New perfume captures the scent of “freshly printed books”

Designer Karl Lagerfeld, Wallpaper magazine, and perfumer Geza Schoen joined forces to produce “Paper Passion,” a perfume intended to capture the scent of “freshly printed books.”

According to the New York Daily News, Schoen created the perfume with just four or five ingredients, including ethyl linoleate and a selection of woody components to add dryness. Capturing the unique scent was a tricky experience.

“The smell of printed paper is dry and fatty; they are not notes you often work with,” he said.

For the perfume’s packaging, Lagerfeld instantly visualized a real book with pages and a hidden cut-out compartment to house the perfume bottle in the middle. In the front of the book are short essays on the subject of paper by Lagerfeld, Schoen, German author and artist Günter Grass, and Wallpaper editor-in-chief Tony Chambers.