Psychology of Fragrance: How Scents Affect Your Mood and Confidence
A fragrance can instantly transport you to another place and time. Scents are strongly associated with memory, and emotions and in guiding our behavior in the moment.
Fragrances evoke emotions of joy, feelings of comfort, alertness and relaxation. This is why the scent you are wearing can easily bring about changes in your mood.
By knowing how scents work and affect mood, you are just a perfume away from boosting your confidence today. Use scents to your advantage by influencing your mood according to the occasion.
But how does that work? Let’s find out more below!
The Science Behind Scents
The sense of smell is connected with the brain’s limbic system. The olfactory bulb in the limbic system processes the smells by sending a signal to the brain.
As a result, a response triggers in the limbic system. The limbic system is the primitive part of the brain responsible for storing and processing memories, emotions and behaviours.
ALSO READ
Make Your Perfume Last All Day Long
When you encounter a smell, the response through the limbic system can either be positive or negative. A negative response will lead to a feeling of sadness or anxiety while a positive response will uplift your emotions.
Scents that stimulate nostalgia leave a stronger effect as they open up a gate of memories. But besides memories, scents also greatly affect your resulting behaviour.
Their associative properties can trigger a physiological response such as increasing alertness, and calmness and generating feelings of relaxation. These drive changes in your mood and overall behaviour.
Retaining the Benefits of Fragrances
To make the best use of these scents, sample and apply them separately. Grab your citrusy, flowery and woody smells and spray them to test each.
First, you need to be in a good mood and feel physically fine. Being in a relaxed and upbeat mood will ensure that your olfactory sensory system is working optimally.
Spray the fragrance on your skin but do not judge by its initial scent. It takes around 20 minutes for a scent to settle in. For instance, the citrusy top notes may eventually turn into flowery, woody and spicy notes if given time.
Once you have applied the fragrance, notice the changes in your mood. Remember that people tend to attach unique and personal emotions to fragrances. Which is why, people experience scents differently.
ALSO READ
How Gemstones Enhance Your Skincare Routine
Hence, the fragrance you apply will affect how you go about your day. Let’s know more about how you can tackle certain emotions using the power of fragrances.
Easing Anxiety, Grief and Sadness
By wearing a fragrance, you are looking for a way to enhance your self-esteem and retain a positive outlook on the world. During the hustle of regular life, untapped emotions often find a way to cast a shadow on a person’s well-being.
Scents with healing properties come in handy to soothe the body and mind. Therefore, to heal and ease anxiety you would want to look into scents such as:
- Chamomile
- Geranium
- Sandalwood
- Vetiver
- Neroli
- Lavender
- Patchouli
- Rose
- Bergamot
- Frankincense
- Sweet Marjoram
Among these, the scent of Rose is especially good for boosting confidence, whereas Vetiver is excellent for grounding.
Similar fragrances help to counteract grief. The best ones for overcoming grief are Bergamot, Jasmine, Rose, Neroli, Chamomile and Marjoram.
Additionally, if you want to uplift yourself when you are sad, the scents to use are:
- Rosewood
- Rose
- Benzoin
- Jasmine
For Loneliness, Impatience, Disappointment and Fatigue
Calming scents can ease the pains of loneliness, disappointment and impatience. Scents also leave a physical impact therefore, they can be beneficial in reducing mental, emotional as well as physical fatigue.
Marjoram and Benzoin are great scents for tackling the uncomfortable feeling of loneliness.
Lavender, Clary, Chamomile and Frankincense can calm your impatience. Liven up and shrug off the feeling of disappointment using the smell of Cypress, Jasmine, Bergamot, Rose, Frankincense and Orange.
To reduce physical fatigue, opt for the following scents:
- Ginger
- Lavender
- Peppermint
- Elemi
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Orange
- Lemon
However, for emotional and mental fatigue, different kinds of scents work better. These include:
- Clove bud
- Cinnamon leaf
- Eucalyptus
- Juniper
- Coriander
- Ylang-ylang
- Rosemary
- Peppermint
- Clary
- Basil
- Citriodora
- Thyme
- Orange
- Vetiver
Suppress Stress, Tension and Fear
Emotions such as stress, fear and tension can distort the peace of your everyday life. Applying a fragrance with particular scents can calm down your nerves and enable you to continue your day with confidence and resilience.
For easing stress, refer to scents such as:
- Roman Chamomile
- Sweet Marjoram
- Clary Sage
- Melissa
- Sandalwood
- Petitgrain
- Bergamot
- Neroli
- Vetiver
- Ylang-ylang
- Rose (Absolute and Otto)
- Patchouli
- Atlas Cedarwood
- All Citrus Oils
Similarly, relieve tension by using a mixture of scents such as:
- Jasmine
- Lemon
- Lavender
- Rosewood
- Chamomile
- Cypress
- Sandalwood
- Ylang-ylang
- Clary
- Geranium
- Orange
- Rose
- Frankincense
- Neroli
- Marjoram
To dispense fear, focus on scents like Sandalwood, Thyme, Cedarwood, Ginger, Patchouli and Fennel.
So now, how must you incorporate these particular scents into your routine to use them to liven up your mood and boost your confidence? Find out below!
How to Use Scents
Scents are widely available in the purest form as essential oils or within perfumes and scented candles.
Essential oils are used for aromatherapy to reduce stress as well as promote relaxation. In order to use essential oils, add two to three drops to an aroma diffuser.
These diffusers act as a humidifier by vaporizing the water inside while diffusing the scent of the essential oil across your living space. Be careful to not add more than two to three drops as scents in pure form are the strongest.
You may also choose to light a scented candle that contains the required fragrance according to your mood. Scented candles provide a faint smell that is sufficient to impact your mood in that particular ambience.
Lastly, if you are out and about and want to use the power of scents to project strong and positive associations to the outer world, spray perfume with the appropriate notes.
Remember to only apply two to three squirts on the chest and neck area in order to not be overwhelming.
Once, you look well put up with your clothes and perfume, you will exude confidence and happiness. Hence, knowing how scents impact your emotions is hugely beneficial to alter how you can feel and revitalize your energy.
Filed under: Tips and Myths
Leave a Reply