Smell Bent is the slightly warped brainchild of LA based perfume-lover (and very handsome perfumer) Brent Leonesio. Offering fragrances that “delight your nose and your funny bone” Smell Bent lets you into a cartoon world of chaos, naughty frolics and damn good smells, all for a more-than-reasonable price. As they put it on the Smell Bent Website:

“We think that perfume should be fun and shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. We know life can be hard, but it shouldn’t have to smell bad.”

Brent Leonesio

I reckon that I have perused the Smell Bent website, chuckling away at the names, cartoons and descriptions of each scent, about a million times, yet it was only recently that I decided to put in a sample order. Perhaps there was a bit too much choice for my little brain to handle and if I’m being honest I think that might be the case, I wanted to order just about everything but I couldn’t (apparently we’re supposed to be buying a house or something, I don’t know, ask Nigel) and that made me sad.

It was actually Freddie of Smellythoughts fame that convinced me to bite the bullet and I’m ever so glad he did because the six Smell Bents I ordered, each of which is like a fun little ditty, have surpassed my expectations considerably. So without further ado I present to you Part 1 of my Smell Bent Speedy Sniffs (with Part 2 to follow next week), I hope that you enjoy reading about these characters as much as I did smelling them. They may be low in price but they certainly aren’t short on quality or fun!

The Notes

Pikake and Tuberose with Guava, Japanese Honeysuckle and Teak

How Does it Smell?

Little Miss Panda Gets Lei’d (you’ve got to love that name) is Smell Bent’s ode to the tropical flower and it certainly isn’t short of white hot blooms. It starts pretty sweet as you would expect, it’s also quite green and right from the bat it accurately depicts a tropical lei strung with jasmine, pikake and tuberose.

But Little Miss Panda Gets Lei’d is more than just your average, happy-go-lucky blend of sun worshiping flowers. On the contrary, she has quite a bit of depth, namely in the form of a syrupy, almost bitter honey note that tempers the sweetness and puts one on location smack bang in the middle of a tropical island. Now, where’s the speedo-clad male with my Mojito?

The Notes

Earthy Violet Leaf Roughed Up with Worn Leather, Rich Agarwood and Dark Spruce

How Does it Smell?

Bloody weird, that’s how it smells! Violet Tendencies is like nothing else I’ve ever smelled and as the name suggests it is a very violent violet indeed. Imagine dank, earthy violets with little sweetness, now add to those a damp PVC rain mac and something indescribable, perhaps ozonic and you have Violet Tendencies.

Violent Tendencies is a curious little thing, it certainly has a bit of an attitude and whilst I find it interesting and amusing to wear it’s not a perfume that I would wear on a day-to-day basis, perhaps because it really is quite challenging. That said it is more than just a novelty and I can imagine that serious fumeheads would find it to float their boat to a more than satisfactory degree.

The Notes

Vanilla Bean Absolute Spiced with Light Patchouli and Cinnamon Bark

How Does it Smell?

It’s difficult to write a review of Chile Vanilli, simply because it’s not easy to type one handed, wrist pressed firmly against one’s nose. That’s right, this stuff is addictive and huffing away at it constantly does not encourage productivity.

Sometimes in life, and in perfumery too, the simple things are the best. Chile Vanilli is a straight up creamy, gourmand vanilla spiced up with cinnamon. It’s deliciously soft and has a subtle, but very much enjoyable pastry facet that gives it that little kick of something odd to keep it interesting. It is by far my favourite of the bunch I have tried and if I were to splash out on a full bottle Chili Vanilli would be the one.

Availability

Each of the Smell Bent fragrances are available in 5ml & 8ml Perfume Oil and 4ml & 50ml Eau de Toilette, with samples available too.

Prices range from about $3-$45 and currently Smell Bent is offering free shipping on their website right up until Halloween*.

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Join the Discussion!

Have you had any experience with Smell Bent?

What are your favourites in the line?

Isn’t Brent just the cutest….?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments box below!

Disclaimer

Images, quotes and notes via smellbent.com. * I am not affiliated.