In Part One, I reviewed Cannabis Flower from Demeter, Hungry Hungry Hippies from Smell Bent, and Black Afgano from Nasomatto.

Today I’m back with three marijuana fragrances from Xyrena’s Reefer Madness Collection — Space Cake, OG Kush, and Blue Dream. These fragrances were created by Xyrena founder and perfumer Killian Wells, and were released in 2017.

XYRENA FRAGRANCE HOUSE

Xyrena is a fascinating fragrance house in Los Angeles founded by the equally fascinating Killian Wells. Killian is a pop singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and perfumer. He owns Xuvo, an EDM-lifestyle brand that makes energy-drink cocktail mixers which are also blacklight-reactive.  He got lip implants and posted a video on his Facebook page. He makes crazy youtube videos, like “Spring Staycation Log With My Ex-Boyfriend.” [NSFW language]. He made this music video for the Xyrena Reefer Madness fragrance collection and his original song Blue Dream:

Killian Wells is also a legitimate perfumer, and campy genius. I love some of the Xyrena fragrances, and even though I don’t wear them often, they are not just novelty scents, they are wearable perfumes. Two of my favorites are Andy Kaufman Milk & Cookies (smells like chocolate chip cookies and milk, and Cookie Crisp cereal) and Cinemaniac (smells like buttered popcorn, Twizzlers, and Coke — true story, it makes me hungry to wear it).

In case you think Xyrena is just some schtick, check out this Exhibition from Somerset House in 2017, where Killian Wells was featured along with perfumers like Bertrand Duchaufour, Lyn Harris, Antoine Lie, and Andy Tauer. The Xyrena fragrance of Killian’s that was featured is called Dark Ride. I haven’t smelled it yet, but it’s said to smell just like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.

4/20 MARIJUANA SCENT REVIEWS – PART TWO – REEFER MADNESS EDITION

SPACE CAKE FRAGRANCE REVIEW

Space Cake is a Sativa-dominant cannabis strain that is a cross between “Girl Scout Cookies” and “Snow Lotus”. It’s effects (according to the internet) are an elevating high from Snow Lotus, with the deep body buzz of Girl Scout Cookies. It’s taste and smell, reportedly, is “spicy and sweet”.

Space Cake, the fragrance, is described as “an olfactory trip to an Amsterdam coffee shop.” Listed notes are cannabutter (salted butter, cannabis trimmings, earth, a slight skunk scent, and genuine cedar essential oil), yellow cake batter, baker’s yeast, french vanilla, benzoin resin, and buttercream frosting.

On first spray, Space Cake has a pungent zing that smells an awful lot like yellow mustard. I tried several applications, and got the same sense of it every time. Kind of sour, I suppose this is supposed to be the cannabis smell. There is a sweetness underlying it, and an slight oiliness, and a tinge of that alcohol-and-sour-milk smell of active yeast.

Over time, the acidic/pungent note fades out, and it smells like a cross between vanilla cake batter and a plastic toy. It actually reminds me of these kinda creepy dolls from the 1990’s that were cupcake-scented, and could be squished down into a plastic cupcake. The yeasty, sour milk smell was still there too.

Space Cake was the fragrance that I was most excited to try, because it sounded more like a gourmand. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought that I would, although I do enjoy plastic doll scents sometimes. The addition of the cannabis accord was just a strange juxtaposition that my nose and mind never completely reconciled. Maybe it would smell better to someone who enjoys the smell of cannabutter more than I do.

Safeness for work – 8/10. You won’t smell like weed, but people might wonder what else you’re up to. Like smuggling scented dolls. The fragrance is strong, and persistent.

OG KUSH FRAGRANCE REVIEW

OG Kush is one of the most legendary marijuana strains. It is very potent, has a very terpenic, piney smell, and an earthy, woody taste. It’s smoke can be harsh and cough-inducing, and its cerebral high can lead to a phenomenon called “couch-lock” (you don’t get up for hours, because you’re so stoned that you feel like you melted into the couch). OG Kush has given rise to many other West Coast cannabis strains.

OG Kush, the fragrance, is described as “the world’s first parfum reproduction of the infamous West Coast strain.” To make the scent as true-to-life as possible, Killian Wells combined synthetic fragrance oils with natural terpenes found in cannabis, including Limonene, Alpha Pinene, Caryophyllene, and Cedrene.

OG Kush opens with a blast of sour lemon and very terpenic pine. Underlying this, there is an earthiness and florality, and also a familiar mustiness. OG Kush smells a lot like weed.

As it dries down, a burnt-rubber note becomes more prominent, along with a soft, camphor-like smell. Along with the pine, it smells a bit like a cleaning product. After the first hour, the pine notes are mostly gone, the burnt rubber and camphor remains, and there is something dull and vaguely reminiscent of urine in the base. After two hours, it smells like an “industrial” hand soap, like something you’d find in an auto repair shop’s bathroom.

Overall I think that this fragrance does a pretty good job of replicating many of the facets of the smell of OG Kush. It’s not the most “marijuana smelling” scent I’ve ever encountered — it doesn’t really have any skunkiness. But it does have a lot of the same scent qualities as OG Kush, while still being wearable as a fragrance.

Safeness for work – 6/10. There’s no smell of marijuana smoke in this fragrance. It does smell similar to bud in the first hour. The average person on the streets will probably just think that you are a hardcore janitor wearing the industrial-strength version of Lemon Pine Sol, but connoisseurs of cannabis might say that you smell like K.G.B. (Killer Green Buds).

BLUE DREAM FRAGRANCE REVIEW

Blue Dream is another legendary West Coast Strain of cannabis. Forever immortalized by Juicy J’s Mixtape “Blue Dream & Lean” (2011), Blue Dream is consistently one of the top selling strains of legal weed. A cross of Blueberry Indica and Sativa Haze, Blue Dream is said to produce a stable, calm, euphoric high that is good for both novice and veteran consumers. The one you break out when company is coming over, and you want everyone to enjoy themselves (but not get sloppy), Blue Dream is the Pinot Grigio of marijuana.

Particularly loved by women and people over 40, Blue Dream is said to be not too strong, but quite uplifting, helping with mood and creativity without decreasing productivity. Blue Dream cannabis smells like blueberries and sandalwood, or an herbal-berry sugar cookie, tastes like sweet berries, and is said to act as a bronchodilator.

The fragrance Blue Dream is described as “the world’s first parfum reproduction of arguably the most famous and popular marijuana strain.” The formula for Blue Dream perfume combines synthetic fragrance oils with natural terpenes found in cannabis, including Alpha & Beta Pinene, Linalool, and Caryophyllene.

Blue Dream the fragrance is remarkable. The opening smells like tart blueberries, has a terpenic smell that reminds me of rosemary, and also has that familiar earthy and musty smell of weed, along with a tiny bit of skunk. While it’s wet on your skin, this is just like sniffing a big hairy bud.

As it dries down, Blue Dream smells herbaceous, slightly grassy, mentholated, and has a little bit of peppery pungency. The tart blueberry smell persists, getting smoother and sweeter as time passes. The fragrance overall is balanced and uplifting, and although I think it smells the most like cannabis, it’s also the one that I find the most wearable of the three.

Safeness for work – 5/10. Again, you won’t smell like you’ve been smoking marijuana. But you will smell like nugz to those who partake regularly. Like Blue Dream weed, the fragrance is the real thing, but also uplifting, smooth, and mild enough to be inoffensive to most people.

FINAL THOUGHTS and XYRENA DETAILS

All three of these fragrances smelled just like their descriptions. I didn’t get a lot of marijuana smell from Space Cake, but it was presented as more of a gourmand. OG Kush and Blue Dream smelled very much like their namesakes, but they are still fragrances. Close enough to be referential, but not exact, and that is the whole point of making fragrances “inspired by” something else. This is something that Xyrena does amazingly well.

I’m not entirely sure why people want to wear marijuana fragrances, but it’s a popular note that’s not going anywhere. I even got this scratch-and-sniff card that smells like weed in Issue 4 of Nez Magazine. Some of my favorite fragrances have a subtle cannabis accord that blends well with other scents, but I might be a little too square to wear straight-up bud-scented perfume like the Reefer Madness. They are impressive in their composition and similarity to the real thing though, and people who love the smell of pot will enjoy them.

Xyrena fragrances are all presented as extraits, and made-to-order. They are sold in 50mL bottles at varying prices, online only at this time. For more information, see xyrena.com. All of these fragrances had moderate sillage and lasted for many hours on my skin.

FOR PART ONE OF THIS TWO-PART SERIES, CLICK HERE: 420 Fragrance Reviews – Part One – Cannabis Flower, Hungry Hungry Hippies, and Black Afgano