Chandler Burr’s Untitled Series with Lucky Scent

Chandler Burr’s Untitled Series is a delight for perfume aficionados who would rather sniff than be distracted by pretty packaging.

If your favourite part about a perfume experience is the packaging, then maybe this post isn’t for you. It’s more for people who think that packaging detracts from a scent; that a brand name distracts; that a too-designed bottle diminishes the value of the contents within. This is a post for individuals who would rather close their eyes and sniff without distraction.

If this sounds like you, then please, read on and discover Chandler Burr’s Untitled Series.

Who is Chandler Burr?

Chandler Burr is a celebrated perfume connoisseur and the former New York Times perfume critic. Needless to say, the man knows perfume. He used his experiences at the NYT—when he used to smell perfumes without the distractions of brand and packaging to critique—to develop the Untitled Series.

The Untitled Series

Burr selects a scent that is placed in unmarked lab bottles. No name, no brand, no clues as to whether the scent is luxury or mass market. No hints as to whether it’s been marketed to men or women. All you get is an anecdote from Burr about the fragrance and the knowledge that for some reason, he wants you to smell it. After approximately three weeks from the launch, the scent’s true identity will be revealed.

You can find all information about the scents and the reveals at Lucky Scent, where you can also purchase each scent for $15 (30 ml).

The latest to discover

So far Burr has chosen and revealed 17 scents over two seasons, including brands like Byredo, Hermes and Arquiste. It’s the latest launch that has our interest piqued. Just read his description of S02E08:

“A few years ago I was walking with a young woman across a pedestrian bridge on a chilly day in Newcastle, England. The sky was iron gray. There is a damp cold in which England seems to specialize, but this cold doesn’t lower the level of scent, and the air was filled with brackish water, wet green grass, damp cement, a few traces of car exhaust and ozone. The wind shifted, and I smelled her perfume. Suddenly there was a completely different green: a spring-twig green, filled with sunlight and mixed with freshly cut grass. A handful of fructose was tossed into the scent along with a few peonies. Then pieces of cool pink fruit. I felt exhilarated. During that moment—maybe five or six seconds—the Newcastle clouds were gone.

I asked her what it was. It’s in these bottles. I imagine most of you will be as surprised as I was to hear her answer.”

Any guesses as to what this new spritz could be? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.