Perfumes & Emotions

Olfactory memory, the bond between fragrances and memories

Memories are made of sensations, old photos and postcards, but they are undoubtedly made of scents. Life goes by at a frenetic pace and without a warning, a smell changes everything.

You're sorting through boxes and suddenly that distinctive beach aroma takes you back to summer; you pass someone in the street and seem to recognise a past love in their perfume; or you try a homemade dish that takes you back to your childhood. All these connections are the result of olfactory memory, a quality that links smells with memories and emotions.

Smell is one of the most developed and primitive senses we have, it is connected to the limbic system, responsible for emotions and memories, so it is pure instinct.

It is important even before we are born, since it is known that babies develop a bond with their mother through smell. That is why during the first months of life, newborns identify moms through smell. Pure instinct.

Although olfactory memory tends to be romanticised with positive feelings, it can also evoke unpleasant sensations. In fact, certain smells, such as the smell of spoiled food or certain cleaning products, alert us to avoid them. The first time we smell something, it is registered in our brain forever, so that every time we smell it again, it will take us back to that first time. Just as the information we receive from other senses soon disappears from our memory, a smell remains for life.

Unlike the other senses, where information must travel through more complex structures, smell has a direct connection to the brain.

When a smell is perceived, olfactory neurons are triggered, generating an impulse that is transmitted directly to the brain. Unlike the other senses, where information must travel through more complex structures, smell has a direct connection to the brain.

The perception of a scent is processed in the olfactory bulb area, connecting it directly to the limbic system and the hippocampus, responsible for generating memories. In addition, this area also contains the hypothalamus and amygdala, which are the centre of emotions and are responsible for fixing the memory.

Olfactory memory is therefore a great album of memories, unique and non-transferable, a quality that links us to our most primitive, but also our most sensitive selves.

Thanks to it, we are able to choose one perfume out of a million, because, in a seemingly inexplicable way, it awakens something in us when we smell it.

This effect is not accidental, as fragrances are made to achieve it. With a great deal of creativity and sensitivity, perfumers make us travel through our sense of smell and emotions.