mood & the psychology of scent

After a chilly and cloudy day yesterday, with the general mood of the class (and me- what a difficult day!) to match, it was a relief to step out of the old wood door into the quiet coolness of my little street this morning and ascend the steep route up through the honeycomb of the centre ville into the blazing glory of a sunny day.  My mood was good; another one of those days I love when I am overcome by happiness at being able to experience the beauty that surrounds me here.  There is pure art all around.  The colours, the light, the sounds, the shapes and angles, the general composition of everything.  My photographer’s eye is constantly sated with so many beautiful possibilities that I don’t even know where to point my camera- so I don’t.  I just take it all in.  It feels like everything is too beautiful to capture.   

 Today at school was chemistry.  We are learning material that is at a  fairly advanced high-school/first year college level- and at a a speed that condenses three years into about 5 weeks.  It is all  relevant to perfumery of course and today the subject was the science of gas chromatography.  We will be learning how to read the highly technical reports that are produced by these machines and we will also be able to understand the chemical structure of all the components in the materials being analyzed. (both essential oils and synthetic chemicals)  Part of the work will be to choose a perfume to put through the gas chromatography process, then be able analyze the result and decipher the formula of the perfume.  (we can choose anything- Chanel 5 or one of  my favourites, Annick Goutal and at the end, after extensive study and comparative work, we will have a very good idea of the basic formula.)  Because of this technology, there are no secrets in formulation anymore.  Copies happen all the time- it is quite common.  So from my what I gather, it comes down mostly to the name.  Yves St Laurent, for example, or Chanel,  could be copied exactly, but it doesn’t really threaten them, because the consumer wants the prestige of the NAME-  Yves St Laurent or Chanel- on their dressing table, and on their body, socially. This can matter more than the actual appreciation of the fragrance itself.  (there is the consideration of cost and the issue of ’captured’ ingredients,  as well as ethics within the industry, but that’s another subject) This effect is subtle- hard to pin absolutely, because the power of scent is so emotional that it infiltrates an individual’s experience to such a degree that they don’t even know if they like how something smells because of its name, or because of how it actually smells.  Association plays a roll as well- if it smells how we have been conditioned to think ’expensive and prestigious’ smells, then in this day and age, we want it.  

That said, there is serious research going on these days in the area of aromachology.  Especially in Japan.  (one of my classmates is a biologist who works for Shiseido in this area).      Aromachology* is the study of odour psychology and of human responses to odours. Aromachology does not distinguish between natural or synthetic chemicals.  Heliotropin, for example, has been shown to have a calming effect on the subjects studied, despite being a synthetic material (although it is available from natural sources as well)  The results of these studies is beginning to play a serious role in the formulation of perfumes. We are being chemically influenced by the perfume industry without being aware of it.  Historically, the ultimate goal of the perfume industry has been a healthy bottom-line- not our general well-being. My hope is that the two will inadvertently or eventually coincide. 

 (Here, I’ll allude to thesubject of the 42nd amendment of the IFRA guidelines, which is on the brink of being implemented, that addresses the issue of dermal sensitivity and other safety concerns surrounding raw materials, partly because of a much deeper understanding of constituents due to the GC technology.  There will likely be, soon,  more rules pertaining to what can and cannot be used in perfumery and cosmetics.  This is a contentious bill that many people, especially in the world of naturals, are opposed to.  I’ll talk more about this after June 7th.)  

All this is fabulously interesting and is expanding my perspective in many different directions.  I realize how easy it is to become limited by my beliefs, by what I think I know.   A beginner’s mind, always, seems to allow for an incredibly rich experience in this life……….

*A service mark of the Olfactory Research Fund

 Now, my window is open, as usual these warm Spring evenings, and I can hear a cat yowling, and people walking by, laughing and talking, in French, below.  Once in a while, a car roars by, with inches to spare on either side, blasting either hip-hop in a foreign language or Moroccan pop- but otherwise, the heaped up ancient rooms that form this beautiful cluster of humanity is quieting down for the night.  By 10:30, all will be so silent, I can hear my ears ring, and sleep will creep in and encompass all who dwell behind the wood  shutters that are ritually closed by every household, every night……….

becoming a nez II

Today began a whole new segment of the course.  Formulation!  This is what we have all been waiting for;  for here we will begin to learn some of the secrets that are held so close to the chests of the perfumers and others in the industry.  Our teacher is Max Gavarry,  now retired to research and development of new raw materials for perfumery, but previously was a chief perfumer in Paris for years, the vice president of the French branch of IFF (Int’l Flavors & Fragrances) as well as the perfumer who created all the Prada fragrances.  He is a true artist and an extremely gifted Nez.  Recently a Japanese film crew came to the school and interviewed Max (as well as some of us as part of a conceptual setting) as a portion of a film about people gifted with extraordinary sensory abilities.  Max was the chosen subject because he can smell and identify upwards of some 2000 raw materials. 

We were thrown in to the experience by being asked to write out a formula for a rose accord. An accord is a combination of materials to create a single themed outcome.  I chose to create a rose that was fruity and juicy with dry smoky aspect.  I used mostly naturals combined with synthetics that can be found in nature, such as geraniol and citronellol.  Then he had us go to the perfumers stations (organs) and mix the formula.  Needless to say there was much scurrying about, creative juices flowing and many rather horrible smelling outcomes!  Creating an formula from an intellectual only perspective is not enough. I think this was his point, but also to see how original each of us could be and to see how much we know the raw materials.  He encouraged us to try new ideas and I think my ideas of mixing rosy notes with myrrh, black currant bud, violet leaf and clove qualified in his eyes.

 Now, saturated, happy, and tired- off to sweet smelling dreams.

 ps. The Mini is fantastic-  I drove it to Cannes on Saturday and saw a wonderful flea market full of all kinds of goodies.  Driving here is similar to at home, except for the round-a-bouts, which make me nervous,  and the milieu of scooters and motorcycles that can and do pass freely on the left side.  All the French cars are covered in dents and scrapes- either they are all bad drivers or they just don’t give a fig for their cars.  The streets are very narrow as well with many obstacles, so this does not help!