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Science of Scent: Fragrance Notes and Memory
Thursday, October 17, 2024
air care
Science of Scent: Fragrance Notes and Memory
What are fragrance notes? How is scent perceived? What is the science behind scent? And most importantly, how can you use this information in your facility?
At State Chemical, we manufacture and distribute chemical solutions for a myriad of purposes, one of which is fragrancing facilities. There are many reasons to use a fragrance (as well as reasons not to), but at the end of the day, it’s important to understand how introducing a fragrance can affect your guests.
To help you understand the full impact of fragrancing, we will cover what fragrance notes are, the science of scent perception, how you can use this information in your facility, and the State Chemical fragrance wheel. After reading, you’ll understand the important role that scent can play in your business—and how State Chemical can contribute to this.
What are Fragrance Notes?
You’ve likely heard the term “fragrance notes” before, but you might not know what it actually means. It may sound abstract and overly complicated, like when someone describes the qualities of a wine and non-wine-drinkers have no idea what they’re talking about.
When we say “fragrance notes,” we’re referring to the qualities a fragrance embodies. Normally, these qualities will fall into one of five common categories: fresh, fruit, floral, spice, and woody (however, it’s important to note that these categories can vary).
For example, if you use a mango-scented cleaner, this fragrance will fall under the category of a fruit scent. Meanwhile, a cinnamon chai soap will be considered a spice scent, and a cotton-scented air freshener will be recognized as a fresh scent.
However, it’s not black and white—scents have multiple notes and may occasionally fit multiple categories. We divide the way we view fragrances by dividing the notes into three categories: top notes, middle notes, and base notes.
A top note is your initial impression of a smell. Let’s say you smell a candle labeled “lemon raspberry muffin.” Here, your first impression will probably be the lemon part—a sudden wave of citrus that pleasantly overwhelms and then quickly fades to the middle note. This is the most memorable part of a fragrance.
The middle note, also known as the heart note, is the main body of a fragrance. It defines the fragrance’s character and serves as the grounding point of the fragrance. For the lemon raspberry muffin candle, the middle note might be the raspberry smell. More than anything, it gives you a mental image of juicy, fresh raspberries—the heart of the fragrance.
Lastly, the base note is the subtle scent that lingers behind after the other scents dissipate. You might think of it as the “after scent.” In the lemon raspberry muffin candle, this might be a subtle muffin batter smell, almost imperceptible but nonetheless defining.
When all of these notes come together, it creates the fragrance experience as we know it. In some cases, fragrances might cross into multiple categories (e.g., fruit and spice), and this will be noticed through the varying but complementary notes.
The Science of Scent Perception
Scent is very closely tied to emotion and memory. From childhood, people make associations between smells and good or bad experiences. This can shape a person’s scent palate for life, with new scents creating new negative and positive associations.
Smells perceived as negative will usually elicit bad feelings or memories. Just think about your least favorite scent. It might be something everyone sees as nasty, like rotting trash, or it could be something that many people enjoy, like citrus. For one reason or another, even thinking about this least favorite scent is enough to make you wrinkle your nose.
Meanwhile, scents perceived as positive will usually elicit good feelings or memories. Think about your favorite scent. Maybe it’s lavender, mahogany, vanilla, cake batter, or something else. Whatever your preferred scent, smelling it probably puts you at ease.
Because of the structure of the brain, scent is stored closely to emotion and memory. These three concepts overlap as a result, creating scent connections as we know them.
How to Use Fragrance in Your Facility
We know that fragrance is a powerful tool to elicit emotions and memories, so when you use it in your environment, you create an opportunity to positively impact guests.
If a guest comes into your facility, has a good experience with your services, and notices that it smells nice, they will view your organization as professional and clean. The fragrance can’t do all the work, but it does make your facility more memorable, helping to forge positive associations.
Meanwhile, if a guest comes into your facility and has a good experience with your services but thinks the facility smells musty, they might not view you as so professional or clean. And when a facility smells bad, guests won’t want to stay in it any longer than they have to, which will likely cost you customers over time.
Fragrance won’t completely determine a customer’s view of your facility, but it can influence it significantly. Guests’ comfort is greatly impacted by smell; when you use a fragrance to craft a more welcoming experience, you’ll see the results echoed in your customer satisfaction and retention rates.
The State Chemical Fragrance Wheel
When you work with State Chemical for your air care needs, you’ll have a range of fragrance options, all of which are outlined below on our fragrance wheel.
The number of options can appear overwhelming, but fragrance availability varies by product. Look at which fragrances your chosen product comes in and then make determinations based on the wheel.
Scenting your facility is a way of brand building, so choose a scent that captures the vibe you want to give off. The fragrance wheel is a gradient, so pay attention to where your chosen scent lies. If you’re a big fan of Citrus Green Tea, for example, it could be worth trying Sweet Sunsation as well since they’re in such close proximity.
Meanwhile, if you absolutely hate Citrus Green Tea, it would be best to explore options on the opposite side of the wheel, like Water Lily. Placement dictates similarity in fragrance notes, and this can be great for helping you zero in on what you like and what will be best for your brand.
So, how do you want your brand to present to customers? If you aim for a fresh, clean, put-together appearance, maybe you’ll go for a fragrance like Morning Fresh or Coastal Dreams. Meanwhile, if you strive to be seen as warm, comfortable, and homey, you might choose a scent like Lemon Drop Cookie or French Vanilla.
The fragrance wheel offers options for every preference and aesthetic intention. Think about how you’d like customers to view you and you’ll be able to choose a fragrance fitting for your purpose.
Learn Answers to Common Questions About State Chemical’s Fragrances
The notes of a fragrance and how scent impacts the individual can be intriguing but also confusing. Now that you know how the science of smell can apply to your facility, watch the video below to learn answers to common questions about State Chemical’s fragrances.
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