Welcome to the season finale of The Ick Season 2! For the past five episodes, I’ve explored the five senses via expert interviews. In our final installment, I talk to qualia researcher Andrés Gómez Emilsson (@algekalipso) about experiments in scents. Each post has two parts: essay + interview. Find the essay here: How to Smell.
This interview with Andrés is a feast for the senses. Watch as he explains the fascinating science behind how smells have texture, musicality, color, and taste. It’s a synesthetic journey with many twists and turns.
Plus, don’t miss the end where Andrés gives me a tour of the perfumes he’s created himself.
Discovering Aroma Chemicals (00:00-07:12)
How experimenting with aroma chemicals changed everything
What is “scent factorization” and how to balance nuances for a pure scent
How lavender is more complex than it seems
Reverb in Scent Blending (07:13-09:28)
How blending scents is similar to sound engineering
Recipes for how vanilla and pine mix better with musk
Smelling Electromagnetic Fields (10:22-11:48)
The science behind how electromagnetic fields influence scent in the olfactory bulb
How different scents create different frequencies
Musicality of Scent (13:31-17:10)
How scent composition works like musical harmony
"Valence inversions" — good scents smell bad together, and vice versa
How simplified scents mimic complex ones
Fecal Notes and Imperfection in Perfume (18:23-22:22)
Does the perfume industry use “fecal” notes?
How “bad” scents add depth
Why perfect scents can feel forgettable
Imperfections add energy and memorability
Memory Hacking (22:48-25:01)
How to “memory hack”
Using unique scent combinations for lasting associations
Meditation and Smell (25:19-29:56)
How scents influence meditation experiences
Emily smells “Fearless” —a perfume Andrés invented to calm fear
Andrés’s Perfume Creations (29:57-37:09)
Take a tour of Andrés’s personal perfume creations: "Dust Devil," "Glacial Gum Drop," and "Hedonium Shockwave"
