For when you want that delightful smell, minus all of the stress it tends to bring.

People around the world seem to have universally agreed on several smells that are well-liked by the majority of people, if not all. The smell of freshly baked bread, the smell after it rains, or the smell of burning wood, to name a scant few. I, myself, am partial to the fragrance of burning incense, which due to its associations with Buddhist altars and praying for the departed, can get a few surprised reactions when I tell people in Japan. Perhaps one of the most universally appreciated aromas is that of a newborn baby’s head, so researchers at Kobe University set out to figure out how to bottle this beloved fragrance.

▼ Don’t you just want to bury your nose in that hair?

Officially launched June 15, Poupon Pure is a culmination of six years of pheromone-inspired research that recreates the newborn aroma with a balanced blend of floral and fruity notes. In cooperation with doctors from Hamamatsu University School of Medicine’s affiliated hospital, as well as pregnant and postpartum women, researchers collected scent samples from the heads of about 20 newborn babies, from which they identified 37 scent components. Testing this recreated scent on 20 men and women, from all walks of life, showed that it activated specific areas in the brain that evokes a pleasant feeling and the desire to continue smelling it. The main component of the baby scent is a floral-smelling chemical called nonanal, which some researchers believe babies release as a way to encourage gentle communication from their caregivers.

▼ The face of a master manipulator

The startup company Scentfest, who is behind the product, is led by CEO Mamiko Ozaki, professor emeritus of Kobe University and specialist in taste and olfactory physiology. However, Ozaki has long centered her research on the pheromones that govern social behavior in ants, so how exactly did she end up creating this “Essence of Baby”?

Okazaki has long been fascinated by how ants form complex societies through the use of scents to communicate, and lamented hearing reports of discord in human families, despite our ability to utilize detailed and nuanced language. Feeling that people could stand to learn a few things from ants and committed to bettering human society, Okazaki retired from university in 2023 and began to develop products for parents feeling overwhelmed by child-rearing. Scentfest also recommends Poupon Pure not only as a daily-use personal fragrance, but as a relaxation aid before going to bed or during meditation too.

Unusual a first impression as Poupon Pure’s concept might make, the fragrance received a 78-percent positive rating from Kansai Beauty Expo, and a quick look at the Scentfest online store shows it being completely sold out. If you’re interested in picking up a bottle for yourself, you’ll have to sign up for the restock notification on their website, as it is not being sold at any physical location in Japan, and it will cost you 2,970 yen (US$20) for a five-milliliter (0.17-ounce) bottle. The website currently says that stock is likely to be available between mid-August and early September.

With the scent of a newborn now available for purchase, it begs the question: what’s next? Eau de Freshly Mown Grass? It feels like anything is possible; there’s already a stink bug air freshener, after all.

Related: Scentfest online store
Source: PR Times, Mainichi Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachimakiko, Scentfest
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)
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