The Culture Connotation of Perfumed Product

Lin Xiangyun

(Xiamen Peony Perfume & Chemicals Industry Co. Ltd.,361006)

Abstract

Perfume and partial perfumed products of daily use are used as examples to explain that when perfumes are added to products of daily use, perfumed products with specific culture connotation will be formed. With the progression of society and the improvement of - perfumery technique, the grade of perfume used will be more and more elevated. The economic profit will increase greatly by selecting carefully perfumes that can heighten the culture connotation of our products.

Key Words: perfume; perfumed product; culture connotation; tri-value theory; culture product; aromatherapy; essential oil

It is an undeniable truth that the France perfume, wine, fashionable dress are the first rate in the world. Does the French possess very high quality of technology or good selling skills, or have a long history? The answer is negative. It is because these three products belong to the culture products being unable to be evaluated with the concept of the people's livelihood articles or the means of production.

As for culture products, you may think of the fine arts such as calligraphy and painting, stage opera, music and image product, culture relic product, national folk arts and crafts, culture tourism souvenir. etc. In fact, these products are only culture products of narrow sense, people call them “culture arts” usually. Why are the perfume, wine, fashionable dress called culture product? This must be illustrated from the connotation of culture. I don't like to discuss this problem being controverted lively by experts. I just want to ask: “Do you know the realistic value and producing cost of the bottle of orthodox France perfume which you have spent several thousand dollars to buy?”

In the 1950s, Japan had put out some plans of “catching up with and surpassing advanced world levels” in thirty years. Finally, most of them had been completed, but the project of perfume had failed. In the perfume shops of Ginza, Tokyo , it is difficult to find a kind of perfume made in Japan. —— All over the world, the imitation perfumes on the market have to stick a trade mark “made in France ”.

In the United States , the situation was the same. With the world's strongest science technology, economic power, and selling and administrative skills, and after many years of hard work, only a kind of world famous perfume under the name “Charles” has been made. But it has been regarded as a cheap perfume being unable to enter the France “upper-class society”.

What is perfume? It is a mixture of fragrance materials and alcohol (with a small amount of water ). The requirement of the best quality of alcohol and water is “odorless” and “purity” only. So, the grade of perfume is decided by the fragrance materials. The fragrance forming the perfume is a kind of art works, its value is not in proportion to producing costs.

As every one knows, there are three great arts —— corresponding to three great art works i.e. composing music, drawing, and perfumery —— music works, fine arts and perfume for daily use. The values of these arts are very difficult to evaluate with currency. But when they are used as commodities, they have to link up with currency. For example, paintings of Tang Bohu, a famous painter in ancient China , are regarded as priceless treasures, but each painting has a realistic price which is protocolled by both the seller and buyer. There is no relation to the producing costs.

The mosquito-repellent incense, sanitation incense, spray insecticide, and air refresher, etc. are articles of daily use. The sanitation incense and air refresher are also popular perfume. The original purpose of perfuming of the mosquito-repellent incense and spray insecticide is deodorization At present, because of the changes of fragrance materials, it is possible and necessary to change. our principal producing direction to aromatization.of the last two products.They will also become the perfume in the future. With the progression of the era and the enhancement of civilization, the grade of various kinds of popular perfume are more and more elevated. At present, the quality of fragrance materials used in household insecticides has caught up with other articles of daily use, finally, they will close up to the fragrance forming the perfume .

In the supermarket, you will find a lot of “similar” products with great difference of prices just because of the different odors. For example, a piece of perfumed soap, its price may be from one dollar to one hundred dollars or more, the difference lies in the odor. I think it is necessary to know that sometime a customer decides to buy a household commodity such as a piece of perfumed soap, his purpose is not merely for its practical use, but for the odor which moves his mind. The odor of this soap will make him or his family happy for many days. How to judge the value of this soap? Almost every kind of light industry product has undergone a constant evolution of “from non-perfuming to perfuming”, non-perfumed articles of daily use only satisfy people's basic needs. Although some products have the function of making us joyful through our senses of sight, hearing, and touch, their culture connotations are insignificant. At the primary stage of perfumed products, a little amount of cheap fragrances have been used only to mask the off odor, the culture connotation was still out of the question. After entering the superior stage of the perfumed product, the importance of odors was noticeable, odors have become the most important factor deciding the price of the product.

Let's take soaps as an example, at the early stage, soap was prepared by the following steps: saponification of fats and alkali; addition of additives such as rosin and sodium metasilicate; agitation; cooling and coagulation; cutting. The finished products diffused various kinds of fat odors. Later, a bit of fragrance materials (citronella oil being often used) have been added to form so called “washing soap”, which has still been used in great amount up to now. Even later, various methods have been used for the refinement of soap base to get white or transparent soap grain or soap flake with delicate odor...By means of adding refined additives and fragrances which have been prepared by perfumers with high technique and undergone repeated perfuming tests and sensory evaluations with satisfactory results, there are various kinds of perfumed soap emitting sweet smell and pleasing to both the eye and the mind. Recently, similar to the ceramic cafes, many so called “perfumed soap cafes” have appeared in many cities. The perfumed soap has changed its basic cleaning function to become a “leisure product” used as a small handcraft for appreciation or a gift to give good friend. The rich and colorful culture connotation has been poured into age old soaps. Of course, the prices of perfumed soaps and washing soaps can't be mentioned in the same breath.

More than ten years ago ,I had a talk with some people in charge of China Mosquito-repelling Incense Cooperation Group, It is said that some people have worried about the future of this trade, considering that it was a “setting-sun industry” without any developing prospect, for people's living standard has elevated and the environment condition has improved resulting in sharply decreasing of mosquitoes year after year. In my opinion, if we can give this industry more effects such as air refreshing, increasing sleep quality, etc. it may become a “rising-sun industry” .Now the business of this trade did not “shrink” as some people's expectation, on the contrary, its productivity has risen greatly. This fact has proved that my judgment is correct.

When a product of daily use is perfumed, it will be endowed with specific culture connotation. For example, a mosquito-repelling incense with lavander smelling will bring to the consumer's attention reminding him of many good things about lavender —— a large piece of purple color (lavender flower's color), a great variety of legends about lavender, A.D. 2000--the world's “lavender year”, a pleasing odor with sedative and hypnogenetic effects···. Of course, the people of developing countries are something short of this kind of knowledge and “imagination power” at the moment.. So the manufacturer have better to color this kind of mosquito-repelling incense including trade mark and packing materials into purple color and publish a booklet with beautiful pictures and interesting literary works to introduce lavander giving full play to the plentiful culture connotation of the product.

Similarly, when a bottle of spray insecticide with rose odor come into view on the counter. It reminds at once the consumer of red rose, love, sweetheart's day or first lover, and even folksongs such as “Rose in the Heart ”, or “999 Roses” ···. His family members will also have various associations relating to rose when the bottle of rose scented spray insecticide is brought home. While it is using, the air in the room is filled with warm and sweet rose odor, as if the rose garden and the gardener who is taking care of the delicate rose flowers appear before the family members' eyes. Sweet flower odor will bring them fraternal unity, and active and progressive strength. So I want once more to sincerely advise manufactures of perfumed products against keen on gaining petty advantages ,and not to buy cheap , inferior grade and unstable perfumes which will possibly bring you a lot of unwelcome products and even irredeemable loss. I wonder how can a so called rose-scented product with disagreeable chemicals odor brings the user's family a great joy! Will consumers be fooled again?

In fact, the industrial fragrance can't compare to the fragrance forming the perfume , it is not a complete “ art product ”, and also not a product of this kind with higher price is worth buying. Every kind of perfume has its price in reason. This reasonable price is built on the “ tri-value ” of the fragrance or perfume,.i.e. odor specific intensity value, odor retention value and odor quality value. The two preceding values are decided by various fragrance materials that form the perfume. The third value odor quality value reflects directly the level of the “artistic attainment” of the perfumer who creates the perfume. The producing costs of the same type of perfumes are similar, but their “odor quality value” may be from 1 to 1o, some even over 80. As we know, the “ practical value ” or “ comprehensive evaluation point ”is equal to the product of odor specific intensity value, odor retention value, and odor quality value divided by a fix coefficient. If the difference of odor quality value is double, the difference of “comprehensive evaluation point ” is double too. The art level of perfumer is fully displayed here.

The odor quality value is the. numerical quantified value of odor grade. At the moment, it is judged by people's “sensory evaluation”. The odor of a perfume, if people's judgment is “good”, the perfume actually has a high odor quality value, regardless of the grade of fragrance raw materials it consists of. A good perfume decided by people has a good “ culture connotation “, smelling this perfume will make you evoke the pleasing memories of the past, think of happy things ,and acquire active forces.. The bad perfume decided by people brings you contrary results, its “culture connotation” is negative.

At present, since there are numerous factories of this trade in our country, the competition of business between them is violent. As a result, the profit margin is smaller and smaller, but the prices of raw materials tend to increase. Therefore, some factories has put the hope of reduction of production cost on the perfume used, supposing its price can be depressed to a certain degree. But this intension can't be carried out. For a long period of time, the honest perfume producing factories insist on a rule i.e. the price of a product is in proportion to the quality. In the consideration of the profit rate being relatively fixed, the price of perfume is directly relative to the quality. Depression of price only sacrifices the quality of product. It is just an illusion to possess good perfume with price lower than its producing cost. As to those trade companies or small workshop type perfume factories, methods to reduce producing cost are dilution of finished product, or using low grade fragrance raw materials. Finally, those perfume-consuming factories being keen on gaining petty advantages would suffer great loss.

The level of a product's quality higher than that of its price ( the “comprehensive evaluation point” larger than the transaction price ) is the result of hard work and the crystal of artwork of a perfumer, this kind of perfume often contains many good culture connotations. It is normal for a perfume producing factory to get higher gross profit from this kind of product. Just as a high grade perfume, its gross profit is much higher than that of low grade ones. The culture connotations of high grade perfume are incomparable to that of those low grade ones.

The perfume with good culture connotation will give good culture connotation to the perfumed product, Accordingly, the perfume with bad culture connotation will give bad culture connotation to the perfumed product. This is the relationship of perfume and perfumed product.

Now people are often talking about the topics of aromatherapy and aroma health-preservation. The main “props” of aromatherapy and aroma health-preservation, various kinds of essential oils, have been given a lot of culture connotations. For example, ho oil is in common use for aromatherapy and aroma health-preservation. Most people know that one of the effects of ho oil is anti-depression, there are too many topics about “depression ”concerning medicine and society aspects to be discussed. In addition, the topic concerning the science and culture knowledge of camphor tree is discussed and propagated from cosmetologists and massagists to consumers .during treatment, which seems to be a popular science education for consumers.

A perfume is basically formed by the combination of various kinds of essential oils, It possesses the “effects” and “culture connotation” of the essential oils it contains. When this perfume is added into a product of daily use, which will also possesses many “effects” and rich and colorful “culture connotations”.

Will the articles of daily use with rich and colorful “culture connotations” be far away from “ culture product?”

When people are living without enough to eat and wear, there is no point to talk about “culture connotation”. When various kinds of products of daily use just begin to link up with the scent, talking about “culture connotation” is beyond our practical ability. When all the products of daily use are diffusing sweet and charming odor, people will have a hot discussion about the “ culture connotation” of these products.

It is said that Buddism' paradise is a “world of scent” filled with lovely odor everywhere. When all the products which people use are diffusing sweet and pleasing odor, the man' world, too, has become a paradise.

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References

•  Shosei Fujimaki, Fragrance Science, Light Industry Press, Beijing , 1987

•  Chi Okuta, Odor and Civilization, Kodan Sha, Tokyo

•  Lin Xiangyun, Odor and Taste, Shanghai Popular Science Publishing House, Shanghai , 1999

•  Fan Cheng, Fragrance and Its Application, Chemical Industry Press, Beijing , 1990

•  Lin Xiangyun, Perfumery, Chemical Industry Press, Beijing ,2001

•  Wenling Lin,et al. Aroma Health Preservation, Hua Ling Press Beijing , 1997

•  Lin Xiangyun, Perfuming of Articles of Daily Use, Chemical Industry Press, Beijing , 2003

•  Nigel Groom, Perfume Appreciation Handbook, Shanghai Science and Technology Press Shanghai ,2001