A sensory life: The power hidden in an aroma

Every fragrance is encoded in our memory with a feeling. Worry, fear, happiness, love... Is it possible to access all these emotions just with our nose? Fragrance and perfume expert Vedat Ozan, the author of "Kokular Kitabı" (Book of Scents), talks about his personal journey with scents, the human bond with fragrances, what can happen if someone loses his ability to smell and how to choose the right fragrance, as we chatted in his marvelous smelling workshop in Gümüşsuyu, Taksim.


Vedat Ozan

Daily Sabah: It's not common for someone to want to become a fragrance specialist. What are some of the reasons why you wanted to specialize in this field of study?

Vedat Ozan: First, I wanted to specialize in this field because of my personal interest in scents and fragrances. When we say it's not common for someone to want to become a fragrance specialist, it's actually because not a lot of people are aware that there is such a profession. We are constantly purchasing scented products, from perfumes to cough syrups to shoe polish, but we never think about the people who are creating these scents. There is also a profession known as fragrance design. I always had a love for perfumes and I wanted to create my own fragrance one day. I later realized that creating my own perfume wasn't going to be that easy. After doing research, I was able to get my hands on technical data and was then able to proceed using the method of trial and error. When we add all of these aspects together, we can see how and why I got where I am today.

DS: In a previous seminar you said, "We begin to smell before we are born." Can you tell us how fragrances and smells affect our daily life?

VO: Fragrances affect our daily life in a great way because fragrances transmit information on the identity of a substance to us. For instance, this can be a plant, a piece of garbage, a slice of meat or even feces. Everything gives us information as to the identity of the material that creates its fragrance. The moment we smell a fragrance, we record our first impressions in our own personal memories. The moment we actually smell something new is very important because we associate our current emotions and impressions with that scent. When we are just 18 weeks in utero, we start to develop our sense of smell, and by 24 weeks gestation, we are capable of smelling. From that moment on, we start to develop a memory for smell that will last a lifetime. Because the emotions that are felt when smelling something new differ from person-to-person, our personal history plays an important part in identifying scents we associate with the good or the bad. This is directly related to our scent memory.

DS: You previously talked about a regular person breathing more than 18,000 times a day; thus, making a person smell 18,000 times. If a person does not have the ability to smell, what does he or she lack? When does the human sense of smell begin to fade and what kind of an effect does this have on the individual?

We can actually breathe up to 23,000 times per day; thus, using our scent of smell 23,000 times a day. This is really important, since breathing is the main function we need to survive, and it is directly linked with our sense of smell. Not being able to identify scents; namely, being unable to smell the proper amount, having a heightened sense of smell or smelling and interpreting something differently can cause many problems for a person. The scientific term for this problem is "anosmia." According to Aristotle, we interact with the outside world with our five external senses. When we take away one of our senses, it can cause serious problems. The part of the brain that processes scents is also the part of the brain in which our long-term memory and emotions are stored; thus, we are deprived of the tools that help us develop this part of our brain. This can cause a drop in the quality of life, while also potentially causing major depression in some cases.

DS: By the end of the 1800s, we began to turn our heads toward more abstract smells. How did we evolve as creatures? What is our bond with scents today?

When we talk about orienting towards more abstract smells, we are talking about processed scents like perfumes. By the end of the 1800s, the world changed as a result of the industrial revolution. Of course, the industrial revolution isn't something that just happened over night; it was an ongoing process. During this process, we were able to learn many things about various fields of study. One of the industries that progressed the most during this time period was, of course, the chemical industry. Thus, we were introduced to many different fragrances and scents during this time. The perfumes that are made from newly manufactured and isolated molecules are now not a direct reference to the scents in nature. To me, our bond with various scents, just like everything else we form bonds with, is a bit abused. We do not have the possibility to reach out and buy anything that isn't scented or doesn't have a fragrance. Thus, we are deprived of the signals that natural scents give us. We are even deprived of our basal body odors because we all use perfumes. Even if we don't use perfumes, we use scented shampoos, body washes or body lotions. The use of such manufactured scents masks our natural body scent, which exists for a reason.

DS: Sometimes scents can take us to completely different places. How can a smell do this? Does our brain record every fragrance we smell?

Of course, our brain records every fragrance or scent we smell but we cannot say that it is done consciously. We have a very large memory, but we are only using just a little bit of it. The parts of our memory that we do not use are actually the parts that make up our characteristics as a human; namely, the subconscious. Although it seems like a very abstract concept, it is actually very tangible. Like I said earlier, the signals that are sent to our sense of smell are processed in an area in the brain. The area in which it is processed is the same place in which our memory and emotions are stored. Thus, it is not so abstract, but results from the interactions going on in the brain. If we have a positive thought about a scent that we have stored in our memory, when we smell it again, without hesitation or thought, we are able to have the same positive thought about it.

DS: It is believed that every perfume smells different on every person. Well, how can someone choose a fragrance to wear? How can one decide what suits them best?

I don't actually believe that a scent can change so dramatically on different people. If two people put on the same perfume, they don't smell exactly the same, but they are similar in a way. This can change slightly according to skin type. Thus, choosing a scent should not be related to skin or hair color. We use fragrances to give secret messages about our character. Just like when we choose to buy a pair of pants or shoes we are making a decision when deciding on which fragrance to put on. The choices we make, including our choice of fragrance, don't really show who we are, but who we want to be. The identity, in which we wish to be seen in, whether it is done consciously or unconsciously, is why we choose and fit different scents for ourselves.

DS: What kinds of characteristics do you look for to call a fragrance good?

Calling a fragrance good or bad wouldn't be right because it's subjective. A fragrance that I might consider good might be bad for you. However, if we look at it in a technical way, it is possible to decide whether a perfume is designed successfully or not. Sometimes the elements that make up a perfume aren't all felt at the same time. For a perfume, certain scents are released into the air at certain times. We divide these into sections we call notes. The transition from one note to the other must be smooth. If your perfume smells like "A" when you first use it, it likely will not smell like "Z" in a minute or two. There must be a coherent transition between the different scents of a fragrance.