NEW FRAGRANCE REVIEW: Opus Oils Eau Pear Tingle: Can Anosmics Be Perfumistas? Kedra Hart Says Yes!

One of the things a perfume lover really hates is a head cold. That temporary theft of our sense of smell leaves us lost and pining for the comfort of our perfume. We sit and suffer, and choke down our tasteless soups, our sour orange juice, just waiting for this deprivation to pass. We can lose our sense of smell in other ways.  I broke my nose a couple of years ago, and thought for a horrible moment that I had lost my olfactory sense. I stuck a jar of Vicks Vapo-Rub under my nose and inhaled deeply – a trace of the menthol came through and I was much relieved. I eventually recovered full use of my nose, but it was worrisome to gaze at my many bottles of perfume and think I would have to say goodbye to that pleasure.

Now, imagine that this bleak world is permanent. I worked with a man who had no sense of smell and never had. He was slender, as was to be expected, because food held no interest for him. He ate only for sustenance, experiencing the basic elements of taste provided by his tongue and the various textures of the foods he ate. He had to be careful in the way he lived – he could not smell it if something in the refrigerator had spoiled, or if something in the house was burning. I felt immensely sorry for him, and couldn’t imagine living in his world any better than I can imagine being deaf or blind.

Anosmia, the absence of a sense of smell, can be temporary or permanent. It can be total, or partial. Many people have holes in what they can smell – I am anosmic to many musks used in perfumery, making some fragrances weak if not fairly invisible to my nose.  Age can be a factor – both of my parents started losing their senses of smell as they aged.  Physical trauma, medications, or illness can render someone anosmic.

Would it be possible to create a scent that would not only appeal to those who can smell, but provide a pleasurable experience for those who cannot? Acclaimed writer Michelle Krell Kydd, who has a dear friend losing her sense of smell due to illness, requested  that a scent be created that could be experienced by anosmics. Perfumer Kedra Hart of Opus Oils responded, out of love for her anosmic mother, with Eau Pear Tingle.

Eau Pear Tingle opens with a bright burst of mint, which creates a quiver in the nostrils. Followed by an intensely juicy pear, tempered by lime blossom, the fragrance becomes truly mouthwatering. A beautiful and unusual woody base rounds out the composition. I could feel that the various parts of the composition had not only a scent, but a sensation as well, that could possibly come through an anosmic’s scent receptors rather like the basic taste elements come through the tastebuds.

My mother is experiencing a diminished sense of smell that has not become an impairment, but is occasionally noticeable. I took a sample over to her to see what she thought. Interestingly, she could not smell the mint that to me is so apparent during the first moments. She remarked on the natural feel of the fragrance, and was reminded of smells that one can find when cooking, like cutting into an aromatic seed or opening a jar of herbs. She enjoyed the woody, grassy drydown, and I enjoyed the luscious pear cloud created by her sillage. I gave her the rest of the sample to play with, because she smelled really good.

I would have enjoyed the opportunity to test Eau Pear Tingle on someone lacking a sense of smell. Fortunately, I don’t know anyone cursed with that affliction, so I can only speculate on what that experience would be.  As one who has a decent nose, I found the fragrance to be luscious, and would hope that translates into the scentless world.

Opus Oils Eau Pear Tingle notes are: Pear, Lime Blossom, Spearmint, Jasmine, White Musk, Pine & Sandalwood

Thank you to Kedra Hart and Opus Oils for providing me with two samples, so I could share this pleasure with my mother. Eau Pear Tingle  was  a nominee for the 2012 Fifi Indie Awards for scents released in 2011. Kedra is one of our choices for Indie Perfumer of the Year in the CaFleureBon Best of 2011 Awards.

Tama Blough, Senior Editor

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15 comments

  • Carlos Powell says:

    Tama, I had the pleasure of smelling this and it is wonderful, as is your article. Thank you.

  • I would love to be entered into the contest. I have been interested in giving this a try since I first read about. To smell and feel a perfume. Very innovative and maybe a new direction of perfumes in the future.

  • Tama, awesome! I have only known one person who had lost his sense of smell and taste in an accident. He was super skinny and never had BO so I guess it was OK by him.
    I love pear so light and fresh mixing that with white musk and jasmine will certainly be provocative to my nose!
    I suppose if there are whistles that are pitched beyond normal hearing capacity its not unrealistic to create a scent that is able to break the usual paramiters of perfume.
    Please enter me Id love to give this a try and in the event that I meet someone who has an impaired sense of smell I will surely direct them to Opus Oils.
    I like the name alsio:) Thanks Cafleurebon.

  • I know a couple of folks who don’t have a sense of smell, they’ve lost interest in food because they can longer taste/smell. I think it’d be pretty dangerous too!
    I haven’t smelled this, but I imagine it’s a lovely combo of white flowers and the mint freshens things up…..

  • I have a friend who lost her sense of smell, completely, when she was pregnant. It has been 18 yrs since she could smell, anything! Can you imagine? I will get a sample of this and test it on her.

  • Interesting article…. I have the opposite problem. I am surrounded (hubby and co-worker) by individuals who are way too sensitive about my fragrances and have banished certain perfumes from my fragrance repetoire. Wish there was a way that I could wear whatever I wanted without either one of them smelling it 🙂 !!!!!

  • Michelle Hunt says:

    What an interesting idea for the fragrance! I love the idea of embracing other elements of the sensory experience, besides smell.

  • Tama, this is a lovely article and the way you and Kedra describe this fragrance make it truly mouthwatering! I like citruses and I love pear, and I still have not recovered from the fact that La Belle Helene did not work for me 🙁 I would love to try this one.

  • It’s an interesting concept, and I get that there could be an experience of a scent beyond ‘smell’–the tingling sensation of mint, for example. Creatively and conceptually, this is really boudary-pushing! But practically one would worry, I think, about over-application. My grandmother in her later years was not able to smell as well, so she both over-applied and lost pleasure in some fragrances. I read an article about taste rather than smell some years ago, which was talking about how markets changed as consumers skewed older (my mom told me about it and joked about why she can take chilies but I can’t). Perhaps a line for partial anosmics would work too–anosmic to musks or other specific notes, and generally.

    I always hate it when I have a bad cold and can barely taste/smell anything, and it’s a little frightening to think of losing smell forever.