IFRA-UK’s annual Fragrance Forum returns Thursday, October 19, 2023, and will be examining, and unpicking, the interaction between our sense of smell and our brains.
Chaired by Professor Barry C. Smith, director of the Institute of Philosophy at the Centre for the Study of the Senses, questions like Can a strong sense of smell protect us against dementia? What does a declining sense of smell mean for us in our later years? What role does smell and memory play in the longer term? will be discussed and answered by leading experts in olfaction, memory and neuroscience.
This year’s inspiring line-up includes:
- Thomas Hummel, Ph.D., Technische Universität Dresden, Germany outlining how the olfactory function works, present ways to assess odour memory and share what happens to these memories when we lose our sense of smell.
- Professor Maria Larsson: Stockholm University, Sweden, will discuss odour memory and its impact as an emotional time machine, covering emotional resonance, the importance of well-being and how odour associations and memories are used in marketing and branding.
After these two keynote lectures, an interactive creative session in which the audience will hear from four early career perfumers who have created a fragrance from a personal memory will take place, followed by an open discussion and a panel discussion to end the day.
The forum is set to take place at The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BS.
