Consumer culture of scents

Odors in everyday life

Undoubtedly, odors still play an important role in everyday life.

In the morning, we rush to the shower to wash off our own intimate smell with a gel or soap with scents or natural sweet-smelling ingredients, then apply an artificial fragrance (perfume or deodorant) before going out in public.

This allows you to create the right image to attract attention (more typical for women) and to emphasize the status (more typical for men).

Lack of personal care or neglecting hygiene leads to rejection in modern society, especially for those living in crowded cities, where people have to encroach on each other's personal space, for example, on public transport during rush hour.

The kitchen at home or at work is usually filled with its own smells; one of which is the aroma of coffee. Scientists are still trying to unravel the popularity of this drink. What causes that irresistible desire to pour a cup of fragrant coffee? Its aroma by itself is an incentive to wake up and concentrate. Is it simply just a pleasure to inhale the scent, or just a biochemical reaction to caffeine?

Household odors (for example, cooked food, baby food) are often unwelcome in public.

During daytime working hours, constant high-intensity odors are not welcome either in the office space or outside, especially in the summer.

Evening scents depend on the time and place. Pleasant, soothing scents are often used before going to bed.

In addition to the typical scenarios outlined above, odors associated with body function (sweat, bad breath etc.) and ambient odors relating to the quality of residential and work premises (the presence or absence of good ventilation, the presence of mold etc.) are of great importance in everyday life.

We should also give special consideration to household odors in the historical context. Each period of history differs in the features of personal hygiene, body and room aromatization. Egyptian incense, Arabic oils, Oriental spices, Roman baths, Greek thermal baths, European laundries, sewers, private baths, handicraft and industrial perfumes; these are a small part of the historical heritage that mark milestones in the development of human civilization.

Localized attitudes to different types of odors are also no less interesting. Although the list of unpleasant odors is similar in surveys of different nations, the scents that different nations identify as pleasant are quite diverse. Germans like the aromas of nature, clean sheets and candles. The Japanese prefer the smells of bath items and flowers, and the French find the smell of specific cheeses appealing. Some inuit tribes, on the other hand, really like aged, slightly rancid meat while some Bedouin rate the smell of camel urine.

Odors in religion

The smell of incense and smoke in the air are part of the ritual of human communication with higher powers.

The use of smellshave been encountered in different religions:
- the burning of incense during sacrifices in order to praise, appease or make a request to the deity,
- the constant smell of incense in religious buildings as a sign of the presence of the Holy spirit (Holiness) or deity,
- anointing the body with perfume for fragrance in order to acquire an aura of godliness.

The effect on the sense of smell, which is largely subconscious in comparison with the vision or hearing, is an important element in many worship rituals.

People started using incense about 5,000 years ago. The first complete descriptions of aromatic compositions were found in Ancient Egypt. Among them, the most important is a mixture called Kyphi (among ingredients are wine, raisins, honey, resin, herbs), the recipe of which was often applied to the walls of temples. It was used for incense in temples or consumed in beverages.

In Ancient and modern India, sandalwood was held in high esteem as its soothing smell facilitates a meditative mood. In Buddhist temples, where the fragrance of sandalwood is also revered, various forms of incense are constantly burned as the scents help to achieve a deeper level of meditation and clarity of mind.

In Ancient China, the aromas of herbs were given great attention in the healing arts as they symbolized the magical power of plants. The burning of incense sticks and special paper was also a mandatory part of some religious ceremonies.

In some denominations of Christianity, an important role is played by olibanum (frankincense) - a fragrant tree substance that hardens and turns into resin in the air. It is used as incense in temples and churches. Also important in some services is the aromatic mixture myrrh, which consists of several dozen components, including olive oil, Cassia, calamus, and cinnamon.

Islam encourages the use of fragrant mixtures and compositions in body care. However, moderation is emphasized. The smell should not distract others, especially in the mosque. Scents can be used by both women and men and are a symbol of piety. A woman should not apply an excessive amount of fragrance that attracts the attention of men outside the house.

Science and smells

The science of odors is odorology, which is traditionally divided into three sections - forensic, medical and psychological.

Possibly, the most high-profile is forensic odorology, which has two main areas; the use of ‘sniffer’ or ‘detection’ dogs and olfactronics - the use of technological devices which can determine the chemical composition of smells.

As you know, dogs have a phenomenal sense of smell, many times more sensitive than a human’s. They need only 6-8 molecules to determine the smell, while a person needs several hundred. Dogs are therefore used for tracking down criminals and victims, and detecting dangerous substances.

We don't know much about medical odorology. In general, it has long been known that smell can work well in the diagnosis of diseases. At the moment, the possibility of using dogs to detect skin, breast, and bladder cancer at an early stage is being assessed.

Interestingly, research was conducted by Dutch scientists from the University of Nijmegen in 2020: they proposed the creation of an “electronic nose”; a device that can determine the composition of the smell of Barrett's syndrome, which precedes the appearance of esophageal cancer.

Impaired smell perception is also a sign of many diseases, including age related ones such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

The influence of odors on human psychology is also being actively studied. In particular, this may apply to the Proust phenomenon, whereby certain smells involuntarily evoke memories, including painful ones, sometimes up to the manifestation of post-traumatic syndrome.

In general, the study of odors involves representatives from various scientific disciplines - chemistry, biology, physiology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and history.

Smells in art

Part of this topic is covered in the section “Social functions of the sense of smell”.

Scents can be an object of art in themselves: classical perfumery (e.g. “Chanel N5”, “Poison” Dior etc.) being case and point. Scents can serve as a central exhibition element or as a complement to installations, films, books, or virtual reality.

“Smell metaphors” in literature (“stinking rich", “to smell fishy" etc.) are an interesting topic too.