Psychology of perfume

Olfaction is a powerfully emotive sense. An odour has the ability to remind us of the past for instance, to bring back memories of situations from our youth, or to remind us of friends or family. It also has the ability to promote feelings of relaxation or comfort, a property which is made much of by aromatherapists, who also use it to aid the therapeutic properties of massage. 

The process by which olfactory messages are interpreted is not yet fully understood, but it is known that olfactory messages are transmitted from the olfactory bulb along the olfactory nerve directly to the brain, where the path of the message divides into two. One route passes into the olfactory cortex at the front of the brain where identification and differentiation between odours occurs the other passes into the limbic system at the centre of the brain. The limbic system is believed to be the emotional centre of the brain and it is here that many sensory messages are received and interpreted. 

It is believed that this close link between the olfactive sense and the limbic region is the reason for such a close association between smell and emotion. To try to understand this link, researchers have studied 

At Quest, we use spontaneous EEG to measure electrical activity of the brain from the surface of the scalp. A widely available technique, this is also extremely resource-intensive a typical clinical session may take several hours to complete, including the preparation of the subject, the EEG experiment and collation of the resultant data. The vast amounts of data recorded take time to digitize, summarize and analyse. 

In our work we have found significant differences in the quantitative and topographic changes in brain activity recorded from the scalp following presentation of a range of odour types, and relationships have been found between specific features of the recorded signals and measurable effects of the same stimuli on moods or feelings. 

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Labows J., Preti G. In Fragrance the Psychology and Biology of Perfume Van Toller S., Dodd G., Eds., Elsevier Applied Science London, 1992. 

In parallel, the fragrance industry has grown to meet consumer preferences with regard to the use of perfumes and also other aspects, such as personal identity, human odours, mood preferences, emotions and psychology [5]. 

Labows, J.N., Preti, G. 1992. Human semiochemicals. In Fragrance The Psychology and Biology of Perfume (Ed. by S.N. van Toller G.H. Dodd), pp 69—90. London Elsevier Applied Science. 

Sugano, H. 1992. Psychophysiological studies of fragrance. In Fragrance The Psychology and Biology of Perfume, edited by S. Van Toller and G. H. Dodd. Barking, U.K. Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd. 

ORGANOLEPTIC. A term widely used to describe consumer testing procedures for food products, perfumes, wines, and the like in which samples of various products, flavors, etc. are submitted to groups or panels. Such tests are a valuable aid in determining the acceptance of tlie products and thns may be viewed as a marketing technique, They also serve psychological purposes and are an important means of e valuating the subjective aspects of taste, odor, color, and related factors, The physical and chemical characteristics of foods are stimuli for the eye, ear, skin, nose, and mouth, whose receptors initiate impulses that travel to the brain, where perception occurs. 

The study of odor psychology and of what has of late been called "Aroma-chology," of human responses to odors, is a different matter. There is much here that is related to perfumers work. The same may be said about the anthropology of odor, the study of the differing roles and meanings of odors in different cultures. Unfortunately, publications in these fields are dispersed over a great number of specialized journals that are not readily accessible to perfumers. 

In answering a customer brief such as that from Business Scents Ltd, a perfumer welcomes as much guidance as possible in how to win that brief successfully. The four disciplines mentioned above (sensory analysis, market research, statistics and psychology) together form a powerful analytical and predictive tool, different aspects of which can be used for guidance in perfume creation depending on the requirements of the brief. In the sections that follow in this chapter, a brief outline of the techniques currently used within each of these areas of expertise is given, as are examples of how they could be used to fulfil the Business Scents brief. 

The two primary aspects of odour are character and intensity. Perfumers are also interested in properties such as tenacity and performance but these are derivative properties combining intensity with physical and chemical properties such as volatility, surface recognition/adhesion, chemical stability in the perfumed medium, Raoult s law deviations and so on. In order to study any phenomenon, it is important to be able to measure it. Unfortunately, both odour character and intensity are very difficult to measure. Odour is a phenomenon that exists only in the higher brain and must therefore be measured using psychological techniques. Moreover, it is highly subjective, even to the point where it would appear that each of us has a unique odour perception of the world around us, as will be explained later. 

The principal functions of fabric softeners are to minimize flie problem of static electricity and to keep fabrics soft. In these laundry additives, the fragrance must reinforce the sense of softness that is the desired result of their use. This is an example of psychological factors impinging on the perfumer s art, since it is not at aU clear what is the odor of softness. ... 

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