Top perfumers explain the power of scent and its connection to memories

Everyone has a smell that transports them to a time or place that means something special — all the more so during the festive season. Rebecca Daly meets the perfumers behind the magic

As we begin to countdown the days to December 25, take some time to notice the smells you come across

Our whole lives revolve around scent, often without us even realising it.

Growing up in the farming capital of Dublin, spring brought the often rancid smell of dug up fields, or those spread with manure — a scent that would practically hit you in the face out in the school yard.

In summer, it is the damp and sweet smell of freshly watered plants in the evening as the heat from the sun fades and its amber glow disappears behind the wall.

The Christmas season has perhaps the most recognisable scents. There’s the overwhelming scent of pine from the tree in the sitting room. Or the smell of peppermint candy canes, the inside of a Quality Street box and, of course, the hot and heavy roast dinner on the big day.

When it comes to Christmas presents, giving someone a perfume can be a heartfelt gift — even more so than it may first appear to be. With so many personal and emotional connections, it can be difficult to choose the right scent for somebody else.

This was part of the motivation behind Dutch cosmetics brand Rituals’ new offering. They have released two perfumes as part of their new Alchemy Collection that can be layered to form a third scent. In their eau de parfum set, both perfumes have an amber and woody scent to them. The first, AG Silver, is more fruity, while the second, AG Gold, is musky. Due to the DNA of the fragrances and the similarities, however, a third scent can be created by dabbing both on together.

Perfumer for the Alchemist Collection, Erwan Raguenes meets me at their HQ in Amsterdam — Rituals is investing heavily in the Irish market, with new stores in Dundrum and a premium store in Belfast, featuring a Hair Temple and Skincare Consultation Station.

Rituals Alchemy Collection allows you to create your own fragrance.

“The mood is the same,” he explains of the new Alchemy Collection.

“It’s just that the silver one is a bit fresher. The gold one is a bit warmer. It’s up to you and your mood how you want to use it.”

Applying both perfumes at the same time also allows you to be your own alchemist, blending the smells the exact way you want to. The beauty — and, perhaps, difficulty — with this is you could create a number of different combinations: two parts Gold to one Silver; three dabs of Silver, one gold.

The list goes on. “Perfumes are so specific to one person because you have a strong connection with them,” he says. 

The overall Alchemy Collection centres around the smell of amber and myrrh — a scent that is often connected to Christmas through the three wise men. The combination is immediately reminiscent of the darker months of year, particularly in the build up to the festive season. It also has other properties that make it attractive as a festive scent, such as providing peace and clarity during the hustle and bustle of the season.

And you aren’t restricted to just perfumes – think body creams and scrubs, gels and candles, and fragrance sticks and stone diffusers. Raguenes says, “Myrrh, in a very scientific way, is known for being antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and other things. There’s actually studies that prove that myrrh is a stress reliever. So, using myrrh, infusing it into the fragrance, also gives you that stress reliever. The amber notes are proven to be very grounding, very comforting, and then you have this big effect of vanilla that really makes it cocooning.”

Raguenes feels a candle, or other items from the home range, can provide a “transportative” feeling.

“Picture a room completely white – [with] nothing, just white walls, white floor, white ceiling – and then you light the candle. Wherever you want to be, this is where you are,” he says.

For the founder of Stories perfume, Tonya Kidd Beggs, the smell of wrapping paper immediately transports her back to her childhood in the 1970s.

Stories Parfums - No2

Like myself, the smell of a real Christmas tree holds such strong memories. At times, she has been tempted to just buy a fake tree, but knowing that the smell will create similar memories for her children means she always resists.

Memory, smell and emotions are all connected, and the brain stores those scents that are associated with certain feelings and, as a result, memories.

This ability to be brought back to certain moments in time lead Kidd Beggs to create Stories in 2018. Her second scent from her collection, Stories Two, connected her to a time when her father and grandfather were watching over her in the garden.

“It was just like a mind blowing high. This connection with our sense of smell and memory is so powerful, and because I didn’t even know what I was putting into it, and it was only when the memory came at the very end that I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,’” she says.

As Kidd Beggs explains: “One of the wonderful things about buying scent for people is it’s not always connecting to the past, but it’s giving people that time to sit in the present and think about what they’re feeling at that moment.

“Also, if you’re buying it for somebody, you’re always going to be part of their story. 

Every time they lift that perfume and spray it, they’re going to think of the person who gifted it to them.

As we begin to countdown the days to December 25, take some time to notice the smells you come across. After all, we’re creating memories to look back on in years to come.