, I intend to cultivate a literal sense of the environment discussed in Aelian’s writings through the use of honey, black pepper, and wool. However, creating a scent that also simultaneously captures the historical pattern of human interjection within animal sexual interaction that still occurs today, breeding, and slaughter. To be born is to be sent to die, and within this scent, that bittersweet contradiction is captured through the dynamic play between peppery, sour scents and sweet warmth. Exploring how to embody the sharp and hot essence felt in all phases of birth, sex, and death through scent.
Ironic how the very beings that we unconsciously season, sear, and swallow are also a primary subject of sexual observation and control in this immoral and perverted way. So corrupt is the human species that we will continue to abuse our physical and cognitive advantages for the benefit of increased assets and financial gain. Without addressing the moral issues of unethical breeding and sexual manipulation, the human hand will remain stuck to the genitalia of the innocent sheep; no longer should we be regarded as shepherds, we are truly the wolves.
Belladonna - 2025
SCENT NOTES: Wilted Floral Bouquet, Femme Fatale, Threat of Decay, Lead Bullets, Despair of the Mortal, Squishy Tomato, Various Soured Greens, Roots of Vengeful Vegetation, Forbidden Fruits, Bird Carcass, Tears of Gaia
Belladonna is inspired by the alluring essence of the Nightshade plant (Atropa bella-donna). She presents herself with gifts of plump tomato-like fruits and her aggressively enchanting beauty, but once eaten by most mammals, they will experience severe paralysis, hallucinations, nausea, and, in many cases, death. Nightshade is the embodiment of nature turning its back on those who were supposed to protect her, retaliating against the neglectful humans of Earth. She begs to be consumed, only to demolish the fragile body of her abuser. Yet, there appears to be no destructive effects on birds; rather, she is used as a positive source of nutrition. Over 41.5 million birds are hunted by humans annually. This statistic does not account for birds killed by man-made objects such as vehicles and buildings. For this, Nightshade has taken revenge for herself and for the birds she nourishes, taunting the human and holding her forbidden fruit over our heads, waiting for a single lapse.
The birds will observe and mock us as they feast upon her bounty, juice dripping from their beaks. So we made our guns to shoot down Nightshade’s birds because we are envious that they reach closer to the warmth of the sun. Yet, when hunting with lead bullets, remnants of the lead remain in the bird upon human consumption, a toxic element of human violence that they pose to themselves.
Using the term Belladonna for my scent not only plays with the scientific name of Nightshade, but also the idea of a beautiful woman rooted in the Italian language. This is why I chose to represent Nightshade with female pronouns. Belladonna represents the power of nature, the power that humans so desperately want to conquer—the ability to control the one thing that humans cannot: death.
Smell or Die - 2025
Scent Notes: Black Pepper, Wool, Hay, Jasmine, Habanolide, Dynamone, Civet, Helional, Castoreum, Aquamate, Amyl Vinyl, Stemone, Sichuan Pepper, Guava, Geranium, Ambrette Seed, Smoke
Scent breaks a specific barrier of human connection. As Anicka Yi once stated, “To smell them is to eat them.” There is this type of primal, carnal, and intensely animalistic element to smell as a form of intimacy with another, something instinctual, that surpasses all domesticated characteristics of the human species. Scent is this invisible entity that travels in streams around our bodies in every moment and at all times. To smell another is to blend yourself with them; parts of them become parts of you. Small particles stick to the interior lining of noses, and suddenly, touch becomes irrelevant. We recall the scent of another in passing, an unknown source reaching out to us in moments when we are ill-prepared, pieces of one floating through the breeze. And so it is then that we blend with another, our scent particles turn into entities, dancing around in a metaphysical space not seen by our earthly eyes.
Mark Graham stated, “The smell of another person cannot be ignored short of refusing to breathe.” We will forget touch, the sound of another's voice will slowly start to dwindle from our memory, and soon we will forget the details of their face. But smell will force you to recall, transport you through the streams of time, and throw the echo of the dancing particles in your face. You either smell, or you die. Another individual you have connected with has smelled a tremendous amount of your existence, an unconscious knowing of the most uncomfortable aspects of our being, a portrait of the animal connection.