Five ways to celebrate International Fragrance Day

Each year, International Fragrance Day on March 21st is a chance to focus on the art and science of perfumery and also the role of fragrance in our daily lives. If you feel like joining in with some scented celebrations this International Fragrance Day, here are a few ideas:

1. Stop…and smell the roses (literally)

As we rush from one place to the next, juggle emails and appointments, it’s so pleasurable to take a moment, inhale and just notice the scents around us. Be in the moment: smell your coffee while you drink it, enjoy the scent of your shower gel, notice your olfactory environment. Wander your street and smell everything. At the moment, the Autumn roses in my neighbourhood are divine, perhaps I'm enjoying them even more as I know they won't be blooming for much longer.

2. Wear a fragrance you love

Put on your favourite scent or try something new that you’ve been meaning to test out. Share your fragrance choice with friends or family. I'm expecting a flurry of social media over the weekend #InternationalFragranceDay #scentoftheday

3. Open your spice drawer

You probably have some excellent scents tucked away in your kitchen. You could play a "name that smell" game by putting individual spices into brown paper bags (number them if you like) ask friends, family or flatmates to write down their guesses. If you're feeling a bit sneaky, put in a curve ball...maybe a handful of fresh gum leaves, some soil or a strip of lemon peel?

4. Search for olfactory art or a scented museum exhibit

This requires some commitment, but once you start looking you'll be surprised what you can find. The Melbourne Museum has a "smells trolley" to help you engage with scent and memory. The Potter Museum of Art has an interactive scent expereince "The Scent Table" next weekend. In Sydney, you could book tickets to "Southern Scent" for multi-sensory storytelling on 11 April. If you'd like to listen to an Australian working in the scent & art space, then tune in to Erin Adams a guest on the World of Taste and Smell podcast.

5. Give your nose a new experience

Join a perfume workshop, visit a scent lending library (if you're in Seattle!), smell some raw materials, head to your local botanical garden and track down the fragrant plants, walk in nature and smell everything.  Put your nose against the bark; crouch down and sniff the seaweed; get on your tip-toes to smell the jasmine vines, or the heart of a fern, or lichen on a rock face.