Experiencing Russia at Its Fullest: Perfume that Smells Like Vodka (And Looks Like Vodka)

Do you love vodka so much that that perpetual smell from drinking just never goes away? Well, now you can intensify it by buying a perfume that is shaped like vodka, smells like vodka, and tastes like vodka.

I was passing by a regular cheap make-up/fake perfume stores recently and saw this:

The usual array of knock-off “Trussardi” and “Kenzo” perfumes. But wait, what is there on the right? Looks like vodka bottles to me. Let’s take a closer look:

“Moskovskaya” (a common vodka brand here) — “Paris France”; the label looks very much like a regular bottle of “Moskovskaya.” (if i see one at a store, I will post a photograph here for comparison purposes). I wonder how the owners of the Moskovskaya trademark would react to it? I also wonder how the makers of fine French parfumerie feel about it? The perfume not only looks like a bottle of vodka, but it also smells like vodka (and, as the shop assistant assured me, it tastes like vodka! Maybe it is vodka??? ) And not only “Moskovskaya” is a fine specimen of French perfume industry, it’s also “Exclusive”! Not satisfied with its exclusivity? Representing another choice du jour: “Pshenichnaya Paris.” Fine print at the bottom says “Made in France.”

Both fine beverages…perfumes will cost you 160 rubles — $6.8. Not bad for a fine perfume, huh?

Author: Anna Ershova

I am a rising senior at Yale who is originally from Russia/Ukraine. I was mostly educated in Hong Kong and Germany, and now attend Yale University in the U.S. I blog on and off about things that interest me: Russia, China, politics, and law. View all posts by Anna Ershova