Scent Your Space is the mantra for Aroma Retail, it's about creating ambiance, setting the tone and elevating your mood. For the same reason that you’d buy a Pumpkin Spice scented candle on Thanksgiving or a Christmas Tree scented candle to get into the holiday spirit. The right scent evokes a strong reaction and triggers memories as it contributes to your mood. But Why?
The sense of smell is our most primitive of senses and is located in the brain’s limbic system, the part of our brain that controls emotion and memory. It is the only human sense that cannot be “switched off” and works twenty-four hours a day. The sense of smell is the body’s first and most decisive tester; it instantly determines whether an environment is pleasing or not. The smells we experience play a crucial role in how we associate with memories and places.
Humans are able to recognize over 10,000 different scents. When inhaled, scent molecules travel into the nose and pass through olfactory sensors transmitting information to the olfactory bulb located in the limbic system. Since the limbic system is located in the brain, the sense of smell is closely linked to memory, emotion, and concentration. For a more detailed explanation of the science of Scent Your Space, see below:
Smell and Memory
The sense of smell is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses. Those with full olfactory function may be able to think of smells that evoke particular memories; the scent of an orchard in blossom conjuring up recollections of a childhood picnic, for example. This can often happen spontaneously, with a smell acting as a trigger in recalling a long-forgotten event or experience. Marcel Proust, in his ‘Remembrance of all Things Past’, wrote that a bite of a madeleine vividly recalled childhood memories of his aunt giving him the very same cake before going to mass on a Sunday.
Smell and Emotion
In addition to being the sense most closely linked to memory, smell is also highly emotive. The perfume industry is built around this connection, with perfumers developing fragrances that seek to convey a vast array of emotions and feelings; from desire to power, vitality to relaxation.
On a more personal level, smell is extremely important when it comes to attraction between two people. Research has shown that our body odour, produced by the genes which make up our immune system, can help us subconsciously choose our partners – read more here. Kissing is thought by some scientists to have developed from sniffing; that first kiss being essentially a primal behaviour during which we smell and taste our partner to decide if they are a match.
It is likely that much of our emotional response to smell is governed by association, something which is borne out by the fact that different people can have completely different perceptions of the same smell. Take perfume for example; one person may find a particular brand ‘powerful’, ‘aromatic’ and ‘heady’, with another describing it as ‘overpowering’, ‘sickly’ and ‘nauseating’. Despite this, however, there are certain smells that all humans find repugnant, largely because they warn us of danger; the smell of smoke, for example, or of rotten food. This is explored in more detail on the Danger! page.
Taken from Psychology And Smell
Obviously, smell is the most powerful way to connect with your emotions and memories. As smell can evoke specific memories, affect people’s moods, and even influence their behavior. Smell has a strong influence on the emotions we feel in our daily lives, and the emotions we feel strongly affect the way we relate to places. Scenting has been used around the world for thousands of years and people have only recently started to realize the benefits of scenting their homes. This is why we help Scent Your Space!
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