The Philippine Beat Takes on the Downy Passion Challenge!

Downy had been my constant companion during my years of living in Pennsylvania as a grad student. Doing the laundry in the school’s laundromat, I’d haul my load of clothes down to the basement where the machines were located, with a Downy bottle sitting right on top of the entire heap.

So imagine my delight to see a basket at home marked “Downy”.

On hindsight though, I should have taken a picture before unboxing that Downy basket but excitement got the better of me. Imagine my surprise when the basket DID NOT HAVE any Downy inside it!

Instead, the contents of the basket revealed 2 towels mysteriously marked “Towel 1” and “Towel 2” (my thought bubble: Now why did they have to label 2 towels that look similar?“

The basket also had 3 scented candles in two-toned pink (my favorite color!). These ones I liked! Still, what were these here for?

And why no Downy???

It was only when I opened the PR envelope inside that I realized the purpose of the towels and scented candles. I was being invited to 2 challenges that would test the sensitivity of *drum roll* my nose!

In Challenge 1, I am supposed to tell which towel was sprinkled with perfume and which one was washed with the new Passion by Downy fabric conditioner.

In Challenge 2, I had to decide what additional ingredient (besides Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang and soft musk) was added to Passion by Downy. There were 3 options to choose from: Cinnamon, Rose, or Lavender.

CHALLENGE 1: Guess which towel was washed with Downy Passion

I carefully opened both towels, making sure that I just exposed one side of it so the fragrance won’t easily dissipate. I took deep breaths from both, really trying to make out which one was perfume-y and which was Downy-smelling. Wow, hard to tell! They both smelled nice. I had to reach deep, deep down into the recesses of my memory to recall what freshly washed laundry smelled like and which would be the more probable choice.

My Answer? TOWEL 1 IS THE ONE WASHED WITH DOWNY PASSION. And Towel 2 is the one with perfume.

CHALLENGE 2: Guess the additional ingredient in Downy Passion

I opened up Towel 1 again (which of course was my bet for having been washed with Downy) and took several deep breaths to check it out. Is the additional ingredient Cinnamon? Or Rose? Or could it be Lavender? By process of elimination, cinnamon was the first to be eliminated. Definitely did not smell cinnamon-y, like cinnamon rolls do. So it was a toss-up between Rose and Lavender. I got stuck here for some time. Until I realized that I had an idea what Lavender smelled like. It’s what I often spray on my pillows and sheets before I head for bed. Lavender is known in aromatherapy to induce relaxation, you see. As i continued to take in the scent of towel #1, it didn’t seem to fit my memory of what Lavender should smell like. So by default (and here, I’m crossing my fingers), I say —

My Answer? ROSE IS THE ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT IN DOWNY PASSION


Now that I’ve cast my votes on the 2 challenges. I’ll just sit back and really hope that my guesses are spot on. Being a Downy lover, I really would love to win a whole year’s supply of it.

And while this challenge is all about Passion by Downy, they do have another fabric conditioner called Attraction by Downy with its fruity, sweet fragrance of apple blossom, freesia and vanilla.

So there you go, the two new perfume scents in your favorite Downy fabric conditioner.

How do they get the perfume into the conditioner? They use an advanced, touch-activated Perfume Microcapsule (PMC) Technology – the perfume-blended oils are placed in microcapsules which, when rubbed or touched, slowly release more fragrance into the air. As you keep touching your clothes, sheets or just about anything, you actually release more of your favorite fragrance.

Aromatherapy in the wash…neat!