Back in 2019, Xtacy, a perfume laced with the anise-like scent of MDMA production, launched. But rather than the passion project of a 20-something art grad, Xtacy was a surveillance project by the Dutch police, designed to familiarise the public with the chemical signatures of drug production. Each bottle carried a warning: if you smell this, you’re probably near an ecstasy lab or waste dump. Report it immediately. While the perfume never made it to concept store shelves, it foreshadowed a growing niche. Whether it’s the weed-inspired notes of CDG’s Ganja or 19-69’s Purple Kush to the sharp bite of ATH’s MDMA-inspired Hard Candy or the Tom Ford fragrance Tuscan Leather which smells like cocaine, perfumery continues to mine drug culture for inspiration.
At first, you might be quick to dismiss the desire to smell like the perimeter of a sticky London club. But as fragrance critic Camryn explains, “Fragrance is about storytelling. Romanticising substances is nothing new, and I think that some people might be more drawn to the story of drug use in their scents rather than the real experience.” Our encounters with these drugs in recreational settings shape how we perceive them as scents. Cannabis mixed with cheap tobacco in a student kitchen. Cocaine railed on grimy club basins. But when reimagined in perfume, they become romanticised, glossing over the less glamorous associations of financial ruin, addiction and nasal collapse to name just a few.
It’s unsurprising that these perfumes capture the highs, not the comedown. That fantasy is heightened by contrast, where it’s common to see these Class A’s tied to more saccharine notes. Creating potions which are something you would expect HBO’s Euphoria-ns to smell like are scents like Brain Dead’s Shroom Cola, psychedelia with a sweet sugary underscore, or Filigree & Shadow’s Sui Generis, which offsets methamphetamine with bubblegum.
Developing these drug-inspired fragrances relies on a mix of natural extracts, synthetic molecules, and, at times, olfactory illusion. Some narcotic notes, such as cannabis and tobacco, can be extracted directly from plants, though perfumers often modify them to remove unwanted characteristics like the skunky aroma of raw cannabis. Others, like cocaine, heroin and MDMA, lack distinct natural scents and so must be reconstructed using synthetic compounds. Aldehydes and metallic accords replicate the chemical sharpness of cocaine, while musky elements mimic the scent of psilocybin mushrooms.
James Elliot is the nose behind the fragrance house Filigree & Shadow and the methamphetamine-inspired scent, Sui Generis, which so successfully captured the smell that one customer emailed him saying, “I’m pretty sure my brain would light up like Christmas if you did a CT scan on it. You nailed the scent that secretes out of the body on the second day of use.” He explains the production of his methamphetamine-inspired scent, Sui Generis: “The material I use to create the smell for meth can be used to synthesise actual methamphetamine: phenylacetic acid.” While often used to build floral or honey accords, Elliot says its connection to meth production led him to preemptively notify the DEA. “The officers were confused why I was there and eventually told me to go home because they didn’t care.”
Despite its legality, Sui Generis has faced retail restrictions. “I will sell Sui Generis directly on my website, but I cannot get it approved for selling on Google or Meta platforms because no one in either company seems to comprehend that the basenote of meth is simply that.”
A disconnect between perception and reality is common in drug-inspired perfumery, where scent is often an illusion rather than a literal recreation. This is especially true for perfumes built around chemical accords, like cocaine, which often comes through as sharp, metallic, and slightly bitter. Take 19-69’s Miami Blue, an aquatic scent reminiscent of 1980s Miami, described as “a never-ending party with gorgeous models, kingpins and legendary artists.” Or Fuckboy by PERDRISÂT, marketed as “an ode to piña coladas and party boys.” Callum Mitchell, Fuckboy’s creator, explains: “Fuckboys are universal. London, Miami, Melbourne – every city has this archetype. It started as just a piña colada, but much like a real-life fuckboy without his supply, it was missing something. The cocaine note pushed it into the territory of a real portrait of the types of guys you meet.” Not listed in the notes: a trip to the clinic.
This relationship between scent and illicit substances has existed for decades. Take tobacco, now a staple in perfumery, was once seen as novel in scents like Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille. Likewise, the controversial Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium, launched in 1977. Though its composition centres on rich spices and resins rather than actual narcotics, it’s regarded today as one of perfumery’s most provocative releases. The recent rise of drug-inspired fragrances with more deliberate and explicit notes reflects a broader shift in attitudes toward drug culture. With cannabis legalised in many places and decriminalisation gaining traction, substances that were once entirely taboo are now commodified as a way to add edge to a scent.
The continual rise of drug-inspired scents is part of a wider movement of offbeat perfumes, drawing inspiration from latex, motor oil, even anxiety. It’s a response to fatigue with traditional scents and an oversaturated, often floral, perfume industry. Plus saying your perfume has notes of cocaine is guaranteed to get it attention. And while these perfumes can’t get you high, they can get you close. How long before someone bottles the scent of MKAT?
