Prompt Cast
The Science and History of Perfume
TLDR Perfume, a mixture of alcohol, water, and smell molecules, has a long history and is a challenge to create due to individual scent preferences and the difficulty of pleasing a wide audience. The process of making perfume involves multiple rounds of testing and feedback, and our sense of smell is influenced by body chemistry and experiences.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Perfume can go bad if not cared for correctly, but if stored properly, it can last for up to two years.
05:27
Perfume has a long history and was originally used to cover up the smell of animal sacrifices, but it quickly became associated with sexuality and its purpose has remained unchanged ever since.
10:48
Perfume is made up of alcohol, water, and smell molecules that evaporate into the air to create a scent.
16:13
Perfume is a challenge to make because not all molecules have a scent and some odorants are not smelled by all people, making it difficult to create a fragrance that pleases a wide audience.
21:30
Originally, there were no gender differences among any perfumes, especially in France, in the French court, and the idea that certain scents are feminine or masculine is a new and social construct.
26:48
Perfumes are heavily diluted with alcohol in order to allow for the different notes to evaporate at different times, creating a flowing transition of scents.
32:15
Our sense of smell is unique to each individual and can be influenced by body chemistry and skin, causing perfumes to smell differently on different people.
37:21
Fragrance houses send out a brief to different perfumers who compete to come up with the best formula for a perfume, and these perfumers use their knowledge of scents and chemistry to create synthetic versions of natural scents.
42:27
The process of creating a perfume involves multiple rounds of testing and feedback between the perfumer and the company, with the winning formula being used to produce the perfume oil and eventually the final product.
47:36
Smell preferences are learned through social constructs and experiences, with evidence suggesting that smell learning begins in the womb and that babies do not have a preference for smells until they are exposed to them.
52:47
The podcast discusses the idea of using stink bombs as a non-harmful way to keep people out of sensitive areas, and explores the debate between innate smell preferences and learned associations.
57:57
Giorgio perfume was famously banned from some restaurants in the 1980s because its strong scent would overpower the smell and taste of the food, leading to an increase in sales.
Categories:
Society & Culture
