The key to happiness might be right under our noses – literally – thanks to a new raft of perfumes that combine a rush of mood-boosting notes with neurochemistry. Claims over the effect of scent on our emotions – lavender calms, citrus energises – have been knocking around for decades. But the latest iterations are more luxe than aromatherapy and born in laboratories rather than dusty ateliers.
Let's take a step back for a moment, though. Does happiness really have a scent? On a primal level, yes. The smell of your body is a snapshot of how you're feeling as it's hardwired to engage in ‘emotional sweating’. In fact, researchers from Utrecht University have unearthed so-called ‘chemosignals’ that are virtually odourless and secreted by apocrine glands (a type of sweat gland), that are sensitive to emotions and stress.
Put simply, if you're feeling happy, you naturally smell a certain way. Better still, there's some evidence that these chemosignals can stimulate the same emotion in others who catch a whiff of them.
Likewise, a perfume can trigger a subconscious reaction of enjoyment, relaxation or happiness. All perfumes are made up of scent molecules, which enter the limbic system in our brain, where our feelings are processed and our memories are stored. What we sniff can also mean neurotransmitters – feel-good chemicals – such as serotonin and dopamine are released.
Empowerment is about choosing how we smell.
But that's not all. “When we smell something pleasant it may trigger a happy memory,” says Nicola Pozzani, the creative director of Merchant of Venice fragrances, adding that “citrus scents are particularly uplifting, largely because they convey seasonality (summer) and landscape (Mediterranean), both of which remind us of holidays.”
Another example is vanilla. If you baked with your mother or grandmother when you were little, the smell of vanilla often summons comfort and, even now, whips you back to the safety of that childhood kitchen.
“I feel empowered when people actually listen to me and they actually understand who I am.”
So don't overlook the power of perfume to prop you up when you need sweet relief. Gone are the days when a waft of Poison barrelled through the lift doors with the sole purpose of making you smell as expensive as a fabulous piece of jewellery. Today, perfumes are more nuanced mood boosters.
“We're looking for a deeper connection," says Flo Glendenning, vice president of product and sustainability at The Nue Co. “Using the olfactory system as a highway to the brain is the fastest way to impact how you feel.” Ergo, the brand's latest fragrance Water Therapy is based on blue medicine: the belief that spending time near water positively impacts our mental health.
According to marine biologist Wallace J Nichols, who coined the phrase the ‘Blue Mind’, the sight, sound and feeling of water creates a flood of neurochemicals. These, in turn, stimulate alpha brain waves and the parasympathetic nervous system to put us in a more relaxed, meditative state.
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Water Therapy is designed to have a similar effect in the body. “Using Scent Trek technology, our lab was able to create a scent reading of multiple marine environments (clifftop, beach, rocks) and replicate the volatile organic compounds found there in a fragrance accord,” says Flo.
These include aldehydes, sulphurs, ketones, and terpenes, which make up the heart of the fragrance, their role being to “take your brain to memories of blue spaces, then trigger neurochemicals associated with being near water, to relieve stress and anxiety,” Flo notes.
Or maybe your idea of happiness is the smell of jasmine and summer fruits. All the fine fragrances created by Edeniste are in collaboration with perfumers, two neuroscientists and the Japanese flavour and fragrance company Takasago, which conducts studies into the relationship between scent and mood.
The approach is two-pronged: first choose from seven eau de parfums, which each contain a musky Destress Accord (we love Jasmin Cruel with sloshes of nectar-rich jasmine, coconut and orange blossom that evokes sun-warmed skin). Then layer a Lifeboost Active Essence over the top, laced with molecules proven in scientific journals to stimulate areas of the brain associated with energy, relaxation and more.
The active molecule in the Happiness Lifeboost was shown in fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) tests to activate the brain's dopaminergic reward pathway, while the scent of juicy mango and raspberry puts a smile on your face.
There's just one caveat: spritz liberally on grey January days to avoid feeling as deflated as a party balloon from New Year's Eve.
For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR's Acting Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.
