Evoke: The Romance of Scent

By Jessica Cobb, Certified Aromatherapist

Scent and emotion

Try and remember exactly what your favorite scent smells like.  It’s actually pretty hard, isn’t it? Yet when you’re exposed to certain scents, you’ll suddenly remember vivid details of a distant childhood memory, a person, or time gone by.

Some scents even affect us physiologically in measurable ways. Scientists studying scent and human physiology have found some really interesting things:

• A faint trace of lemon will make people feel healthier.
• Lavender helps boost your mood.
• A whiff of lavender plus eucalyptus may boost your respiratory rate and feelings of relaxation.
• The scent of Rose oil can help reduce blood pressure.

Findings like these have helped lead to the rise of the Essential Oil industry. As aromatherapists, we can point to scientific findings that show how smell can dramatically affect our moods and body as evidence that essential oils can really help improve your emotional life (2).

Emotion, scent, and intention

But what about being more intentional than that?

In addition to your natural scent, essential oils, perfumes, and colognes add complexity to our feelings associated with smell. We have the ability to intentionally pair scent with strong emotions to deepen those already strong connections.

Perfumes and colognes have strong links to memory, and you can use this link to make your significant other miss you when you’re not around or spark feelings of romance even before your big date night.

Scents are tied to our emotions and memory

It works like this: If you’ve ever smelled a cheap men’s body spray after seventh grade, you probably felt transported back to middle school gym class, right?

In other words, the scent becomes paired in your memory with a time, place, experience or person. And this happens for all of us!

Certain fragrances can give you warm fuzzies because they remind us of certain times or people, like your mom’s perfume, your seventh-grade crush, or the person you want to miss you when you’re not there.

Plus, science has found that the scents most likely to evoke romantic or happy feelings are one that puts you (or him) in a good mood (3).

Evoke: Designed for emotion

This is where Evoke comes in. Plant Therapy’s Evoke fragrances are so much more than just scents: we combined essential oils with essential oil isolates to create deep, complex scents that are made to stick in the memory of you and your loved ones.

Evoke was formulated to be paired with your emotions, to create more than just a memorable scent. Evoke helps you create an experience.

Pairing Evoke Scents and romance

For example, try having your man sniff each Evoke scent and pick his favorite (on you!)

• Create a rollerball for yourself using his (or her) favorite scent, and wear it around them.
• Make a simple perfume spray and spray it on your hair.
• Borrow his hoodie and wear your favorite scent, then give it back smelling like your signature Evoke perfume.
• Leave him notes letting him know you’re thinking of him, scented with his favorite Evoke blend.

Pair these scent cues with small romantic gestures like lingering kisses or running your fingers through his hair. Nuzzle up under his chin and let him breathe in the scent that will become your signature.

Sources:

1. Nalls, G. (2010). Dating, Mating, and Olfaction: Little known side effects of hormone-based birth control. Psychology Today.
2. Furlow, F. (1996). The Smell of Love. Psychology Today.
3. Lafta, A. (2015). How Our Sense Of Smell Makes Us Fall In Love And Stay In Love. Elite Daily.