In this article, we are going to talk about the best perfumes that smell like books.
- Demeter Paperback
- Whispers in the Library
- Book by Commodity
- Fueguia 1833 Biblioteca de Babel
- Santal 33 by Le Labo
Scent has a strong affinity with memory. Certain scents can trigger wonderful childhood memories and simpler times. This must be the reason why there are people who are drawn to the scent of books.
The scent of ink and paper as you flip over the pages of a new book, the leathery smell of old hardbound books, and the woody aroma of library shelves. These are all embedded in the minds of those who take pleasure in reading and collecting books.
There is even a term for the scent of old books and that is Biblichor. Biblichor is a recently created term combining the Greek words biblio (book) and ichor (the ethereal blood of the gods). It is described as the musty, comforting fragrance of old books.
The Scent of Books
But it isn’t all about the affiliation between books and our fondest memories. The love of many people for the scent of books has led to many studies behind the addicting smell. Paper, adhesive, and ink, the materials that make up a book, when these things degrade and combine over time, they produce a pleasantly sweet smell.
The chemical responsible for this scent is called lignin and it is closely related to vanillin. Vanillin is the compound that is found in vanilla and it is mostly what gives that signature vanilla taste and smell.
Combine the creamy sweetness of lignin to woody and leathery scents and you have the perfect depiction of reading a lovely book in an old library.
Let’s take a look at the perfumes that smell like books.
Perfumes That Smell Like Books
The scent of an old book in leather binding. A somewhat sweet woody fragrance, thick, leathery, with some natural wax and some incense that has cooled down sufficiently. The scent of leather binding dominates over the scent of book pages but still, it is a nostalgic, truly beautiful fragrance!
Demeter Paperback
The connection between scents and memories has always been the expertise of Demeter. They prove that once again with Paperback. You get the sweet vanilla note right away and as it dries down, a musty potpourri of violet petals enter to resemble the smell of aged paper.
This is exactly the smell of sniffing the pages in the middle of reading a book. The book isn’t really fresh from the store nor was it left on the shelf for too long.
Performance and Occasions
Paperback is a warming evening scent that fits the autumn season.
Although Demeter gets the smell right almost every time, their perfumes always have trouble with longevity. Don’t expect much of a staying power from this one. Just enjoy the nice fragrance and spray on some more once you start missing the scent.
Whispers in the Library Maison Martin Margiela Replica
The quietness of libraries brings a sense of peace and there is something comforting about having to whisper as you speak. The Replica collection by Maison Martin Margiela is all about exploring the scents of our memories. With Whispers in the Library, they captured the tranquility of old libraries. The smell of antique wood, some dust, and the creamy vanilla touch of paper in books.
Pepper, vanilla, precious wood, and cedar make up the notes to get the resemblance right. The opening starts like a syrupy rum and then as the sharpness of pepper and cedar enters, it wakes you up a bit.
Performance and Occasions
The scent does not offer much of a sillage and fades away slowly but surely and then it’s gone. It is good to layer this one with more prominent scents if you want it to have more character after the dry down.
It will last for a few hours on the skin but it is barely there after about 4 hours of wear.
Book by Commodity
Part of their Black Collection, this is another dark, moody, and intense fragrance
From Commodity. Unlike the previous fragrances, Book is more like fresh and crisp softbound books. Perfume master, Ketrin Leka, is behind this perfume and her inspiration comes from her experience of turning the dry pages of a book while reading in the New York Public Library.
The perfume’s top notes are bergamot, eucalyptus, rosewood, and Virginia cedar. In the middle, you get cypress, amber, and amyris. As the perfume dries down, velvet, sandalwood, and musk come through. These notes make it a fresh and clean woody fragrance. It is a more modern take on a book scent.
Performance and Occasions
This is subtle but alluring. If you need more of a daytime fall fragrance that still has that book appeal, this would be a good choice.
Since it is more of a fresh scent, the longevity is fairly alright. It lasts about six to eight hours and then it fades out.
Fueguia 1833 Biblioteca de Babel
An ode to the book ‘The Library of Babel’ by Argentinian author, Jorge Luis Borges. The perfume is the scent you get while you are pulling out a book from a gigantic carved wooden bookshelf filled with a vast collection of tomes. It will remind you of the hours that just seemed to fly by as you immerse yourself in reading in an old library.
The perfume notes are a combination of cedar, cabrueva, cassis, ylang-ylang, and cinnamon. You have that spicy, slightly floral scent blending in with the woody notes. It smells quite antiquey. The perfume is more about reminiscing libraries and reading books more than the actual manuscript itself.
Performance and Occasions
This is a versatile scent that you can wear from noon til night but it is a little too warm and serious for a morning scent. It is a dry relaxing scent.
Biblioteca de Babel is a long-lasting scent so the experience goes on and on with this one.
Santal 33 by Le Labo
A mysterious, heavy leather-bound tome that has been well hidden in a second-hand bookshop. That’s the kind of book Santal 33 will remind you of. The master behind this scent is Frank Voelki and it carries the perfume notes of Virginia cedar, cardamom, violet, papyrus, leather, amber, and iris.
It’s powdery, somehow spicy, and definitely woodsy. It goes from fresh wood forest to warm and sexy, even somehow smokey as it dries down. Although the scent gives you that sense of nostalgia, it is still quite a wearable fragrance.
Performance and Occasions
It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night, this is a really good fragrance for fall. Be ready for its enormous sillage but it won’t annoy your peers since it isn’t a heady scent.
This is such a compliment getter. It really has all the characters of a classic fragrance. Good thing it has great longevity that lasts pretty long on the skin.