Nose #1

This new magazine highlights how smell is the most overlooked of human senses. As the editors point out in their opening note, ‘We are often discouraged from smelling the world around us.’ Nose proposes you do the opposite—encouraging the reader to smell everything with intention; ‘get in your friend’s armpit, your cat’s paw after they’ve been sleeping, the rotting stems of flowers left in water for too long.’  

Nose poses numerous questions as it examines its subject: Does smelling make you smarter? Why is it so difficult to find word to describe a scent? Did I really just get aroused by the smell of my dirty jumper? That difficulty of describing smells is nicely brought to life in a piece about the Fragrantica website, a place where scent obsessives share descriptions of their passion. Writer Tess Astle, not an obsessive, notes how hard the contributors find it to bring their passion to life in words, ‘There’s something beautiful about the futility of it all.’ 

Nose is anything but futile; it sits well alongside the most recent, scent-themed, issue of Viscose Journal, extending interest in the subject of smell beyond perfumes to the more everyday. It’s a unique magazine for the curious (and smelly), leaving you questioning why something like it hasn’t been published sooner. It takes its subject seriously, and brings it to life well visually.