Outlook Mixtape: The smelly edition

Available for over a year

It's a smell bonanza with people's noses as the centrepiece. British perfumer Jo Malone has the most incredible sense of smell and it has turned her into a very wealthy woman. She has built up a business empire called Jo Malone London, selling scented products, things like candles, and perfume and skin creams. She sold the company for undisclosed millions in the 1990s, and now has a new business, Jo Loves. She spoke to Jo FIdgen in 2016. When Alix Fox was 17 years old she had an extreme allergic reaction. She was rushed to hospital, but never experienced anything like it again. However, after that, something changed. It's unclear if it was caused by the allergic reaction, but Alix started to smell things that didn't exist. The scents would be triggered by certain emotions or locations. Alix believes she has something called olfactory synaesthesia. She spoke to Saskia in 2018. Cecilia Bembibre is an olfactory heritage specialist who uses innovative means to collect and preserve smells that might be in danger of dying out. In 2016 Emily Webb went to meet her to find out how she does it. Professor Luca Turin has always been interested in how perfumes smell. But he’s also interested in how we smell perfumes. Because how we are able to experience smell is still unknown. In the 90s, there was one prevailing theory: that our noses have a way to sense the shapes of molecules and therefore we experience their scent. Luca didn’t think this theory made sense and then revived an old and unpopular idea: that the nose detects smells through the vibration of molecules. Because of his unorthodox beliefs, Luca has faced opposition in the olfaction community. Presenter: Saskia Edwards Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: Cassette tape. Credit: Getty Images)