Smells and colors


Here you will find the combinations we used to "build" the smell code. In some cases the three scents we matched have the same color of the color (forgive the pun!) that they represent. It is, for instance, the case with the three white scents: white lily, milk, and coconut pulp which are indeed white. The same goes for the yellow, green, and brown scents. In other cases, instead, we combined two scents matching the color with one that can in some way be linked with the color.

Such is the case with black, where the scent of incense is rather linked with one of the meaning attached to black in western culture, mourning.

Red matches the red cherry and red watermelon with the scent of sun lotion, because red is a warm, summer-like color.

Blue smells like linden-blossoms that, although reminiscent of the beginning of summer, also evoke a feeling of coolness.

Gray is smoke, but chic Chanel N.5 as well, to remind us that you wear gray to be subtly stylish, and also thyme, an aromatic herb, to say how plain and uncospicuous gray can be.

There were endless choices for pink: we could not leave out roses, from which the color takes its Italian name, then orchids, rare in their pink variety, and peaches, with their pink blossoms and thin, velvety, shaded pink peel.

To represent purple, nothing better than violets, in Italian the namesake of the color, but we also chose another flower, in a lighter hue of purple, lavender, and sandalwood scent, to underscore this color's precious character.

We did much the same with orange: two orange-colored fruits, orange and apricot, and one exotic essence, patchouly.

These scents/smells were not obligated choices, but we must always bear in mind that what we want to do is to build a standard code through which we can match one smell with each color.

We could have chosen different scents/smells, of course! Does this mean that anyone can chose scents/smell of their own choice? Absolutely not! that way, we could have no shared code to build an idea/mental image of black, purple, pink, etc.

it would be like everyone making up their own alphabet to write a letter to a friend, a short story, a poem. what if every musician should make up and use his or her own musical notation to write their music: no one else could play that music.

The same proceeding was used to build a code comprising each color's touch-readable symbol, which you will find on the sheets of the "11" Kit, and sound, which you can hear at the end of each color's introductory tale.

But let's examine them closely.