How Scent Can Shape a Moment

Have you ever caught a whiff of something and suddenly found yourself somewhere else? One second you are standing in the kitchen. The next, a familiar soap, a flower or a salty breeze has opened a door to another time. I love that fragrance can do that. It has a way of making a moment feel like yours before you have even found the words for it.

That got me wondering: can a fragrance actually change how we feel, physically or mentally? Researchers have been asking that too. The answers are fascinating, a little complicated, and much more interesting than the idea that one magical scent works the same way for everyone.

Why a smell can take you back

Our noses are surprisingly good at pulling threads from the past. In a 2002 study, Rachel Herz and Jonathan Schooler compared personal memories recalled with an odor, an image and a word. Participants rated memories recalled with the odor as more emotional than those associated with the matching visual or verbal cue. The odor-cued memories also tended to make people feel more transported back to the original event. [1]

Of course, not every trip down memory lane is a pleasant one. A note that feels like a warm hug to one person might remind someone else of a place they would rather forget. That is why I love asking clients what a fragrance brings to mind. There is no wrong answer, and sometimes the unexpected ones are the most interesting.

Can fragrance change your mood?

Here is where things get interesting. In a 2008 study, 56 healthy adults encountered lemon, lavender and water on separate visits. Lemon was associated with more positive mood than the other conditions. Before we crown lemon the official ruler of good days, though, the researchers did not find the broad physiological benefits they had expected: the scents did not reliably improve the immune and stress-related measures or wound healing they examined. [2]

I think that is a helpful distinction. If a scent makes you smile, that experience matters. It does not automatically mean the fragrance is lowering cortisol, boosting immunity or treating anxiety. The room, the ritual, your expectations and your own memories can all be part of the experience.

The body can respond too

Our noses are not the only part of the story. Researchers also look at heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol. In a small 2024 study, 25 healthy male students tackled a demanding math task under different aroma conditions. With an apple aroma, their heart-rate increase was smaller than with chamomile or an odorless control. The study was small and specific, and included fragrance-industry researchers, so it cannot tell us that your favorite apple perfume will do the same thing during a hectic day. [3]

And then there is Hedione, a material many perfumers love for its airy floral character. In a 2021 study, Pützer and Wolf exposed 56 women to a stress task in a room with Hedione or without added odor. The Hedione group showed stronger cortisol and cardiovascular responses, even though reported stress did not differ. [4] That does not establish that Hedione is harmful or that every perfume has that effect. It does show how differently our bodies and our reported feelings can respond.

Finding what feels good to you

So where does that leave us? I would start with a little curiosity. What makes your space feel welcoming? Is there a fragrance that feels like getting ready to take on the day, or one you reach for when you finally get a quiet evening? You do not need a scientific explanation for loving a scent because it reminds you of someone, somewhere or simply yourself.

Keep the experience comfortable. Some people are sensitive to fragrance or particular ingredients, so give others room to opt out, use good ventilation and stop using a product if it causes irritation or discomfort. Fragrance can be a lovely part of a personal ritual, but it is not a substitute for medical care.

That is one of my favorite things about fragrance. It can give a memory a little more color, make a routine feel like a ritual, or just make you smile when you catch a hint of it on your wrist. The science is still unfolding, and I think that makes exploring it even more fun.

Studies referenced

1. Herz and Schooler. A naturalistic study of autobiographical memories evoked by olfactory and visual cues (2002).
2. Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues. Olfactory influences on mood and autonomic, endocrine, and immune function (2008).
3. Dilrukshi and colleagues. Apple aroma and physiological responses during a calculation task (2024).
4. Pützer and Wolf. Effects of the odorant Hedione on the human stress response (2021).