Lady LUX

The latest in magazine technology: scratch and sniff. The most recent issue of InStyle comes with a bonus — “rub and smell” spots featuring scents such as popcorn, watermelon, grass, suntan lotion, and iced coffee — making InStyle the first and only magazine thus far to offer such a multisensory experience, reported FashionWeekDaily.

The idea was conceived for InStyle’s traditional July feature, “101 Reason to Smile This Summer.” Working during the cold winter months, the staff decided it would be fun to make the July issue smell like summer.

“The story is all about evoking the season, and we do that every year, but this time around, we really wanted it to look, taste, smell and feel like summer,” Ariel Foxman, InStyle editor, said to FashionWeekDaily. “We have a lot of energy invested in digital, mobile and social platforms, but you can’t smell your phone or sniff a website yet. There’s nothing like adding an extra sensory experience to a print publication.”

The magazine searched for a company that knows its way around rub and smell technology, which then produced about 100 stock scents for InStyle to choose from. From there, the InStyle team narrowed the choices to those most evocative of summer.

According to Twitter buzz, the concept has met with favor, with readers tweeting that it is “genius” and “BLOWING MY MIND!!!!”

InStyle currently does not have plans to release another issue with the rub and smell concept. However, Foxman noted that the staff “work(s) to delight and surprise every month, so it wouldn’t be surprising if we did this again!”

The July issue has already hit newsstands.

Tagged in: july, scents, instyle, rub and smell, smell, scratch, sniff, multisensory,