Interview. Meet the entrepreneur, in this series Tanja Deurloo, fragrance expert and perfume designer, talks about scent in the home. “You can see scent as the fourth dimension in a space.”
‘Scent nerd, that’s my nickname’
My fascination, or what motivates me to get out of bed, is the wonder of what scent does to you. Even as a child, I was fascinated by the senses. Taste, smell, scent, and touch. The soft senses. Not because they have a soft impact, but because they are not cognitive. On the other hand, I was also a science kid. I wanted to do something technical. That's how I ended up in chemistry. After my studies, I wanted to combine these two loves, which led me to the cosmetics and perfume industry. After working for large companies in the field of product development and fragrance innovation, I felt the need to start my own business. In my company Annindriya, I focus on creating and advising on fragrances for companies and organizations and what fragrance can add to a brand or organization. During this process, I am concerned with the question of how a brand or company smells, because a brand is also a personality. In addition, we have a store with a range of the most exceptional perfumes in the world, where we also offer personal fragrance advice.
"Using perfume profiling, we help people discover the scents that suit them."
Your sense of smell is the most powerful and emotional of all the senses.
This is due to the direct connection between your nose and the oldest part of your brain. This part of your brain, which is already formed in the embryonic stage, is called the limbic system, also known as the primitive brain. This is where our emotions and memories are stored. There is no language, socially desirable behavior, or cognitive skills. There is only primal feeling. Fear, anger, lust, etc. You are born blank, with only your mother's body odor. You already know this smell in the womb, and it forms the first 'book' in your own scent library. Throughout your life, various books are added to this library. The scents you smell are inextricably linked to the emotion you feel at the moment of smelling them. Both positive and negative emotions. Your first kiss, crayons at school, holidays, nature, food, drink.
“A Proustian memory.”
In his work "A la recherche du temps perdu," the renowned novelist Marcel Proust described a scent experience that transported him back to his childhood. He dipped a madeleine into blossom tea, and the scent he had not smelled in a long time activated his memory (the so-called mémoire involontaire), and slowly all his memories of the village of Combray came flooding back. This works the same way with all scents. For example, if vanilla custard makes you feel nauseous, then vanilla is in the wrong corner. If you had a sweet aunt who wore rose perfume, then the scent of roses is in the sweet corner. In principle, every preference for a scent can be traced back to a moment in time.
There are a few scents, and this is still being researched, that are universally associated with something negative. The smell of decay and the smell of fire. You can also learn to experience these scents as less negative, but that is something you have to teach yourself. For example, with fermented food or cheese that smells bad but tastes good. A scent that is generally perceived as positive worldwide is real vanilla. Vanilla is found in many cookies and desserts, which are reminiscent of childhood, but also because there is a hint of vanilla in breast milk. As a result, vanilla is a sign of security for many people.
“You can see scent as the fourth dimension in a space.”
Fourth dimension.
“It adds something that is not visible or tangible. You can use scent in a room in various ways. Of course, the first thing is that it must not smell unpleasant. There are quite a few rooms where you can smell the sewer or sanitary facilities, where there has been a lot of smoking, or where the ventilation is poor and it smells of food. The first step is therefore to ensure good ventilation, extraction, and to solve the source of the problem. The simplest way to use scent in your home is to make it smell clean. Many people associate cleaning or detergent with a clean, tidy, and well-kept home. You can also use scent to set the mood. Just like with light and music, you can soften or enhance the atmosphere. You can make it smell very homely or very modern. Rustic or artistic. Or very minimalistic or intimate. Perfumes are often made up of 30-40 and sometimes as many as 100 ingredients. A minimalist space, on the other hand, can be enhanced with a minimalist scent. A scent like this is made up of a maximum of two or three accords. This makes it more of a hint Location a scent Location a perfume. It then becomes almost an abstract scent.
Something can smell avant-garde, for example. It might smell mineral, stony, or dry and smoky. The ingredients might smell like metal and concrete or pink pepper, which has a smoky scent.
Many people choose scents that represent the good life: whiskey, cognac, chocolate, caramel. The grounding of your home, homeliness, and security can be emphasized with woody scents. Wood comes from a tree trunk, and the roots are in the ground. These are literally earthy scents that can emphasize solidity. In addition, you confirm that you have chosen beautiful materials for a space. The same applies to leather. The scent of leather exudes high quality and luxury. You only consciously smell the nest scent of a house when you return from vacation, for example. The unfortunate thing about our sense of smell is that your brain is only interested in changes. This enables us to suddenly smell fire, for example, but the disadvantage is that at some point you no longer smell your own home. It is therefore wise to change scents regularly. The experience of each room is different. The bathroom, bedroom, dining room, and living room are used in different ways. It is nice to emphasize this with a matching scent. You can ask yourself what you want to emphasize in each room. The feeling of cleanliness or, conversely, a mini spa feeling. Relaxing or active. Warm and intimate. Or welcoming. You can turn scents in your home on and off just like music. Sometimes you need silence in terms of both scent and sound. Other times, you turn it on. That's how you create atmosphere."
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