One of the main draws of expensive perfume is as conspicuous consumption. The problem is, even using the rarest materials you can think of (whale puke?), there is still a limit to human ingenuity in coming up with expensive ingredients.

I propose a perfume made with only deuterated compounds, and no hydrogen. Spin some yarn about how the slightly higher molecular weight provides a touch of elegance, but leave obvious the unspoken understanding that the whole point is to make the product more expensive.
-- GutPunchLullabies, Apr 06 2007

Anything likely to fleece the rich and stupid gets my vote.
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Apr 06 2007


It may actually smell different. Nobody knows how smell works, and there are two theories - (a) that it's like antigen/ antibody interaction (key/lock) or (b) that it depends on bond vibration.

If (a), then optical isomers should smell completely different, but isotopes should smell the same. If (b), then isomers should smell the same, but isotopes should smell different.

Apparently nobody is sure whether isotopes smell different - which strikes me as odd. Perhaps a perfumier would be the one to ask.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 06 2007


//Anything likely to fleece the rich and stupid gets my vote.// Alas, that I have only one bun to give ...
-- nuclear hobo, Apr 07 2007


Ah. Actually, the secret to expensive perfumes is not the rarity of the contents - for even the most expensive of perfumes, the constituents cost no more than a few cents. The real value is in the marketing.

So the approach here would be to allude to power of deuterated water, and fission and fusion and all that fun stuff, and making it only available to an exclusive few, while still peddling common or garden tap water.
-- DrCurry, Apr 07 2007


(R)limonene smells like lemons. (S) limonene smells like pine.

If A and B are mutually exclusive, consider your mystery solved.
-- GutPunchLullabies, Apr 07 2007


[GetLunch] yes, that's one classic and famous example in favour of (a). However, in most cases, optical isomers smell the same - which is very much at odds with a lock/key type of system. I find it all very worrying.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 07 2007



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