There is something deeply personal about the way a scent can suddenly pull you back to a moment you thought you had buried. A whiff of vanilla might bring you back to your grandmother’s kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. The crisp bite of citrus could remind you of a summer trip you took as a youngster. Perfume, not simply a aroma, acts as a time machine for the mind.

Our sense of smell is uniquely wired to the parts of the brain responsible for emotion and memory. Unlike other senses, which are channeled through multiple neural pathways before reaching the brain’s memory centers, scent goes bypasses filters to the limbic system. This is why a smell can spark a recollection with greater emotional clarity than a picture or a song. The emotional weight of that memory often comes with it, making the experience feel vivid and womens designer perfumes tangible.