Seasonality: when perfumes change according to social and climatic changes

There are no autumn and spring anymore! How true is this? And how does the ever so ephemeral concept of seasonality influence the industry of perfumery?

Perfumery, as all arts, has always changed according to historical and social changes and in some cases, it provokes great opportunities and small revolutions.

In the centuries following the birth of perfume-making until now, styles and trends that seemed to be everlasting have been blown away or remodulated based on the evolution of the community itself or the individual.

Let us think about the history of Musk: it is by now known (I myself have said this many times, as my own personal story is linked to this) that this fascinating and mysterious perfume once inherited its sensuality from its animal origin. People’s decision to take responsibility for their own actions and their consequences on the planet and its inhabitants, has become increasingly important so much so that it has brought about changes, and ended some practices. Musk managed to stay trendy thanks to the intervention of science and the creation of artificial molecules replicating the animal scent, without compromising animals’ survival. Consumers started expecting this, so perfumes, skincare products and make-up have mostly become cruelty-free and vegan.

In the last few years the interest in biodiversity and sustainability has grown, nurtured by the world-wide impact of environmental disasters and the awareness of their consequences. All productive industries, including perfumery, have had to satisfy the requests of attentive and demanding consumers, for whom even the most simple gestures of self-care can have a strong impact. So, a growing number of brands have adopted a green and organic way of thinking.

On the one hand the planet, with its plants and animals, its changes and frailties has caused a social evolution, which includes making man-kind more sensitive, on the other this evolution comes from the diffusion of the new concepts of “fluid” gender and sexuality. Man-kind is now the master of the world as it has never been before, but first of all it’s its own master and master of its own body. And this newly found awareness has brought the power to decide and less inclination to follow fixed patterns.

In perfume-making, this social readjustment has turned into the loss (yet only initially) of the concepts of masculine and feminin, so a perfume is esteemed and appreciated by anyone based on its notes, regardless of whether they are labelled as suitable for him or her. So fragrances go back to being created for anyone who may appreciate them, just like my Musk, which has always been dedicated to all types of people.

Genderless, free of noxious substances and even seasonless perfumes?

If anyone, bewitched by its notes, can wear a floral perfume, why not wear it all year long, and not only during springtime? As I said, many of the rules of perfumery have been broken, so this can probably also be the case of the concept of perfume’s seasonality.

The concept of season is tightly interlaced with that of perfume and so it is inevitable that perfume has its own seasonality. This is due to the fact that, in the past, perfumes were made with raw materials deriving from nature, whose rhythm needed to be respected. The evolution of the techniques of perfume making, however, manages to present us with these fragrances all year round, by replicating them exactly.

There is also a very simple and intuitive reason, which is that some perfumes remind us (I have already told you of the extraordinary evocative nature of perfume) of special moments in our personal lives or phases of our lives.Coconut and its freshness remind us of summer; cinnamon and spices, with their depth, bring to mind Christmas and therefore winter; some scents, such as the fig, remind us of autumn.

This is all true, but perfume is a strictly personal element, which has more to do with someone’s state of mind rather than the weather. So sometimes, during the coldest days of Winter, gray skies, rain, darkness, can affect our mood and a fruity, fresh, “summery” perfume can energise us and make us smile. Similarly, on a spring day we might feel the need for introspection and reflexiveness, which work well with “warmer” fragrances which make us feel cuddled. I could also talk about the concept of seasons changing in length and intensity year after year, so as some say “there are no autumn and spring anymore” and this sounds more truthful than ever.

Winter days in the middle of summer and warm temperatures in winter, this is nothing new (and nothing good either) but for this reason too, talking about fragrances as exclusively “for summer” or “for spring” increasingly loses all meaning.

So this is the new rule in perfume: there are no rules. All comes from us, from what we want, what we like and how we want to feel or how we feel. Perfume is a powerful means of expression, and the one we choose, even though it might seem so, is never accidental. There is, therefore, no right or wrong, even when talking about seasons, if a scent helps us feel good with ourselves.

One of the reasons why perfume had a seasonality is because more intense perfumes, in warm temperatures, could sometimes be too intense. However, this concept too has changed, and the interpretation of its personality and character depends increasingly on whether it is stronger or less intense.

There are no autumn and spring anymore! How true is this? And how does the ever so ephemeral concept of seasonality influence the industry of perfumery?

Perfumery, as all arts, has always changed according to historical and social changes and in some cases, it provokes great opportunities and small revolutions.

In the centuries following the birth of perfume-making until now, styles and trends that seemed to be everlasting have been blown away or remodulated based on the evolution of the community itself or the individual.

Let us think about the history of Musk: it is by now known (I myself have said this many times, as my own personal story is linked to this) that this fascinating and mysterious perfume once inherited its sensuality from its animal origin. People’s decision to take responsibility for their own actions and their consequences on the planet and its inhabitants, has become increasingly important so much so that it has brought about changes, and ended some practices. Musk managed to stay trendy thanks to the intervention of science and the creation of artificial molecules replicating the animal scent, without compromising animals’ survival. Consumers started expecting this, so perfumes, skincare products and make-up have mostly become cruelty-free and vegan.

In the last few years the interest in biodiversity and sustainability has grown, nurtured by the world-wide impact of environmental disasters and the awareness of their consequences. All productive industries, including perfumery, have had to satisfy the requests of attentive and demanding consumers, for whom even the most simple gestures of self-care can have a strong impact. So, a growing number of brands have adopted a green and organic way of thinking.

On the one hand the planet, with its plants and animals, its changes and frailties has caused a social evolution, which includes making man-kind more sensitive, on the other this evolution comes from the diffusion of the new concepts of “fluid” gender and sexuality. Man-kind is now the master of the world as it has never been before, but first of all it’s its own master and master of its own body. And this newly found awareness has brought the power to decide and less inclination to follow fixed patterns.

In perfume-making, this social readjustment has turned into the loss (yet only initially) of the concepts of masculine and feminin, so a perfume is esteemed and appreciated by anyone based on its notes, regardless of whether they are labelled as suitable for him or her. So fragrances go back to being created for anyone who may appreciate them, just like my Musk, which has always been dedicated to all types of people.

Genderless, free of noxious substances and even seasonless perfumes?

If anyone, bewitched by its notes, can wear a floral perfume, why not wear it all year long, and not only during springtime? As I said, many of the rules of perfumery have been broken, so this can probably also be the case of the concept of perfume’s seasonality.

The concept of season is tightly interlaced with that of perfume and so it is inevitable that perfume has its own seasonality. This is due to the fact that, in the past, perfumes were made with raw materials deriving from nature, whose rhythm needed to be respected. The evolution of the techniques of perfume making, however, manages to present us with these fragrances all year round, by replicating them exactly.

There is also a very simple and intuitive reason, which is that some perfumes remind us (I have already told you of the extraordinary evocative nature of perfume) of special moments in our personal lives or phases of our lives.Coconut and its freshness remind us of summer; cinnamon and spices, with their depth, bring to mind Christmas and therefore winter; some scents, such as the fig, remind us of autumn.

This is all true, but perfume is a strictly personal element, which has more to do with someone’s state of mind rather than the weather. So sometimes, during the coldest days of Winter, gray skies, rain, darkness, can affect our mood and a fruity, fresh, “summery” perfume can energise us and make us smile. Similarly, on a spring day we might feel the need for introspection and reflexiveness, which work well with “warmer” fragrances which make us feel cuddled. I could also talk about the concept of seasons changing in length and intensity year after year, so as some say “there are no autumn and spring anymore” and this sounds more truthful than ever.

Winter days in the middle of summer and warm temperatures in winter, this is nothing new (and nothing good either) but for this reason too, talking about fragrances as exclusively “for summer” or “for spring” increasingly loses all meaning.

So this is the new rule in perfume: there are no rules. All comes from us, from what we want, what we like and how we want to feel or how we feel. Perfume is a powerful means of expression, and the one we choose, even though it might seem so, is never accidental. There is, therefore, no right or wrong, even when talking about seasons, if a scent helps us feel good with ourselves.

One of the reasons why perfume had a seasonality is because more intense perfumes, in warm temperatures, could sometimes be too intense. However, this concept too has changed, and the interpretation of its personality and character depends increasingly on whether it is stronger or less intense.