Nightlife Perfume Aims to Smell Like Auckland’s Karangahape Road

Forget about jasmine, patchouli, and sandalwood – now you can smell like Auckland’s infamous Karangahape Road. With notes of “sweaty pits,” “hair clippings” and “cloying must of preloved clothing,” the Road by Karangahape perfume bottles the aroma of Auckland’s most iconic strip. 

The unconventional perfume is a collaboration between local apothecary Of Body and the K Road Business. Billed as “Karangahape Road in a bottle,” the perfume aims to distill Auckland’s party strip into a smellable experience. 

“Contrast is what makes a perfume intriguing,” Nathan Taare, Chief Scentsmith at Of Body, told Stuff New Zealand. “K Road embodies an irresistible balance between the pleasant and the potentially off-putting. We wanted to pay homage to this duality with our new scent.”

A limited batch of 150 bottles will be available for purchase at K Road businesses. Priced at $100, all proceeds from sales will be directly donated to Lifewise, a housing support charity.

For an added touch of authenticity, each perfume bottle includes a physical piece of Karangahape Road, a concrete slab from the ongoing City Rail Link Karanga-a-Hape construction project.

While some may question the appeal of a fragrance modeled on a street notorious for its late-night clubs and rowdy nightlife, Taare views the notorious street’s highs and lows as a source of inspiration. “A great perfume encapsulates both ‘bad smells’ and ‘good smells’, much like K Road itself,” Taare said.

Unapologetically robust, the scent will stir a sense of nostalgia among those familiar with the legendary street’s ambience. The olfactory portrait of the infamous strip is painted with notes of wet pavement, beer-infused leather, burning incense, and coffee.