Researchers have found that the use of fragrances can reduce anxiety for people in certain stressful situations, such as when undergoing an MRI scan in a hospital. In a study form the US patients exposed to a sweet vanilla-like scent experienced 63% less overall anxiety than those not exposed. Fragrance can not only reduce stress, it can also affect our sleep. Peppermint for example can stimulate the brain and thus disturb sleep.Heliotropin, however, a vanilla-like smell, can relax the bain and enhance sleep.

Perhaps the most striking reaction to fragrances is in the realm of memories.

Almost everyone has experienced a rush of emotion after encountering a certain scent.Images of baking bread, a new car, or even a first kiss, can all be brought to mind with one simple smell.

This is because the human odor response is controlled by the brain’s limbic system, the same system that controls our emotional and sexual response, artistic abilities and perceptions of space.

This is why fragrance’s can be so important to us and why we seek them out in our products and daily environment.