Underlying dimensions in the descriptive space of perfumery odors: part II

Abstract

Some comprehensive compilations of odor character descriptions are available in the literature, and they contain valuable information to better understand the underlying dimensions of human odor psychophysics. In the present study, principal component analysis was applied to two olfactory databases of perfumery materials publicly available, which are comprised by those odor descriptors most frequently used in perfumery. The projection of descriptors over the two principal axes (two-component solution) led to related plots, which are also similar to the one obtained in a previous study (Zarzo, 2008). Although the descriptive space of odors is highly multidimensional, our results suggest that it is possible to reach a consensus about how to project perfumery scents on a two-dimensional map, and how to interpret the dimensions of that sensory map. One of them discriminates light vs. heavy odors; the orthogonal axis was correlated with hedonic tones, but it is better interpreted as an underlying latent structure that distinguishes feminine vs. masculine cosmetic scents.