Scent & Society
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Scent of Museums
The scent of a museum is generally considered quiet, idealized and hermetic. Institutions try hard to create sterile moments for the visual and non-touchable to speak aesthetically without the intrusion of other senses (no touching! no smells! no voices please!). Regardless of old or new art, museums often smell like their audiences (often stale le…
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Scent as Red Flag
A red flag symbolizes a warning, danger, caution, potential problem and further investigation is warranted. Scent naturally serves as a warning signal to our nervous systems (“food is not safe!”, “fire!”, “not healthy!”, etc). Using scent in environments whether we are aware or not, lures you to buy, to eat, to linger or to move…
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Luca Turin: 40 Years of Perfume Obsession
There is something both inclusive and exclusive about scent reviewing. In full disclosure, while I have amassed an impressive collection of scents that could fill a kiddy pool, I never read or listen to reviews. That said I realize the importance reviewers might be to the landscape of perfume and consumers. I like that, unlike…
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The Smell of Work
No longer a smell of success but a quiet, revolt to the culture of work is emerging amongst Chinese youth. The ban wei, the smell of work is a new term invented by the youth to amplify the notion of being over saturated with and in someways infected with work. The smell of work is…
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The Nose and Our Evolutionary Impulse: Sex, part two
As a clinical mental health therapist I spend a lot of time trying deeply not to pathologize normal behavior in one breath, and trying to research biological and science-based clues to our social and emotional functioning to make a case, make sense of or dissolve a diagnosis. I work with adolescents often, and this is…
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AdoleScents: Smells Like Teen Spirit
(image: penguin puberty is not unlike human puberty in some ways) Originally posted on March 21, 2024) On this international fragrance day a post to celebrate the scent of adoleScents. Smelling like teen spirit is a right of passage and has never been more curious and intense than it is today. A short study published…
Odorbet 