The Sweet Science Of Scent

Fragrance sceptic Genevieve Gannon had dismissed aromatherapy – until a lavender candle changed her sleeping habits forever and sent her on a journey of discovery.

- Genevieve Gannon

Sitting in an airy warehouse among hundreds of small glass bottles, I detect a familiar scent and am transported to a time and place that no longer exists. “It’s the third bedroom in my grandmother’s house in the 1980s,” I tell perfumer Ainslie Walker, who has just handed me a card doused in fragrance. I can picture crystal jewellery boxes and doilies. “My great-grandmother lived in that room. She always wore Chanel Number 5,” I add.

The scent on the card is a perfume called Two Hugs that Ainslie created for a domestic violence shelter, and she’s not surprised it has awakened memories connected to that famous French scent. Our sense of smell and our memory are intertwined, and the two perfumes both have notes of amber in the base, as well as patchouli and rose. Something in the aroma has awoken the memories that became attached to the heady floral scent when they were first stored in my brain all those years ago.

“I wanted it to smell quite expensive and sophisticated,” Ainslie says, as she takes me through her creative process. “I wanted the women to feel that they’re worth something and valued. It has bergamot in it, too, which is an antidepressant in the aromatherapy world, and lavender to help them sleep well. I liked the idea of the women spraying their bed and having this clean, uplifting, calming scent.”

I sniff the Two Hugs perfume again and agree: I feel content and comfortable. It’s not just the lovely smells and cherished memories – there’s possibly a slight therapeutic pay-off. I’m honestly not sure, but that’s why I’ve come to talk to Ainslie about the science of scent.