Yes, WD-40 Cologne Exists - But It'll Cost You

• Technology

Do you have a hard-to-shop-for handyperson, a DIYer who fancies themselves as a real Mr. (or Mrs.) Fix-It type? Well, we may have found the perfect gift that will bring a grin to their face (or, at the very least, a wrinkle to their nose). Back in 2023, Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF released "Smells Like WD-40," a one-ounce can of cologne priced at $44, which, by all accounts, smells very much like the real thing, and almost immediately sold out.

WD-40's 60+ year-old formula is still a secret, and so is the composition of the cologne. The product is also unavailable today, according to the company's website. As is typical in this day and age, hard-to-get items can typically be found on secondary auction sites at exorbitantly jacked-up prices. Over the last few months, a few cans of "Smells Like WD-40" have sold on eBay for north of $100. At the time of this writing, there's only one can up for grabs, but it's paired with another MSCHF product — "Smells like Fabuloso," a cologne replicating the popular, fragrant all-purpose cleaner — for a list price of $179.99.

Smells like a workshop and definitely not teen spirit

The magical lubricating "Multi-Use Product" known as WD-40 can be sprayed on a host of things to remove the squeak from an annoyingly loud hinge, break loose something that's been rusted shut forever, or strip off unwanted sticky stuff (think price tags, gum, and tar), along with at least a dozen more hacks you'll wish you knew sooner. The cologne won't do any of that...but it will make it smell like you've been using a lot of WD-40. And one might think that MSCHF would, at the very least, receive a cease and desist letter from the makers of said lubricant. Both Nike and Vans have sued MSCHF over alleged trademark infringement with other products they've created in the past, but that wasn't the case this time around.

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In fact, the folks at WD-40 were so "incredibly impressed by their DIY skills" that they leaned into the whole experience and had some fun, even engaging in light-hearted back-and-forth banter. MSCHF advertised its cologne as "Eau de Industrie, so WD-40 played off that and released one stating they were the "Can of Industrie" with the tagline, "Smells like getting $#!% done right." They stopped short of condoning the use of their product on the skin or body, however.