The Complexity of Fragrance Names

As we all know only too well, fragrances can be a very personal thing and are about as subjective as any sensory stimulus can be - Is it bitter or sweet, uplifting or moody, floral or citrusy? Leaves, bark, woods, moss, tobacco & flowers to name but a few are only the tip of the iceberg when trying to navigate the complex world of fragrances and what that means to each and every one of us.

One of the hardest tasks we face when adding new fragrances, is the name! By necessity, any fragrance will have been given a name for a multitude of reasons, not least because we need to be able to identify it from other fragrances. When there are literally millions of combinations of different scents to choose from which make up our favourite fragrances, how does one go about trying to identify that particular one?

Should we identify it by the memory it invokes within us as individuals or by one or two of the key elements our finely tuned noses have managed to decipher based on our experience of the world around us?

With that in mind…

What’s in a name?

Is the grouping of letters the sum of its intrinsic qualities or is there more to this than meets the eye - or Nose!

Names can help provide some form of insight into what you may expect from a fragrance, or the experience others may have had – this however does not always factor in such things as the setting, the mood, the environment or space; which brings us to our next area of consideration when trying to name a scent...

What category best describes the fragrance?

Trying to classify or group fragrances can be as difficult as trying to name them, which is why we have decided, to come up with some feedback and suggestions based on our collective experience from the NI Candle Supplies range and will be running a competition throughout August asking for feedback from you, after all; you know our fragrances nearly as well as we do!

To help get your creative ideas flowing, we've decided to focus on three categories which spring to mind at this point in the year and provide our personal thoughts on these; they are:

• Summer
• Christmas
• Working from Home

What does Summer smell like to us?

With the incredible weather we have all been enjoying right across the UK, summer is a time for enjoying the outdoors. For enjoying gardens, forests, mountains, camping, creative crafts, outdoor dining, summer fruits and more. When the weather is not so great, we try to do the next best thing – we try to bring the outdoors … in-doors!

‘Green’, fruity, citrussy, the smell of fresh mountain air, beaches, favourite flowers and plants etc can all help lift the spirit when indoors whether it be the home or office. A scent can remind you of a holiday in a far-off place, it can draw you into a room which can then draw you into the garden. It can help you focus. It can also help you to relax.

Fragrances more often than not, blur the boundaries between what is considered uplifting, relaxing, background or the main focus when one enters a space.

Fragrances suited for conservatories/sunrooms and bathrooms can often be just as appropriate for the day spa!

Citrus Musk & Patchouli as an example has long been a staple for the conservatory/utility room in our home but works equally well as a ‘Spa’ fragrance with its crisp shot of citrussy grapefruit, mid mellow florals and a soft musky base. This fragrance blends bright clarity with warm undertones just perfect for transporting you to warmer climates!

How do we capture the essence of Christmas?

Christmas scents are an amalgamation of most of the autumnal fragrances but tend to focus on the spicier, warmer side. Scents ideal for autumn through to Halloween can sometimes be most appropriate right through Christmas. Again, this is where a lot of the personal experience and individual tastes come into play.

Nana’s Kitchen’s name puts it squarely in the ‘scents from home’ category where baking indoors on an autumn/winter day is often the memory invoked with this fragrance. Put it to your nose once more and all of a sudden you are eating mince pies in front of the fire at Christmas time with a brandy in hand!

Two of our personal favourites ‘Winter's Night’ and ‘Pumpkin Spiced Latte’ come out at the start of October every year and carry us all the way through to the festive season! Smokey Embers is another interesting one for us, not only is it perfect during the colder months, for us it spends the rest of the year alternating between our study and our lounge room. We absolutely love the mixture of sweet musk and woody undertones.

How do we focus while working from home?

With a vast number of people right across the country having been in a home office environment due to COVID, and indeed still working from home, there are often a collection of firm favourites that stand out as the go-to background fragrances that help us settle into a space and get on with the task in hand.

Favourites include the above-mentioned Smokey Embers, the ever popular Molten Amber, Tobacco & Oak and Leather & Oudh. These rich luxurious scents ground us and bring a sense of calm to what can at times be described as a chaotic working environment!

When I’m looking to escape the mayhem of daily working life, my happy place is a reading nook at the top of the stairs where my Sheer Lily & White Rose candle sits waiting for me, the scent wafts gently down the stairs and beckons for me to take a moment, pop my feet up and enjoy the simple things in life!

 

Hopefully our thoughts have given you some ideas in preparation for our competition launching next month...keep an eye out in your inbox for more details soon.