Fragrances So Good, They Altered Our Brain Chemistry
February 11 | 3 minute read
Words by Izzy Wight
In the 4th century BC, mood-boosting activities included playing the lyre, travelling by sea and a meal of fruit and mild wine. These days, lifting a bad mood looks very different. We turn to meditation retreats, manifestation, ‘hopecore’ TikTok compilations and recently, spritzing ‘neuroscents’, or fragrances scientifically proven to target certain emotional responses.
The concept of scents stirring a particular feeling – like nostalgia, comfort, relaxation or sensuality – is not new. Fragrance has been beguiling us for centuries. There’s a reason why Ancient Egyptians believed burning incense connected humans with the Gods, or why your teenage self swooned at the Lynx-Africa-and-BO combination emitted from your high school crush (just me?) – and as it turns out, it all comes down to brain anatomy.
Of all the five senses, scent is the only one with a direct line to three of the most important areas of the brain including the hippocampus, which is linked to learning and memory and the amygdala, directly associated with our emotions and mood. Smell plays no small part in our feelings, either – recent research shows that 75% of all emotions generated during our day are due to smell.
Over the last 40 years, the scientists at International Flavors & Fragrances, or the IFF, have been collecting data on how specific fragrance notes and accords impact our emotional states. This data is the basis of an algorithm called SCENTCUBE™, which can be combined with AI to pair up different fragrance molecules and ‘target’ a particular emotional reaction.
“We measure the ‘emotional power’ of ingredients by understanding the specific effect they have on us and we identify which emotions they enhance,” says Dr Céline Manetta, IFF’s Senior Consumer Science Manager. “It [SCENTCUBE™] creates a specific ‘palette’ of ingredients so [perfumers] can compose with it.”
When Charlotte Tilbury set out to create her debut line of fragrances, she sought the expertise of the IFF, along with master perfumers, Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Juliette Karagueuzoglou.
Each of the six scents in the collection captures a certain emotion (like seduction in More Sex and serenity in Calm Bliss) using a blend of mood-boosting molecules, or notes and accords that have been proven to elicit specific feelings.
Joyphoria is what Charlotte describes as her ‘happiness in a bottle’ scent. It harnesses the aromatherapeutic power of neroli, petitgrain and ylang-ylang oil to reduce stress and anxiety, plus a rich base note of vanilla bean extract – which has been shown to increase levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain during animal trials.
Appealing to the hippocampus, the brain’s memory log, Maison Margiela’s REPLICA fragrances are designed to recreate positive personal memories through scent. With names like ‘Lazy Sunday Morning’, ‘Springtime in a Park’ and ‘Jazz Club’, each scent is comprised of hyper-specific notes that transport you to a particular moment in time.
Take Bubble Bath for instance – soap bubbles and coconut milk accords evoke the feeling of a foaming bath, while concentrated rose extract recreates the fresh, floral sensation of freshly washed, lightly perfumed towels.
If you’re in need of a scent to bring you back down to Earth, Vyrao’s Mamajuju is a warm, spicy, genderless scent created in partnership with the IFF. As a brand built on the ‘principles of neuroscience and energy amplification’, founder Yasmin Sewell formulates ‘emotion first, smell second’ fragrances.
All her scents boast different emotional properties, but Mamajuju – Vyrao’s fragrance for grounding and awareness – uses sandalwood oil to ease anxiety and promote self-esteem, living red clay to soothe and balance and pink pepper for heightened focus and memory.
Tapping into the world of mindful fragrances, kit: has created a line of scents centred around ‘wellbeing-enhancing properties’. The essential oil-based rollerballs are made to be applied to pulse points (like the neck, wrists and behind the ears) where blood is flowing closest to the surface of the skin – ensuring faster absorption and quicker aromatherapeutic results.
Made to calm the mind and promote better sleep, the Functional Fragrance in Unwind blends lavender, an aroma proven to improve sleep quality and eucalyptus, a natural decongestant to minimise snoring and clear nasal passages for an ultra-relaxing snooze.
