The Irresistible Proust Effect -A Sweet Fragrance That Transcends Generations
Fragrances often are among several valuable assets passed on from generation to generation.
Every summer the sweet smell of jasmine hangs in the air. It takes me back to two generations and conjures a feeling of love, warmth and comfort.
The garland of white buds of the jasmine flower which was tied to my curly hair is something that I always cherish about my childhood.
These buds bloom into flowers over the night and they spread such a mesmerising fragrance that the surroundings where they bloom are on a spell, with the mystic scent.
During summer, the time of the year when it blooms consistently, on every dawn and every dusk in my garden I relish this fragrance. The wind carries. a nostalgic scent reminiscent of a childhood, I always wanted to live in again.
This creeper is often the abode of tiny birds that come and rest on the slender branches. The birds swing on the hanging branches and fly intermittently during the day. Some bold ones put up their nest and rear their young ones in the cool comfort of the arching branches and lush green leaves.
This Jasmine plant had come to my garden from my grandmother‘s home, which was a few hundred miles away. My mother in turn, planted a branch in our home garden, as she was obsessed with that scent. Though she parted everything, she could not forego that magnificent scent of the flowers. I planted a branch from the same plant in my garden, when I moved into our new home with my husband.
I lost my mother and my grandmother over the years, but I treasure the sweet fragrance of these jasmine flowers all along with me as if they are around. During summers when the sun sets, I step out to my garden to breathe in that scent to the fullness of my soul and in a way communicate to them through the scent.
The plant has grown into an incredibly large shrub over the years. Since the past several years, it has been blooming during most of the year. It takes me back to the memories, and vivid pictures of my childhood with my parents, and grandmother, the tiny pearly white buds cascading from the pillars of my not-so-well-kept garden is indeed the third generation of the shrub carried on from my great-grandmother who planted the tiny jasmine plant in her garden.
She nurtured it and plucked the flowers and made garlands for statues of Jesus and Mary at her prayer crevice on the wall of her home.
This scent offered by Mother Nature has a magical and dominating sweet influence on me. As I grow older, my quest for my roots is also growing stronger. Fortunately, my passion and convictions are closely intertwined with nature, earth, plants and trees and my ancestors who lived in harmony with nature and toiled in the soil.
Proust Effect of Scents
The 20th-century writer Marcel Proust coined the term “involuntary memory”, the curious phenomenon of a memory triggered by a smell, a taste, or even a sound which is widely referred to as the Proust Effect.
The Proust effect refers to the phenomenon where certain smells can trigger vivid memories and emotions.
This wonderful experience with the endearing scent aroused my curiosity to know how brands use this power of nostalgia in their marketing strategies.
Here are five cases where I found that the Proustian phenomenon is effectively used by the perfume brands. The vivid connections we establish with our deepest emotions and lasting memories with a sense of smell is brilliantly applied in their promotions.
- Creating Signature Scents
Signature perfume creates unique and memorable scents that stand out and leave a lasting impression on the wearer. These scents evoke vivid memories to the users who could resonate with the scent and these memories make them stay hooked to the brand.
Perfume makers defines you as an olfactory expression of yourself when you wear the unique scent and leaves a sweet trail behind when you leave.
2. Storytelling through Fragrance
Perfume makers use scents to tell a story or evoke a particular time period, place, or experience. A childhood memory where the smell of fresh roses, and fresh fruits can be evoked by such storytelling.
Thus by combining different fragrant notes, they transport the wearer to a different time or place.
3. Emotional Connection
Perfume makers make the best use of the emotional power of scent. They create fragrances that trigger positive emotions or memories, and establish strong bonds. Since we tend to connect to our intimate relations to our favorite scents, we establish an unexplained relationship with the brand.
This. eventually leads to strong emotional connections with customers, leading to brand loyalty and repeat purchases.
4. Marketing and Branding
Perfume makers often use the Proust effect in their marketing and branding strategies to create a strong association between their fragrances and specific memories or emotions. This can help create a unique selling proposition for the fragrance and differentiate it from competitors.
Overall, the Proust effect plays a significant role in the creation and marketing of perfumes, allowing perfume makers to create fragrances that resonate with consumers on a deeply emotional level.
Turning to Nature
We need to treasure those real natural fragrances and entice others. to experience the unmatched fragrances that nature offers. Most of our urban greening efforts are devoid of any flowers that have a sweet smell, instead, they are in for invasive species or. artificial leaves and blooms which often do not carry any scent.
A small step towards starting to plant trees and plants that spread unique scents, would help birds, butterflies and bees to thrive, thus creating a marvellous ecosystem.
Our favourite scents , thus becoming part of our lives and homes would also carry a slice of our heritage and ancestry to pass on to future generations.
