Smell of a kitten: perfumers created perfumes with the smell of cat hair

Olfaction plays an important role in how we perceive the world around us. And for people who love cats, one of the best scents will probably be the smell of soft fur on the head of a kitten.

This delicious scent is now available in a vial. Perfume company Demeter Fragrance Library (DFL) recently announced the release of a new fragrance called Kitten Fur ("Feline kitten"). Perfume conveys the smell of warmth and comfort that you feel when you play with your kitten, according to the product description on the company website.

Kitten Fur refers to a number of fragrances, the creation of which perfumers inspired the world of nature, including the smells of giant sequoia, mountain air, grasses, mud and earthworms. But how did the creators manage to isolate and cork the fragrant kitten in a small bottle?

Features of the work of perfumers

In order to identify and reproduce the characteristic smell that has a place or living being, perfumers can use a technique called "free space technology." This technology isolates the source and makes air samples near it, in order to create a chemical "fingerprint", which can then be analyzed and replicated in the laboratory. This was told by Mark Krames, creator of Kitten Fur and CEO of DFL.

Nevertheless, the process of creating Kitten Fur was more complicated. The amount of materials that can be safely applied directly to the skin is not that big, and this limits the chemical palette of the perfume that it can use to mix new odors. Recreating the aroma obtained from organic molecules, such as those responsible for the smell of the animal, is particularly difficult. Krames says it's very difficult to get all the depth, complexity and subtlety of the fragrance you need. For comparison: the smell of plants is much easier to imitate.

Success after 15 years of work

Kitten Fur was the most requested aroma among DFL customers. Almost equally popular are the smell of bacon and the breath of a puppy, which are currently under development, judging by the company's data. Krames spent 15 years working on Kitten Fur before he could finally get the smell he needed. Get the fragrance of the kitten's hair was due to the connection with which the company had not worked before. It formed the basis of the original smell of a kitten.

Previous achievements of the company

Before the creation of Kitten Fur in the perfume line of the company DFL, there was only one flavor, which to some extent can be called an "animal". This is the enchanting fragrance of New Baby - a scent that is known to cause a surge of dopamine in young mothers, as it is produced by newborn babies. When creating a fragrance New Baby perfumers faced the same problems as when developing Kitten Fur. However, New Baby has some elements that are somewhat easier to reproduce than Kitten Fur. These are the smells of lotion, powder and baby shampoo that are associated with babies.

So what does the kitten smell like? "It's a combination of skin and sunlight," says Krames. So far, Kitten Fur is available only on the official website of the company DFL, where you can purchase this zarah in the form of cologne, perfume, shower gel or body oil.