scent – Created Curated by Sara Brown

Scent in Business

I have talked about home scents and the positive ways it can affect you, but it’s not only in your home that this happen’s, shops, restaurants, hotels even banks are catching on to the fact that the importance of scents does not only apply to the home interior market. Scent makes it easier to build authentic, emotional connections with customers, as humans are most receptive when all 5 senses are active. Most businesses only use sight and sound to communicate with customers. Ambient scent uses fragrance to enhance the experience of consumers. Scent branding is unique to each company’s identity. Researchers around the globe have conducted field studies on the effects of ambient scent and there is much research on emotion and scent marketing. The research clearly shows scent has the power to affect our emotional state. But what does that mean in the context of a business?

In the wake of the Ecommerce boom, customer expectations have changed and customers seek unique (emotional) experiences. The Harvard Business Review found that emotionally connected customers are 52% more valuable to a brand than those who are just satisfied. According to branding expert and author Martin Lindstrom, of all the senses, smell is the most persuasive.

When it comes to the retail sector, scents can play a major role in affecting consumers’ purchasing habits and determining whether their in-store experience is one that will be repeated or not. Although some retail store owners will argue that they like to concentrate on visual elements, ambient scenting offers a number of proven benefits to retailers. Customers browse longer in stores where pleasant fragrances are diffused, increasing the chances of a purchase. Also, when offering an inviting environment the shopping experience becomes memorable and the shopper’s perspective of the store is affected positively.

In more recent years, companies have begun to recognize the power of scent. Fashion companies have learned to capitalize on how a particular scent can help customers form an emotional attachment to their brand. And it’s become a common strategy for big companies to take full advantage of sensory design by scenting their spaces with aromas that represent their brand and appeal directly to their target market. Abercrombie & Fitch has their own men’s fragrances, Fierce, which is scented throughout the stores as a way to support the company’s character, giving off what they would describe as a confidence, bold and masculine lifestyle.

Eric Spangenberg, a consumer psychologist and academic found that once feminine scents like vanilla were released, women’s sales doubled. Similar were the effects on men when more masculine smells were released. According to Spangenberg, “Men don’t like to stick around when it smells feminine, and women don’t linger in a store if it smells masculine.”

Switching the scents during the day can also change the mood, in the morning using invigorating scents like citrus and peppermint scents give a different energy to a space. By changing to a calming scent, later in the day or evening the energy will alter too. The company, At-Aroma, which specializes in scent, uses the elements of essential oils to develop its fragrances, in particular its Supplement Air series. Blends like For Wake Up (with peppermint and lemon) and For Meditation (with cypress and eucalyptus) are intended to aid the mind and body in particular activities.

Certain essential oils like eucalyptus and tea tree are also valued for their antiviral properties. However, while some manufacturers have noted growing demand for essential oils amidst the coronavirus pandemic, industry experts warn that it’s impossible to make any claims about essential oils’ efficacy against COVID-19. However, when I worked for a company selling essential oils, we always sprayed a blend of eucalyptus and tea tree during the flu scents in our shops and it did appear to stop the staff members getting colds and flu as frequently. With global attention on health and sanitation, many businesses are enhancing their cleaning practices with fresh room fragrances to meet higher customer expectations of cleanliness. I feel this will be an area of major growth in the coming years. People don’t always look for the signs of clean, they often smell for them, I know I do.

Scents are such an important part of a consumer’s experience that there are firms which specialize specifically in scent marketing. Scent Air has helped industry worldwide to create powerful customer experiences using fragrance for 20 years, by offering a science-backed approach to custom fragrances (scent branding) and to scenting spaces. They use a wide selection of scent machines and systems to diffuse non-toxic fragrance that has proofed to be successful.

Consumers are craving rich experiences and emotional connections from the businesses they use. In fact, businesses that deliver exceptional experiences can grow twice as fast. It’s not just shops, restaurants and hotels can create a feel of cosiness, luxury and even exhilaration through scent. Researchers tested the ability of ambient scent to create a positive first impression in a hotel. The results found that a fragrance matching a hotel’s brand identity generates a more favourable view from guests including higher perceptions of comfort cleanliness and even food tasting better.

So, I feel that we will be finding more and more businesses in particular post-covid looking to ambient scent to offer their customers that little extra. Particularly when people get their sense of smell back!

A (Naturally) Fragrant Home

Home and Interiors

All five of the senses work together to give a full picture of our surroundings. The sense of smell works more acutely on our brain than we realize, having the power to trigger memories and feelings. It has been proven through a number of studies that fragrance can affect a person’s mood, so choosing a scent that puts you in a happy and relaxed state of mind is really important during a time of 24/7 home-confinement. Finding the perfect home-scent can contribute to your well-being by triggering positive emotions that allow you to fully unwind and recharge.

We encounter a lot of smells in a day, our nose’s are often subjected to some very unpleasant ones; in the street, at work, pollution, stale tobacco, the list is endless. I’m a big fan of perfume in any form and if I walk into a room and smell a lovely fragrance, its instantly uplifing. When someone visits your home it’s often the first thing they notice. A quick spray of Febreze doesn’t work anymore. However wonderfully furnished and accessorised, for rooms to be fully complete, the way they smell is the missing link. The mystery ingredient if you like. How your home smells can leave a lasting impression and is just as important as its visual appearance. Fragrance is often underestimated and seen as an afterthought rather than an integral part of a home. But have you ever wondered why you get a great feeling when you smell fresh flowers or ground coffee?

At-Aroma a Tokyo- based fragrance design company, they design a fragrance for a space which is described as scent architecture. In Japan, the importance of scent to the overall design of a space relates to the tradition of kodo. In more recent years more western companies have begun to recognize the power of scent. Restaurants, hotels and spas often use fragrance to create a specific atmosphere that they want to portray to match their image. Like the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York who collaborated with French perfumers Le Labo to develop their signature scent.

Scented candles have been raised to objects of celebrity status and desire in social media.( Blame the millennials) The choice is huge, you can get tealights, pillar candles, taper candles, votive candles, container candles, scented, unscented, beeswax, vegan candles, soy wax melts and even charcoal sticks. We have gone a little crazy for home fragrance. A home can’t be Instagram ready without a (branded) candle.

To fragrance a home, there are scented candles, incense, essential oils, room sprays and diffusers. The most popular been candles and reed diffusers. Reed diffusers infuse the room with a constant background scent and candles provide a mood-setting glow and fragrance. Home-scents are not used purely for necessity but for creating a warm and intimate space that encourages comfort and happiness.

It is best to avoid a strong scent that can dominate an entire room or one that is too subtle to smell. Floral scents are relaxing, I love Rose and Jasmine, (perfect for a bedroom or bathroom) woody scents like Frankincense can make you feel grounded (think of churches) and the freshness of citrus invigorates. For kitchen spaces, the distinct aromas of lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit and herbs; lemongrass, ginger, basil and rosemary can cover up cooking odours. In the bedroom to create ambiance, warm, floral scents are lovely. A candle or diffuser with lavender and jasmine is an aroma-therapeutic, sleep-inducing treat. Light, aromatic, nature-inspired; green tea, fig, leaves, grasses and bamboo are perfect for the main living area and give a connection with the outdoors. Do take into account whether it’s a small or large space. Children and pets are more sensitive to smell so factor this into your choices. If you want to match your home-scent to the seasons, try lighter, fruits and florals in summer and warmer, spices and woods in winter. After a while you can go nose-blind, so it’s a good idea to change the room fragrance regularly.

It’s crucial to source your home fragrances from companies producing natural products to keep your air clean of harsh chemicals. These products can be more expensive but do also last much longer as well as better for the environment.

Diffusers- Oil diffusers don’t create smoke and thus won’t spread toxins in the same way as candles. Larger diffusers can scent an entire room, in smaller spaces, reduce the reeds used or opt for a gentler scent. The reeds in a diffuser should be inverted (turned) every two weeks to maximise the fragrance and maintain a consistent level of scent within the room. With diffusers you can leave them unattended and are fairly low-maintenance. Aesthetically, many of the bottles can act as a stylish centrepiece or you can pour the liquid into a pretty glass or ceramic container of your own. A narrower top will ensure the fragrance doesn’t fade as quickly, but if it does turn the reeds, to instantly refresh the room.

Candles– are great for an intimate event, like dinner or a bath, as they give off light and scent. Luxury candles can be made primarily with synthetic scent and boosters to help a smaller amount of fragrance go further. I prefer candles that aren’t made with synthetic ingredients. Natural candles use natural wax and essential oils. Scented candles with artificial fragrances can release synthetic compounds into the air, which can cause skin, eye and nose irritations. Paraffin wax is the predominant wax used in the candle industry. It’s the final by-product in the petroleum refining chain. (Described as the bottom of the barrel). Although there is no conclusive evidence that burning paraffin candle wax is damaging to your health, natural waxes like soy, vegetable and beeswax offer a non-toxic alternative. (Having a very low environmental impact and footprint) These burn cleaner and slower, with less soot than cheaply manufactured waxes so the candle lasts much longer. Ventilate your room after extinguishing a candle to get rid of any toxins released particularly if using paraffin candles. Breathing too much of any type of smoke can potentially damage your health, so don’t burn candles for longer than four hours and cool for at least two hours before relighting. When first lighting a candle burn for three hours to ensure that the wax melts evenly and to the edge and bottom of the candle to prevent tunnelling, which is a hole or ‘tunnel’ in the centre of the candle caused by uneven burning. Trim the wick to around three millimetres, so the wick burns at the same speed as the candle. For some really lovely natural scented candles go to Neom and the Bathhouse. www.neomorganics.com www.thebathhouseshop.co.uk

I believe that the right scent creates a unique character to a room or home. Your personal choice of fragrance can make a house feel like a home. It’s an everyday affordable luxury. So, why not treat yourself to a candle or diffuser, natural of course and see if it makes you feel you good!

What an Unusual Fragrance?

Perfume and Scent

Christmas is a key time for the perfume industry, and we are bombarded with advertisements for the big-hitters like Chanel, Dior and Marc Jacobs. Now you may not be a fan of these recognisable fragrances, but I am sure you can a least see the appeal to others and even buy them as gifts. I sell artisan fragrance for a living, and there are key groups of scent: the most popular scents being the Flower, Citrus or Woods groups, I could go into this in more detail, but I’m sure you get the basic idea, as there are many groups and sub-groups that classify perfumes.

There are many weird and wonderful perfumes, many I haven’t smelt, and in truth, I did think some of them were jokes and not actually real. However, or unfortunately these are actual scents! Sometimes, you like the idea of a perfume that’s different and no-one else has (or would want) and if this is the case, there are several perfumes houses that fulfil that requirement.

Demeter was conceived in 1996, with a unique and ever- expanding perspective on fragrance. The original mission was to capture the beautiful smells of the garden and nature in wearable form. Made from 100% natural ingredients and fragrance oils derived from natural sources, the Demeter name itself was inspired by the Greek Goddess of Agriculture. The first three fragrances were Dirt, Grass and Tomato and were sold in a few stores in New York. Today, the Demeter Fragrance Library consists of over 300 different fragrances inspired by everyday objects and experiences. One of the things that makes them unique is that all Demeter fragrances are single note fragrances, meaning they are the smallest combination of ingredients that expresses an olfactory idea. The notes are linear, which means they express their olfactory nature immediately and do not change over time, in the way that a blended perfume with several notes does, i.e. top, middle and base notes. Their aim is the following:

We create environments where people can rediscover the wonderful world of scent that is too often overlooked or forgotten in our modern, multi-tasking world. That is because great fragrance, quite simply, makes for a better day. Ultimately, we want nothing less than to change the way fragrance is used throughout the world. We isolate and highlight the beautiful scents that surround us every day, in wearable formats.

Whether this has been achieved, well, I’m not too sure about that, but certainly their fragrances are different from other perfume houses, I don’t think that Mildew or Earthworm will be out- selling Chanel no 5 this year. Kitten Fur, Crayon, Dregs, Fiery Curry, Funeral Home, Fuzzy Balls, Paint, Puppy’s Breath and Dust, to me were the stand-out scents, in particular as usually you try to cover up these smells, but I am guessing that’s the point been made. They do sell more traditional scents like Jasmine and Rose and the prices are affordable for an artisan product. Go to www. demeterfragrance.com for more details.

In 2019, one of the biggest trends has been Cannabidiol or CBD oil, and the perfume industry has been quick to jump on the cannabis waggon trending on the high-street. With several companies, producing perfumes smelling of Cannabis. Reeking of weed used to be seen as a bad thing. Now high-end beauty influencers are embracing fragrances designed to highlight the aroma of Cannabis. There’s one called Dirty Grass, an earthy scent with 500 milligrams of hemp-derived CBD oil in each bottle and a hefty price tag. Which is from Heretic Parfum’s, Douglas Little, the nose behind Goop’s all-natural fragrances. Luxury cult brand 19-69 make Chronic Eau de Parfum, which is inspired by the 1990s cannabis cultivation in Southern California. An ode to the Woodstock music festival and is best described as smelling of patchouli and fresh bud. Artisan company-Fresh produce, Cannabis Santal Eau de Parfum, which at £46 is one of the more affordable options. Apparently, this captures the raw sensuality of cannabis, and is known for its woodsy, musky properties and this is even sold by John Lewis!

Other scents which have become popular are paper and ink. So, if you’ve ever wanted to fool your friends that you constantly have your head stuck in a book, then this is the perfume for you. Paper Passion by Steidl, is a perfume that smells just like paper and ink. I think this would be a great room fragrance, although, I like this scent, I wouldn’t want to smell of paper and ink, that would remind be of school.

The scent of animals, has influenced perfume makers too. A perfect gift for those equine enthusiasts, Horse, is a scent created by the For Strange Women company and smells of horses, hay and oats. Artisan Parfumier created Dzing!, a perfume that smells like the circus. This fragrance has notes of caramel apples, sweaty artists, elephants and saddle leather.

Etat Libre d’Orange is, according to its website, an ambitious, audacious perfumery, passionate, exuberant and liberated. This is a different kind of perfumery, intelligent with a point of view, that uses irony to hone the names of its scents. Currently they present a collection of more than 30 fragrances. With names like: Fat Electrician, I am Trash and Putain des Palaces (Palace Whore in English) I feel these names are self-explanatory. Their best-selling fragrance is Magnifiques Secretions, a “Raw Sex” fragrance of blood, sweat, spit and semen. Creative and interesting, yes, but I will pass on this myself, I have heard of selling sex, but this is possibly one step to far? http://www.etatlibredorange.com

So, the perfume industry has us smelling of cannabis, mould, elephants and secretions, all very adult scents. However, you can also go back to childhood, if you want. The Library of Fragrance has bottled that fresh, just-out-of-the-can, Eau de PLAY-DOH aroma as part of a year-long celebration of the beloved modelling compound’s 50th Birthday. Prices start at £5 and this is currently sold out, So someone is wearing it! http://www.thelibraryoffragrance.eu for details

When you open a can of PLAY-DOH compound, you are instantly transported back to childhood.

Leigh Anne Cappello, vice president of marketing PLAY-DOH

I hope this has given you a different perspective on scent, I love florals and citrus and I don’t think I want to smell of mouldy socks any time soon, but you never know! Any Thoughts ?

Can Fragrances Have Medicinal and Healing Qualities?

Perfume and Scent

Perfume and scent are seen as a luxury item and part of the beauty world rather than as something which can affect your health. However, many of us are very sensitive to the smells around us and our mood can be affected by the fragrance we use on our bodies and in our homes. Fragrance can be a powerful tool to re-balance the mind and body.

Avincenna, a 10^th century physician, writer and philosopher, was the first person to divide the internal senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch.

” The interest in using excellent odours is that it fortifies the senses. When the senses are strong, the thoughts are strong. If the senses become weak, the senses are imbalanced and confused” -Avincenna

I have talked about perfumes making you happy and setting a mood, so can scent also have positive qualities on our health? Certain aromas and scents have been used for centuries in an attempt to calm us down. So, if you’re looking for a way to help you to sooth your worries away and stop feeling overwhelmed, some scents are known to have sedative qualities: Sandalwood, which is sweet and woody and can be worn by men or women, has been used for almost 4,000 years in the ancient civilizations of India, Egypt, Greece and Rome. The Hindus, were the first culture to recognize the properties of sandalwood and used it in incense and scent. Buddhists also burnt sandalwood incense to transform desires and promote human mindfulness. Its aroma is said to calm the mind and alleviate worry by relaxing the central nervous system. Using sandalwood in a fragrance offers the wearer a magical olfactory carpet ride into a far- away, exotic land.

You often feel the most relaxed on holiday, so many of the smells you experienced whilst away if replicated at home can help to trigger a similar sense of calm and a truly relaxing escape.

Other harmonising aromas include ylang-ylang and bergamot, both of which are found to decrease blood pressure, as well as oud, jasmine and rose, which can lower depressive moods. I always find the aroma of rose gives me an instant feeling of well-being and jasmine a sense of confidence. Oud has been used for centuries in spiritual and religious practices to remove negative energy and create harmony.

Sometimes you need to invigorated, Citrus elements like oranges, bergamot, neroli and grapefruit all give an energy boost (an effervescent Vitamin C fix) and also make you smile, in my case they remind me of warm, summer days. The smell of freshly cut grass can have a positive impact on your mental state and give a boost when needed as can green tea, I bring this perfume back from France as I always feel uplifted by the smell. Green, herby scents like basil can give a boast and blend really well with citrus notes. Peppermint can increase alertness at work and a touch of Cedar can revive tiredness.

Plague doctors carried vials with rosemary and lavender to protect them, whilst pomanders, perfumed balls, were carried by woman to ward off the plague and hide the awful stench around them. Smell has always been a component in treating infections as medics often rely on their olfactory abilities to detect ailments as well as cure. In 1869, Joseph Burnett’s Language of Flower handbooks, linked the qualities of flowers to certain health conditions, using this symbolism to sell cologne waters and beauty products.

Your night-time routine can also be enhanced by specific smells. Soft, powdery and musky perfumes soothe and aid sleep. Lavender, chamomile, vanilla, jasmine and patchouli are the most popular scents that are suggested to help you sleep. While some of these are more pungent than others, you can often combine them with other notes that offset the strong scent. Lavender can sometimes invigorate if too much is used rather than relax you. Spraying your pillows, using a body product or a room diffuser are some of the ways to use fragrance in the bedroom. Usually the scents you enjoy most will help encourage peachful memories. Going to your “happy place” is a great stress reducer, which allows you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

So, can perfume have medicinal properties? Well for centuries, in many countries it has been thought that it does, even Hippocrates in the 5^th century, believed in a clinical connection between mind, body and spirit and smell and treated his patients with aromatics like myrrh and cinnamon. What I would say is that scent has the power to relax and uplift, remind you of happy memories and places and transport to a different imaginary world.

So yes, I do think that would aid healing!