As a fragrance addict, I always imagined that it would be the biggest perfume-related disaster if my favourite perfumes were to be discontinued. Recently I experienced a catastrophe scoring just as high on the disaster scale: the perfumes that I have been wearing for years suddenly smell different since I moved from Europe to Singapore! Why do the fragrances that we otherwise adore and that work very well for us, suddenly smell different in a another environment? It turns out there is more behind this than just a change in mood or preference…
I love fragrances, but rarely find one that I stick to. But when I do, I will use the same scent(s) for at least 10 years or even longer. It’s amazing how scents can bring back very vivid memories, and as a result we often associate a fragrance with a person or an era very strongly. Let’s be honest, we are all prone to dislike an otherwise great perfume just because it reminds us of a malicious ex (or whatever other nasty person). Same goes for specific eras; I have used Ralph Lauren Romance all the way through college, and although it’s an absolutely amazing scent, but it now reminds me of stressful semesters, exams and endless nights in the University Library whenever I smell it.
What
scents we like is very diverse and incredible subjective, and also changes over
time. Over the years, my own preference slowly shifted from fresh floral scents
to rich and sensual scents, that tend to last and linger for a very long time. For years now, my favourite perfumes
have been Dior Addict, Dior Pure Poison and Keiko Mecheri’s Datura Blanche, a
niche brand. As said, I always feared the day that any of these fragrances
would be discontinued…
Not discontinued, but equally disasterous:suddenly the
perfumes that I could not live without and regarded as a substantial part of my
being, just didn’t feel and smell right anymore after I moved to Singapore. I initially suspected that one
of the fragrances had gone bad, as cosmetics have a ‘best before’ date just
like food. I switched to another one of my favourite fragrances, but the exact
same happened: the perfumes that I love smell different in hot and humid
South East Asia. What happened?! The actual reasons proved to be incredibly interesting, but might require an educational ‘Perfume 101’ (read
article here) to prep you for the Science and Art of Perfume…
1. The Environment: Climate & Temperature
You either already
knew, or just learned from the Perfume 101 how a perfume develops over time
after you applied it on your skin, and what type of notes can be sensed at what
moment accordingly. Heat turns out to have a large effect on this particular
development over time: the actual temperature of the environment we live in
affects how, and how long a fragrance ‘wears’ and how we sense it. The
mechanism behind this is the fact that heat energizes the chemical reactions
that release fragrance from your skin. The hotter the environment (and hence
our skin), the more intense and extra rapidly the notes evaporate from our skin,
resulting in a different scent-sensation than in a cold(er) environment.
For this exact reason, many
perfume brands have an annual Limited Edition or Summer Fragrance that comes
out when temperatures rise – these versions of the fragrances smells more or
less similar, but the notes are adjusted (some are left out, some are added) to
make up for the fastened release from our skin when exposed to higher
temperatures than usual.
Besides temperature,
another environmental impact that affects fragrance is altitude; the higher the altitude, the more muted the impact of a
perfume and the shorter the fragrance life. As I come from the Dutch lowlands, where I used to wear my fragrance meters below sea level, this might also be a big part of the explanation for me specifically J
2. Your Skin Chemistry: Sweat & Spicy Food
Skin chemistry has a large impact on how a scent develops and is
influenced by many different factors. A well-known illustration of how skin chemistry affects a scent, is the fact that your friend’s perfume smells amazing on her, yet
doesn’t do much for you. Each individual's skin chemistry is made up from a sum of
factors like genes, diet, hormones, medication (antibiotics, for example),
smoking, stress, sweat and –again- temperature, as heat affects the bacteria
that live on our skin.
A factor that applies in the tropics specifically, is first of all our
elevated levels of sweat and moisture. The chemicals in our perspiration affect the balance
and scent of the fragrance. Moreover, heat-related sweat deposits salt and
other minerals that stay behind on the surface of the skin and mix with the molecules of the fragrance. Humidity, apart from the sweat resulting from it, dilutes the fragrance and makes it evaporate more quickly.
Secondly, as our diet is different in South East Asia than in Europe or the US, this has a particularly large influence on the
way perfumes alter on our skin, at least for me as I enjoy eating lots of local food (Nasi Lemak! Chili Crab!). I’ve always liked spicy food, so Singapore is Food Heaven to me. I don’t just eat more spicy food, but also spicier food than
I’m used to. The skin is an excretory organ, and spicy foods spice up the oils
secreted through the pores of our skin, which impacts the fragrance.
3. Subjective Perception: Feelings & Associations
Finding out the above, I did feel relieved that there are plausible causes for why my perfumes don't do what they used to, and that my assumption of how my fragrances smell different in Singapore proved to be correct instead of something ‘between my ears’.
However, a third and final factor that
influences how we perceive and sense our perfume must not be underestimated: our own subjective perceptions.
Whereas I loved deep and rich fragrances in cold and rainy Holland, wearing fragrances that would be described as ‘warm’ simply feel like ‘too much’ and too heavy in the already
so hot tropical climate I reside in daily. Imagine this for a moment: when you are
sweating your way through the tropical heat, a scent that you associate with
sensations of freshness and cooling down (like cold ocean water or fresh fruits)
is much more appealing than the warm associations we have with scents of Amber, Leather, Cinnamon or Myrrh.
Fortuantely, If you're into heavier scents, it is not necessary to abruptly switch to an aquatic breezy water scent that is far from your preference. But you might want to experiment with perfumes with (a few) fresher notes than you would usually prefer. Which is what I did: all
together, my findings provided a good reason to go shopping for a new perfume: one
that interacts well with the new South East Asian chemistry of my sweaty,
spice-secreting skin; and that is both deep and sensual , as I like it, but
also fresh enough for the tropical lushes. And boy, did I find one…
Curious
to what perfume I fell in love with for the tropics? Find out later today...!
No comments
Post a Comment