Why do they say listen and not smell? Why do they say to “listen” to the scent? Everything is exactly the same as with the development of musical hearing or with the development of taste buds

- Simply about the complex, with humor about the serious, modestly about the great. The answer to the popular question “smell or listen to perfume” in the article:

Chapter first.The Russian language and its understanding are individual for everyone:

The Russian language is very rich and flexible, no matter what you say.

“Smell” or “listen” - say what is convenient for you personally.

And “listen”, and “smell”, and “feel” perfume - all words are permissible.

No one can stop you from making your own comfortable choice.

In the Moscow Museum of Perfume and in all other perfume museums in the world, as well as in all perfume workshopsspirits LISTEN.

We never insist that you use this word and we always appreciate your understanding.

to the fact that you respect our choice.

And that's why museums, perfumers, musicians and many others choose the word "LISTEN".

Chapter two.Human nature. Olfactory hearing:

Olfactory (olfactory) memory of a person belongs to one of the long-term types of memory.

A person receives olfactory memory by birthright, like all other types of long and short memory.

Olfactory memory is the most powerful and most reliable human memory.

Everyone who has already attended tastings at the Moscow Museum of Perfumery agrees with this without any doubt,

those whose souls were turned upside down by meeting their past.

Olfactory HEARING (olfactory HEARING, olfactory memory) just as musical hearing (auditory memory) develops well.

For example, a child was sent as an apprentice to a perfumer, just as they are now sent to study at a music school.

Unfortunately, there are no children's perfume schools in the world where children would be sent to study as widely as they are sent to music schools.

It is best to develop olfactory memory, as well as an ear for music, from early childhood.

That is why the old art of perfumery in most cases is dynastic, and there are very few brilliant perfumers in the world,

like brilliant composers, poets, musicians.

Everyone can develop their hearing, listen, distinguish and hear odors, including perfumes.

Of course, this is best done by a person who has undergone training.

Everything is exactly the same as with development musical ear or with the development of taste buds.

As a result, in life some people hear and understand music better, and some less.

Some are gourmets, others are indifferent to the subtleties of taste.

The same is true with the development of olfactory hearing (olfactory memory).

We are all different, and that's the beauty of it.

Just as theaters are created not only for professionals, museums are accessible to everyone.

If you are modest and think that you have trouble hearing smells or “cannot distinguish” odors, then we assure you: THIS IS NOT SO.

Chapter three.Human nose:

The human nose is much more sensitive than “they write on the Internet.”

The human nose can hear odors much better than the human eye can distinguish shades!

In the human eye, three receptors work harmoniously and allow you to see up to 10 million shades.

Meanwhile, the nose has as many as 400 olfactory receptors!

Take the risk of counting the required number and you will be surprised that The average person can distinguish at least one trillion odors.

Do not be surprised.

The scientific work of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Rockefeller University was published in the journal Science.

Chapter Four. Perfumer's notebook:

In 1877 a English perfumer George William Septimus Piesse published a work

in which he compared the volatility of natural aromas and the frequencies of sound vibrations,

believing that the lower the frequency, the lower the sound and the longer it lasts on the ear.

Accordingly, the less volatile the substance, the quieter its aroma, but it lasts longer on the sense of smell.

Conversely, sounds with a high frequency produce a short but intense sound, and a powerful, ringing smell also does not last long.

This is what a perfume notebook looks like, the perfume notebook of Septimus Piesse

Any musician can easily read it,That’s why musicians also always talk about the spirits “LISTEN” and “HEAR”.

Did you know that any piece of music can be transformed into a perfume, and vice versa?

As in any art, in the art of perfumery, too, reference is made from one type of art to another.

Septimus Piesse said: “As an artist mixes his paints, so a perfumer must mix his aromas.”

Chapter five. The nature of perfume art:

Perfume is created using a tool called a perfumer. org a n .

Orgue à parfums - if you call the instrument in French.

Exactly behind the perfume organ, perfumer of notes writes, composes, collects and acts out his fragrantmelodies, scales, chords.

The perfumer creates his own, incomparable, perfume melody

complex works are perfumes

easy popular melodies are perfume compositions

“I am a writer, my novels are without words; I am a composer, my music is without sounds. I am a perfumer,” - Paul Vacher (Paul Vacher), great perfumer,

author of legendary perfumes, including the Miss Dior fragrance for the Christian Dior house.

In the photo: the perfume organ of the French perfumer Isabelle Doyen:

Isabelle Doyen is a perfumer who graduated from the International Institute of Perfumery, Cosmetics and Fragrances ISIPCA in 1982, was a former assistant to Annick Goutal herself and later became the teacher of Goutal's daughter, Camille.

Today, Isabelle and Camilla create fragrances together for the Annick Goutal brand.

Chapter six. Perfume ethics and etiquette. Art of Living. Art de Vivre:

Ironic French perfumers say:“When a person has nothing to say about perfume, he tries to break it down into notes.”

The perfume formula, a work of perfumery art, belongs exclusively to its author - the perfumer.

Exactly until he personally decides to publish/sell/transfer his formula to another person

It is completely indecent to ask a perfumer about the composition of his formulas, and even more indecent to talk about other people's formulas.

It is correct and much more useful to listen, enjoy, hear and try to understand

Isabelle Doyen says:“Before I sit down to write a new fragrance, I go to the bookstore.

Then I take a notebook with secret formulas and on a blank page I write one single word: “Password.”

The password, which will determine the main direction of work on the fragrance, will evoke the necessary associations.

The password for Nuit Etoilee is "Wyoming" American state with nature of unreal beauty.

Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, rivers, forests - all this should be immediately imagined by those who inhale the aroma of perfume.”

We don't know any museums to which perfumers donate their formulas, and the Moscow Museum of Perfumery is no exception.

Museums have never shown tactlessness, never ventured into “forbidden areas” and never approached any author/copyright holder of formulas to

so that they would reveal their secret notebooks.

- Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi (Latin) - What is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to the bull.

Perfume museums, even without formulas, always have something to tell about perfume.

Perfumes in museums are presented only within the boundaries and gradations in which they were presented to the general public by the author/perfume house/fashion house.

You can create your own secret formulas at, including educational master classes with some

with the help of professional perfumers.

At our perfume tastings, we will never force you to look for any particular note in the sounds of brilliant perfumes.

We will not force you to applaud individual notes and chords,

we invite you, without exception, to a concert of classical perfume music to listen to the great perfumery works entirely.

The first rule as a buyer of any perfume store: never smell perfume from a bottle or atomizer. If you were given a sample, apply a drop of fragrant water to your wrist or to a paper strip. Wait a couple of minutes for the alcohol to dissipate. In the third to fifth minute you can already feel the first notes of the aroma. In an hour it will open in full force, after three to four hours you will be able to feel his last line.

You can use a handkerchief as a sample. Spray some perfume on it and put it in your pocket. Walk around like this for a couple of days to see if the smell causes rejection or allergies. Please note that the perception of odors is influenced by the characteristics of your skin, your age and health status, weather, mood and many other factors. Buy perfume only when you are sure that it is exactly your scent.

Where to apply perfume?

Behind the ears
on the ankles
on the bend of the elbow
to the groin area
in the center of the chest
on the back of the knee

It is advisable to apply perfume to those places where it can be felt. Before using perfume, do not use other scented products such as strong scented shower gels, fragrance soaps and oils. If you ignore this advice, you will mix several and get a completely unexpected combination.

Tips from the experts:
Changing perfumes throughout the day (for example, light daytime scents to classic evening scents) helps improve your well-being and mood. The effect of changing scents is comparable in strength to an hour of meditation or going to the gym. It doesn’t burn extra calories, but it will charge you with energy and give you increased tone.
The scent, applied to clean, just washed and dried hair, is perfectly absorbed and lasts all day. However, this method is not recommended for owners of dry hair, because alcohol leads to even greater dehydration of the hair. For oily hair this method applying perfume is ideal, especially since oily skin retains the scent longer.
Skin with enlarged pores reacts poorly to alcohol, so do not use perfume immediately after a shower, wait until the skin dries.
Synthetic clothing does not absorb odor well, but cotton, wool, fur, and leather do the opposite. Be careful not to drip perfume onto easily soiled clothing to avoid leaving unnecessary stains.

Why do some perfumes seem unstable?

The aroma that perfectly suits you ceases to be felt after an hour. At the same time, its train unobtrusively envelops others around you. The smell that you smell all the time throughout the day is definitely not yours, try to get rid of it as quickly as possible and replace it with something new. When choosing perfume, focus on your feelings and current situation. Don't forget to follow our tips and be charming.

Your scent is not only a fashion statement, or a reflection of your character, mood and style, but also one of the most subtle, personal messages that you send to the people with whom you communicate. Choosing it correctly is an art. And here there are their own “perfume” laws.

1. It has been noticed that sensitivity to higher in the morning, immediately after waking up - after the olfactory (olfactory) silence of the night - smells are perceived more clearly purely psychologically. In general, receptors work the same way throughout the day.

2. But after 50 years, the ability to deeply and fully perceive surrounding odors begins to gradually dull. In this regard, older people often prefer intense scents - lighter ones simply do not suit them.

3. It should be borne in mind that sensitivity to aromas also decreases after a cold or flu. Therefore, refrain from making decisions about new perfumes if you have recently been unwell.

4. Hot weather dramatically increases the ability of the sense of smell and enhances the impact of any smell on a person. In hot weather, you should prefer light and fresh scents.

5. When choosing perfumes, remember that you can try no more than three or four scents at a time. The following will not be perceived correctly. And try to start familiarizing yourself with the assortment with lighter, unobtrusive scents.

6. The character of the perfume manifests itself slowly, in several stages:

- initial (head) note

- heart note (middle)

- final (base) note,

indicate the phases of bouquet opening.

When you apply perfume “for testing”, it is advisable to do it on the pulsation points - the wrist, the bend of the elbow. And do not rub it under any circumstances - all the listed phases will be mixed up, which ideally should unfold gradually and sequentially. You will receive the final result of the fragrance no earlier than 10 minutes after application to the skin.

7. Don't choose a scent because you liked it on someone. The same perfume will smell differently on each person. The reason is individual chemical processes, which make the smell special, unique and suitable for you. This especially applies to the best men's fragrances.

8. Advice for men. Never apply eau de toilette after shaving like cologne; it will most likely irritate your face. This happens due to the high alcohol content in perfumes, and skin treated with a razor must be soothed with special after-shave creams/lotions/balms.

9. The bottle must indicate:

Parfum- perfume

Eau de Parfum- Eau de parfum

Eau de Toilette- Eau de Toilette.

The difference is in the ratio of the concentration of aromatic oils and alcohols and, accordingly, in the durability and intensity of the aroma. Highest content aromatic oils - from 20 to 30% - in perfumes. This is followed by eau de parfum - from 15 to 25%, then eau de toilette - from 10 to 20%. That is why the price of the same fragrance depends on the form of release.

10. Be careful when applying perfume to clothes, hair and jewelry.

In the first case, keep in mind that perfume can leave a stain, and synthetics- distort the aroma beyond recognition, but the most eau de toilette-friendly surfaces are fur and wool (the smell lasts for a very long time, practically unchanged).

Secondly, the hair must be clean. Greasy and unwashed, they also distort the original smell of your perfume, adding too much of their own.

In the third, perfume can spoil pearls, the shine of amber and other stones.

In general, it is ideal that if we are talking about perfume, the most concentrated aroma, then it should only be applied to your own skin. It is this that will allow the composition to reveal itself as brightly as possible.

11. It is not without reason that perfumes are divided into “for blondes” and “for brunettes”.

The thing is that blondes' skin, more often than not, does not hold fragrance well. It intensively fills the space, actively influencing those around it. So heavy oriental rich scents act like a “weapon of mass destruction” on a blonde’s skin. Therefore, it is better for fair-haired ladies to use fresh citrus or floral scents.

Brunettes, those with lighter or lighter skin, can easily use oriental, spicy, rich scents. They last longer (sebum, as it were, “preserves” the aroma on the skin), spread more slowly and imperceptibly in space, without causing a feeling of rejection.

12. As a rule, the smell of eau de parfum disappears quite quickly, and if you want to smell it constantly, just renew the scent every three to four hours. For those with dry skin, the scent needs to be “refreshed” more often.

13. Your habits can also affect the intensity of the aroma. For example, high-calorie spicy foods make the smell of perfume much more intense. And smoking, medications, as well as elevated body temperature generally change the aroma.

14. The official shelf life of perfume is 3 years. If you don't open them, it will take longer. It is advisable to store in a cool, dry place, away from light, but not in the refrigerator.

15. The rule of good manners is that others should not smell your perfume too strongly. In the sense that the radius of action of your scent - approximately - should be equal to the distance arm's length, this is the so-called personal space.

In the event that you happen to end up in a perfume store, while pursuing the idea of ​​​​buying yourself a new original fragrance, you always need to follow several unspoken rules for choosing it, which give you a chance not to get into trouble and become the owner of a truly exclusive acquisition.

When and how to choose perfume?

So, it’s better to go for perfume in the morning, literally immediately after waking up. This even has a scientific basis: it is in the morning that a person’s nose best recognizes smells and aromas. It’s even better if you go to a salon or store without having the remnants of yesterday’s perfume on your clothes or skin and without wearing your favorite scent.

Almost all perfume stores will initially offer you the opportunity to “taste” the scent of the perfume preserved on the blotters. This is the name for special thick paper strips, pre-scented with all brands of eau de toilette and cologne available in the range. True perfume connoisseurs are sure that this way of buying perfume can only be compared with purchasing a car or coffee maker that has not been personally tested. And if this situation can somehow be corrected, then the wrongly chosen fragrance will definitely gather dust on the dressing table, reminding you of a bad purchase.

The only way to check if a scent is perfect is by applying it to your skin. Stores have special test bottles for this purpose. But the heat in the room, numerous buyers with the same intention of finding “their” scent, and even your mood can become an obstacle. Also, samples of different eau de toilette do not need to be applied to the same place, which can easily be classified as perfume suicide.

WHY DO THEY SAY "LISTEN" TO THE FRAGRANCE? You've probably noticed that in perfume stores, consultants usually offer customers not to smell, but to listen to a particular scent. “Strange,” you thought. “Everyone knows that people pick up smells with their nose, not their ears. Then why do they say that fragrances are listened to and not smelled? Where did this strange terminology come from? Well, let's find out. WHY DO THEY SAY “LISTEN” TO THE AROMAT AND NOT “SNELL”? Of course, “listen to the aroma” is a figurative expression. You don't need to hold a bottle of perfume to your ear to hear something. And yet, where did it come from? It's all about the associativity of our thinking. For example, we often draw parallels between smell and taste. When describing the taste of a vintage wine, we will most likely talk about its stunning bouquet. And we associate many aromatic plants with a certain taste, since we often use them as seasonings. Some scientists have also tried to draw an analogy between color and smell. They suggested that the seven primary colors of the spectrum could correspond to seven musical notes. Scientists have been able to draw semantic parallels between smell and sound. A great contribution to this area was made by the English perfumer Piess, who was the first to introduce into use the concept of a harmonious and disharmonious combination of odors and arrange the main aromatic extracts into sound series. Since then, in the perfumery business, the question of listening to smells or smelling them has disappeared. And the perfumers themselves began to create their aromatic masterpieces according to the principle piece of music: from notes and chords. Almost all modern perfumes contain 3 chords: - top chord or top notes; - middle chord or heart notes; - and the bottom chord or base notes. Together they form a aroma that, like musical symphony, is not a static (frozen) sound, but plays and develops over time. Now do you understand why they say that you need to listen to the aroma? Agree, in this context the word “sniff” sounds somehow strange. HOWEVER, THERE IS A SMALL BUT THEY ARE LISTENING TO AROMAS, BUT STILL SMELLING PERFUME Some consultants in stores are so carried away that they offer clients to listen to perfume instead of aroma. Which, strictly speaking, is wrong. Because we still smell the source of the smell (in this case, an aromatic liquid, a bottle of perfume or a scented blotter). But we can already listen to the aroma itself. This linguistic subtlety is best reflected by the phrase “smell<духи>, can you hear the smell?<какой аромат>" Do you notice the difference? In general, of course, it doesn’t matter how you say it – smell the perfume or listen to it – people will understand your information message. But something tells us that speaking correctly is important, first of all, for yourself. And now you know how to do it right