Why Smell is More Important Than You Think | Holladay Saltz | TEDxRVA

Are scent memories important? Do you think manufacturers of scented products are concerned with memory and emotion when it comes to marketing? You would be surprised. Perfumer, Holladay Saltz, asks poignant questions about whether such companies should have the influence they do over your memories.

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. It was filmed and edited by Tijo Media at the Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Arts Center in Richmond, VA.

#fragrance #perfume #scent #seawater #memory #senses

While working as a creative director and chief creative officer of web-based technology and media companies, Holladay Saltz became increasingly disillusioned by digital media’s frayed connections to the tangible world. A chance reading of Diane Ackerman’s, “A Natural History of the Senses,” led her to reexamine her lifelong fascination with the sense of smell and the ancient, storied history of fragrance and fragrant raw materials. After years of study in the process of formulation and production, she was able to train with Le Labo Fragrances in New York City and went on to found the independent fragrance line Apoteker Tepe in 2014. Now as a Perfumer, she now splits her time between New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.

[Martin_Photography]

I've held onto a bottle of my mom's perfume since I was 14.. the same bottle she used 14 years ago.. half my life I've lived with the last drops of her perfume, and every time I smell it I Instantly get overtaken by intense emotions

[radixreuel]

Scent. So powerful, for better or for worse. I have a friend who’ll buy a new fragrance whenever they go on a vacation or prior to some special occasion so as whenever they are feeling bluesy they’ll wear that scent and it’ll subliminally embrace that that positive experience. It sounds curious, but it actually works

[ToxicVaccines_HivHoax]

This is why it is important to "Reset" our sense of smell daily by spending time outdoors in fresh air, free from artificial smells.

[poweredbybubbles]

I have been 26 days now without smoking cigarettes and have bought many fragrances in order to treat myself and indulge in all the smells especially gourmand sweet and tasty smells. This has comforted and delighted me through the process of quitting smoking.

[creosagovaers]

Thank you for this fantastic ted talk. I myself have been an advocate for the use of natural fragrances for years. the smells we know before we are born. Through lectures for dementia I give advice for more general well-being through smell. A wonderful thing that nature has given us.

[AudreysKitchen]

I guess Google knew to recommend this to me due to my experience of suffering anosmia. I find a fulfilling life despite having a nearly non-existent sense of smell, but there are some things that are simply not the same. I truly miss walking through a deep, damp forest and smelling the richness of the wet earth.

[strawberry]

I had covid and lost my sense of smell. Was so happy. Because I could smell my little siblings, even if they didn't smell that bad, I'd get disgusted but when I couldn't, I hugged them as much as I could. I could live with the dogs without crying about their smell as well. I dreaded the day I was gonna get better. :')

Smell is really important and gives me so much emotion but if it's not a good smell, well, no oof

[sittiehijarasinsay]

The scent after the rain is something, sad and beautiful. While winter smells like my home country tho we lived in a tropical country. 🤍

[mjorshg]

Smell of the soil in the rain! child memories now its all concrete.

[EstherHulst-Artist]

I still remember the smell of my favorite cat and yes every individual smells different. whenever I remember her I think of the touch of her fur and her smell.

[aprilezell]

Great Tedtalk ~ In my first aid class we talk about the region of the brain where the olfactory system is housed and how smell is never analytical but emotional. I'll have students write about a childhood memory of smell and it is always fascinating to read the essays. Rarely have they ever thought about the emotional attachment to that smell or the bad memory affiliated with the smell. The olfactory system is one of the most primitive systems humans have and is fascinating. Thanks Holladay for sharing your thoughts and research!

[tabortunde]

Gosh. What have I left out?
I have anosmia, wich basically means I have absolutely no sense of smell. I have born this way

[LocoMan]

One really sad thing is when your clothes or something else still smell like the place you left

[victorandresreyespujada]

I made smell a reality (even tough I already was very interested on perfumes, speacially the classic Le Male), when I went on my second trip to the United States, and I smelled my Gillete gel deodorant...

[AnkitDasture]

I am a big fan of scent and love aromatheraphy

[OphiuchiChannel]

I dont smell fruits nor flowers in Tide... its more artificial.

[hannahradtke]

This makes me sad because I can’t smell... 😥

[ace-ddyu]

Truly fascinating.. Is it not? For me, it is not really about memories, certain smells trigger particular emotions - Serene ones.

[omari]

This actually true she's taking about

[cozyscentshaven]

Personally, I think we should be more responsible and respectful of people's sense of smell since it is so heavily attached to memory. As we know science, we should respect them and educate them. It is interesting to me that there are so many disclaimers at the end of new drug advertisements yet not with scent. Scent affects our emotions deeply. It affects purchase decisions. I did a speaking engagement at P&G almost 10 years ago about this subject: How Scent Affects Purchase Decisions. It does. Making the customer aware will not greatly negatively affect anything. That is my personal belief. I believe if you are more inclusive with them and share what you know, it only builds trust and community. Let them decide if they want to purchase or not.