The Fragrance Brief

Chapter 5 illustrates how a fragrance house is structured around its lifeblood the receipt, response to and winning of client briefs on a regular basis. Before developing a response to the Business Scents Eve brief, it is worthwhile outlining what the main considerations of the brief are, as this reflects on the chemistry of the final fragrance choice and submission. 

Briefs come in all shapes and sizes, and can be subject to many types of interpretation. Often the client is not exactly certain of what is wanted, or is not capable of translating the requirement into the language of perfumery. It is the work of a fragrance house to help the clients translate their gut-feel, or verbalize their inner sense of market opportunity into a viable fragrance direction for the product. 

when a fragrance house is asked for the smell of an Arabian souk , it is well aware that the client means the fruit, spices and incense from such a scene, but naturally does not wish to include the inevitable environmental malodours which may come with the territory. A customer wanting the smell of the funfair seeks chocolate, vanilla, fudge, toffee apples, candy floss, the cordite of the rifle range and the sharp ozone smell of dodgem car sparks. 

The word fresh can mean a multitude of different things depending on the language and culture in which we are dealing and, indeed, the olfactory experiences of the same. 

In the main, however, the task is simplified by guiding clients by means of a printed Perfume Brief Document or by catalysing their thoughts by using an aide-memoire, which sales and marketing people carry in their faithful filofaxes The majority of briefs received are not 

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