Finding a perfume you love is no mean feat. Our sense of smell is intensely intertwined with our emotions. Are you comforted by the smell of your mother? Excited by the smell of a new car? Do you marvel at the smell of an ancient and dusty book? Responses to these questions are emotional. However, there is an element of logic behind our preferences.
The association between scents and emotions is not just a romantic gesture made by poets and writers. Rather, smell sensations stimulate our brain within the limbic system, the most ancient and primitive part of the brain. This stimulation triggers deep-seated emotional responses, often engaging our long-term memory. The smells that trigger a positive emotional response, however, usually belong to just a few of the fourteen different fragrance families, as described by Michael Edwards in his olfactory Bible: Fragrances of the World.
The fourteen families include:
This classification systems allows you to identify the type of scents that appeal to you, and is used on Perfume Clearance Centre’s website! By searching for a fragrance you love on our site, we share with you the fragrance family it belongs to. If you do this with your favourite three perfumes, the types of fragrance families you like will become obvious. This catalogue system can then be used to find more that you’ll love!
There is no quick answer to finding a new perfume. Like finding the perfect dress, pair of shoes, or mattress, it takes consideration and care. Recent psychological tests have even found that individuals who wear a fragrances regularly have a more positive attitude towards socialising resulting in higher confidence levels. What more convincing do you need?
Get a new fragrance and feel fantastic!