When Music Becomes Fragrance
I once received an unusual creative brief in the form of sound. A client sent me a piece of music and asked me to put on headphones, turn the volume right up and immerse myself in it, then create a fragrance that captured its spirit.
I listened over and over until I knew every note by heart, imagining which scents might accompany those sounds. What materials could express the melody’s deep, lingering melancholy? Where would the brightness in the fragrance come from? Answering these questions required more than knowledge and experience in perfumery. It also called for an emotional sensitivity to music.
With a few pleasant-smelling materials, it is possible to blend without much thought and still produce something that smells good. But to make a fragrance express the picture you have imagined, artistry needs technique.
Excerpt from Hành trình những mùi hương by Huỳnh Hải Yến, p. 257. Translated from Vietnamese.