What Perfumes Smell Like (Besides Money Burning)

What does money smell like? The Times notes the rapid rise of “sweet” in perfumes, which makes sense, given that pop culture is garbage and syrup, though Prada Candy, God bless. There are also a few holdouts, like Hermes perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena: “Instead, his new Hermès Santal Massoïa, introduced in November, is made of the ‘milky’ woods sandalwood and massoia. It smells sort of like a tree that’s been through a brutal storm.” LOL! (Also, weirdly true. Though also sort of like a ripe melon got trapped in a sauna after being beaten with a cedar bat.) Elsewhere a (terrible-sounding) perfume is described by saying it “conjures an image of Janis Joplin holding a lollipop.” I wish they’d said “conducting a jam band with a lollipop.” Anyway. People like to smell things, sometimes.