Using the Brain (Not the Nose) to Smell

fragrance

A systematic approach to the most fundamental of techniques for perfumers

and flavorists

Stephen Dowthwaite, PerfumersWorld

O
ver the past 10 years I have had actually think about how I smelled and write
the pleasure of instructing more down these techniques for others. This pro-
than 6,000 students via online cess of stopping and thinking about the way
42 courses and in-person workshops and private we do something is enlightening and proves
courses. Their ages have ranged from eight to make the techniques one may already
to 80, from complete beginners to some of unconsciously know and use far more effec-
the most experienced professionals in our tive and powerful.
industry. One of the first questions I ask in
the workshops is, “Have you ever had lessons
in how to smell?” I usually raise my hand in How We Smell
the hope of encouraging a positive response. Smells, or the molecules that carry them,
Usually receiving none, I will dig further and Stephen Dowthwaite drift on the air and are inhaled through
add something like, “Maybe your mother sat the nose. The molecules enter deep within
with you and went through smells with you.” Still, without the nasal cavity and there fall upon the olfactory bulb.
fail, I will receive no response. It seems incredible that The olfactory bulb, an outgrowth of the brain, holds the
VOL. 34 DECEMBER 2009

the most important and fundamental of techniques to olfactory nerve with some 10 million receptor sites that
the perfumer’s and flavorist’s skill—smelling—is hardly. if receive the odorous molecules and generate a signal to
ever, systematically taught, even for those in the industry. the thalamus, a complex relay station, and then onto the
Smelling, then, is largely left to practice and chance; limbic system—the area of the brain responsible for the
I have to be honest and admit that I too was not taught emotions, feelings of pleasure, fear, aggression, and (in
directly, but instead picked up techniques as a byproduct part) the formation of memory—and the hypothalamus,
of working in perfumery. In the 1970s I was lucky to work the area responsible for controlling blood pressure, heart
in one of the last small creative perfumery houses in the rate, hunger, thirst, body temperature and sexual arousal.
United Kingdom, Picot Laboratories. As a young laboratory The signals are relayed to the cerebral cortex where the
assistant I would sit in on the morning perfumery smell- conscious mind processes the information and attempts to
ing sessions and pick up techniques through observation. perceive the odor as a recognizable smell.
But another 25 years would pass before I would stop and

Smelling Strip Test

Smelling Experiment:
Standing vs. Sitting • Get as many different smelling strips as possible—
both from different companies and homemade
versions from other paper types. For the latter, one
I suggest the following experiment:
PERFUMER & FLAVORIST

can use chromatography paper, blotting paper,

• Dip a sample of an eau de toilette, allowing it to fully business card paper, absorbent felt, linen paper, etc.
absorb into the smelling strip so there is no lingering • Choose an eau de toilette and dip each smelling
wetness. strip with the same amount, then note the odor
• Sitting down, smell the sample gently, not too differences on each.
intensely—just enough to enjoy it. • Choose the material that gives the best odor release
• Now, standing up, smell the blotter again in the for the smelling strips.
same way.
As a metaphor, this test can reveal contrasts as
Was there a difference in the odors? Did it appear to striking as listening to Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”
be it stronger sitting down or standing up? If you found both through a telephone earpiece and in front of a live
a difference, why do think there was? symphony orchestra.

PF0912_Dowthwaite_fcx.indd 42 11/4/09 9:01:03 AM

 Most in the F&F industry will at one time
or another find themselves in environments
that do not represent the ideals of the smell-
ing booth. The objective is to learn from the
conditions in a booth so that one can either
approximate them or compensate for them in
some way. The purpose of a smelling session is
quite different from a casual stroll though the
couturier section of a department store or the
duty free for a quick sniff of Chanel’s latest.
The smelling session is a method of smelling
to glean as much information from the smell-
ing experience as possible. Ideally, one will
The worst place to smell a fragrance compound analytically? The fragrance lab. choose a location that is clean and relatively
free of odors. It is also advisable that the area
So is the nose where we smell? It is certainly the be quiet and conducive to a relaxed state of concentration
detector, but it is the brain that does the work in pro- with no unnecessary audible or visual distractions.
cessing and recognizing odors. The significance of this is Rooms higher in a building generally have fresher and 43
that the olfactory bulb has a limited capacity in terms of cleaner air than those on the ground floor; some natural
receptor sites and tends to become fatigued; that is, once daylight will allow UV wavelengths to help deodorize the
all the receptor sites are full, no more information can be air. Smelling spaces should be free of distractions such as
sent until the odorous molecules there have been released busy décor or windows facing onto a busy corridor. Air
and make way for fresh ones. If one wants to gather the temperature and humidity should be kept at a slightly cool
maximum information possible from a smelling session, and dry level—enough to maintain concentration without
one should consider these factors. being distracting. One may also consider installing an air
The easily implemented techniques listed in this article, filter with an activated charcoal cartridge in the space; this
some of which may appear controversial, pivot on the con- will help to remove unwanted smells from the room.
cept of using the brain/mind system to smell analytically, To stress this point, please take a moment to consider
rather than idly sniff, which is one’s natural tendency. this question: “Where is the worst place to smell a per-
fume compound sample?” Places that likely come to mind
include kitchens, bathrooms, coffee shops and smoking
Factors Affecting Smelling Quality
rooms. Few people would cite the truly worst place, the
There are essentially four areas that must be addressed
place where most professional perfumers actually do their
in order to improve the efficacy of a smelling session:
initial smelling evaluation of samples—the odorotheque,
environment, personal preparation, sample preparation
the perfumery laboratory. There may be hundreds of
and smelling techniques.
bottles of perfume materials lining the shelves in these
Environment: There is a lot that individuals and small
spaces, all of them emanating tiny amounts of odor-
companies can do to optimize the smelling experience.
ous molecules. Trying to smell analytically in such an
Those working in an international perfumery company
atmosphere would be like trying to listen to Eric Satie’s
may be lucky enough to have specialized sterile smelling
booths with well-ventilated, deodorized, filtered, humidity
and temperature-controlled atmospheres. If not, or one
is in a situation that requires smelling outside of a booth, Odor Fatigue Experiment
this section is key.
• Dip an eau de toilette, allowing it to fully absorb into
the smelling strip so there is no lingering wetness

Eyes Closed Experiment • Write on the smelling strip, “30 minute sample.”
• Keep it about 30 minutes. Then dip the same eau
• Dip a sample of an eau de toilette, allowing it to fully de toilette and write on this second smelling strip,
absorb into the smelling strip so that there is no “Newly dipped sample.”
lingering wetness. • Sitting down, smell the “30 minute sample” gently,
• Sitting down, eyes open, smell the sample gently— but deeply, until the smell fades (this may take about
not too intensely; just enough to enjoy it. 20 times).
• Now, still sitting down, smell the sample again with • Now, quickly (within 5 seconds) sniff the sample
eyes closed. marked “Newly dipped sample.”

Was there a difference in the odors? Did it appear What did you notice? Was there a difference in the
to be stronger smelling with eyes open or closed? If a odors? If so, describe the difference. If there was a
difference was detected—ask yourself why. difference, think about why.

PF0912_Dowthwaite_fcx.indd 43 11/4/09 9:01:05 AM

 “Gymnopedes” piano piece on a noisy playground. Yes, it’s samples it is important that the smelling strips are from
possible to do so, but not truly conducive to getting the the same source and stock, as different papers give differ-
fragrance
most from the music. ing evaporation characteristics (see Smelling Strip Test).
Smelling samples are usually best arranged from
Personal Preparation weakest to strongest in order to maximize the number of
Having chosen an ideal hideaway for smelling, partici- samples that can be evaluated before odor fatigue sets
pants should then focus on themselves. Hopefully they in. The amount dipped should be the same each time,
will not be wearing highly fragranced products; trying especially when one is comparing two samples against
to critically smell a pretty little muguet cologne while each other. The amount dipped is also best kept to a
seated across the table from someone wearing Thierry minimum; inexperienced students frequently over-dip a
Mugler’s Angel is not helpful. In addition, long hair is best sample, plunging the smelling strip into the liquid. Gen-
tied back and should not be allowed come into contact erally, dipping a sample to 0.5 cm or one-half inch along
with smelling strips as that can introduce a source of the strip is sufficient. The sample should be allowed to
contamination. spread on the strip until the wetness has gone. Drop-
Personal hygiene also factors in, of course; a session ping the material onto a smelling strip gives good results,
can be destroyed if one of the members has just returned but may be awkward if a lot of samples are smelled on a
from a training session for next month’s marathon without regular basis, as many clean pipettes or droppers have to
44 having taken the time for a shower (or had a shower and be managed in addition to the smelling strips.
splashed on Paco Rabanne’s Pour Homme). In addi- A useful tip is to bend the smelling strip about 3 cm
tion, lingering smells from lunch (garlic bread, basil from the dipped end to about a 30-degree angle with the
and espresso) don’t add to the smelling experience. dipped end slanting away from the nose during smelling.
Recently, I was carrying out a smelling acuity test for 10 This helps in hand-eye coordination and controlling the
new members of a quality control team led by a woman strip when smelling to prevent touching the nose with
with terrible breath. The nature of a smelling acuity test the sample. The bent smelling strip is also useful if one is
requires participants to smell many samples of differ- not using smelling strip holders and placing strips on the
ing concentrations; some are deliberately diluted as to work surface, a common but undesirable practice. A little
verge on undetectable. This test is intended to find the caution is necessary here to avoid contamination of the
real “smellers” in the group and so is quite demanding. samples’ odor with smell-ridden hands.
On this particular day, because of the omnipresent bad Having dipped the samples, it is best to wait a few sec-
VOL. 34 DECEMBER 2009

breath, even I could not have passed the smelling test. onds for the material to be absorbed, as mentioned. This
During smelling sessions it is good to be relaxed and allows full spreading of the material and fuller release
alert. Sitting down allows the blood pressure to drop and of all the components of the sample into the headspace.
release more of the body’s resources for the session. It Smelling a still wet smelling strip will give an effect simi-
should be noted, however, that many companies want lar to smelling the liquid material from the open bottle.
to avoid the smelling experience becoming a “time out”
event and frequently design out the opportunity to sit Smelling Techniques
during smelling (see Smelling Experiment: Standing The main difference between an amateur and a profes-
vs. Sitting). sional smelling evaluator is that the amateur uses the
Finally, it is important that participants prepare a note- nose to smell, while the professional uses the brain.
book and pen for note-taking during the smelling session. During smelling, if one regards the nose as the detec-
tor and the brain as the integrator and processor of the
Sample Preparation information derived from each sniff, great effects can be
As one doesn’t want to contaminate the room chosen achieved. The nose/olfactory bulb has a high, but limited,
for a smelling session, preparation of smelling strips is number of receptor sites and therefore is subject to
best carried out in a separate room or area away from overloading, as can be demonstrated by odor fatigue
the smelling space. Smelling strips made carefully (discussed below). There are no odor receptor sites in
from neutral paper stock free from traces of chemi- the throat or lungs, so one should try not to inhale any
PERFUMER & FLAVORIST

cal or bleaching agents give the best results. My own deeper than necessary, producing a sniff that draws air
favorite is chosen from chromatography paper and is through the nose and straight out the mouth in an almost
useful because of its availability to those requiring only rhythmic circular flow.
moderate quantities. The subject of paper thickness, Instead of holding a smelling strip under the nose
strip length and width, fiber characteristics and non- and continuously sniffing, it is more effective in the long
paper alternatives are subjects for a separate article. term to sniff, evaluate, sniff, evaluate and so on. This is
But in essence, the strip should be long enough and similar to wine drinking, in which the very first sip gives
stiff enough to remove the hand from smelling range the clearest flavor, but subsequent sips blur the individ-
of the nose during evaluation. A thinner strip giving ual flavors into each other, some of which may fade into
maximum spread of the sample is better for analytical oblivion. Thus, with each sniff, the nose is used to detect
smelling; a slightly thicker strip is generally preferable the odor and then the strip is removed from the vicinity
for presentation of samples to customers as it gives a of the nose for a period of evaluation using the memory
more homogenous odor. When comparing one or more of the smell for the analysis.

PF0912_Dowthwaite_fcx.indd 44 11/4/09 9:01:05 AM

 Inducing temporary selective odor fatigue F-1
fragrance

Top Notes
T/N have evaporated T/N

M/N M/N
Blind to
M/N
46 B/N B/N B/N

The 30 min. sample where the A new freshly dipped sample

The Freshly Dipped sample Top Notes have evaporated is quickly sniffed - The nose
is smelled continuously until being fatigued (blind) to the
odour fatigue sets in. middle and bottom notes can
only detect the top notes.
VOL. 34 DECEMBER 2009

A few rules of thumb: • What is it not: Frequently, especially for new evalu-
ators, it can be quite difficult to overcome the initial
• Smell short and sweet: One should hold the smelling mental block in smelling—that period of orientation
strip with the upbent part perpendicular to the nose so when the smell has been detected but not yet recog-
that the dipped section is 1–2.5 cm (1/2–1 inch) from nized. When this happens, it can help if the evaluator
the nostrils. The first light sniff is then taken and the systematically goes through a complete list of classifi-
smelling strip removed from the vicinity of the nose as cations of smells and identifies whether the detected
the data collected by the olfactory system is mentally characteristics are present or not.1 This, by a method
evaluated. Subsequent sniffs are carried out in a likewise of elimination, means the negative results become as
manner, short small sniffing procedures followed by revealing as the positive results. Does it have aliphatic
longer evaluations. This technique minimizes fatigue, notes—yes/no? Does it have fruity notes—yes/no? And
allowing the olfactory receptors to recover between so on. Thus, as Sherlock Holmes said in Arthur Conan
each sniff. Also, as each named ingredient (note) found Doyle’s “The Sign of the Four,” “When you have
in a perfume sample clears at different rates from the eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however
receptors, some separation of individual notes can be improbable, must be the truth.”
detected. Another beneficial effect of this process is that
it increases the evaluator’s ability to hold the odor in • Eyes closed: The simple act of closing one’s eyes helps
PERFUMER & FLAVORIST

his or her memory for longer and longer periods, thus filter out outside distractions and can focus the mind
stretching and enhancing odor memory capability. on the act of smelling (see Eyes Closed Experiment).

• Build a network of connections: It is recommended • Smell through the mouth: Holding the tip of the
that evaluators make prolific notes of any of the smelling strip about 2 cm below the nose and about
connections, impressions and feelings that they experi- 1 cm away from the mouth and gently breathing in
ence during smelling and listen to others’ ideas. These through parted lips enables one to experience the odor
should then be transferred onto cards or searchable slightly differently—retronasally. The vapor passes over
computer records so that they can be cross-referenced the tongue into the throat and up the back of the nasal
by the odor characteristics of other records. The passage to the olfactory receptors. The effect is that one
evaluator must believe in his or her own senses; I adds the taste sensations to the appreciation of the scent.
strongly discourage students asking if their impres- In addition, the longer route over wet mucous mem-
sions or comments are correct. branes alters a fragrance or flavor profile sufficiently to

PF0912_Dowthwaite_fcx.indd 46 11/4/09 9:01:05 AM

 impart a different perspective of the odor. This can be a iii) This technique is useful for any two samples that have
powerful method for evaluating essential oils to deter- small differences, such as smelling a pure sample
mine their naturalness; some essential oil reproductions, against a contaminated sample. The nose is fatigued
although good on smelling, may fail miserably on this to the pure sample, so when the contaminated sample
test. Older perfumers may actually taste oils, but this is is smelled, only the cause of the contamination is left.
generally not to be recommended for safety reasons. This effect only lasts for a few short seconds and so
must be completed quickly; familiarity with the short
• Warm the sample: An average of one to two students and sweet technique above prepares one to make the
in each class will adopt a smelling technique of waving most of the fleeting data received.
a smelling strip—sometimes quite violently—in front
of their noses. Their explanation is that it seems to
increase the strength of the odor of the sample. Other Address correspondence to Stephen Dowthwaite;
[email protected].
than the fact that it looks rather frenetic, there is noth-
ing inherently wrong with this—if they manage not to
make contaminating contact with the end of their nose. References
However, with a little practice they can usually be dis- 1. S Dowthwaite, The ABCs of Perfumery. Perfum Flavor, May/June
couraged from this by using the following technique: (1999)
In the event that the odor impression of a sample is
not sufficiently distinctive, the strip can be held in the
47
smelling position and gently exhaled upon through the To purchase a copy of this article or others,
nostrils to warm it. Once or twice is usually enough to visit www.PerfumerFlavorist.com/magazine.
increase the odor emanation from the strip. From this
point, the evaluator can sniff and evaluate the sample
in the normal manner.
• Inducing temporary selective odor fatigue: This
is a fairly advanced technique, familiar to most per-
fumers, for analytically comparing the differences
between two similar samples. This method involves
repeatedly smelling (thus inducing) a first sample (the
selective notes) until it can no longer be smelled (odor
fatigue). The effect only lasts for a few seconds, so the
second sample has to be quickly evaluated. The olfac-
tory receptors at that crucial point, being temporarily
“blind” to the materials in the first sample, can only
detect materials in the second sample that are not in
the first. When the difference between the two samples
is only one or two materials, the effect is dramatic,
making identification of individual notes much easier
(see Odor Fatigue Experiment and F-1).

Applications of Inducing Temporary Selective

Odor Fatigue*
i) The nose, having been deadened to the components
in an alcoholic perfume dipped 30 minutes previously,
can smell only the top notes that have evaporated in
the first 30 minutes in a second freshly dipped sample.
ii) When a match is close to the original, either sample
may be used to induce odor fatigue and the second
sample smelled to highlight the differences. This is
particularly useful for identifying natural oils after
recomposition of a perfume sample from GC/MS data.

*A word of warning:
This method should only be used very sparingly as it is very tiring and long
term sensory and health effects are un-researched.
My own recommendation is that this technique should only be carried
out towards the end of the day so that the respiratory system may be
completely flushed out afterwards with fresh air away from the perfumery
environment.

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