Scent, above any other sense, has the ability to evoke vivid, almost tangible memories of a time and a place – an ability not lost on the master perfumers who often cite the inspiration for their latest olfactory offering as a summer’s walk along a beach, the rose garden they grew up in or an exotic destination they visited. But can a perfume always deliver the same identical olfactory escape, wherever it’s worn in the world? Will a perfume smell the same in Havana as it does in Chicago? We often miss a trick by failing to adapt our scents to our environment – incorporating, rather than simply eclipsing, those elements that contribute to what the New York Times’ perfume critic, Chandler Burr calls, a destination’s ‘scents of place’? Namely, those scents that give a place an individual, idiosyncratic smell.
‘Most people pride themselves on finding one signature scent,’ says Roja Dove, the world’s only professeur de parfums. ‘But they fail to appreciate the benefit of adapting their scent to their surroundings.’ When travelling, we don’t think twice about tailoring our wardrobe to our destination, but few of us modify the fragrance we wear. ‘The ridiculousness of sporting a suit at Bondi Beach isn’t lost on anyone,’ says Dove. ‘But choosing to wear a heady scent in a humid city such as Hong Kong is equally as inappropriate.’ Of course selecting a scent can be a time-consuming process of trial and error. But, it’s this understanding of how to manipulate a perfume choice for maximum olfactory effect that will guarantee you’ll be sending out the right scent signals.
The role of perfumery varies around the globe. In Catholic countries, scent and incense have spiritual associations, whereas in Japan strong, overpowering scents are considered the height of bad taste – instead, traditional techniques involve delicately scenting the air around oneself or the hem of clothing, rather than applying perfume directly on to skin. Compare this to the islands of the South Pacific where women anoint their whole body, with richly-scented oils and it soon becomes clear that the practice of perfumery is far from universal. ‘The general rule when selecting a scent for a destination is to be led by the local weather conditions,’ says Michael Donovan, of the London fragrance boutique, Les Senteurs. ‘Heat, humidity and altitude will all affect the longevity and the basic structure of your scent and can quickly turn your favourite fragrance into something that even you find noxious and repugnant.’
Put simply, our entire sense of smell is dependent upon scent molecules passing through an aqueous environment (hence the back of the nose is always slightly damp). It therefore follows that a moist, humid environment provides a better atmosphere for perfume wearers than a dry, arid heat. ‘Dry climates limit the impact of fragrance as the lack of humidity makes a scent more difficult to detect,’ says Dove. ‘Humidity and moisture give a fragrance more volume, it is as if it swells the notes of the scent making it more vibrant and giving it more impact.’ Extremes of heat and cold will also have an affect on your fragrance and its staying power. ‘High temperatures accelerate the rate at which a fragrance evaporates from the skin, meaning its scent will soon fade,’ says Dove. ‘Equally, sub-zero conditions make scent molecules “lethargic”, meaning that soft or subtle scents can be lost and are best substituted for big, bold fragrances that are tempered by the cold.’
For the perfect synthesis of perfume and place, it’s worth looking to past influences on scents we wear, and where we wear them, and taking our lead from indigenous notes that have proven themselves compatible with a region’s micro-climate. But as pioneering perfumers, such as the scent scientist Luca Turin, continue to demystify our understanding of odour, maybe we can look forward to future advances in fragrancing that will see scent created that is capable of adapting to its environment. Rather than a scent that is constrained by the classic base, heart and top note, we will see more fragrances develop in the vein of Escentric Molecule’s revolutionary formulation – an homage to a single scent ingredient, or an aroma chemical. Almost pheromonal, it is slowly metabolised by the body so that it seems to fade away, only to resurface again hours later. But for the perfect synthesis of perfume and place, it is less important to shroud yourself with a synthetic smell, than to create a feeling with fragrance that keeps you smelling sweet wherever you are in the world.
EUROPE
‘The hotter the country, the greater its appreciation of scent,’ says Dove. In Europe for example, Scandinavian countries and Alpine areas have contributed little to the fragrance canon, but the Mediterranean, specifically southern France and Italy, is a hotbed of perfumery production. ‘For many perfumers – both past and present – Grasse is still the mecca of fine fragrancing,’ says Donovan. ‘While cologne was first developed in Hungary, it was refined and perfected in Provence using the aromatic plants and flowers that flourished there. It first found favour back in the 16th century when blends of lavender and citrus oils were combined to create cooling and reviving scents that cut through the mid-summer heat.’ When travelling to the Med today, look for modern alternatives to this zesty fragrance formula, choosing a scent with plenty of clean top notes, such as lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, neroli and lavender.
For him: Try Acqua di Parma Colonia, £63 (available to buy on board for £51). Over 90 years old, it still manages to smell fresh and modern and the blend of Sicilian citrus, verbena, lavender and rose at once delivers a reviving, astringent burst of scent that remains crisp and cooling throughout the day.
For her: Jo Malone Lime, Basil & Mandarin Cologne, £59 (available to buy onboard for £47), captures the Côte d’Azur with its clever mix of sharp lime, soft mandarin and spicy basil. Wear it like the Italians and reapply liberally through the day for a fresh fragrant fix.
