Certainly, there is a very deep connection between the sensation produced by listening to music and the one we perceive when smelling an aroma. Both sensations evoke memories in our memory that transport us to other places, to the company of someone, or to a pleasant moment in our lives.
Like musical notes, olfactory notes use a similar language. Both have notes, chords, and harmonies and the perception of both involves an organ in our body.
Both musical and olfactory notes are organized in a pyramidal way. The so-called high notes in music, which are emitted with force, are the so-called top notes or also top notes in perfumes, both emitted with force and then fade slightly. The so-called heart notes in both cases, remain or remain unchanged for a few hours; while the base notes are the ones that allow the sensation to have durability.
The emotions offered by musical notes and olfactory notes are undoubtedly thrilling, in the most primitive way, and lead us to sensations that are hidden in our memory.
In the same way that it is uncontrollable to react to a piece of music heard for the first time, neither is it predictable the reaction we will have when smelling a fragrance for the first time and processing its aroma, which will undoubtedly be marked in our memory.
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Music as a muse for fragrances
There are many fragrances that have been formulated inspired by a certain melody and that translate into emotions and feelings, such as the fragrance Music Festival, which was inspired by the Woodstock Festival, where strong notes such as incense, leather, and other aromatic notes, as well as intense emotions, pay tribute to such a particular festival.
Another of the perfumes inspired by a music festival is Sonar by 2787 Perfumes, which is a tribute to the festival in the city of Barcelona, where metallic wood and amber along with bergamot, are reminiscent of this musical event.
Music For a While is a perfume by Fréderic Melle that was inspired by the composition of a musical piece, formed by two movements, a striking beginning, and very sensual and even addictive heart notes. In its formulation is perceived lavender, citrus, patchouli, vanilla, and amber, which makes this fragrance very sensual and definitely magnetic.
Sephora, the first firm to link music to fragrances
Sephora with its A.M.A. or Art Meets Art fragrance collection was the first brand to link music’s greatest hits with the world’s most famous perfumers. This collection includes perfumes such as Madona’s Like a Virgin, a floral fragrance, where peony, rose and musk stand out, and which became as successful as the melody.
Another of the fragrances of the A.M.A. collection is Bohemian Rhapsody, inspired by the song of the same name, which is a fragrance that is difficult to forget. To wear this fragrance is to live in the world of rock and roll and remember Freddy Mercury in the floral notes of rose, tuberose, musk, and currant buds that will take us to the front row of his concerts.
In addition to those already mentioned, the Art Meets Arts collection includes fragrances named after popular songs such as “Besame Mucho”, in which notes of iris, black leather, incense, blood mandarin, and Atlas cedar stand out. Also included is I Put a Spell on You, a captivating fragrance that masterfully combines bergamot, ginger, and neroli with notes such as sandalwood and gajac wood to offer a fresh and captivating scent.
Opera associated with the fragrances
Acqua di Parma’s “Note di Colonia” collection reinterprets nature and combines the musical structure of a classical score. It was the authors and works of Opera that inspired its creator.
For the first fragrance of the collection, the muse came from one of the most famous themes of the Opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi called Libiamo ne’ lieti calici; the second perfume of the collection was inspired by the vitality of the Opera Nessun Dorma del Turanot by Giacomo Puccini; the third in the collection flaunts majesty and triumphalism reminiscent of the Opera Marcia dell’Aida.
This one is another of Verdi’s great works; and Note di Colonia IV is a tribute to the passion, inspired by Donna non vidi mai! from Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. The last fragrance in the collection, Note di Colonia V, is a tribute to Italian opera, with La donna è mobile, from Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, taking center stage.
Cultural movements made perfume
Folie à Pleusieurs inspires many of its fragrances in the cultural movement, where not only music is the muse, but other elements such as cinema and literature are present for the development of unique and special fragrances, as is the case of Amore. This is a subtle and perhaps melancholic perfume, deep and very original. The creation of this fragrance was in charge of Mark Buxton and is the response to the song Amore by Ryuichi Sakamoto, composer, and keyboardist of Haruomi Hosono’s Yellow Magic Orchestra.
The notes of Amore represent the works of various musical genres and include cedar, incense, sandalwood, and patchouli, which turns the fragrance into a whole experience and a cumulus of very particular emotions.
High-end perfumery that reinterprets music
The firm V-Monkeys gave birth to Jusbox Perfumes, a company dedicated to high-end perfumery, which is characterized by reinterpreting music and bringing it to perfumes, creating unique, evocative fragrances that stimulate the senses and revive memories. Every year, they create different collections including new scents, taking as inspiration the trends and preferences of users. They use the olfactory notes of rhythm, melody, culture and combine them with a lifestyle.
This prestigious perfumery firm is in charge of decoding music through fragrances, making modern interpretations, based on the aesthetic aspect of artistic perfumery, which causes emotions, sensations and favors memories through unique products.
Its first collection, called Icons, is inspired by characters that are icons worldwide, either for their participation in the artistic and cultural world or in the social context. The perfumes in the collection seek to convey the essence of these iconic characters, as is the case of the Black Powder fragrance, inspired by Kurt Cobain.
Jusbox’s Genres Collection is inspired by the Acid House cultural movement and culture. Cheeky Smile perfume is a unisex oriental fragrance, and prevailing notes of Iso E Super and Ambrocenide; as heart notes are present ambroxan and amber; and its base notes of cashmere and Amber Xtreme, make this perfume a very long-lasting and moderate trail, which evokes pleasant feelings.
Music Matters is a Jusbox perfume that, if applied in a dark environment, will transport you to the atmosphere of the well-known Acid House clubs in the city of London. It combines aromatherapy with musky and watery aromas whose notes bring a sense of well-being similar to New Age and Reggae music that will prepare you for sublime moments.
The link between music and perfumers in its most basic concept is that both are creators of works of art, and their compositions are derived from notes, chords, and symphonies, in one case musical and in another aromatic, but which are ultimately languages that evoke sublime feelings that make us remember, people and significant moments in our lives or that have marked an era that we remember, feel and live, both when listening to a melody and when perceiving an aroma.
