Ever wonder what music smells like? Just ask Christophe Laudamiel and Stewart Matthew, perfumers who are at work creating a “scent opera” called “Green Aria.” Except in this case, there are no singers or actors; fragrances serve as the characters. As the listener takes in the original score composed by Valgeir Sigurdsson and Nico Muhly, a “scent microphone” placed near each seat blasts odors to accompany the music.

During the experience, the darkened room will be filled with flavors like Crunchy Green, “a fresh, watery smell,” and Magma, which reeks of tar. While you won’t get Chanel No. 5 or Marc Jacobs Daisy wafting pleasantly into your nostrils, the purpose of the duo’s scent-sational opera will be familiar to women on the hunt for their signature scent. “The real challenge,”  asks Laudamiel, “is how do you give a scent meaning?” [Wall Street Journal]

“Green Aria” will be at the Guggenheim, beginning May 31.

This sounds too crazy to possibly be true. PETA sent a letter to Ben & Jerry’s, urging them to substitute human breast milk for 75 percent of the cow’s milk in their products. A spokesperson for Ben & Jerry’s responded: “We applaud PETA’s novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother’s milk is best used for her child.” Why is everyone so obsessed with breast milk these days? [WPTZ.com]

As we age, we develop that “Grandma” smell. Now there’s a perfume to mask that scent, so you’ll smell eight years younger. [The Guardian, U.K.]

 

New research from Northwestern University shows that a single negative experience linked to an odor teaches us to discriminate against that and similar-smelling odors. While they discovered this in the lab by shocking research subjects with electricity when exposed to certain scents, I have experienced this firsthand, and I’m sure you have, too. When I was in high school, I dated a guy whose mother used a particular brand of detergent. Did no one else’s mothers use this detergent? I’m not sure, but his scent was truly special. I thought he smelled fine when we were going out, and then we had a messy breakup. Shortly after our relationship ended, my mother deviated from her regular brand of detergent. Maybe there was a sale at the grocery store, or maybe the store was out of her preferred detergent. Either way, we washed our clothes in this new detergent, and when I smelled my shirts, they didn’t not smell clean. They smell…of him. I thought I was going to be sick, and we had to wash all the clothes again. To this day, my mother knows not to buy that particular brand of detergent. [Northwestern University]