Continuing with the Smell Bent Body Language line from 2017, this review is about a fragrance inspired by pop icon Prince. The fragrance i would die for u is formulated with oxytocin. The Smell Bent website explains that oxytocin is “a signaling molecule responsible for social and sexual bonding and is often referred to as the love hormone.” (Because oxytocin is also a medication used to induce labor, the website also suggests that pregnant women should not wear i would die for u.)
Just like Prince, the fragrance i would die for u is distinctive, intriguing, and a little bit mysterious.
i would die for u – the concept
The scent i would die for u is described by Smell Bent as “pear jelly bean”.
The burning question (that I still haven’t found the answer for) is “why?”
Could it be a reference to Jellybean Johnson (from Morris Day and the Time), the greatest funk drummer alive? That would be ironic, since Jellybean and Prince weren’t really on speaking terms for years before Prince died. And where did the pear come from?
I MEAN…. there are so many obvious routes that one could have taken when creating a fragrance inspired by Prince. Purple flowers, or anything purple. All sorts of foods — Raspberry Beret, Starfish and Coffee*, Breakfast Can Wait…. Thanks to Dave Chappelle and Charlie Murphy just about everyone would get a connection between Prince and pancakes. And yet, Brent Leonesio chose pear jelly beans. There had to be a reason, and I was determined to figure it out. Maybe it had nothing to do with his music, and everything to do with actual pear jellybeans?
Prince and Pear Jelly Beans
I was really excited to think that this might be a glimpse of some obscure fact about Prince, that maybe pear jelly beans were his favorite candy. So, I took the bait, and fell down the rabbit hole of reading probably everything ever written about what Prince liked to eat.
I learned that he was a vegetarian (but not a vegan as is often reported). One of his favorite meals was spaghetti and orange juice.
In 2011, the magazine Heavy Table wrote that they contacted Prince to be featured in their “What’s In Your Fridge?” series. Prince agreed, with some conditions. Prince would not be present for the fridge inspection, but would answer follow-up questions by email. And, absolutely no photographers. So, no interview, no photo? Prince’s representative suggested to the magazine that they send an illustrator. So, behold, the illustration of “What’s in Prince’s Fridge”.
According to the illustration, Prince enjoyed yak milk and kimchi, stocked 18 different varieties of mustard, and his favorite food in the whole world was Dunkaroos. I was fascinated.
It turns out that the whole “What’s in Prince’s Fridge” thing was an April Fool’s joke, and I was no closer to the truth. But it’s worth noting that the story was so bizarre that it seemed plausible, which says a lot about Prince.
What is very true is that, just like in the Chappelle skit, Prince actually did often make pancakes for his guests (but his specialty was omelettes). And a lot of people report that Prince was almost never seen actually eating anything.
I read about all of Prince’s favorite sweets: macadamia nut cookies, caramel cake, apple cake, and chocolate mousse. Not a single mention of pear jelly beans. Or pears. Or jelly beans.
So, why oh why does i would die for u smell like pear jelly beans? Either the meaning is so hidden that I can’t decipher it, or there is no hidden meaning to be found. Anyway, it was fun learning about Prince’s favorite foods while enjoying this unusually specific and referential perfume. It reminds me of so many other things about “the artist formerly known as Prince” that were made up, mysterious, or misuderstood.
Prince was a genius artist, and didn’t have to explain himself to anyone. The things that he did just worked. Brent Leonesio is a similar kind of artist. He creates these scents that are cutting-edge and highly referential to pop culture, and yet they also work as a fragrance that is wearable and attractive. Other people have tried similar things, but nobody else does it this well. So I don’t need to know why the scent of Prince is pear jelly beans, it just is. And it smells amazing.
i would die for u – the fragrance
As soon as I sprayed on i will die for u, I smelled the unmistakeable smell of pear jelly beans. Gourmet jelly beans of the highest quality. I even got the sense of the crunchy, extra-sweet jelly bean sugar “crust”. It was remarkable. Like hearing Prince play guitar, smelling this fragrance is witnessing the work of a master. I’m still not sure exactly WHY Brent made this pear jelly bean fragrance, but it’s without a doubt the best possible example of a pear jelly bean fragrance that will ever exist. The sweetness, the tartness, the texture — everything was perfectly on point.
The jelly bean smell amazed me for about an hour, and then melted into something smoother. Like a pear martini with a vanilla sugar rim. After about two hours, i would die for u becomes mostly a vanilla musk. But I can’t stop thinking about that pear…. it was so realistic I could almost taste it. I was like the fox in this photo, sniffing out a pear for dessert.
i would die for u is a fun, yummy fragrance. I still have no idea what it has to do with Prince specifically, but I do know that I will never again eat a jelly bean without thinking of him. i would die for u is weird enough to be a conversation-starter, but smells good enough to appeal to a wide range of people. Unlike most linear, candy fragrances, I would call this one perfectly unisex. Longevity on me was about 6 hours, and sillage was moderate.
Smell Bent lists the notes of i would die for u as: pear Jelly Bellies, iris butter, vanilla absolute, patchouli infused with oxytocin. In this list, the oxytocin doesn’t even make my radar, because I really want to know, does this juice contain actual Jelly Belly jelly beans?
i would die for u is currently available at $65 for 50 mL at smellbent.com
*Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam
Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine
And a side order of ham
If you set your mind free, baby
Maybe you’d understand
Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam
See Part One of this two-part review series HERE.
