Functional fragrances are trending

In the June edition of Elle magazine perfume designer Tanja Deurloo and olfaction scientist Monique Smeets reflect on the recent functional fragrance trend, referring to fragrances that are not only delightful but also boost your mood.

They address the scientific underpinnings to functional fragrance mood claims as relying mostly on psychological mechanisms. These relate to odours eliciting emotional memories and the role of individual anticipations of fragrance effects actually contributing to experiencing these effects. While it is still early to conclude fragrance ingredients act as biological actives on the body and brain, future research may well prove this to be the case. But whatever the mechanism, the trend will not go away: “Perfume has long ceased to be just an accessory, but has become an essential part of how we feel and want to feel.” as Deurloo concludes.