Scent and Senses

Atmospheric in-store stimuli have been the subject of considerable empirical investigation for over 30 years. This research presents a meta-analysis of 66 studies and 135 effects (N = 15,621) calibrating the atmospheric effects of music, scent, and color on shopping outcomes. At an aggregate level, the results reveal that environments in which music or scent are present yield higher pleasure, satisfaction, and behavioral intention ratings when compared with environments in which such conditions are absent. Warm colors produce higher levels of arousal than cool colors, while cool colors produce higher levels of satisfaction than warm colors. The estimated average strength of these relationships ranged from small to medium. Effect sizes exhibited significant between-study variance, which can be partly explained by the moderators investigated. For instance, larger effect sizes were observed for the relationship between scent and pleasure in those samples with a higher (vs. lower) proportion of females. Data also indicated a tendency toward stronger music and scent effects in service settings as compared to retail settings. The results of this analysis, based on data aggregated across the research stream, offer retailers a guide to enhance customers' shopping experience through judicious use of in-store atmospheric stimuli.

The Fashion & the Senses Symposium held at LCF on 27th March 2015 was an international multi-disciplinary forum for industry professionals, practitioners, academics and postgraduate students with a shared interest in this emerging field - fashion and the senses. It was co-organised by Sara Chong Kwan, Associate Lecturer in Cultural and Historical studies at LCF and a final year PhD candidate, and Bethan Alexander,  Course Director of the MA in Fashion Retail Management at LCF.

The aim of this research paper is the define the science of smell and how its processes are in people’s bodies. In the light of understanding the science behind smell, this paper will introduce scent marketing which is based on using different scents to affect customers’ preferences and behaviour to increase sales. Lastly, the relationships between the scent and customer reaction will be analyzed along with the psychology behind it.

Since the early 1990's, "pheromone colognes" have become a popular, gimmicky product that warrants a discussion at the dinner table among friends. Can a pheromone cologne really make you more attractive to women? Science says so.

According to scientifically backed up research, there are pheromones that can make women perceive you as more attractive, more dominant, and more social.

Some studies on women were carried out where women rated men before and after smelling the pheromone "androstadienone". They concluded that men were perceived up to 10% more attractive after being exposed. There are also several studies on pheromones like androstenol, which has been proven to enhance communication between males and females, and also make men perceive women as more attractive when exposed. We found a review website that investigates these types of products thoroughly.

This paper deals with the registrability of non-conventional marks after the EU reform of trade marks and some technological developments, including the Internet of Things (IoT). Even if olfactory marks (scents or smells) are the chosen prism, most considerations apply also to other non-conventional marks, such as holograms, movements, and tastes. In the UK, whereas in theory olfactory trade marks can be registered, there have not been successful applications since the EU Court of Justice's decision in Ralf Sieckmann v Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt. This paper suggests that scents may be more easily registered in the near future as a consequence of the EU reform of trade marks and of technological innovation. The impact of Brexit is critically assessed and the implementation of the EU reform is foreseen.
The yet-to-be-transposed Trade Marks Directive introduces a new definition of trade marks where the graphic representation of the mark is no longer required. Under the new regime, those who want to register a smell will only need to represent it ‘in a manner which enables the competent authorities and the public to determine the clear and precise subject matter of the protection afforded to its proprietor’ (art 3(b)). Some difficulties may remain because the Trade Marks Directive incorporated the so-called Sieckmann criteria, that the (then graphical) representation must be ‘clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective’ (recital 13). However, even not going as far as arguing that ‘the amendments will abolish the Sieckmann judgement’ (Sahin 2016, 513), it is not excluded that the seven criteria may be interpreted differently in the future, for example as meaning that a combination of description, chemical formula and sample may meet the new requirements for registration. Indeed, with the new definition of trade marks there is a shift from the ‘how’ to the ‘who’. It is immaterial how the trade mark is represented (whether graphically or otherwise), as long as the competent authorities and the public can determine the subject matter of the protection. Arguably, the said combination of description, chemical formula, and sample may suffice from the authorities’ perspective. When it comes to the public, it is likely that this requirement will be absorbed by the distinctiveness. An unusual scent used consistently on a range of products or services of a single undertaking and accompanied by heavy advertising would easily put the public in the position to determine the subject matter of the protection, especially if distinctiveness is acquired through use; thus, the requirement could be easily made out. One could foresee a return to the case law ante Sieckmann that valued the customers’ viewpoint and stated, for instance, that an olfactory mark described as freshly cut grass will be recognised immediately by anyone, reminding ‘of spring, or summer, manicured lawns or playing fields, or other such pleasant experiences’ (Senta Aromatic [14]). The customers’ scent-related power of imagination cannot be underestimated. A number of scents can evoke clear memories and feelings.

As a non-visual mode of communication, body odour plays a significant role in perceptions of self-identity, the identification of others and the social and psychological aspects of interpersonal exchange. What is more, it is a reflection of our genetic make-up, state of health and our environment. The use of perfume to mask or control body odour is a long-established practice extending from early civilisations. Sprayed on the skin, perfume is understood to stimulate mood or memory, effect cognitive performance or confidence, and even influence sexual attraction. Modern advances in manufacturing technologies however are producing a shift in methods of fragrance delivery. From conventional sprays we are moving toward microencapsulated garments and sensory fashion designs that respond to biometric measures such as heart rate or body temperature. Against this background of technological innovation in fashion and beauty practices, self-labelled ‘body architect’ Lucy McRae has developed the Swallowable Parfum (2011). Wresting smell back into the realm of the conceptual, McRae and collaborator, synthetic biologist Sheref Mansy, propose the release of a unique genetic scent ‘synthesized from the body’s natural processes,’ and emitted through perspiration. Crossing the dermal threshold, Swallowable Parfum internalises what has previously been an external bodily practice. Can McRae’s project be seen simply as an evolution of technological advances predicated on cosmetic surgical procedures that transform the body? Will such a product render subjects alien from their biological selves, and produce crises in relations with others? Does this speculative project widen the scope of olfaction, or can we understand this as yet another way of colonising bodily functions that are recuperated back into commodity? This chapter will explore these possibilities, including the prospect that Swallowable Parfum has the potential to create a revised ‘epidermic self-awareness,’ transcending its own difference to create a new, even if synthesised, embodied subjectivity.

All knowledge of the world is shaped by the way our senses perceive it. In archaeology, and especially in Egyptological studies, a visual approach has predominated the analysis of ancient material remains. When viewed from a sensorybased framework, however, a new, dynamic dimensionality of the material record might be revealed. This approach to the study of the past promises to open both innovative and rewarding avenues for exploration. Such work fosters an environment for interdisciplinary study involving researchers in such diverse fields as  neuroscience, psychology, ethnography, and the digital humanities. This paper aims to explore the applications of sensory analysis to Egyptology by focusing on New Kingdom tomb depictions of banquets and relevant mortuary texts to champion this paradigm as one that has potential to truly humanize the past.

The hieroglyphic script teaches us that fish was the prototype of stench in ancient Egypt, as every word related to unpleasant smell was classified with a fish classifier. Multiple written sources inform us explicitly that fish, birds and their natural environment in Egypt, the swamps of the Delta, stank. The Nile Delta is found in the north of Egypt and it is where the Egyptians went fishing and fowling. Fish and birds in their evil-smelling environment symbolized several concepts at the same time: stench, chaos, evil, the enemy and being far away from home. It was the king’s duty to annihilate bad smells by going fishing and fowling in the dangerous, foul-smelling swamps and to secure a sweet-smelling urban environment, where the scent of perfumes and flowers filled the air. In the royal battle against evil, fish and fowl symbolized the stench, danger and the enemy that the king had to defeat. Unpleasant smells were closely related to the archenemy of the king, the god Seth. Seth, the god of all evil, incorporated all these aspects in his figure: fish and fowl, the enemy, and foul smells. Nevertheless, his evil and unpleasant nature was a necessary part of existence. There was no good without evil. There was no perfume without stench.

This anthropological dissertation concerns the contribution of culture to perceptive skills, and is specifically dedicated to the intra-familial modes of transmission of olfactory knowledge and know-how within the home. The analysis opens with a theoretical analysis of the status of olfactive perceptions in cognitive psychology, in cognitive anthropology of the senses and in pragmatic sociology which ends in the formulation of a research agenda we call « cognitive ethnography of perceptions ». Using data collected through the use of three complementary methods - semi-directive interviews with French and French-speaking Belgian informants, qualitative analyses of French literature and on Internet forums, we show the existence of forms of olfactive skills that are related to the performance of activities in several domains, notably culinary skills, body care techniques (beauty treatments, cosmetics) and domestic hygiene maintenance.

The ethnographic work comprises a description of the chain of olfactive skills within these activities and the organization of skill learning in a biographical order from birth to parenthood. Several forms of familial transmission of olfactive skills are described in connection with the building and sharing of an olfactory inheritance. The last section of the study is devoted to affective judgments where the concepts of « preference » and « sensibility » are discussed. The dissertation ends on a proposal for a research program which would prolong the epistemological and methodological advances of this research: an anthropological study of materials.

The purpose of the conference is to study the history of the professional perfumer, analyzing how the image of the perfumer emerged during the Renaissance in Italy, how it was further constructed during the seventeenth century in France and England, and how it continued to evolve to the present day. Under the Ancien Régime, when trade in most European countries was regulated by corporations and states, the assertion of the perfumer’s identity was often undermined by a legal struggle to become the sole holder of the right to manufacture and sell perfume products. Since its recognition, this profession has undergone metamorphoses evident in the way they affected each of three operations that have defined the perfumer throughout history: creating, manufacturing and selling perfumes (Gobet and Le Gall, 2011). Indeed, perfumers have had to adapt to changing trends in fragrance use and to distinguish themselves from their competitors at different times in their history by manufacturing and marketing not only scented waters, but also other perfumed products such as gloves, the creation of which was their first vocation, then sachets, cosmetics, hair powders, soaps, and even more recently, scented candles.

Le « pape du pop art », qui a élevé au rang d’œuvres d’art des produits de grande consommation, était aussi un collectionneur compulsif. Notamment de parfums, tant pour leur senteur que pour leur flacon et ce qu’ils incarnaient de glamour.

The aim of this article is to disrupt the “optocentric” paradigm that dominates criticism on travel writing. The main focal points are scent-based impressions and their formulation and function in the text. To this end, the article analyzes a sampling of Polish and Serbian travel writing on China from the turn of the twentieth century.

Different attitudes and explanations are found regarding the question of the internal division and structure of the Song of Songs. Similarly also, until now, no absolute consensus about the literary unity of this book has been found. If one pays attention to the literary unity of individual parts of the book, this does not necessarily break the unity of the entire song. On the contrary, in the general view the parts are proof of the integrity of the book – song – as a unit. In the case of the biblical poetry it can be said that the beauty of the book can be discovered by revealing the elegance of its individual parts. The goal of this article is, at least partially, to introduce the results of an observation of the aspect of the scent in the book, in order to clarify the literary unity of the passage 4:8–5:1. The author's assertion that this passage is a single part of the Song of Songs is on the basis of literary, semantic, structural and thematic observations. Additionally, the investigation of the text 4:8–5:1 reveals the richness in the contents of the passage. This part of the observation is more evident when we consider the passage as a whole. In this article, the author points out the role of aromatic elements in particular. This aromatic emphasis might be a potential aid to the exegetic research into the poetic text in that it justifies the internal unity of the passage in terms of its literary composition.

The origin of ambergris, an intestinal pathologic secretion of the sperm‑whale, used in perfumes and medieval pharmacology, had been long debated among Arab scholars. The paper exposes the various hypotheses related to this origin, and its textual transmission during medieval times. These traditions show a good example of complex relations between good and bad odors, connected to the different colors of ambergris (black, grey, white) and to its animal (whale or fish-dung), mineral or vegetal origin.  (if you're interested, I will send you the paper by email - leave a message on academia)

Lié à de nombreux motifs de sa poésie, vecteur d’ivresse érotique et de rêveries, le parfum est pour Charles Baudelaire une force ascendante qui l’arrache au gouffre de la réalité. Un remède au spleen qui continue, cent soixante ans après la mort du poète, de s’élever de ses écrits.

Ancient Egyptian art often includes depictions of the act of smelling and of smell-carrying objects. Though the act of smelling and the objects themselves are visibly recognizable, both underline the presence of an invisible force, that of scent. In this analysis, I argue that the visible presentation of scent-rich environments in Theban tomb wall paintings from the Eighteenth Dynasty was meant to mark divine presence, another invisible force. Textual evidence from mortuary literature reveals that the Egyptian gods could be identified by their smell. Thus, if the deceased were to take on this smell (i.e., identity) of the gods, the resulting change in identity would facilitate a successful transition into the afterlife. In addition, smell may also be linked with the "breath of life," which could be invoked to call the deceased back to the living world to receive offerings.

This essay analyses the performance "Bismillah" by South African artist Igshaan Adams, who produced this site-collaborative work for the 2014 National Arts Festival as part of the Blind Spot performance art programme. "Bismillah" was performed with Adams' father, Amien Adams, in the dark, grave-like basement of the 1820 Settlers National Monument. Following the Islamic ritual of preparing the body of a relative for burial, Amien Adams tenderly washed, dried, perfumed and wrapped his son's body. In this essay,  I consider the intense intimacy, and at times the failure, of the senses in this process of cleansing. "Cleansing via the senses as eyesight follows the soul" was published in the 2015 catalogue on Adams' work, which was produced by Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa.

The magic of Greek and Roman witches is often described as fragrant, or even as being itself a kind of scent. Classical descriptions of witchcraft thus echo ancient fears of women’s perfumes and scented cosmetics, which were conventionally thought of as altering the minds of men, who could be seduced by sweet scents into doing things they would not willingly choose to do. Witches’ spells similarly charm and confuse their targets, acting as more aggressive supernatural versions of ordinary women’s scents, even as witches themselves were increasingly described as old, repulsive, and foul-smelling. Meanwhile, male magicians are largely inodorate in the fantastic literature of antiquity. Clarifying the links between ancient discourse on perfumes, gender, and magic offers new ways to read Greco-Roman fantastic literature.

The smell is based upon the perception in visual expression of advertising message. Messages stimulate ‘smell perception’ of receivers by way of revealing smell images in their memory. Creating common memories and association of ideas make reference to receiver’s experiences and enable smell images to transform into ‘smell perception’. To get through persons’ smell images has primarily required carrying out an elaborate research on the smell within thesis, sectioning the subjects in such a manner that it might be suitable for the purposes of thesis, and expressing the flow of information in a certain order. In this thesis, this method has been followed by carrying out a systematic research with a view to reaching a conclusion which includes some opinions as well. Being composed of four sections, the first section is dedicated to giving information on the operation of the sense of smell and emphasizing ‘the importance of smell’. In this scope, the impacts of favorable and unfavorable smells on people are investigated within historical process including communicative aspects of such impacts. In this section, where physiological, chemical and communicative properties of the smell become prominent, a general introduction to the sense of smell is provided and information on its way of affecting and directing human life is given.
In second section, ‘psychology’ and ‘neurological’ impacts of smell memory are handled; texts of the writers who discussed the smell and memories in a literary sense
are examined; fMRI test on the sense of smell is conducted, and whether or not the visual triggers the sense of smell is analyzed. Under fMRI smell test, which was conducted based on persons’ mental behaviors directed to smell, the matter of thesis is solved.
In third section, information is given on the fact that the smell is an important
sense that might be used to affect consumers in visual expression of advertising message; psychological impacts of the sense of smell on consumer’s / receiver’s buying decision are investigated; those product advertisements containing or making reference to smell are analyzed – based on visual expression strategies, and persons’ ‘smell images’ are clearly described in the light of all information obtained.
In fourth section, where relevant applications are presented, a publicity poster
is designed for ‘Rexona’-branded deodorant. The poster, which is designed with the help of smell images that might trigger the persons’ sense of smell, serves as a suggestion as well.

This article describes the sensory experiences of fighting through an ethnography of mixed martial arts (MMA). MMA is an emergent sport where competitors in a ring or cage utilize strikes (punches, kicks, elbows, and knees) as well as submission techniques to defeat opponents. This sensory ethnography involves, inter alia, the documentation of the rhythms pertaining to the cadence of drills, the flow of sparring and grappling sessions, the attunement of bodies to other bodies through touch, the beat of music accompanying training sessions, the smell of sweat and flatulence, and the throbbing pain that is registered through taste. This article relies on 45 in-depth interviews with mixed martial art fighters and participant observation over a four-year period.

Sensory experience in Ancient Egypt was conceptualized differently from the cognitive models popularized by Descartes and popular today. It is possible to perceive this difference by exploring how scent contributed to the organization and maintenance of Ancient Egyptian society. For example, unlike today where hygiene and cleanliness often are associated with dryness and sterility, the ancient Egyptians found sweet scented oils and unguents to be the most effective means of purifying spaces through their invocation of divine presence. In my talk, I will discuss how the ancient Egyptians conceived these sweet scents as indicators of divine presence, as well as share some of the implications of these beliefs.

Scent permeates all organizations and multiple dimensions of organizational life-yet it has been largely neglected in organization studies. This is unfortunate as scent is both a constitutive component of social reality and a distinct semiotic mode of constructing and conveying cultural meaning. It impacts, among many other things, the identity and image of organizations as well as institutionalized practices on the individual, organizational and field level. In order to firmly establish scent on our research agenda, this article introduces three novel concepts and, subsequently, highlights fertile areas for future research: institutional scent repertoire, organizational scent identity and scent literacy.

The present study demonstrates that the widely used term sntr/sntr, so far translated as “incense” and sometimes “resins”, in fact means “[divine/godly] scent” i.e. a “[divine/godly] smell”. Several arguments are used for this demonstration. Linguistic first, to negate the presence of an alleged causative s which so far explained the basic meaning of the term to signify “to cause to make divine” and thus permitting “incense” as translation in relation to the verb s[-]ntr “to cense”; secondly by confirming the term’s tied reading through variant scribal writings and uses of alternative signs such as sn (T22) or snt (T22A); third by proposing that sntr be linked to words expressing “smells” (snsn/sntsnt), fourth by the explanation of the different conception which ancient Egyptians had of burning these resins, in that their “incensing” of a given object was not an action but a reaction allowing the object (statue or image)’s divine smell or fragrant sweat to exude forth and hence manifest the presence of the divinity. This new translation of sntr and better comprehension of its use enables other levels of translation to be reached for inscriptions where the term is employed, as well as a better understanding of ancient Egyptian rituals and theology.

Celem artykułu jest przekroczenie paradygmatu wzrokocentrycznego rozpowszechnionego w refleksji nad podróżopisarstwem. Głównym obiektem zainteresowania są reprezentacje wrażeń zapachowych: sposób ich tworzenia oraz funkcja w tekście. W tym celu analizowane są wybrane polskie i serbskie teksty podróżopisarskie na temat Chin z drugiej połowy XIX i pierwszej połowy XX wieku.

Este estudo investigou o efeito do aroma do ambiente em uma situao de interao entre cliente e vendedor. Para verificar essa interao foram realizados dois estudos experimentais. O primeiro estudo analisou a confiana do cliente no vendedor aps uma situao de influncia interpessoal (lisonja) feita pelo vendedor em um ambiente com aroma; no segundo estudo foi utilizado o mesmo ambiente com o aroma, porm, a influncia interpessoal (lisonja) foi feita por duas pessoas: o vendedor e o gerente da loja. Os resultados da pesquisa revelaram que quando a interao entre o vendedor e o cliente ocorre em um ambiente com o aroma de limpeza, a confiana que o cliente possui no vendedor maior do que quando a interao ocorre em um ambiente sem aroma algum ou at em um ambiente em que o aroma congruente com o tipo de produto comercializado. O estudo tambm identificou que quando a influncia interpessoal realizada por dois atores com os mesmos objetivos (ligados venda), o efeito positivo do aroma de limpeza na...

Two groups of wolves (Canis lupus) (N = 15 individuals) were tested for scent rubbing with eight novel odours from four classes of scent (herbivore, carnivore, food, and manufactured). If novelty is the primary factor influencing scent rubbing, we expected high initial rubbing frequencies across classes that would decline with successive presentations. Differential responses would indicate class of scent is more important. The wolves exhibited a striking propensity to scent rub differentially among odours. The manufactured odours (perfume and motor oil) elicited the strongest rubbing response, carnivore odours (cougar (Felis concolor) feces and black bear (Ursus americanus) feces) elicited the second highest response, and one of the food odours (salt pork) elicited a single rub from one individual, while the other food odour (tuna oil) was not rubbed. Herbivore odours (Aoudad sheep (Ammotraqus lervia) feces and Sable Island horse (Equus caballus) feces) were not rubbed. There was a negative correlation between odours that were rubbed and those tasted. Overall, there was a slight tendency to rub less frequently on an eliciting odour with successive presentations, but a stronger tendency with the two odours that elicited the greatest rubbing response (perfume and motor oil). Scent rub eliciting odours might include (i) scents of a class not usually encountered in the wolf's environment, (ii) a familiar scent that deviates from the norm by a change in character, and (iii) scents to which a wolf might have a strong aversion or attraction.  Can. J. Zool. Vol. 64, 1986

THE ENIGMA OF ATTRACTION
Two themes run through The Secret Seduction and the Enigma of Attraction”—Goethe’s “Elective Affinities” (1809),  (I call it the enigma of attraction), where atoms seek each other and connect, whether it is matter, animal or human beings. Two people find each other and great passions arise, suffering too, and undying love. You can see it in the great love stories—Romeo & Juliet, Heloise & Abelard, Tristan & Isolde, Cleopatra  & Antony, Orpheus & Eurydice. All of these stories, or myths, have tragic endings.
The other theme is what can happen during psychotherapy when two people are alone together and great intimacy occurs. Freud set a taboo—if the bounds were broken, an irreperable damage would occur.
I was fascinated when reading through the story of Tristan and Isolde how much it resonated with what happens in The Secret Seduction and the Enigma of Attraction. “There are certain things which Fate determines on very obstinately. Reason and virtue, duty and everything holy standing its way in vain. Something is set to happen as Fate sees fit but which to us does not seem fit; and at length it will accomplish its own end however we behave,” wrote Goethe. “Affinities are only really interesting when they bring about separations.”