The Nose Knows: The World of Perfumes

A topic completely off the EvC beaten path, which I'm bringing up just because it makes me happy and not much at the moment makes me happy. God makes me happy when I think of Him, but on the earthly plane not much makes me happy these days.This is the subject of perfumes which I got interested in a while back. There are many sources of scent in daily life, air fresheners for instance that can often be offensive in my opinion, or shampoos and soaps and other products we use to get clean and look good, but perfumes are specifically made for their value as scent, to be worn and carried about with you all day. I like smelling a nice perfume on someone but I never spent any time learning about them and never felt I understood how to choose among them so rarely used them.These days there are perfumes for both sexes, and you may discover one you might associate with women also has a version made for men. But I'm a newbie at all of this and it's already more than enough to try to learn about the versions for women. However, since there are a lot more men at EvC than women, any knowledge of perfumes that anyone feels like contributing to the thread is welcome, whether for women or men. If nobody contributes, that wouldn't be a big surprise but since I'm only now learning about it all myself I would be very surprised if many others do contribute. It could be timely if anyone wants to get a wife or girlfriend a perfume for Christmas I suppose, but I won't have enough information to offer for that purpose for quite a while. However, maybe just starting a thread on it will be inspiration.Authentic perfumes, such as those traditionally made in France, can be so expensive I just roll my eyes and think Well I'll never get to know what THAT one smells like. But I've been making a point of looking for trial sizes and "travel" sizes so I can experience some of the pricier ones. I rarely get to go out these days since I can no longer drive so trying perfumes out in a department store isn't going to happen, and besides you can only try one at a time so that's one whole trip to the department store. And I like the idea of owning small sizes of a variety of perfumes anyway so ordering from Amazon is just fine.As I started out saying they make me happy. If I like a scent it literally makes me happy. I discovered this with one of the first ones I bought, when I simply stepped inside a closet and the small space brought out the bit of scent I had tried on earlier and it actually literally made me smile with happiness. I wasn't expecting that, but when you get into reading about perfumes you soon discover that the people who live in that world often emphasize their emotional value. It might seem obvious I suppose, but I hadn't taken it seriously until I walked into the closet that day.There is even a perfume named "Happy," it's by Clinique and I haven't smelled it yet, but I found a trial size and it's on my list.I suppose there are many areas of life some of us never know even exist and for me perfumes was one of those areas and it turns out to be a huge world unto itself. In fact it's enormous and if you don't know it's there and then just happen to stumble on it as I've done it's like walking into another dimension. There are experts galore in the field, professionals but also self-appointed amateurs who just happen to enjoy perfumes and go around sniffing them at every opportunity, making a hobby of it. There's a professional category called the "nose" who is a person whose nose is trained to recognize the different ingredients in scent, who gets hired by perfume companies to test and develop them, always looking for that magic combination that will enrapture a great swath of the public and make tons of money for the company. The Perfume World has its own conferences, its own magazines and even controversies debated between its aficionados, maybe a bit reminiscent of how evolution gets debated at EvC.There is also a scientific side to the field, and I had just started listening to a TED talk on the molecular structure of scents when I got the idea of starting a thread on the subject.So there are quite a few facets of this subject that could be discussed here and I'll bring some of them up as I find out about them. The point is happiness. I need as much as I can get these days, wherever I can find it.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Thanks, Thugsy, I can always daub on one of the trial bottles I've already acquired and go sit in the closet if I want a dose of happiness. For a few minutes anyway. Yes, perfume can easily be overdone, but I don't mind overdoing it when I'm alone, it's kind of fun.The whole point is to create positive states of mind, like happiness, and surprisingly I found that they can have that effect. I don't suppose they'll cure a broken heart or a state of remorse, but they can at least lift the spirits and put a splash of cheer into a gloomy day. The calming happy ones anyway. There are heavier ones that probably wouldn't accomplish that, the sexy ones, the exciting ones that aim to thrill, get you dancing and whatnot.I did make myself feel a bit sick overdoing it at lunch time though.That's too bad to feel overpowered by your Mom's perfume. You should have let her know.If I get the "Happy" sample of course I'll report on whether it makes me happy or not.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Here's one TED talk by a French perfumer, Yann Vasnier. At 4:09 he has the audience smell a scent on a blotter that's been handed out to them, and proceeds to have them smell six in a row to show how one ingredient modifies another, starting with bergamot, going through jasmine and peach and patchouli and vanillin, forgot one. Wish I could have experienced that:
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I haven't found a particular part of this talk I want to highlight but I'm listening again so may come up with one. It's another TED talk, this one by Luca Turin, about the molecular structure of fragrances and how a synthetic molecule was discovered that they could use to replace a carcinogenic natural molecule in men's fragrances..
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Maybe a little too feminine for EvC but she covers some history of French perfumes and I think her analysis of the French woman's use of them is fascinating.
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Lots of good information, thanks. I'm still researching and listening to You Tube presentations. There's a lot to investigate.I did collect some essential oils a few years ago. I like those too but the "composed" perfumes are a whole different experience. I read somewhere and can't find it now that there are something like 16,600+ if those, no wonder it can get confusing.Thanks again.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.