How Does the Cosmetic’s Fragrance Influence Shopping?
Let us consider what “best cosmetic” means to us. On which ground do we conclude that a given product is worth buying? Everything starts from approaching a stand with a brand that interests us, next searching for the recommended by everybody product or one in the most beautiful package, and at the end, a decisive, essential move – we open a tester, sniff it and we have our answer. Chosen!
“Perfume is the key to our memories” – Kate Lord Brown, writer
The nose is the first tool which provides us with information about the world around us. A child recognizes its mother thanks to it. The brain will most probably define this scent as beautiful because that’s how we work. We assess smells as nice or bad depending on the associations connected with them, if we were happy or sad when we noticed them, what happened when we noticed them and even what type of people were with us when we noticed them. This is how we build memories with which scent is deeply linked. We also have an ability to associate smell with specific events from the past, which by the scientists is called the Proust effect. Due to these abilities, scents have a big impact on our decision-making, they influence interpersonal relations and our mood. Depending on the coded in the brain context, a given scent may evoke different reactions and emotions. That’s why scent plays a big role while choosing a cosmetic: being guided by it, we not only buy a product, but also memories, particular story and secret that’s contained in it.
“He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men” – Patrick Süskind, writer
Perfumers and marketers use the amazing influence of fragrances to seduce us, incite passion that will take control over our minds and make us buy given goods. However, the road to achieve this goal is long and winding. A detailed analysis of needs and expectations as well as demands and preferences of intended recipients is being performed. Every detail has a meaning: culture, geographic location and even age ultimately decide about the final aromatic notes. Something more than a fragrance starts to form – a story is being made.
A total concept is submitted to a perfumer who with the use of fragrance notes has only one objective: put all sensations, feelings, relations into a single container.
“I felt something so intense, I could only express it in a perfume” – Jacques Guerlain, perfume maker
A marketing team and persons responsible for package design play an important role in the creation process of a composition. A marketing’s task is to create a story which will lead us to a scent and make us associate it with a particular past event. The purpose of an advertisement is to create an appropriate image in our heads. Whereas, people who are working on a package must acquaint themselves with the current trends, determine what will attract the most attention, and what colors should they stick to. All of this aims to make a consumer recall their memories and thoughts, to link a given place with a particular scent and atmosphere. This is how our subconscious brings us to a state where we are willing to spend a bigger amount of money to be able to recall memories for a while or to satisfy our desires with the use of a cosmetic.
“Perfume is nothing other than touch felt from a distance” – Jean-Claude Ellena, Chief Perfumer of Hermes
Originally the aromatic substances were used to mask unattractive scents of products. The purpose changed with time: fragrance started to be applied to make use of goods more enjoyable for the consumers. The creditability of cosmetic’s effect began to grow in importance thanks to the correctly selected fragrance, namely a selection of characteristic aromas which evoke positive emotions in us. This is well depicted by studies which indicate that people prefer to buy a product that has delicate, subtle, herbal or floral scents, because they make us think about nature, health and positive action. Moreover, we have a coded information in our heads that the fragrance of natural cosmetics is closely related to its properties, thus we tend to buy products that have the above mentioned aromas more willingly.
We have to know that it’s the best to pick products whose aromatic substances are of natural origin, because we don’t benefit from synthetic fragrances. A well chosen scent of a cosmetic provides our bodies with energy to act and makes us feel more attractive.
The convictions which we have once heard, which we follow, yet we don’t know if they’re true are as important. It’s about the belief that the scented cosmetics are worse than the odorless ones, and that the manufacturers are increasingly replacing the natural ingredients with harmful, cheaper alternatives. Let us be informed consumers who know that ingredients in cosmetics aren’t odorless, on the contrary, an attempt to remove a fragrance makes a product to contain even more synthetics that work to its disadvantage. Conclusion – we’ll hear a lot of opinions, but it’s the best to fill gaps in our knowledge by ourselves in the company of certain sources. This is where our secret weapon comes in: cosmetic’s composition! Surely, we’ll find many books or websites that’ll help us to see right through our cosmetic. All we have to do is to take only one photo before the purchase and we already know if our cosmetic contains synthetic substances, and if the aromatic ones are of natural origin.
“Together with breath it [scent] entered human beings, who couldn't defend themselves against it, not if they wanted to live” – Patrick Süskind, writer
Scent affects all of us, it makes us happy, sad, stimulates the senses or irritates. It evokes memories, deeply influences and can even change our attitude. Thanks to this we’re able to experience an inner, magical journey and totally express ourselves.
We have many beautifully scented cosmetics in the Silcare offer. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Sensual Moments line, in which you can find hand creams, soap, lotions i oils containing specially selected, extremely durable and tempting fragrance compositions.