I admit to vanity: I google my blog name. But what I found the other day is worth the admission. A finnish company named Kaipaus produces small objects that can carry your perfume in a solid form. A series of pieces of jewellery and a key chain. Every perfumista’s dream. To be able to carry with you your favourite perfume and experience it without the limitations of time. I decided to get one and report.
I had two things in my mind. Firstly, I work in a fragrance free environment. Perfume is not welcome for practical reasons: anything that is airborne can dilute in liquid culture media and the possible effects in cell cultures are completely unknown but certainly not beneficial. Having a small quick fix in my bag would be really nice. The idea of ceramic blotters is not new though. Chanel publicized the use of ceramic blotters in their new London flagship saying that they allow you to experience all stages of a fragrance at once, top, mid and base. Of course this doesn’t sound like something any fragrance aficionado would be looking forward to: the development of a perfume is a major attraction so anything that gets in the way of experiencing this is probably something that should be toned down in a promotional campaign. So my second interest was to see how different is the experience of a fragrance when all the notes are presented at once .
I ordered the key chain with the bean (sic) and the processing of my order was fast. The ceramic bean came in a sturdy but nice looking cardboard box which contained a black velvet pouch with my key chain in it and directions for use. To test note behaviour I decided to use a perfume that changes a lot, Cuir Ottoman. This is a composition that is classified as unisex only because it can make Luckyscent’s gender meter go bust. It starts as an S&M black leather and slowly drifts to benzoin powder, not girly, but definitely not masuline. It is one of the fragrances that I consider to be masterpieces. I loaded my bean with four sprays (2 to 6 suggested) and waited to see how it behaves.
As expected the bean delivers everything up front. Top and base. Petrol and powder. No development. But this can also be a good thing. You get to trap those fleeting top notes which makes the experience completely new. There is no projection from the bean. When you want to get a whiff you have to approach it to your nose, like any other blotter. One reason for this might be that the bean is covered with enamel leaving only a small hole to load it and emit the perfume. It would be worth trying a different version (if available) that would leave a larger area exposed to breathe. It is an excellent way for prolonging those elusive topnotes, even though you don’t get to actually wear them.
The process of changing the perfume is quite interesting. You have to actually bake the object at 200 degrees C for half an hour to burn the previously loaded perfume and then let it cool and replace it with a different one. I will get back when I do this.
Disclaimer: I purchased my own test item and this is not a promotional report. This is why I do not provide a link to the official site. If anyone is interested it is not hard to find it.
13/10/2011 UPDATE: Last night I baked my bean. Half an hour at 200 °C. The kitchen was filled with the sweet remnants of Cuir Ottoman. I have been living with my Kaipaus bean for about a month and it was not bad. It’s nice to catch unexpected whiffs of perfume in my everyday life. The topnotes lasted for about a week. Then they were turned down a little bit in favour of the powdery base. Still I could catch the petrol note until the moment I popped my bean in the oven.
However there is one thing that has gone wrong: ceramic’s biggest disadvantage, it breaks! I dropped my keys and chipped by bean. A nasty white chip is now showing on the black shiny surface. Maybe a key chain is not the best place for a ceramic blotter. A piece of jewellery is less likely to be dropped so will probably last longer. My bean looks really ugly now but I will still be using it. I have loaded it with Mandarine Mandarin as I want to study this a bit more before writing about it.
Memory Of Scent 
haha thats great.
Hermes was recently giving out little stones (made of ceramic maybe?) that you are supposed to spray with and leave in a drawer or cupboard.
Seems like a nice trend. Kaipus are actually marketing these as a way to promote sales but I think it can be very attractive to perfume lovers.
I do not have much use for it right now but I think it’s an interesting idea.
I disagree with your decision not to give a direct link. I understand your initial thought but I think that your word should be enough for your readers to know that you did it not as a paid (or any other way compensated) advertising. And a direct link would provide a better chance for the positive exposure to the product. Just a thought.
I think this type of ceramic blotters is something that we are going to see more and more in the future.
I thank you for the confidence you are showing but it is really simple for anyone interested to google “Kaipaus” and go to the page of the company.
What an interesting idea! Not really in the market for it, but it seems like an inventive little thing.
I guess I am a gadget addict LOL
I was discussing the bean shape with a designer the other day. he is a product developer. We were talking about this love that people seems to have for bean shape. Why is that?is it because it reminds us of a fetus? XX Simone
You are so right Simone! Not only the bean makes you think of a foetus, but it also makes you think of… a bean, that is something that contains the potential of life, the primordial sprout and the food that it will need to develop. The shape itself is so powerful because it is soft and at the same time looks like it can move and shift shapes. It has the potential of growth and development. Like the foetus.
Thank you for the update.
Let us know when/if it breaks completely or if it stops working (either way – keeping a scent or getting rid of it).
I will. I do not think it will ever stop working. After baking it there wasn’t the faintest trace of Cuir Ottoman and from what I can say it performs very well after reloading.
Do you still use it?
Thanks for reminding me! I haven’t used it for a while because it has come off the ring and it is chipped now but it is still perfectly functional
I’m asking because on the website they offer some necklaces for the same purpose and I’m thinking if I want to buy one of them.
It would work perfectly as a necklace. I think the key chain gets abused a lot but as long as you don’t drop it it will be fine. And baking it as per the instructions completely rids of any traces of perfume
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