What happens when three individuals outside of the fragrance industry participate in a blind smelling session? When the marketing has been stripped away, the bottle and the packaging are hidden, and there is no story to set the mood? When the fragrance is allowed to speak for itself, what does it say, and is it in line with the brand messaging? Our trio of testers were candid and expressive, and in some cases, completely in sync with the brands.

The Volunteers

We are in a very social, connected industry, but I was looking for impartiality, so I had to draw my guinea pigs from my circle of friends and acquaintances outside of the business. I also had to select people who would have the patience and the attention-span to play along. I immediately knew who not to involve! My first volunteer is Maya, a retired American expat who has been living in assorted European countries for the past ten years. Then I have JC, a Latino gay trendster who works in finance. My last tester is Corrado, an Italian gentleman who runs an art gallery in the Saint Germain district of Paris.

The Questions

No trick questions here, just straight to the point and looking for honest feedback – and let me say, my participants did not hold back!

1. What do you smell?

2. How does it make you feel?

3. What color would you associate to this fragrance?

4. Would you wear it and when, or would you want to smell it on someone else?

5. What place does it transport you to?

These questions are effective means to determine what a person likes and what they want in their fragrance. It opens a simple dialogue using relatable terms that gets the tester to think about scent in a more personal context.

The Method

Testing was done on an individual basis during the afternoon in a neutral space. Each fragrance was sprayed on an unmarked blotter, all the questions were answered before proceeding to the next scent. In some cases, my volunteers commented that the fragrance developed quickly on the blotter, and they added to their answers.

The Fragrances

Drawing from my personal collection of fragrances and samples, I selected an assortment of niche fragrances from known brands as well as some up and comers. Two fragrances were tested by all three volunteers due to the feedback given in the first and second smelling sessions. Several other fragrances were tested twice and a few were only tested by one person. All of the feedback is indicated in the chart below, but for the article I’ll concentrate on comparing the fragrances tested by more than one person.

The Purpose

Sometimes when you work in the industry, you are too close to the product, so it’s invaluable to know what fragrance novices think. After all, aren’t they among the end consumers? We may have the vocabulary and the knowledge, we may think a fragrance is a certain way, but is the message in the bottle reaching the audience? Sophisticated shoppers may be more perceptive, and they are no strangers to niche perfumery, yet it’s the newbies we also want to cultivate and eventually recruit to our sector. So let’s find out what they had to say.

Feel Good Fragrance?

In recent years many of the big oil houses have been introducing neuroscience into the creation process to consciously develop fragrances that will elicit particular emotions due to specific ingredients and how they are combined. They have found that some smells can make us happier or more focused or calmer, for instance. It was not a deliberate intention to test the efficacy of this research, but in a grassroots manner, I did. The new brand Free Yourself brings French fragrance know-how together with positive psychology to impart a mood-boost for the wearer. The feedback, unfortunately however, was not completely in line with the brand positioning.

Our volunteers smelled EAU, a modern aquatic purported to impart a sense of tranquility and peace. According to the brands website, it’s “A melody of grapefruit, pink pepper, gardenia, and aquatic nuances.”

Maya had an immediate reaction, finding the fragrance “acidic, antiseptic-like, (there’s a) disinfectant element, I have an aversion to it”. On the other hand, JC found it to be fresh, musky and earthy, making him feel clean, invigorated and strong. Corrado found the fragrance to be fresh and relaxing, a scent he would wear in the summer. He did identify white flowers so clearly he picked up on the gardenia and orange blossom in the heart. Both JC and Corrado commented that the fragrance transported them to the mountains which could be considered a place where we are at peace. Could the conclusion be that the fragrance skews masculine and exudes this place for men?

The next fragrance that all three testers smelled was Le Jardin Retrouvé’s Violette Kew. The description on the brand website states that it has “a light, gourmand, sparkling quality that brings back memories of childhood through its top notes of Violet and Cardamom.” The scent, according to scientific research done with Givaudan, imparts a feeling of well-being and fulfillment. Indeed, JC found it to be sweet, spicy and powdery. He was smiling as he smelled the blotter and he said “It brings me joy.” Corrado was immediately reminded of a men’s fragrance from the late 1970’s for which the tagline was “For the man who doesn’t have to try….too hard”. Consequently, he found the fragrance to be very manly, and he would wear it. Maya found the fragrance to be relaxing and said it made her think of a rainy day when you want to stay indoors. She felt it skewed young and could be unisex. The feedback varied greatly on this fragrance, and although no one smelled the same thing, felt the same way, envisioned the same color or place….they each called out a positive sensation (joy, relaxation, virility). Well, after all, what connotates well-being to one person, could of course be something completely different to another, no?

Under (My) Skin

We also see a preponderance of skin scents on the market. Thomas de Monaco’s Sol Salgado is a unisex fragrance that captures the spirit of an endless summer, of sun-kissed skin and salt. JC smelled spices but at the dry down he said it reminded him of a dessert or even a delicious sunscreen – and therein lies the link with skin. He felt it exuded sex appeal in a distinguished way and called it the scent of the James Bond lifestyle! Corrado described the fragrance as “erotic” right off the bat and placed the scent in the boudoir. It was definitely a scent he’d like to smell on someone!

Interestingly, this was the only fragrance for which both testers associated the same color – a red violet shade – perhaps the color of the night sky on a summer evening?

Given the global trend in luscious fruit notes, I wanted to include a fragrance that is exemplary in this category. Young brand Sora Dora had just given me a sample of Ylop which is a fruity apricot, tea fragrance with apple and almond. It’s sweet and a little powdery but not a gourmand. Maya identified vanilla and a tropical flower which is probably the osmanthus. This fragrance made her feel feminine and happy, and though she would wear it on a date – it’s a skin scent after all - she also said she’d wear it if she was feeling down and needed to be uplifted. Corrado immediately called out a pineapple note and likened the scent to a tropical fruit cocktail. Unsurprisingly, the fragrance gave him vacation vibes, calling to mind being at the beach. He also said he’d like to smell it on someone….so, based on my testers feedback, I conclude the brand has accurately claimed that the scent “promises caresses of cherished skin.”

Hot Nights in the City

Considering the current chatter amongst influencers, I wanted to test a fragrance that projects, that is, in my estimation, assertive and powerful. What better option than German niche brand J.F. Schwarzlose’s Rausch? The brand website says “With spicy chords and a hint of the noble oud the new composition embodies the dark and mysterious club scene of Berlin.” JC commented on the spice notes but the most interesting comment was “I associate this fragrance to a big city, where there’s a lot of culture and the arts.” Talk about spot on! It also made him feel fiery and confident. Corrado detected the woodiness but attributed it to sandalwood. He found it to be very masculine and virile, and linked it to an upscale whisky club. We should note that although one of our testers is gay and the other is not, they both had very similar perceptions of the fragrance.

Key Takeaways

This was a very interesting exercise, both for me and for my volunteers, who all commented that they really enjoyed the experience. In trying to digest their feedback, I decided to create a chart just to make it easier to compare and draw conclusions.

A big observation is that non-industry people do well identifying scents that are somewhat obvious or familiar, such as fruit or dessert notes or those similar to sunscreen. And in the end, does it matter if they can’t identify ingredients, but that instead they get the message that the fragrance is “tropical” or “forest-like”? Isn’t their experience what counts most? To wit, when Influencers run off a laundry-list of ingredients when describing a scent, is that effective or do the eyes of our novices glaze over in incomprehension? Just make it easy to understand, please.

Secondly, the mood boosting fragrance don’t always elicit the emotion that is “scientifically proven”. How can they, when all of us have our own memory map and scent associations based on our upbringing? Perhaps the marketing blurb should be a gentle suggestion (when you smell this you will feel…..) communicated during a consultation. Or could it be that my testers aren’t in touch with their emotions?

I find it fascinating to look at the color portion of the chart. What immediately strikes me is that no one chose a shade of blue for anything - even for an aquatic scent. Reds, violet and burgundy shades were called out the most and yet these are colors that are not predominant in packaging, marketing or messaging. That could be an opportunity from an esthetic angle.

A clear conclusion we can also draw is that since our education systems typically do not include any smell training, we are all using a limited vocabulary when describing scent. “Spicy” and “sweet” are actually tastes, but we see our volunteers used them multiple times. We at Essencional continue to support the cause to implement smell training for all and from a young age.

For the most part, my testers identified fragrances as masculine and feminine rather than unisex, but this could be in part due to the fact that they were all older than Gen Z and conditioned in this sense. They associated food related scents as feminine, and they all liked them, whether to smell on someone else or to wear personally.

It also occurred to me how easy it would be to do this as an event in-store. Prepare a card for the testers to complete as they smell each fragrance. Select five fragrances (more than that invites olfactory fatigue for the participants) and disguise the bottle before you spray. Have the group write the answers on the card and then compare them at the end of the exercise. I had a color chart, a list of emotions and places as tools to help the testers in case they needed a visual or written cue to help them complete the questions. Sweeten the event by offering a token to take away, a prize or other incentive permitted in your market.

Silvio Levi weighs in

Before going to press our founder read my article and shared his thoughts with me.

"I have repeatedly carried out tests such as these and what can be the most interesting part is when it is revealed, to those who have participated, what others in the group have perceived. To notice the surprise in their eyes, in finding that others have also had similar emotions, proposed similar colors, indicated comparable places, is of immense pleasure and gratification. Suddenly they realize that a perfume has been able to take us into a story, that many have appreciated its nuances and that perhaps they had never realized they were perfectly capable of understanding olfactory stories. Each of these tests takes the attention and listening to the olfactory message to another level and to a greater awareness of the evocative and communicative power of this art.“

And, to go further, we challenge you the reader to participate:

“If every Essencional reader would be a diligent participant and would like to repeat this simple game proposed by Karen, we would be very grateful to them. We would certainly have more people who will not limit themselves to judgments dictated by sight or advertising persuasion, but who will once again give their nose and sense of smell a role equal to that of sound, sight and touch, which will show them how to appreciate much more the countless olfactory stimuli that can brighten their days!’

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In closing it’s clear that the way we all interpret fragrance depends on our upbringing, our associations, our personal memories and experiences. Testing blind really allows the scent to speak for itself and uncovers facets that the marketing and storytelling may not have revealed.

I thank my volunteers for their time, their candor and their support.

Thanks to Sora Dora, Thomas de Monaco, Le Jardin Retrouvé, FreeYourself and Corrado Bortone for the images.