Dogs of Smell & Tell: An Interview with Stella the Terrier

The many moods of Stella the terrier as she sniffs
a variety of fragrance blotters on March 4, 2020.

Stella isn't a typical Smell & Tell fan. She walks on all fours, has a superior sense of smell, and is quite curious when encountering novel scents. Stella has an interesting habit. She likes to smell fragrance blotters her owner brings home from Smell & Tell. Her reactions vary, but they’re always colorful. 

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by our dog interpreter. One of our readers wants to know how you manage bad smells?

It depends. What smells unpleasant to a human nose tells a slightly different story to a dog nose. Going on a smelling jag in the park is like reading a good book. You don't want to stop until you've figured out a smell, and all the smells underneath that smell, so you know the whole story. Somewhere along the way you come across something unusual or threatening, like the smell of fear. Then you have to figure out where it came from, and if you should stay, run away, or stand your ground and bark your face off.

       Stella relates to the conundrum in "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash

Have you ever followed a scent trail straight into trouble?

Following a scent trail doesn't work if you latch onto a skunk. Young dogs learn this early on, others get a case of amnesia the second time around and walk straight into skunk spray, whining and crying like an amnesiac when it's happened before. A single skunking was enough for me. Getting cleaned up afterwards isn't glamorous. The combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and Dawn dish detergent makes me smell like a demented lemon. Some of the skunk odor lingers, which doesn’t go over well with my friends.

Are there smells that you find overwhelming?

Things that make me feel like I can't breathe really get to me. The acrid odor of vinegar humans use to make pickles, the smell of bleach when someone in the house is in cleaning zealot mode, things like that. I loathe smoke. Smoke from a fireplace can be tough on my lungs. You won't find me close enough to get my fur in a singe, that's for sure. It's bad enough that I smell wood smoke on my fur the next day. Smelling like a piece of bacon isn’t the same as eating bacon. It's confusing.

Do you have a favorite smell?

That depends. I really enjoy smells when I have a chance to investigate them in the yard. I like playing by myself because I can chase a squirrel up a tree without interference from other dogs, and smell whatever I like. Walking on a leash can be fun as far as sniffing things, but it's subject to human whims like stopping and chatting with neighbors, or being forced to meet other people's dogs. 

To answer your question, I love the smell of being with other dogs in the dog park. You get to smell your friends, which is a combination of their unique dog smell, and smells from where they've been and who they've been with. On the whole, it's the smell of kin. Why humans don't smell each other more often is beyond me. They should take up reading books about Dr. Richard Feynman and his nose-forward ways. 

Stella the Jack Parsons terrier as a pup. She'll be 13 
on March 23, 2024. Image courtesy of Kirsten Segal.

Why do you like sniffing fragrance blotters from Smell & Tell programs at AADL?

It's like smelling a human version of a dog park crossed with a forest, a garden, the elements, a scent lab, and a chef's kitchen with a hint of je ne sais quoi. Smelling fragrance blotters from Smell & Tell is like smelling a world inside a world to infinity. I sniffed something interesting from the Brian Eno Smells program in 2020. I was captivated by a strange tuberose perfume called Nardo by Madini, and kept sniffing to figure it out. 

Then it happened. I saw my reflection in a window and didn’t recognize myself. I barked at the stranger in the glass, and was compelled to roll on the perfume blotter and pursue it. It took a few minutes before I snapped out of it. I adore and fear the smell of Nardo perfume because of this. I have a confession to make. Sometimes, when I want to understand a smell better, I lick the perfume blotter or smell through my mouth while baring my teeth. I can’t tell you why, but it works for me. I am a dog after all.

Notes & Curiosities:

Is there a logical explanation for Stella's reaction to Nardo perfume? An educated guess says that the presence of indole molecules may have something to do with it. Indole is present in mammalian feces. Its fecal-like qualities are noticeable at higher concentrations. Interestingly, indole smells like flowers at .01% (200ppm), and shapeshifts into fecal, mothball and horse-like odor qualities at .01%-1%. George S. Clark described this binary as "a Dr. Jekyll and Hyde nature" in Perfumer & Flavorist magazine. Indole signals insectivory and attracts pollinators, which is why it's vital to chemical communication in plants like jasmine and tuberose.

 "Indole presents a dual organoleptic profile, or, to state it another way, a Dr. Jekyll and Hyde nature.” Ah, mais oui. Serge Gainsbourg relates to the Jekyll-Hyde duality.

Nardo by Madini is no longer distributed in the U.S. by Talisman in Seattle, Washington. Fear not, perfume lovers. Madini perfume hasn't disappeared. Parfumerie Madini is located at 5, bd. Pasteur Tangier, Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima Morocco. “The perfumery is owned by Sidi Madini and is a family business that has been passed down through his family for more than 500 years," according to a listing in Fodor's Travel. 

Olfactory Curiosities: Equine Musk from a Horse Named James Bond

If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living that moment all over again. —Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

James Bond's debonair horse musk has been macerating for a little over six months. The musk tincture was made using pieces of an aromatic callous-type growth called equine horse chestnut that grooms remove by gently rubbing them off a horse's leg. The shape and positioning of equine horse chestnuts are unique to each horse. Their origin and purpose is still a mystery, though some speculate that they're vestigial scent glands or toes.

Equine musk isn't found among animalic essences in a perfumer's training kit. There are several musks (all synthetic), castoreum, civet, civetone (synthetic civet), and ambergris-type molecules, but nothing associated with the smell of horses that's derived from horses. This is rather odd, considering that perfumery was born in the Middle East in 1200 BCE and research suggests that horses were domesticated 9000 years ago in the Arabian Peninsula.

James Bond, the horse with the debonaire musk.
Image by Michelle Krell Kydd.

Horse musk derived from equine horse chestnut was explored by a group of curious natural perfumers, and documented by Lisa Abdul-Quddus in a post for Le Parfumeur Rebelle (February 21, 2011):

It happens often, yet I still get amazed at how simple actions can spark inspiration and discoveries. Take, for example, a conversation back in January 2009 between Natural Perfumer Justine Crane and one of her Antiquarian Perfumery students, Paulha Whitaker. Paulha started a discussion about a subject totally different from where that discussion ended. Basically, she casually mentioned the smell of [equine] horse chestnuts and very briefly described what they were. Justine suggested she tincture them and voila The Natures Nexus Academy of Perfumery Arts students had begun a journey in horse smells. Paulha generously supplied the students with [equine] horse chestnuts and there began the experimentation.

Lisa Abdul-Quddus attends Smell & Tell programs at the Ann Arbor District Library and shared her equine horse chestnut story during a 2015 presentation I gave called Musk: The Essence of Seduction. A few weeks later she shared a sample of her tincture with me. I still remember the first time I smelled it. It was sublime, powdery, musky and evocative of softer tones found in Tonquin deer musk.

James Bond, retired racehorse extraordinaire, enjoying the good
 life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Image by Michelle Krell Kydd.

I visited a retired racehorse named James Bond in Ann Arbor, Michigan with Rebecca Bizonet, a librarian and archivist, who is friends with the horse's owner. We obtained equine horse chestnut for tincturing, which Bizonet used to shape Madam Plague Doctor perfume for The Plague Doctor's Cabinet of Olfactory Curiosities. She's attended Smell & Tell events since 2012 and is an avid natural perfume hobbyist.

Equine horse chestnut from James Bond. The pocket knife was used to
break up pieces after they were removed by hand. Instruments aren't
needed to remove stubborn chestnuts, but are helpful in separating the
layers after they're removed. Image by Michelle Krell Kydd.

I obtained rear and front samples of equine horse chestnut, and front and rear samples of another type of keratin-containing growth called an ergot (unrelated to alkaloid producing ergot fungus found on rye and related plants). Rebecca and I also visited an Icelandic horse named Zoltan, whose owner loved the idea of tincturing the smell of a horse, a scent she described as spiritual and comforting.

An equine horse chestnut on the inside of James Bond's front right leg,
seen to the left of his shadow. Image by Michelle Krell Kydd.

The goal of the equine musk experiment was to find out if the there was a difference between the smell of rear and front equine horse chestnuts. This is what I discovered after making tinctures with a 1:5 ratio of animal material to 190 proof alcohol, and evaluating them after six months of maceration:

• Rear horse chestnut tincture from James Bond smells of sweet hay, flinty musk, powder, sun-warmed blankets and horsehair. A facet in the drydown smells like pages from an old book. 
• Front horse chestnut tincture from James Bond starts off boozy and fruity, carrying the same tonal qualities as the rear horse chestnut. Drydown is more assertive and vaguely salty—it smells like the horse is in the room with you when you close your eyes and smell the fragrance blotter. 
• Front and back equine ergots from James Bond were combined to create the proper ratio of aroma material to alcohol (there were less ergots to work with). Equine ergot tincture is milder than equine horse chestnut tincture. It has a faint trace of white floralcy (methyl dihydrojasmonate) when the fragrance blotter starts to dry.
• Front and rear equine horse chestnuts were collected from Zoltan, an Icelandic horse known for long hair on its mane and tail. Samples were collected when the outside temperature was 90 degrees, and Zoltan was a bit sweaty compared to James Bond, who has less hair. 
• The front equine horse chestnut tincture from Zoltan smells funky and barn-like when initially smelled a perfume blotter. The funk disappears when the alcohol evaporates. The resulting aroma is sweet, musky, powdery and redolent of dry straw and horsehair. Something akin to Tonquin deer musk is also present (confirmation by GC-Mass Spectrometry needed) with nuances of honey and vanillic urine.
• The rear equine horse chestnut from Zoltan smells the same as the sample taken from the front. Similarity in odor may have something to do with the fact that Icelander's have more hair and produce more sweat on a hot day, which affects their overall scent, including that of equine horse chestnut.

Jame Bond's dark brown coat shines under a warm September sun
revealing topline musculature. Image by Michelle Krell Kydd.

Equestrians have strong bonds with their animals that are meaningful, emotional and highly sensory. Sara Stenson of Art of Equine Massage and Bodywork has this to say about the scent of a horse:

The scent of a horse is holy to an equestrian, a spiritual mantra, and a koan for living. We can go for a few days without that bouquet in our noses but that is pushing our limits. When things get rough we hightail it for the paddocks to replenish our fragrance of horse. It is a warm smell, somewhat of a musty smell like hay in the spring, it is a sweet smell, more radiant than a rose. Bury your face in a horse's neck and the whole of that horse enters into your blood stream to permeate your whole body until all the nerve fibers vibrate in its essence. It is a natural sedative and no perfume made comes close to what horse musk awakens inside the human. It stirs the sense of tranquility, that somehow no matter what is wrong the aroma of a horse will make the world seem fresh again. It is a whiff of contentment, a sigh, a breath, a whisper, a kiss of wind that floats you into their soul, down the portal of their eyes to see the truth written there. The world is once again at peace.                                                                           

—Sara Stenson, "Scent of a Horse" (May 22, 2015)

Research on the aromatic properties of equine horse chestnut tincture can shape new molecules for use in perfumery. The first step would be a GC-Mass Spec analysis of tinctures to isolate specific molecules responsible for dominant olfactory characteristics of equine horse chestnut.

These molecules should possess performance characteristics of animalic base notes used in perfumery (see notes section). We need this kind of creativity and innovation in fine fragrance, especially where animalic materials are considered as horses aren't harmed when their chestnuts are removed as it's part of their regular grooming routine.

Notes:
Experience Equine Musk on March 27, 2019
I'll be sampling equine horse chestnut tincture from James Bond at Haute Skank: An Olfactory Menagerie of Animalics in Perfumery on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at the Ann Arbor District Library. I've been asked to develop a Smell & Tell program about my equine musk experiment and am giving it serious consideration. Smell & Tell events at AADL are free to the public and take place monthly.

Horse chestnuts that grow on trees.

Horse Chestnuts and Equine Horse Chestnuts are Different
Equine horse chestnuts are unrelated to horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) that grow on trees, which are toxic to horses as they contain esculin, a coumarin glucoside. The scent of horse chestnut flowers is beautiful and deserves further exploration in perfumery. Horse chestnut tincture has a barn-like aroma (lower volume funk when compared to monofloral chestnut honey). The term "equine horse chestnut" refers to the aromatic growth on a horse's leg versus the plant material.

Function of Animalics in Perfumery
Animalic notes reduce volatility and bouquet ingredients in a fragrance formula. They also and add a touch of sexiness to perfumes, evoking intimate human aromas that remind us of the fine line that occupies the space between intimacy and animal archetypes.

Animalics Can Be Polarizing
Yuanxiao Xu, a copyright specialist at the University of Michigan Library, invited me to speak at a lunch and learn on copywriting smells and tastes on October 11, 2018. (Xu attended Follow Your Nose in the Great Outdoors, an autumn scent hike, in September 2018). I blind sampled six-week-old equine horse chestnut tincture from Zoltan with attendees (it was allowed to dry on perfume blotters and enclosed in glassine paper the day before the event).

A majority of attendees described Zoltan's musk as floral, powdery/chalky, musky, sweet, sweaty, like a wet screen door, and almond-like. One attendee found it fusty and metallic. She revealed that she was sensitive to smells, which makes sense when one considers that scent evaluation is subjective. It's not easy to migrate to an evaluative point of view when you're distracted by what you like or dislike, which is what I focus on when teaching others how to evaluate aromas at Smell & Tell events.

Blind Evaluation of Zoltan's Musk at Westland Library
Equine horse chestnut tincture from Zoltan was used at the September 26, 2018 Nose-talgia Smell & Tell. The tincture was 13 days old (a mature tincture requires three to six months).  The best evaluations came from two elderly women who appeared to be in their seventies. Each was spry and confident, one more outgoing than the other (the mild mannered woman later asked why her dog "Suzie" liked to spend a lot of time smelling her when she entered the house after an excursion).

The two women offered the following descriptors before being told that they were smelling equine horse chestnut tincture on perfume blotters: powdery, sweet, musky, soft, floral/fungal (Suzie's owner) and "smells like outside". The tincture was young and would shape shift in a few weeks, but the descriptors were likely to remain. The "smells like outside" element comes from hay, earth and other natural materials in the horse's environment. The rest is, more than likely, the smell of the horse.

Why Animalics are Attached to Myth
Interest in animalic ingredients as medicinal or aphrodisiac is commonly attached to myth. If an ingredient smelled to high heaven (the excreta-like scent of civet), had a history of use in attack or defense (external or within an animal's body, e.g. ejected as ambergris), or was associated with a rutting beast (deer musk), it was purported to have powers that enhanced fertility/virility, defied death, and/or kept one invigorated when taken as a tonic. Some of these myths continue to be held as beliefs today.

James Bond and Perfume
Sir Roger Moore's favorite perfume was in keeping with suave characters he played in film and television (Simon Templar, James Bond, etc.). Moore's favorite fragrance was Jicky by Guerlain (1889), a perfume that changed fragrance history with its abstract structure and the inclusion of synthetics. It was also a favorite of Sean Connery. Moore gets perfume props because he was a member of the Fabergé Inc. board and a debonair Bond.

Answers from a Walking Smellopedia: Hunting Lures & Perfume

I received a curious email from a Smell & Tell attendee after delivering a Zoologist Perfumes presentation in late November. I was expecting a bit of prodding and nudging regarding Mammalia Incognito, a mysterious work-in-progress that was evaluated at the end of the Zoologist Perfumes scent flight (it followed the stunningly beautiful Chameleon, which is scheduled to show its colors in 2019). The attendee's query had nothing to do with Mammalia Incognito and everything to do with a deceased hunter's olfactory relics.

I have obtained permission to share the email exchange with readers of Glass Petal Smoke as the conversation affords a learning opportunity. The attendee's name and that of her partner are anonymized. What you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to encourage publication of existing and future inquiries (there are many).

November 15, 2018

Dear Michelle, 

Looking forward to next week's Smell & Tell. I have an interesting question for you. Going through my dad's effects this summer we came across a cotton ball container filled with fluffs and a bottle of deer "attractant". My dad hunted years ago so this bottle is old. It does contain some very potent essence of doe. I take it they put some on each little cotton ball and left a trail through the woods until they got some action (like Hansel and Gretel, but malodorous crumbs at that). 

Anyway, neither Hayden nor I hunt. We know no hunters and will throw this out unless you would be interested. I'm telling you it is foul stuff but you've got a nose that might find this an interesting addition to your collection of "sniffs". Let me know if you want it or not—it's definitely not something folks would want to smell. 

When I held it under Hayden's nose, he was appalled and hurt that I would do that...lol...and even asked me "Why would you?". So that's my unusual question. Hope you are staying warm and toasty on this snowy Thursday. 

Sincerely,
Heather

November 18, 2018 

Dear Heather, 

This is a great question! I have an answer that you'll find intriguing. Animals respond to smells of kin and kind. That’s why glandular and urine lures, some of which indicate a female in estrous, are used in hunting lures. (I suspect that's what you found in your father's effects and it's worth pitching.) 

Animals also respond to smells of food, those they know in their natural setting, and those that smell like animals they hunt for sustenance. Then there are smells that make them curious. Hunting lures that utilize these kinds of smells are called curiosity lures. 

Many ingredients used in perfumery are also used in curiosity lures. Particular ones. Animalics like Civetone (synthetic civet), Ambroxan (a synthetic variety of ambergris), Castoreum, synthetic Musk, and flavor extracts like Anise or Apple, to name a few. 

When you read news stories about animals responding to Calvin Klein’s Obsession it’s because perfumes may contain ingredients that arouse an animal's curiosity. It doesn’t make the perfumes "sexy" though that’s the kind of nonsense supported by hack journalists, the silence of the fragrance industry (who remain silent because they can't talk about proprietary perfume formulas protected by non-disclosure agreements), and the ignorant. 

Perfumes are curiosity lures for animals and humans. If you come across hunters you may be able to get a few interesting stories out of them—many have secret formulas for homemade curiosity lures. 

My father and his fishing buddies used vanillin powder to flavor cooked yellow cornmeal that they formed into balls of bait at the end of their fish hooks (a kind of polenta-like Play-Doh®). They were after Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), a species of fish that have an exquisite sense of smell. They caught a lot of carp (and were very particular about who they shared their bait recipe with)! 

P.S. The Simulacra of Rat perfume I formulated for The Plague Doctor's Cabinet of Olfactory Curiosities event contained a small amount of a hunting lure that has synthetic deer musk in it. Let me know when you want to smell the musk lure. You can tell Hayden that it's not a nose-wrinkler like the deer "attractant" you found among your father's effects.

Sincerely,
Michelle Krell Kydd

I've received several email queries from Smell & Tell attendees, but Heather's was the first one regarding the smell of hunting lures. Adirondack Outdoor Company in upstate New York makes a coveted Tonquin Musk (Siberian Deer Musk) lure—the same one I used to create Simulacra of Rat for The Plague Doctor's Cabinet of Olfactory Curiosities program.

The lure is "quite lovely and animalic" according to Manuel, who commented in a "Best Synthetic Musk" thread on Basenotes (November 22, 2011 at 3:33 a.m.). I concur with Manuel regarding the lure's olfactory aesthetics, though Tonquin Musk lure is not something one should wear on skin (or expose in the woods where rutting deer can detect it). That would be as bad as wearing Boarmate™ in a pig sty. Tonquin deer are nearly extinct, so it's best to wear perfumes made with synthetic musks. There are many beautiful ones to choose from.

Notes:
The Hunting Kit was a trio of Ambergris, Civet and Musk perfumes sold by Jōvan in the 1970's. The product copy on the outside of the box was aimed at women. "Lure your man with musk. Excite him with civet. Bring him to his knees with ambergris." The owner of the license needs to wake up and follow the scent trail. Just skip the gender specific copy and don't call it Spoor.

If you're curious about the use of musk in perfumery you should read Claire Vuksevic's musk articles on Basenotes. Re-reading part one and part two (which includes a review of 20 musk perfumes) reminds me why Claire Vuksevic's website, Take One Thing Off, is the 3.0 version of fragrance blogs.

The perfumer for Chameleon by Zoologist Perfumes is Daniel Pescio. Pescio's Instagram is filled with fragrant inspiration, including his passion for kōdō.

I will be crestfallen when the sample of Chameleon that was provided for Smell & Tell runs dry. It's one of those skin loving scents that draws your nose to your wrist several times a day. I'll write about Chameleon when it's released. In the meantime I'll use what's left of Zoologist Perfume's Chameleon to take revenge on winter.

Images:
Art for Chameleon perfume by Zoologist Perfumes.

Cover of Hansel and Gretel, a pop-up book illustrated by Louise Rowe, via Tango Books.

Engraving of The Origins of Perfume by Simon Barbe (1699). This image features animals associated with perfumery. Ambergris floats in the sea, in the absence of the whale that regurgitated the sea-aged fragrance material. A goat awaits combing of aromatic Labdanum resin that clings to its fur. A caged civet awaits scraping of its glands. A deer musk is about to have its aromatic musk sacs removed, which will result in its death.

The Hunting Kit trio of perfumes by Jōvan appeared on Quirky Finds' online shop, but quickly disappeared.