Dirt perfume brings a whole new meaning to a natural smell
By Alexa d’Angelo
Image by Anika Steppe
Would you ever want to wear dirt-scented perfume? Well guess what—it’s here and on the market. Dirt was first launched by Demeter Fragrance Library in 1996 and is now being sold in stores across the world. It has actually become quite popular.
Demeter Fragrance Library created dirt-scented perfume and many other “natural” smells. These fragrances include Wet Garden, Rain, Grass, Snow, Christmas in New York and many other “real fragrances for real life” smells. The idea is to recreate memories and to make things smell like home.
Did you know there are different dirt smells? According to Demeter’s website, some people say that this perfume doesn’t smell like dirt because instead of having a dirt-smell from France or Georgia, their dirt is the dirt smell from “the fields around the Pennsylvania family farm belonging to our founding perfumer.”
An ounce of this dirt-scented perfume costs $20. You can also buy dirt smelling purse spray, splash, atmosphere spray, calming body lotion, foaming bath and shower gel, tender bath oils and infused soap. These range from $6 to $39.50. Would you pay that much for a perfume that smells like dirt?
This fragrance not only smells all natural, but it’s also made naturally.
“Demeter fragrances are highly natural, known more for what does NOT go into them—no artificial color, nor binders or emulsifiers—just alcohol naturally fermented from corn, purified water and fragrance oil,” Mark Crames, owner and CEO of Demeter Fragrance Library and Ithaca College alumnus, said. “The fragrance oils do have synthetic ingredients, but overall, Demeter fragrances use 95 percent natural materials, or more. The specifics of the materials in the fragrances oils are considered trade secrets.”
Dirt was part of the beginning of the line of natural smells by Demeter Fragrance. However, its name was not originally Dirt.
“Demeter’s original mission was to recreate the wonderful scents of nature and the garden in wearable formats,” Crames said. “So Dirt was a natural choice and was one of the three original scents in the Library, along with Grass and Tomato. Today, with fragrances like Angel Food, Hershey’s Special Dark and Sex on the Beach, the mission has changed somewhat, but Dirt remains a Demeter classic. Of course, we could have called it Earth, but Dirt is so much more fun.”
Although you may not think so, dirt-scented perfume is actually one of the best selling fragrances out of all the perfumes that Demeter Fragrance has to offer.
“Dirt has always been a top seller, and remains so today,” Crames said.
Who would wear this perfume? It sells well and it’s popular even with celebrities—Sharon Stone loves Demeter, especially Dirt. It is also said to be one of Kate Moss’ favorites.
I have personally tried the Dirt perfume, and it really does smell like dirt with just a little hint of perfume. I also tried Leather and Grass, and both are true to their names.
Although I may not plan on wearing these fragrances, at least they fulfill their expectations.
While people may not think of wearing dirt-scented perfume, it is a creative idea on behalf of Demeter Fragrance. This led to other earthy, natural scents that sell very well around the world. The name on the bottle is true to its smell. Dirt has allowed Demeter Fragrance to build and expand its library of natural smells.
“We also make a scent called Earthworm, which is deeper, richer and I guess dirtier than Dirt,” Crames said. “But to maintain balance, we also make Laundromat (the smell of clean clothes right from the drier) and Pure Soap (freshly scrubbed skin after a shower).”
If you ever want to smell like dirt or some other earthy or true-to-life aroma, demeterfragrance.com is the way to go.
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Alexa d’Angelo is a sophomore journalism major who smelt it and therefore probably dealt it. E-mail her at [email protected].