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How AI Is Elevating Your Scent-story Experience
Out of every product in the beauty space, fragrance is without doubt the most emotional and subjective of them all. In one single inhale, a specific scent can immediately conjure up a memory, a place, a person or a feeling. That’s because the olfactory nerve connects all senses to the brain and forms part of the limbic system which controls your memory and emotions. “Every smell actively moulds your life and is a way of connecting experiences to you, so just by using the power of scent you can re-feel the feels,” explains neuroscientist, Dr Tara Swart.
The creation of fragrance is also incredibly personal and is often a reflection of a perfumer’s passions and experiences. Whether it’s a fleeting moment, a childhood memory, a country or working with a specific note or fragrance family (floral/woody/gourmand etc), until now, what we’ve spritzed onto our skin has essentially been a work of olfactory art, from brief to bottle, created by human hands, and noses.
However, with AI intercepting every aspect of our lives, it’s no surprise that fragrance laboratories are beginning to utilise AI innovations. Giving brands the freedom to create new scents that are completely personalised to your tastes, moods and emotions, rather than perfumers holding all the cards, algorithms and an infinite number of aromas are creeping into the perfume process.
Here we look at exactly how AI has the potential to change the fragrance landscape and how far off we are from all becoming a perfumer in our own right…
The creation of fragrance is also incredibly personal and is often a reflection of a perfumer’s passions and experiences. Whether it’s a fleeting moment, a childhood memory, a country or working with a specific note or fragrance family (floral/woody/gourmand etc), until now, what we’ve spritzed onto our skin has essentially been a work of olfactory art, from brief to bottle, created by human hands, and noses.
However, with AI intercepting every aspect of our lives, it’s no surprise that fragrance laboratories are beginning to utilise AI innovations. Giving brands the freedom to create new scents that are completely personalised to your tastes, moods and emotions, rather than perfumers holding all the cards, algorithms and an infinite number of aromas are creeping into the perfume process.
Here we look at exactly how AI has the potential to change the fragrance landscape and how far off we are from all becoming a perfumer in our own right…
How is AI being used in perfumery?
Over the past few years, the big product and fragrance innovators have been working hard to create AI tools designed to assist the perfume industry. For example, DSM-Firmenich have launched EmotiON, an emotions-based research programme that explores claims, colours, ingredients and olfactive cues to target specific feelings and that brands can enlist to develop emotionally impactful perfumes. Swiss based fragrance developer Givauden now has Carto that suggests combinations of ingredients as a result of machine-based learning and allows perfumers to mix together a huge library of notes and at the click of a button have a robot deliver their creation. The scent manufacturer has also recently added MoodScentz to its AI portfolio - a metric tool that allows perfumers to spot-check their scents against an algorithm to ensure the fragrances they’ve whisked up are likely to evoke the moods they’re trying to create.That’s not all. IBM teamed up with Symrise perfumes in 2017 to create Philyra, named after the Greek goddess of perfume. An AI system that has been taught in a similar way to an apprentice perfumer, it would take a human around a decade to study the same amount of aromatic formulas and customer data that Philyra can produce in minutes. That said, these companies are very mindful of the precious knowledge and creativity that perfumers bring to the craft.
“AI is a complement to our work, not a replacement. Philyra is a groundbreaking tool designed by perfumers, for perfumers to push the boundaries of creativity and explore new olfactory territories,” explains Pierre Guéros, Senior Perfumer at Symrise. “It offers a unique balance between artistic freedom and technological precision that allows perfumers to tailor the level of innovation, whether that’s crafting novel signatures, developing regional variations, modernising a classic or creating hyper-targeted compositions.”
What are the benefits of AI in fragrance?
1. Sustainably sound: One of the biggest plus points of using AI in fragrance creation is its role in sustainability as it can help improve the renewability and biodegradability of fragrances. Where raw ingredients are in decline or short supply, AI can identify alternative eco-friendly ingredients that won’t compromise scent quality. They can also analyse the environmental impact of different ingredients and suggest substitutions that may reduce the carbon or water footprint of the production process. Plus, by calculating exact quantities of ingredients there is very little excess or waste. Finally, by analysing global trends, weather patterns and geographical shifts, AI can also forecast changes in ingredients’ availability or quality and if there are any shortages or concerns, it allows companies and brands to make decisions about their supply chain in advance.2. Speedy service: Perfumers have a vast knowledge of ingredients, concentrations, combinations and insights from years of experience but rather than physically experimenting with the ingredients in front of them and writing down their concoctions, AI has a library of infinite possibilities (Philyra has close to two million aroma formulas) and samples can be created instantly. “It’s tempting to feel slightly vulnerable about the increased use of AI in fragrance but it could make my job as a perfumer easier by automating or standardising jobs I’d otherwise have to spend more time on,” explains master perfumer, Nic Mastenbroek. “It has an amazing ability to process lots of data which could offer up interesting insights that could increase the quality of my creations.”
3. Hyper personalisation: AI technology is being used to help customers create their own bespoke scents with the ability to utilise ‘neuroscents’ – ingredients known to trigger specific emotional responses or even therapeutic benefits. Monitoring facial recognition to analyse how the brain response to different scents, it offers personalisation like never before. Some companies are also employing persona testing to spot patterns that link to certain demographics, cultures and preferences, further expanding the perfumer’s creative toolbox.
4. New and novel: As well as all the data, from both ingredients and consumers wants and needs, AI can work out the stability and longevity of certain fragrance profiles and suggest alterations on how to improve both. It may also prompt new ingredient combinations owing to algorithms that a perfumer may have never considered or even had the ability to blend before. This in turn will make way for innovative new fragrances that open up new sensory experiences.
Are there any negatives?
Like anything with technology, there can be blips in the system although Pierre remains positive about those too: “It might create a combination that seems off at first but then you realise it’s actually something revolutionary and could be the next big trend!”Regardless of that, there is one thing this technology can’t do that’s crucial to perfumery and that’s smell their creations. Which is why both the innovators and perfumers are seeing the addition of AI as a collaborative venture rather than an overhaul. “Perfumery has a rich history and is about storytelling, intuition and emotion. AI offers us incredible new possibilities but the heart and soul of a perfume still comes from human creativity so it’s about blending the best of both worlds,” continues Pierre.
What perfumes have been created using AI?
The first 100% AI fragrances to be created using Philyra were called ‘Egeo on Me’ and ‘Egeo on You’ for Boticário but were limited edition although the programme was also used to create Karl Lagerfeld’s ‘Ikonik’ scent. Now more mainstream brands are exploring the possibilities and AI was used to create both Phantom by Rabanne and more recently, the new Tom Ford Bois Pacifique Eau de Parfum, £ 108,00, which was a collaboration between Givaudan’s AI tool, Carto and perfumer, Rodrigo Flores-Roux.What’s next for AI in perfume?
A lot of what we’re seeing so far in AI innovation is behind-the-scenes sourcing and note combination but at the start of this year, IFF (global leaders in fragrance and flavour creation) unveiled its new AI-powered research tool ScentChat. An instant messaging system that uses platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to speak directly to the consumers it is being used to gain feedback and insights that will allow them to create scents they know people will love. Using a combination of natural language processing and algorithms, it allows for up-to-the-minute instant data but also provides consumers with a legitimate sense of community and collaboration with fragrance creators.Elsewhere AI is paving the way for more conceptual perfumery, says Lisa Payne, Head of Beauty at trend forecasting agency, Stylus. “My favourite is Liquid Sound AI. Video artist Danilo Lauria, perfume expert Gunu Kapoor, and the tech team at site developer Bowwe have engineered a trio of AI-powered perfumes born from a response to a soundscape,” says Lisa.
“The tech is currently in beta testing but it interprets sounds as scent notes and composes a finished fragrance like an orchestra. For example, the scent Noise Pollution is a response to New York City that smells of birch tar and black pepper, as well as labdanum and patchouli.”
Opening up new possibilities and therefore perfumes, AI certainly seems to have a place in the fragrance industry, just as long as commercialism doesn’t suffocate the craftmanship. Watch this space for more multi-sensory experiences coming our way…
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