Perfume

Your sense of smell is vital for appreciating the wonderful fragrances available in today’s perfumes. Noses can determine over ten thousand different smells and that includes the myriad of perfumes that you can find. But what is interesting is that the exact number of detected smells varies among individuals and different groups of people.

That is why some perfumes are more pleasing to some than they are to others. Another reason why perfumes are preferred by a specific few is because everyone doesn’t own the same number of biological components. Amyl acetate, a hydrocarbon radical, is an example of an odor (or smell) that is easily detected and pungent to some, but barely noticeable or detected by others.

Whenever you smell the newest parfum fragrance, its molecules and the molecules of other effects in the environment drift over a layer of fuzzy-looking cilia inside the nose. These cilia pick up the molecules from the air you breathe passing them on to the olfactory receptors. Olfactory receptors send them right to the brain through olfactory nerves. The brain interprets this information as smell.

Scientists propose different theories of how it works exactly. Some scientists put forward the ’shape’ theory in which the olfactory receptors are thought to respond to particular shapes of molecules entering the nose. Other scientists support the ‘vibration’ theory, in which olfactory receptors respond to the vibration of molecules entering the nose. The latter theory is similar to the idea of how we’re able to see and how our sight nerves respond to the vibration of specific light waves.

Since smells can be stored in long-term memory, it should be no surprise that perfumes can trigger memorable events. There is some question about whether or not these memories influence your decision to purchase, use, or even enjoy perfumes. In addition, the area of our brains that store long-term memory is close to the limbic system, an area tied to emotions. This may explain why some perfumes make you feel serious or happy, or even sexy.

How you respond to smells can depends upon the circumstances or even the mood you were in when it was presented. For example, if you experience a perfume during a time that you are relaxed and generally in a good mood, you would tend to appreciate the scent and like it. Later, just a ghost of the scent might return you to that relaxed, good mood. On the other hand, if you smell a perfume during a time of stress, you may not even notice it or pay any attention. Unfortunately, the subconscious forgets nothing. A later exposure to the same fragrance may evoke that same anxious, stressed mood.

Scientists continue to study the sense of smell and how it influences our health, our experiences and behavior. Specific to the perfume industry. however, you are subject to the opinions of “noses” - employees who are perfume and cologne smell testers. While their expertise may create enjoyable fragrances, it is your experience with those perfumes that determines your likes and dislikes and emotional response.