Scented Pencils by Caran d'Ache
Scented Pencils by Caran d’Ache

We love all sorts of scented things here at The Candy Perfume Boy. There is no discrimination when it comes to scented products – give us perfume, candles, body lotions, shower gels – you name, we’ll sniff it. I don’t know why I say ‘we;, because it’s just little old me, but nyway I digress. Every once in a while a slightly unusual scented product will come along, one that is entirely new and more than just a little bit intriguing. These things will either make us exclaim ‘what the smell’ (get it?) or make us fall head over heels for their fragrant beauty. Today’s post is about a product that definitely falls within the category of the latter.

When I was asked whether I’d like to try some scented pencils from Caran d’Ache, my initial thought was “scented pencils are a thing?” quickly followed by “sure, why the hell not”. I do love a pencil, which is no surprise seeing as I am a writer, and I much prefer them to pens. There just is something wonderfully soft about pencils – something romantic about their impermanence and their delicate feel. Caran d’Ache, the Swiss manufacturer of art and luxury goods know a thing or two about pencils and with their scented pencils they’ve created something rather unique: pencils that write and smell beautifully.

Six Scents to Make You Appreciate Musk
Six Scents to Make You Appreciate Musk

I’m often asking people to sniff things and when I do, a common response is “it’s a bit musky”. This always strikes me as an unusual answer, mainly because many of these fragrances would not be classified as musks in the typical sense. Perhaps people see ‘musky’ as anything that is slightly funky, or perhaps it’s just anything that is difficult to describe and where musk seems like the safe descriptor. Whatever it is, this got me to thinking seriously about what musk really smells like and what it brings to a fragrance.

What I do know however, is that musk is a spectrum, one that ranges from laundry-like purity to animalic pornography. It’s a wide scope for sure and one that traverses a huge range of fragrances. In this post, which is the start of a new series entitled ‘Six Scents’, I take a look at six fragrances on the musk spectrum, moving from the cleanliness of a spin cycle to the shocking sin of a scent between the thighs. Buckle up, fragrance nerds, because this is going to be quite a ride!