ally perform experiments to explore the link
between olfactory-visual synesthesia and fragrances in a systematic way. However, it has
been a difficult and time-consuming process,
and we don’t expect to get approval for several
months. In the meantime, we have consulted
with scientists at Yale who study olfaction and/
or synesthesia regarding possible experimental
study designs and ideas of questions to ask and
things to test.
fragrance company where I was to smell fragrances and categorize them by various words
to describe them (i.e. cool, warm, creamy, dry).
The colors, shapes, and textures of the fragrances would help me to remember what they were.
After working as a perfumery trainee, I took
a class at Pratt Institute on advanced perfumery. The teacher was a fragrance evaluator. He
showed us hundreds of fragrance components,
ranging from synthetic, individual chemicals to
natural components. My synesthesia aided me
in learning the difference between similar smellQuestions for Lauren on
ing chemicals, such as C-10, C-11, and C-12,
Synesthesia and Perfumery
which are part of the aldehyde fragrance family
most famously used in vintage formulations of
Chanel No. 5. These three particular chemicals
How did you learn you were synesthetic?
I discovered I was synesthetic at a young age. all have a similar fuzzy, effervescent, sweaty feel
to them.
I remember telling my mother that a song was
‘too pink’. When I was a bit older, I read the
To me, C-10 is orange, C-11 is green, and C-12
book A Mango-Shaped Space (a young adult book is blue. I can smell one of them, note the color,
by Wendy Mass about a girl with synesthesia)
and know what chemical it is. Unlike most peowhich put a name to my experiences.
ple, I can skip the step of forming associations
with each chemical, so I learn the components
Can you describe an unusual synesthetic
quickly. However, when I’m smelling a smell
experience?
and can pick out the individual components, it’s
One time, I was sitting at one of my favorite
restaurants, Cafe Rue Dix. I was there with my actually the training, not the synesthesia that
allows me to do it. In a sound, even if you are
friend. It was one of the last nice days of summer, so all the windows were opened. They were not familiar with music, you can tell the notes
apart. But if you’re not familiar with smells, a
playing a Michael Jackson song, ordinarily a
perfume will smell like one monolithic scent.
nice shade of blueish-greenish black. I ordered
An untrained person likely won’t be able to pick
an iced latte. I took a sip of the latte while the
out the different facets in a fragrance. Synesthesong played. Usually, I wouldn’t have been able
to smell it due to the loud music. But the sound sia only gives me an edge in learning fragrance
and smell combined, and I saw very vividly a gi- notes, not in decomposing them into their components. That part takes tra