Demeter Gets Stinky

I was at Sephora today, and saw that there seems to be a new addition to the Demeter line. It's a few fragrances whose selling point is that they contain human pheromones. Actually, one pheromone, Androstadienone, which is the same in all the fragrances. They have names like Always Happy, Always Calm, Never Lonely, and one for energy. They're supposed to lift your mood and give the feeling that is implied in the title: happy, calm.... Do they work? Who knows. I walked around with some testers in my shirt pocket, and even rubbed some of Always Happy on my chin to smell it for some hours, but I didn't notice anything tremendous. If they do anything at all, it's very subtle.

As for the scent, they're, eh, OK. They smell like they were made with some essential oils, in that they have the weak, wispy character that some (but not all) all natural fragrances have. They start out very predictable: the Happy has orange, etc. etc. They don't end up in a predictable place, however. I'm sniffing the paper testers right now, and the smell could best be describe as Urinal. Maybe Urinal with hints of Dirty Underwear. It's faint, and I don't think many people would notice if someone were actually wearing the scent, but it's certainly an interesting, unexpected effect. You'd think they would have mingled in some sandalwood or vanilla, or maybe a synthetic musk or something to mask the odor of what is presumably the pheromone component (I'd read before that one human pheromone, either the 'female' or 'male' one, whichever, had a sort-of unpleasant odor, kind of sweaty, which made it less attractive as a perfumery product, whereas the other gender pheromone was odorless. This is clearly not the odorless one.). But I guess not. And now that I think of it, one of Demeter's things is not using synthetic fixatives, if I remember correctly, and that's why the fragrances disappear 20 seconds after you've put them on, 30 if you spray them on clothing.

Verdict on these fragrances: eh. I don't particularly care for them. They don't compare to Realm, which was spectacular (the women's version). I guess I'd hafta give them 1 nose. If I got them as a gift, maybe I'd spray them if the cat shit a lot. Then again, maybe I'd just reach for the Glade.

Summary: Demeter pheromone scents:

Beep!