We can't smell through a screen (at least not yet), but that isn't stopping fragrance brands from embracing the virtual. Last year, Byredo partnered with digital fashion company RTFKT to launch digital "scents," represented by visual renderings of their ingredients. Armani Beauty and Fortnite launched an online game that expresses the experience of wearing its fragrance, Code. And pop-star Sabrina Carpenter celebrated the debut of her first perfume, Sweet Tooth, by opening a metaverse candy shop in Decentraland.
The latest fragrance brand to venture into the metaverse is GABAR, which offers eau de parfums, scented candles, and oils inspired by co-founders Phway Su Aye and Susan Wai Hnin's Southeast Asian heritage. In partnership with immersive operating platform ONEWAYX, beauty consulting group RedTree, and the British Beauty Council, GABAR is cutting the virtual ribbon on GABAR NEW WORLD, a digital store that doubles as an exercise in mindfulness.
"The goal is to have customers not only interact with the individual scent products in a less rushed and unconscious way, but to be able to sense the overall intention and emotions behind the products themselves," Hnin tells Highsnobiety. "We are a brand that pushes for a more creative, present and conscious way of life, and we treat this store as a sort of imagined meditation dome, linking the products to a sense of something bigger."
Upon entering GABAR NEW WORLD, customers will notice floating orbs, which Aye describes as "visual representations of the chemical molecules associated with scent." These orbs follow visitors' virtual gaze, "muddying the field of vision to force people to better pay attention to what is in front of them."
Aye adds that the space is filled with a high-frequency sound associated with "bodily calming and re-tuning." Aye encourages visitors to tune in to the noise, which is meant to encourage customers to focus, again, on what is "directly in front of them."
These re-centering cues mimic the experience of using GABAR's fragrances, candles, and face and body oils, all of which are digitally rendered and on display in the virtual store, intended to be used as sensorial rituals.
Metaverse-based fragrance initiatives, whether from GABAR or Byredo, can't replace the physical experience of smelling a perfume IRL. So brands must get creative and dream up ways to translate the act of sniffing to virtual experiences that hinge on visuals and audio.
"We think of the metaverse store as a supplement to IRL experiences," Hnin says. GABAR aspires to one day open brick-and-mortar stores, supplemented by metaverse experiences that "help customers see how the digital can be an additive experience to scent." In time, these virtual activations will include gamified features to drive engagement and sales.
Until then, Hnin and Aye eagerly await a future in which "smell-o-vision" becomes a reality. To Aye, the advent of virtual reality technologies that can incorporate a wider range of senses — not just sight and sound but also smell, taste, and touch — will force us to reconsider what, exactly, it means to be human. Who knew perfume could get so existential?
