NATIONAL FRAGRANCE DAY! HOW FRAGRANCE CHANGES MY LIFE
Posted by Eileen Harcourt on
MARCH 21ST IS NATIONAL FRAGRANCE DAY, AND CERTAINLY A DAY TO BE CELEBRATED! BUT PERHAPS MORE SPECIAL RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE BENEFIT FRAGRANCE HAS ON OUR MOOD AND OUR LIFE!
IN AN INSTANT FRAGRANCE CAN TRANSPORT YOU TO A WONDERFUL MEMORY.....AND LETS FACE IT WITH TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ..TRAVELING THROUGH SENSE OF SMELL IS A GOOD THING! WHETHER YOU'RE CONJURING UP A MEMORY OR CREATING A NEW ONE FRAGRANCE IS THE VEHICLE TO TAKE YOU THERE. FRAGRANCE CAN AND SHOULD BE ENJOYED ALONE AS WELL AS A SHARED EXPERIENCE. THE FRAGRANCE I CHOOSE THAT DAY FOR THAT MOMENT CAN INSTANTLY TRANSPORT ME TO WHEREVER IT IS I WOULD LIKE TO BE. FRAGRANCE HAS NO BOUNDARIES
THERE ARE THE SCIENTIFIC REASONS FOR THIS INSTANTANEOUS EXPERIENCE : IE: Scents bypass the thalamus and go straight to the brain's smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, which might explain why the smell of something can so immediately trigger a detailed memory or even intense emotion." Scents are the only sensations that travel such a direct path to the emotional and memory centers of the brain.
I ALWAYS SAY I FEEL LIKE A DREAM WEAVER WHEN I CREATE SCENT...I CREATE FOR WHAT I WANT TO EXPERIENCE NOW....
I THINK FOR MANY OF US WHO LIVE UPSTATE NEW YORK, WHEN WE SMELL HYACINTH OR LILAC WE FEEL HAPPY AND HOPEFUL, BECAUSE WE KNOW SUBLIMINALLY THAT THIS IS AN INDICATION THAT THE LONG DARK DAYS OF WINTER HAVE PASSED..
AS SOME OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW ..FRAGRANCE HAS BEEN A PASSION FOR ME SINCE I WAS QUITE YOUNG...I WAS AN AVON LADY AT THE AGE OF 13..YES MY MOTHER HAD TO CO-SIGN, BUT IN MANY WAYS IT WAS NOT MUCH DIFFERENT THEN SELLING AND DELIVERING THE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES, SO SHE SUPPORTED MY EFFORT.. WE HAD GARDENS AT MY HOME, SO FRESH FLOWERS AND SCENT WERE THE "NORM" MY MOTHER WOULD HANG OUR SHEETS OUT ON THE LINE NEXT TO THE LILAC BUSH...
WHEN I WAS OLDER AND LIVING IN THE CITY..I MISSED THESE SCENTS AND THE HAPPINESS THAT FRAGRANCE BROUGHT TO MY LIFE...
SO AMONGST THE FIRST PRODUCTS THAT I EVER DEVELOPED WAS A SHEET SPRAY .. TO BE ABLE TO DUPLICATE THAT WONDERFUL SCENT OF LILAC ON MY SHEETS! THIS WAS SUCH A SIMPLE THING BUT IT MEANT SO MUCH TO MY DAILY LIFE..
SO WE KNOW FRAGRANCE CAN CONJURE UP AN EXPERIENCE OR A MEMORY BUT DID YOU KNOW THEY CAN ACTUALLY HAVE AN EFFECT ON YOUR MOOD..AGAIN, SCIENTIFICALLY: “Odour molecules flow to the limbic system in the brain, where feelings, moods, emotions, sexual behaviour and memory are processed.” Scent builds into a powerful story that can effect our emotions.
"Scents can have positive effects on mood, stress reduction, sleep enhancement, self-confidence, and physical and cognitive performance," says Theresa Molnar, executive director of the Sense of Smell Institute, the research and educational arm of the perfume industry's Fragrance Foundation.
Iff has actually been working on a paper called "mood mapping"..
ONE OF THE REASONS I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THE POP UP STORE IN SHARON SPRINGS IS TO SHARE MY LOVE FOR FRAGRANCE AND SHARE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN USE FRAGRANCE TO AFFECT OUR DAILY LIFE!
WITH COVID-19 WE DON'T KNOW WHEN WE WILL BE BACK AT BANK IN RESIDENCE ..SO I AM HOPING THAT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAILS AND GOOD OLD FASHIONED PHONE CALLS WE CAN CONNECT YOU WITH ALL OF YOUR AND OUR FAVORITE FRAGRANCES..AND NEW FRAGRANCES,,, FRAGRANCES THAT CONJURE UP MEMORIES, AND FRAGRANCES THAT BOOST YOUR MOOD.BELOW IS A STORY OF ONE OF MY FIRST FRAGRANCES.. AND HOW WHAT WAS OLD IS NEW AGAIN!
EACH DAY I WILL TRY TO WRITE A BIT ABOUT DIFFERENT SCENTS AND HOW THEY MAKE YOU FEEL, WHERE TO USE THEM SAFELY ON YOUR BODY, IN YOUR HOME... SO IF YOU HAVE TIME TO CHECK IN... I HOPE YOU DO..
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A FEW MONTHS BACK SIOBHAN AND I WERE WORKING ON THE NEW SCENTS FOR E HARCOURTS...AND I SHOWED HER ONE OF MY VERY FIRST FRAGRANCES..THAT I CAN SAY AS AN INDIE FRAGRANCE TO POP UP OUT OF NO WHERE (1988) WAS SUPRISIGNLEY SUCCESSFUL...IT WAS CALLED TRANQUILITY...IT SOLD AT ZONA AND PORTICO, IT WAS USED FOR ATMOSPHERE AT THE ROBERT LEE MORRIS SHOPS ..
SIOBHAN LOVED IT AND WE DECIDED TO RE LAUNCH THIS FRAGRANCE WITH A NEW NAME... NEW TIMES NEW NAMES...HOWEVER, THIS WEEK WITH ALL OF THE COVID-19 NEWS...IT REMINDED ME OF THE TIMES ME WE LIVED IN WHEN I LAUNCHED TRANQUILITY...IT WAS DURING THE LATE 80'S WHEN SO MANY OF OUR ARTIST AND CREATIVE FRIENDS WERE SUFFERING AND DYEING FROM AIDS...AND WHEN I CREATED THIS SCENT IT WAS DESIGNED TO ELEVATE ONES MOOD, TO OFFER TRANQUILITY , HAPPINESS AND CALM.. WITH NOTES OF JASMINE, MIMOSA, CIRE D'ABEILLE, CLARY SAGE ..
SO FOR THE MOMENT WE'RE GOING TO MAINTAIN THE NAME TRANQUILITY AND BRING THIS VERY SPECIAL FRAGRANCE BACK IN HOPES THAT THE SCENT WILL ELEVATE OUR MOOD AND OFFER HOPEFULNESS AND HAPPINESS.
AND I HAVE TO LAUGH THAT EVEN THOUGH I'M FEELING OLD WHEN I LOOK BACK AT THE SCENT THAT I CREATED IN THE 80S ...IVE BEEN DOING THIS "HOBBY" FOR A LONG TIME..BUT IT REMINDS ME THAT "EXPERIENCE" MAY HAVE A BENEFIT IN TODAYS ATMOSPHERE..