A few months ago, as I was holidaying on this magnificent Mediterranean city, I stumbled upon a very peculiar scene:
A small vial containing a bit of liquid of unknown origin was duct-taped on a lamp post, and the words: smell me were written on it.
I passed it by, but my curiosity got the best of me and I returned. I suspiciously looked around, thinking it was some sort of hidden camera stunt, however the perfume addict inside me could not resist testing it.
I pressed the vial, and a familiar concoction of scents surrounded the air around me: musk, vanilla and fruity notes were dominating the perfume.
Fleeing the scene as soon as possible was the only logical thing I could think of at the moment, but I was haunted by the experience. Who would put a perfume on a lamp post, which perfume was this and why it was done anyway?
To this day, I don’t have the answers to the first two questions, but luckily, I have the answer to the third one: SOTD: illegal
It’s a public FB group with a scented mission: to create olfactory graffiti all over the world.
This is their manifesto:
“Spreading scents around the world. Olfactory graffiti
No recognizable bottles/ brands – stick a scent to a lamp post, share pics, spot them around!
The world as an open source of scents, odors, perfumes and fragrances.
Share your favorite scents, decant your Scent Of The Day in a sample vial or in an anonymous spray bottle, stick it with some tape to a lamp post, a tree, a balustrade, a traffic light. make the world a nice smelling place.
No advertising, no visible brands or recognizable bottles.
Take a picture, tell us the location and the content.
Spot them around, smell it, take a pic and share it.
Fragrant graffiti for a nicer world
the world where we live is full of amazing smells and scents, coming from nature or human activities, we love some of them, we hate some of them.
SOTD: Illegal is just adding to the existing odors landscape some surprise from people that love their scents and love to share.”
I am blown away by the amazingness of the idea, and while I know that there are extremely slim chances of spotting these mysterious vials around my hometown, I would like to ask YOU, the kind hearted fragrance-loving people all over the world to write to me about olfactory graffiti spottings and inform me about your experience with it.
I know that together with your help, we can create something truly amazing: universal olfactory revolution.
P.S.
To this day, I am beating myself up for not taking picture of the vial duct-taped on the post, however, this image by a Facebook user is the closest to the image I keep locked in my memory:
And while I may never discover the name of the perfume, I will never forget its summerish aroma clinging to my brain’s memory slots, as it will always remind me of a perfect summer.
