Listen here to an audio overview of this edition's feature essay.

The Color of Clean: How Pink Bottles and Fruity Scents Inspire Perfumery

What does a study about fabric softeners, color, and scent have to do with niche perfumery? At first glance, maybe not much. But for me, this study is a reminder that Emotional Fragrance Design (EFD) is so much more than creating “nice” fragrances. It’s about intentional design - using scent to evoke the desired emotional state of the people we’re creating for.

EFD elevates perfumery from something consumers like to something they love. And understanding what works, and what doesn’t, is key to that transformation.

How a Study on Fabric Softeners Unlocks Emotional Fragrance Design

While working on my upcoming book, More Than a Nice Scent, I’ve read hundreds of scientific papers exploring the fascinating connection between scent and emotion. One study that I enjoyed reading was conducted by Firmenich (you can read it here), and it explored a simple but powerful question:

Does the color of a fabric softener influence how we feel about its scent?

At the heart of this study was the ScentMove™ questionnaire, a simple tool developed to measure emotional responses to scents. Firmenich adapted this questionnaire from the Geneva Emotion and Odor Scale (GEOS), refining it to capture nuanced feelings like relaxation, nostalgia, desire, and energy through six emotional categories.

Participants were asked to smell scented fabric softeners and rate their feelings on a simple scale from “no feelings” to “very intense feelings.” These ratings helped uncover fascinating insights, including:

• Color enhances connection. When the color and scent felt like they “matched” (think blue for marine scents or white for gentle), people connected with the product more.
• Scent is the star. No matter how well the color matches, it’s the fragrance that evokes the strongest emotional reactions.
• Familiarity plays a role. Scents tied to everyday experiences - like fresh laundry - evoke deeper connections, far beyond what color alone can achieve.

This study demonstrated how small details like color can subtly amplify our emotional connection to fragrance. But here’s the truth: yes, color matters, but the real emotional power? That’s all in the fragrance.

The ScentMove™ questionnaire shows how simple research tools can quantify the emotions we feel when interacting with scents. For a deeper dive into how  we can measure the emotional impact of a fragrance, check out my earlier newsletter, Fact or Fiction?

But here’s the exciting part: in my upcoming book, I’ll reveal what I believe is an even better and easier method for measuring emotional responses - a big idea that could change how we approach fragrance design forever.

In the meantime, here’s something to try: Test the color-scent “fit” of your next fragrance or scented product by creating three versions of the same scent, each with a different color scheme. Track consumer preferences to see which pairing feels the most emotionally meaningful and impactful.

Why It Matters: Understanding how sensory alignment impacts emotions helps perfumers design fragrances that are not only nice and pleasant but emotionally unforgettable.

From Fabric Softeners to Fine Fragrance: Clean’s Genius

If you’re thinking, “What do fabric softeners have to do with perfumes?”, let me tell you about Clean—a brand that turned the comforting scent of laundry into a niche fragrance hit.

Clean’s Classic captures the fresh, comforting scent of freshly laundered clothes:

• Top Notes: Brazilian orange, Mexican lime, and fresh cut grass.
• Heart Notes: Rose and night-blooming jasmine.
• Base Notes: Heliotrope and woody-musk.

Its simple, clean, linear scent profile stays consistent from the initial spray through to the end of the day, making it ideal for layering with other scents.

What’s fascinating is how Clean made it work:

• Minimalist branding: They emphasized simplicity, letting the scent speak for itself.
• Emotional targeting: Clean wasn’t selling a perfume - they were selling a feeling.
• Strategic familiarity: By leaning into the recognizable scent of laundry, Clean bridged the gap between functional and fine fragrance, creating something both relatable and aspirational.

For perfumers, this is a lesson in designing with intention. It’s about identifying the emotional core of your creation and building everything -notes, branding, and even color - around that intention.

Craft Your Own Fresh Laundry Fragrance

Ever wanted to bottle that “fresh laundry” feeling?

Here’s how:

Top Notes (Bright and Airy):

• Aldehydes (e.g., Interleven Aldehyde): Deliver a clean, sparkling “soap-like” opening, perfect for that fresh laundry vibe.
• Lemon or Lime: Zesty citrus oils like cold-pressed lemon peel or distilled lime oil add a natural brightness and uplift.
• Green Apple (e.g., Manzanat): Crisp and juicy, enhancing the modern freshness with a fruity twist.

Heart Notes (Soft and Comforting):

• Lily of the Valley (e.g., Florol): A delicate, slightly sweet floral that epitomizes a clean essence.
• Rose (e.g., Damascone-delta): Adds rosy-fruity-floral touch to the composition, balancing freshness with a touch of warmth.
• Cotton Flower Accord: Powdery and nostalgic, like freshly washed linens and sun-dried sheets (Read Edition No. 21 for detailed cotton blossom ideas).

Base Notes (Warm and Grounding):

• White Musk (e.g., Habanolide): A clean, almost metallic, hot clothes-iron-like musk.
• Sandalwood (e.g., Bacdanol): Creamy, smooth, and woody, grounding the fragrance with a luxurious warmth.

Take these notes as inspiration and experiment with layering or creating blends that evoke the same clean, comforting feeling.

Why Emotional Fragrance Design (EFD) Is the Future

So what does a study about fabric softeners, color, and scent have to do with EFD and niche perfumery?

As a perfumer, my journey into Emotional Fragrance Design (EFD) is fueled by a curiosity to explore every angle of scent and emotion. Studies like this one are part of a larger puzzle I love piecing together, connecting tangents from across industries to spark new insights, methods, and frameworks.

For example:

• This paper reminded me of how the brand Clean turned the familiar scent of fabric softener into a niche perfume success.
• It validated that even functional scents can inspire emotional connections and creative breakthroughs in fine fragrance.
• It highlighted how aligning sensory elements - color, scent, and even texture - can make a product feel more meaningful and complete.

But here’s the thing: Firmenich’s study is fascinating, but it only scratches the surface. EFD takes these insights and asks bigger, bolder questions:

• What emotion should this fragrance create, and how can scent be intentionally designed to evoke it?
• How can fragrance become an emotional fingerprint - a deeply personal scent that connects to someone’s memories, identity, and aspirations?
• How do we go beyond “like” to craft fragrances that people truly love - transforming everyday moments into unforgettable experiences?

EFD isn’t just a method—it’s a mindset. It’s about seeing fragrance not just as a product but as a way to enrich life, make connections, and express identity.

Final Thought

I love sharing these ideas with you because they show that perfumery is more than blending notes. It’s about curiosity, creativity, and the joy of finding new ways to connect with people through scent.

And here’s the best part: I know it might sound a bit silly, but I believe by focusing on intentional design and crafting scents that connect deeply, we can elevate perfumery into an art form that transforms lives, one spray at a time.

P.S. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Your interest and feedback inspire me to keep exploring and sharing. I can’t wait to bring you more insights, stories, and previews from More Than a Nice Scent in the next editions of this newsletter.

Missed an Newsletter?

No Problem! Click here to catch up!

Big News: Something New is Coming

I was hoping to introduce something special in this edition, but due to a few technical challenges, it wasn’t quite ready.

Next time, in edition No. 42, I’ll be unveiling a brand-new way to share even more detailed insights, techniques, and behind-the-scenes knowledge to deepen your exploration of Emotional Fragrance Design.

Stay tuned - big things are ahead!