Developing Your Bespoke Fragrance; no Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Necessary. By Joseph Sobin

For many of the younger generations Elizabeth Taylor is known as the face of White Diamonds her signature fragrance which generated $75M+ in income for her. Yet few realize there is one bottle of an obscure fragrance that was formulated for and worn by her in the 1960’s has reemerged.

The potion was a recreation of an obscure perfume once worn by Ms. Taylor. It was concocted by Marissa Zappas, 38, an accomplished perfumer and the woman who unboxed the fragrance at an opening event for “Her Scent of Mystery,” a new exhibition at the Olfactory Art Keller gallery on Henry Street in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood.

The show, on through Sept. 20, 2025 takes its name from “Scent of Mystery,” a 1960 film briefly featuring Ms. Taylor, who makes an uncredited cameo in its final shot.

Now let’s take a step back in time. Before the invention of Imax and similar immersive movie viewing experiences there was a technology called Smell-O-Vision involving a metal box with a bronchiole-like network of pipes being installed in theaters.

For the movie titled “Scent of Mystery “in which Ms. Taylor playing the character of Sally Kennedy had an uncredited cameo in the last scene, the machinery would hiss odors in accordance with its scenes. When the villain smoked a pipe, for instance, gusts of tobacco-scented air hit the audience.

Another aroma associated with the movie is the sharp, spicy fragrance made for Sally Kennedy, the character played by Ms. Taylor. Developed by Raoul Pantaleoni owner of Alpine Aromatics International; promotional bottles were given to press and guests at the “Scent of Mystery” premiere in Chicago. There were talks of which is presently known as Maison Schiaparelli, a major fashion icon of the era of mass producing and selling it.

Long story short the film failed at the box office and the Schiaparelli partnership never came to fruition. In recent years, only one bottle of the promotional “Scent of Mystery” perfume was known to exist. It belonged to Susan Todd, whose father, Mike Todd Jr., was a producer of the film.

To remake the “Scent of Mystery” perfume, which had a formula incorporating 60 raw materials, Ms. Zappas conducted a form of chemical analysis known as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Her version is a near replica of the original, but has both fewer ingredients and some careful additions, like bergamot (to enhance the perfume’s citrusy opening) and a deft touch of powdery talc.

At Tijon we always enjoy stories about fragrance and the above is most unique concerning a bespoke fragrance developed for the reigning queen of cinema during the 1960’s, the short-lived technology of Smell-O-Vision and of course a perfumer recreating the obscure scent from the last remaining bottle.

For the participants in our immersive Tijon Perfume Making Classes 1) we promise your formulation will not be as complex and 2) we will retain your formulation on file for reorder. Thus, you will NOT have to engage the skills of a perfumer and a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to recreate your one-of-a-kind personal fragrance.

All Tijon locations offer the immersive experience with varying levels of detail from our Fragrance in a Flash (20 minutes) and Express (45 minutes) for those who are time-constrained to Class 101, a 3-hr experience for those desiring to develop a truly complex personal scent. Our 1.5 hr Mix-N-Match experience is our most popular with participants developing three (3) unique fragrances and choosing their favorite from the three(3) to name, bottle and have our database retain the formulation.

And while we cannot provide an option for your in-home Smell-O-Vision, your bespoke fragrance can be formulated into a home linen-mist, perfect for your home theater or more likely that intimate dinner party.