Scented Snippets – fascinating facts from the history of fragrance
Perfume’s fascinating trail leads us from Ancient Egypt to Ancient Greece, to Rome – where rosewater played in fountains. Louis XIV’s court was known as ‘la cour parfumée’, with the king demanding a different fragrance for every single day.
The art of ancient perfumery was to have a ‘face’, a figurehead, it would surely be Cleopatra. She had the sails of her boat coated with fragrant oils before setting to sea. Her idea was that Mark Antony would get a waft of her arrival even before he caught sight of her.
Marco Polo brought exotic aromatics and scented goods back to his home city of Venice. The great explorer returned laden with fragrant treasures from the new civilizations he’d discovered, on his voyage. Venice flourished for a while as the center of the perfume world. But soon, the epicenter of perfumery moved from Italy to France thanks to the influence of Queen Catherine de Medici.
Queen Elizabeth I beckoned Venetian traders to Southampton to offer their scented wares; it became fashionable to wear musk-and rose-scented pomanders and sachets, in particular. But soon, the epicentre of perfumery moved from Italy to France—thanks to the influence of Queen Catherine de Medici (above), who married King Henri II in 1533. Until then, French enjoyment of the scent world was mostly in the form of little scented sachets (called “coussines”) or moulded clay bottles (known as “oilselets de chypre“). But Catherine brought with her from her native Tuscany, scented gloves, the perfume used to mask the unpleasant aroma of poorly-tanned leather. At the same time, her personal perfumer set up shop in Paris, where he was besieged by orders.
Detail here: https://perfumesociety.org/scented-snippets-fascinating-facts-from-the-history-of-fragrance/
Get into the (scented) Groove—the history of fragranced vinyl
Musicians have perfumed their vinyl grooves to enhance the listening experience. From Madonna to Stevie Wonder, musicians have been perfuming their vinyl. Amanda Carr looks at the intriguing history of fragranced vinyl through the years. JUSBOX’s collection of fragrances honors musical genres.
Stevie Wonder’s ‘Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants’ was perfumed with a floral note on its release in 1979. The Third Man record company, founded by uber-cool musician Jack White, bought its own vinyl factory in Detroit, where it produces top-quality vinyl that is often scented.
The gold standard scented cover is unanimously agreed to be a 1972 release by The Raspberries, with a scratch-and-sniff sticker that smelled very convincingly of… yep, raspberries. From Duran Duran’s limited edition ‘Perfect Day’ 7-inch single with strawberry-scented ice cream cone cover to Spinal Tap’s The Majesty Of Rock album, Melanie’s ‘Garden In The City’ – where listeners were encouraged to rub the sticker to release the magic of Melanie’.
Details here: https://perfumesociety.org/scenting-the-groove/
How to Switch Up Your Scent Game for Autumn – Seasonal Scents
How do you switch up your scents to match the seasons – and does it even matter which fragrances you when and when…?
We don’t know about you, but suddenly our duvets have become irresistible and those opaque tights might even start making a tentative appearance from the back of the drawer. Along with cashmere cardis and ‘pumpkin spiced’ everything replacing the t-shirts and G&Ts (okay, we actually haven’t quite given up G&Ts) in autumn, so too do our fragrance tastes tend to swing toward something a bit warmer – a snuggle in a bottle that helps you get out of bed in the morning and comforts you throughout the day.
The fact is, temperatures and climate really do change how your fragrance behaves, and therefore the things you crave to have on your skin. In hot weather, you may find your fragrance seems ‘stronger’ or more overpowering. This is why brands sometimes offer lighter versions of bestselling scents for the summer, and more powerful ‘intense’ variations for autumn and winter. Think of these differing scent strengths as tog ratings for duvets, or denier for tights!
Some people prefer heavier more full-bodied, comforting, almost ‘cocooning’ scents in the winter – but again, this is individual. Personally, at The Perfume Society, we have richer fragrances that we love to rediscover at around the time when we reach for our opaque tights, our socks (and vests!), switching to airier perfumes for the warmers months.
Woody fragrances are great ones to look for in the autumnal months or colder climates, and at this time of year we tend towards sandalwood for a scent that offers a smooth creaminess that clings to the skin like a soft blanket – a poncho made from perfume. Yes we may sometimes wish to be pepped up with a citrus blast every now and again, even on a chilly day; but the majority of us here at TPS Towers are longing for something to snuggle into, and sandalwood as a dominant note definitely fits that bill.
Foresty fragrances really come into their own now – the urge to don a pair of boots and go kicking through the leaves is strong, and with so many scents inspired by walking through a woodland,
Layering fragrances used to be seen as a scent sin, but we’ve all gotten over ourselves a bit (well most of us have). You don’t have to do this to a perfume you already love on its own – why would you need to? – but there are brilliant ways of beefing-up a sadly flimsy fragrance, or adding a zing to something that’s a bit too dark or cloying on your skin. You can either try layering over other fragrances you have in which the above notes dominate, with a single-fragranced ‘soliflore’ (one main note) fragrance oil or spray, or try layering scents over a differently perfumed body lotion or oil.
– Add depth: ramp it up by adding more base notes like patchouli, labdanum, vetiver, woods or musk.
– Add a breeze: if you’re not quite ready for your heavier scents, layer them with citrus notes like bergamot, neroli, lemon, lime or ‘green’ notes such as galbanum, tomato or violet leaf, green tea, marine/aquatic accords (synthetic recreations of sea-like, watery smells) and aldehydes (often desribed as being like Champagne bubbles).
– Add cosiness: find a scent too ‘harsh’ or clinical? Look to layer it with decadently velvety or lusciously fruity rose oils, the sunshine-bottled scent of orange flower, a heady glamour of tuberose or a luminescent jasmine; try an apricot-like osmanthus flower, the fluffiness of mimosa or the powdery elegance of iris/orris.
– Add deliciousness: vanilla and tonka bean can ’round’ a perfume, making it swoon on your skin (and addictive to smell), as can touches of synthetic notes described as ‘caramel’ or ‘dulce de leche’, ripe fruits, chocolate or even candy floss. Try to add less than you think you need, as adding more is always easier than taking away, and a little of these can go a long way!
Looking for the perfect perfume selection now the colder weather is here? Try the Seasonal Scents Autumn Discovery Box! With each season’s change, The Perfume Society put together a specially curated selection of scents to be right for right now. It’s the best way to try a large number of fragrances from the comfort of your own home – and perhaps to sample some you’d never have thought of trying, previously! At The Perfume Society, we feel each season is a new chance to change up your scent game and discover your next olfactory loves, so when you sign up for the Seasonal Scents Subscription, you’ll be treated to…
A selection of fabulous fragrances, mainly female and unisex scents, from globally adored leading brands (potentially including miniatures) will land at your door each passing season (approximately every three months) – so you will always have a new scent to make you feel fabulous!
You can choose a Quarterly (£18 every three months) or Yearly (£68 annual payment) plan to suit you. We’ll keep the contents a secret until the day the box is launched – we just know you’ll love the surprises inside…
Each Seasonal Scents Box Includes:
Seasonal Fragrances – A collection of fragrances from 1ml – 7ml, these will be kept secret until each Seasonal Scents Box is launched, we just love the element of surprise!
Online Smelling Notes – accessible via a QR code within your box, guiding you through the fragrances and how to start smelling.
Unboxing Video – also via the QR code, for every box our Head Fragrance Writer Suzy Nightingale will guide you when opening your new box.
Hints & Tips – to ensure you get the most out of your fragrances and have fun!
Can fragrances make you feel better?
Can you bottle the smell of happiness or use fragrance to elevate your everyday mood? It’s something fragrance fans and aromatherapists have claimed for years, but now science is directly being used to develop fragrances that go beyond simply smelling good – making you feel good, too.
The connections between wellness and scent are fully explored in our just-published magazine, The Scented Letter – click here to subscribe to this award-winning magazine for free… You’ll have it sent to your inbox on the day it publishes, and never miss a copy again!
In the issue you’ll find the article Fragrance’s Feel-Good Factor, in which we were incredibly excited to learn about the revolutionary house of Edeniste, whom you can read more about in our page dedicated to Edeniste, and who are, in their words, ‘Blending the science of emotion and the art of perfumery.’ For founder Audrey Semeraro, it’s about ‘redefining the mission of the perfume industry with the first generation of active wellbeing fine fragrances…’ Because edeniste are far more than a luxury fragrance house, more even than a company seeking to tap into that feeling we all get when wearing a scent that seems to resonate with our soul. Each edeniste fragrance has been ‘charged with active molecules clinically proven to boost our mood and elevate our emotions.’
Meanwhile, authorAlex Whiting delves into the fascinating word of ‘chemosignals’ – odourless transmissions we give off which are believed to trigger particular emotional responses – in a piece for the scientific magazine, Horizon; exploring ‘the ways smell impacts people’s social interactions.’
Says Enzo Pasquale Scilingo, a professor at the Department of Information Engineering at the University of Pisa, Italy: ‘It’s like an emotional contagion. If I feel fear, my body odour will be smelt by people around me and they may start to feel fear themselves, unconsciously.’ Similarly, the smell of happiness can inspire a positive state in other people, he explains. ‘If we had a spray of happiness … If we can find some odour which can induce a happy state – or a general positive state – I think we can help many, many people,’
‘We humans use our sense of smell more than we think. It’s more unconscious, and a little bit taboo – we are not very comfortable with it – but there is more and more evidence that smell is important in social behaviours.’ – Dr Lisa Roux, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, France
As fascinating as the science undoubtedly is, you don’t need a degree to know that wearing your favourite fragrance – or experiencing a new scent that sparks joy – will undoubtedly lift your mood and give you an emotional ‘boost’ of comfort, confidence or strength. During lockdown sales of fragrances (unexpectedly, to some) soared, and no wonder. Now we have the science to back what we’ve always felt: fragrance can simply make you feel better.
So, why not treat yourself to some samples to try at home, today…?
