It’s important for video games to appeal to our senses; giving us visual spectacles, masterful music and sound effects that put us in the moment, a controller responding to our touch and yes even taste comes into play if you stick a Nintendo Switch game in your mouth (DO NOT DO THIS). So what about smell? What does leveling up smell like? Can you pair a scent with unlocking achievements? Well according to perfumer, Forest Nui Cobalt, video games are the perfect inspiration for a bouquet of fragrances.
Forest first became enchanted with the art of mixing scents one summer in Boston, when she walked into a custom fragrance boutique. During that time, she says: “I started experimenting with my own scent combinations and reading everything I could about aromatherapy. In college, I got my first perfumery job at a tiny independent shop in New York. After grad school, I was hired by a Los Angeles perfume company, and in 2012 I started my own business: Nui Cobalt Designs.” She’s grown the business over the past seven years and over that time, “our perfume oils have definitely become our most popular offering. It’s also where I have the most fun. Scent lets me create a mood and shift the whole vibe around me.”
She has a long history of playing games since playing pinball and classic arcade games as a kid to her first D&D campaign in Junior year of high school. She’s since moved on to Pathfinder and even starred in the Los Angeles stage series, Dungeonmaster. “I do still play a few video games, RPGs, and board games,” she tells us, “but mostly with my 4-year-old. He’s obsessed with Pac Man, Minecraft, and Tetris. Scrabble and Gardenscapes are in heavy rotation on my phone right now. My pain geekery is rooted in film and television: Star Wars, Harry Potter/Wizarding World, Supernatural, X-Files, Sherlock, Marvel (especially Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Lord of the Rings.”
Her current line of scents, The Gamers Collection, is what Forest calls a personal indulgence.”I just really love the organic social convergence of witchiness and geekery. They seem to naturally complement each other. Besides, “Achievement Unlocked” is a much cooler name than say ‘Confidence, Competence, and Luck.'” I had the chance to sample a few of the perfumes and I think Cheat Code is my favorite. It’s a mix of teakwood, cedar, coriander, tea, black tonka, and leather that smells warm and a little sweet and is like the comfort of knowing you can breeze through this level because you typed “God Mode” into the console window.
Level up is another fun scent, with its mix of dragon’s blood, nag champa, red sandalwood, oud, blood orange, peppercorn. This one has a lighter, more energizing scent that does make you feel like you can take on more challenges than usual today. The Nui Cobalt Designs’ Gamers Collection includes other perfumes called Achievement Unlocked, Loot, Power Down, and Reset Button, as well as some scents for roleplayers like Charisma Bonus Natural 20, and Roll Initiative. I love the idea of wowing my adventuring party next time I play, by smelling like the perfect roll.
You can learn more about the collection and pick up your own hand-crafted gamer perfume NuiCobaltDesigns.com.
What aspect of video games would you like to smell like? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image Credits: Jessica Fisher
Hailing from New York, Jessica Fisher is a writer, artist, and all around geek. In addition to Geek & Sundry, she writes for Gameosity.com and produces the Gameosity Reviews Youtube Channel. Find her talking about all things geeky on Twitter as @miniktty.