Bathe Yourself In Putin’s Scent: Cologne Inspired By Leader Is ‘Natural,’ Not Aggressive
For just $95, anyone can smell like Russian President Vladimir Putin. A perfumer has created a cologne inspired by the leader, whose personal masculine aroma has notes of lemon, blackcurrant, and fir cones.
Vladislav Rekunov calls his Putin-inspired cologne “attractive, matter-of-fact and natural,” and not at all aggressive, according to the Washington Post.
Shoppers in Moscow said it smelled like cheap cologne, but a 3.3-ounce bottle of Leaders Number One will cost you $20 more than a bottle of Dior or Dolce and Gabbana. Smelling like a powerful, and controversial, world leader who likes to spend his spare time bare-chested in the Russian woods does not come cheap.
The Putin-esque cologne comes in a sophisticated black bottle with his profile on the front and the words “Inspired by Vladimir Putin” in English, the Guardian added.
Moscow Musk: Cologne inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin goes on sale https://t.co/vc7LjBcls6 pic.twitter.com/DWt9vmpbWt
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) January 5, 2016
The cologne went on sale Christmas Eve, and so far, it’s proven quite popular since the Russian leader is already surrounded by a bizarre cult of personality that has inspired other strange products. A bottle of Eau-de-Putin can be purchased in Moscow’s GUM department store and online.
Not long after it was available, orders came in from Germany and even China. The cologne is available as a limited edition and only 2,000 bottles have been prepared. This year, the perfumers hope to make a female version. (If the idea of a Putin-scented cologne makes you uneasy, this may ease your discomfort a little: some of the profit will be donated to help disabled children.)
The people responsible for bottling the president’s virile scent hope to eventually give some of it to the leader himself, though the thought of Vladimir spraying himself with a cologne inspired by himself seems a tad egotistical.
Of course, having your own cologne or perfume officially makes you a superstar. Every diva has one — Rihanna, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears — putting Putin in an exclusive and prestigious club. And admittedly, as the cologne is described, the scent sounds rather lovely, if not quite alluring. Apparently, the ladies love it.
“It’s a warm scent, a textured scent. It’s soft but at the same time it’s very firm,” said its creator, Rekunov, who was born in Belarus.
A perfume consultant described the scent to a Russian newspaper like this.
“To start with it is rather citrusy, but then the aroma opens up you can feel its forest-like core – pines and fir cones. Finally there is musk and mung beans. Women like the fragrance even more than men.”
Of course, Putin’s new cologne doesn’t really come as a surprise for a world leader who’s regularly photographed half naked with animals or performing impressive feats of male strength and prowess. He’s inspired an Instagram account, putinspiration, and plenty of other products, from T-shirts to coffee mugs to condoms.
https://www.instagram.com/p/9rrhcNThuR/
Fortune rounded up some of the most expensive — and this new cologne is among them.
After bathing themselves in Putin’s bouquet, fans can shell out $3,200 for an iPhone case encrusted with his golden profile, the Russian emblem, and a verse from the national anthem. The phone, called the Caviar Ti Gold Supremo Putin Anniversario Edizione 63, comes with a velvet-lined wooden case and $300 carrying case and was released in October, just in time for the leader’s 63rd birthday. Only 63 were sold.
People can also buy a $3,000 Apple watch featuring Putin’s signature on the side. The “Smart Watch Russophilic” costs $3,000 and only 999 of them were made. Or one can wear his face on your finger with a ring made by Moscow jeweler Putinversteher.
Then, of course, there’s the Putin 2016 calendar, which has a more reasonable price tag of $76. No word on whether or not some of the pictures are scratch and sniff.
[Photo By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
