Who is this guy?

October 26, 2007 3:58 AM

Several years ago I listened to a radio show which mentioned that there was this chemist who invented a perfume that had the smell of earth after rain. I need to find out this guy's name.

The guy is (probably) British, and is more likely to be a chemist than a perfurmer. The scent was not part of any fashion line then.

I've tried Googling, Yahoo'ing, and BBC Online'ing, but to no avail. Variations include 'British chemist earth scent' or 'British perfumer earth scent' or 'chemist earth scent'. Does anyone here know who this person could be -- or could have any clue or indication on this person?

posted by Karcy to science & nature (11 comments total)

Have you tried English instead of British?
posted by ceri richard at 3:59 AM on October 26, 2007

(and Welsh, Scottish and Irish?)
posted by ceri richard at 4:01 AM on October 26, 2007

Could you be thinking of Christopher Brosius? One of the 'accords' that he uses is called 'Dirt
(Soaked Earth)'.
posted by Kreiger at 4:13 AM on October 26, 2007 [6 favorites]

OMG Kreiger, I honestly never expected to find the answer! The hive mind is *fantastic*!
posted by Karcy at 4:21 AM on October 26, 2007

There is a word for this smell, petrichor.
posted by Cuppatea at 4:49 AM on October 26, 2007

Nah, it's Bear and Thomas, and they're Australians.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:54 AM on October 26, 2007

Oops. Cuppatea beat me to it.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:57 AM on October 26, 2007

Was the show Studio 360 by any chance? Out of NY? I think the guy on it wrote the perfume column for the NY Times.
posted by sully75 at 7:41 AM on October 26, 2007

A complete aside but you may like:

The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell

The Emperor of Scent

The former is by Luca Turin, and the second is about him.
posted by kcm at 7:48 AM on October 26, 2007

some excellent scents can be found at Demeter Frangrance Library. Its not exactly what you're looking for, but they do have things like dirt, rain, and my favorite beetroot. They have many interesting scents, and mixed in with compelling ideas like "tomato" you'll find some teeny bopper ones like "bubble gum" -- scroll through the "flavors" menu for a list of them all.
posted by cubby at 9:44 AM on October 26, 2007

Smell: the secret seducer is a neat book too.

Note that the colon is important in this book title.
posted by lalochezia at 2:42 PM on October 26, 2007