Perfume making and sniffing countless different fragrances takes us on paths that we sometimes discover for the very first time. And like all the first times, it can be difficult to fully understand them. But you don’t have to be a world class perfumer to perfect your sense of smell. The never-boring world of scents is just waiting for you to open your nostrils, and feel all the amazing feels olfactory culture has to offer.
Keep an open mind
Present every step of the way and usually very well-known, smells are everywhere, that’s why we don’t necessarily pay attention to them all. However, throughout our days, our sense of smell is constantly solicited by all the ambient scents and it is not that hard to improve our olfactory sensitivity if we want and try to.
Make the decision
To improve your sense of smell you do not have to follow a perfumer training. You can build and perfect your own olfactory sensibility by yourself, with time, motivation and decication. If you’re reading this blog, it means that your mind is at the right place, and now all you have to do, is keep on going.
Be curious
To train your sense of smell, nothing is better than visiting different perfume stores or drugmarkets to discover the fragrances which contain countless different scents. Feel free to smell all kinds of fragrances and be curious to discover all of the 7 olfactory families. See how the florals are sophisticatedly structured, get to know all of the sensual orientals, and discover in which fragrances we find all the fresh and aromatic notes. Try to identify the ingredients that catch your attention the most and find more perfumes that highlight them.
Based on the fragrance pyramid (we’ve talked about it in one of our previous blogs), try to find its top, middle and base notes – take in and feel each one of them individually.
Let your nose and curiosity take the lead and discover the endless possibilities of olfactory culture.
Sniff!
Once informed abou the basics, your nose can take action! There are numerous exercises that can help you improve your olfactory sensibility. You can start your nose training by guessing the smells of some very basic raw materials such as vanilla, rose, lime and mint for example. Smell them individually with your eyes closed, breathe in calmly and retain their scents.
To help you memorize their scents, you can try to associate them with some specific memories. Keep on going by choosing tougher ingredients with time.
Happy sniffing!
