An Introduction to Perfumery.

Here's a few science facts about perfume.... A sense of smell is in my opinion underused as smell can define a taste, it can trigger memories and it can remind you of certain people or objects. You can only smell something that evaporates into your nose and you smell with something called the olfactory bulb. The reason we can smell is because impulses flow to the brain via the hypothalamus. Perfume today is 95-99% synthetic and natural due to the popularity of using natural ingredients that smell fresh and new. 

What is fragrance? 

It sounds like a simple question when in fact its much more than what you think. Fragrance is a way of communicating without words. It's a way of triggering memories that have been lost for years. These memories then create a range of emotions which then cause reactions. So a fragrance isn't just there to make you smell nice. It can be anything from the terrible smell of cow poo that can trigger the best memories or the beautiful smell of a candle that can trigger the worst. 

We were told that when creating our fragranced product we needed to think if it reminded us of something which will then help us create the promotion around the idea. It is very important when it comes to communication and promotion to use words that others can understand because if no one can understand the main word, then no one will buy the product so the words must be kept within out target market. 

Perfume is formed in notes. The top note, the middle note and the base note. The top note is the first impression of the fragrance. This evaporates most quickly off the skin and is the selling point as it is the first impression. The middle note is the heart or characteristic of the fragrance. This includes smells such as rose, jasmine, herbal and floral. This stays on longer than the top note. The base note gives body and longevity to the fragrance that includes smells such as coumarin and vanillin. This note is synthetic and smells a bit like ice cream. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post about perfume. There is more to come.

Shelby xxx