For UF students, school spirit smells like orange Valencia, juicy mandarin, cool Mediterranean lavender and sun-sparking ozone.
At least that's the way a team of perfumers hired by Katie Masich, president and CEO of Masik Collegiate Fragrances, imagined it.
Masich, a Bucknell University graduate, had the idea for creating signature scents for higher-education institutions about a year and a half ago, she said.
The company has already formulated signature fragrances for Pennsylvania State University and the University of North Carolina. Masich said her company tries to target schools with large fan bases and plenty of alumni who would be interested in purchasing a college-specific product.
UF is one of the next schools in line to have its own scent, which will come as perfume for women and cologne for men.
UF's fragrance is influenced by Albert, Century Tower and orange and blue, she said.
Bottles are selling for about $60 for 3.4 ounces, and about 10 percent of the proceeds go to the university's scholarship and athletic funds, she said.
Although Masich is trying to get away from the brand-name fragrance marketing campaigns that use clothing lines and celebrities to sell the product, some students may not want to buy perfume or cologne that doesn't have that kind of appeal.
"If I were going to spend $60 on perfume, I would buy something brand name, not anything UF-related," said Holly Cunningham, a UF interdisciplinary studies junior.
