3 ms·

Scents, like people and memories, are impermanent.

• Chris2048 1y ago
  It's a specific mix of certain chemicals, why is that impermanent?
  • morder 1y ago
    Probably your sense of smell changes over time. Same with people entering/leaving your life and your memories being malleable.
    • ggm 1y ago
      It has been said of all the senses, scent, a sense of smell is amongst the last to go, possibly because it's amongst the first to make bindings in the brain, with a remarkably direct path. Old people with aphasia and dementia can be brought into quite alert states with smells from their past like horse manure, or old perfumes. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9243450/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9243450/ Perfumiers change recipes because CITES don't allow use of some animal derived products, and because of price, and changing health concerns with chemicals. https://ifrafragrance.org/initiatives-positions/innovation-sustainability/cites-and-the-fragrance-industry https://ifrafragrance.org/initiatives-positions/innovation-s... Primo Levi writes of post war searches for snake shit, which contains a urea concentrate which makes lipstick bind to the skin. Circus snake handlers laugh at him because it's sold on contract to the big perfume houses, not to random chemists. The Periodic Table https://share.google/rOmXYeiScZwBPCE40 https://share.google/rOmXYeiScZwBPCE40
  • IAmBroom 1y ago
    It's a specific mix of components, each bearing important and usually volatile combinations of chemicals. There's a scientific formula for artificial banana flavor, but none for bananas, by analogy. And like bananas, the product is volatile. An unsealed 50yo bottle of Chanel No. 5 does not smell like it did when bottled.