Scents and sensibility: what’s behind the rise of extreme smells?

From tomato-scented candles to perfumes reeking of intimate body parts, the world of smell is getting weirder. But are we ready to take our olfactory desires to the next level?

One night last week, I sat in my kitchen with my eyes closed, inhaling the rich, earthy scent of tomatoes. I felt transported: I was in an Italian garden, sun-dappled leaves swaying as I picked the plump, ripe fruit for a late pasta dinner with my large and beautiful family. I was, in essence, one of the puppets from the Dolmio adverts. But the smell wasn’t coming from a tomato. It was coming from a candle.

How did they make it smell so real? I called my boyfriend over to share in this miracle. He put his face right over the flame, said that it smelled like burnt nose hair and quickly lost interest. But I remained tickled by this magic trick. A candle, that smells like tomatoes!