Many people choose to wear perfume or aftershave to make themselves smell good. But do they know the affect the scents have on people around them. Listen to this discussion about smells and learn some useful vocabulary too.

This week's question:

How much is the perfume industry in the UK worth each year?

a) ￡650 million

b) ￡970 million

c) ￡1.3 billion

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

odorant

something that smells

trigger/catalyst

something that can make something else happen

give off

send unspoken information

underestimate

don’t take those messages seriously

to mess with someone

not to take someone seriously

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript

Neil

Hello welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.?

Dan

And I'm Dan.

Neil

In this programme, we going to hear from someone who smells smells for a living. Although these are very expensive smells - smells that we wear deliberately to make us smell good.

Dan

Ah, you mean scents and perfumes?

Neil

Yes and perfumes are big business. And that is the topic of our quiz in this programme. How much is the perfume industry in the UK worth each year?

a)???￡650 million

b)???￡970 million

c)???￡1.3 billion

Dan

Well, I don't nose this – smell, nose - this is just a guess, but I’ll say ￡970 million.?

Neil

Well, I’ll let you know the answer a little later in the programme. Now let’s hear from Roja Dove, who is a perfumer. He designs and creates very exclusive and very expensive perfumes. In a recent BBC video he talked about the power of smells. What does he say there is a very deep psychological connection between??

Roja Dove

…who we are?as a personality and the type of smells we like. When we are born, the part of our brain which deals with smell is empty?so we learn our response to smell. And then when we smell that?odorant?again it’s like a?trigger?or a?catalyst?that will revive the original associational memory.

Neil

So Dan, what does he say there is a very deep psychological connection between?

Dan

Between our personality and the kind of smells we like. The point he is making is that the smells we experience when we are very young can have a big psychological impact on us even later in life.

Neil

I know that feeling – smell is a very powerful sense. The smell of something can take you right back in time and fill you with emotions.

Dan

Exactly. For example, when I walk through the perfume area of a department store I always feel a bit nostalgic because I can smell the perfume my mum first girlfriend used to wear. It’s a powerful sensation.

Neil

Dove used particular words and expression to describe this, didn’t he?

Dan

Yes, first he used the word?odorant?to describe the smell. It’s not really a common word. We use it more frequently as part of the word?deodorant, which is something we buy to cover up what we think of as the unpleasant natural smell of our bodies. These?odorants, he said, can act as the?trigger?or?catalyst?for these memories. Both the nouns?trigger?and?catalyst?refer to something that causes a particular response. So a particular smell can be a?trigger?or?catalyst?for a particular emotion.

Neil

As well as being a trigger for memories, smells can, according to Dove, say a lot about your personality. Here he is again talking about the kind of scent to wear if you want to give a particular impression. What does he say these scents make you appear very strong at?

Roja Dove

The idea of the message you?give off?with scent I think can’t be underestimated. My suggestion would be to look for very, very woody, mossy, structured scents called Chypres if the message you want to put across is that you are someone?not to be messed with, very, very strong in business, or whatever – just?not to be messed with.

Neil

So what do the scents he described make you seem strong at?

Dan

Business, they can make you seem very, very strong in business.

Neil

Mmm, and how does he explain that?

Dan

Well, he says that some scents?give off?a particular message. The phrasal verb?give off?is often used to describe something that we broadcast about ourselves without saying anything. So he’s saying that our scent, our perfume, can?give off?a message about the kind of person we are and that we shouldn’t?underestimate?that. If you?underestimate?something you don’t give it as much importance as it should have, you don’t take it seriously enough.

Neil

He then goes on to talk about the particular scent that?gives off?the impression of being very strong in business.

Dan

Yes, it’s a woody, mossy scent which suggests that you are?not someone to be messed with.

Neil

Not to be messed with?

Dan

Yes – someone to be taken seriously, someone who is serious who you don’t want to try and trick.?

Neil

Right and talking of tricking – did we trick you with the quiz? I asked - What was the value of the perfume industry in the UK?

Dan

And I said it was ￡970 million.

Neil

And it was actually option c), which was an incredible ￡1.3 billion.

Dan

Wow! That is a lot of smelly stuff.

Neil

It is indeed! Right, now, time for vocabulary recap. What words and expressions did we have today?

Dan

Well, first we had?odorant –?an unusual word for something that smells.

Neil

Then two words with a very similar meaning: a?trigger?and a?catalyst?– both of which refer to something that can make something else happen. In this case it was a particular smell making us remember something from the past. So scents can sends us to the past. But they can also say something about our personality.

Dan

Yes, they can send unspoken information -?or?give off?messages. And these messages should not be?underestimated. If you do?underestimate?the importance of smell, it means that you don’t take those messages seriously.

Neil

And finally we heard the phrase?to mess with someone.?To mess with someone?means that you don’t take them seriously, you cause them trouble and that may cause?you?trouble.

Dan

Well I certainly wouldn’t want?to mess with?you! Judging by the messages you’re?giving off.

Neil

Ah you mean my aftershave? Makes me seem powerful?

Dan

I was thinking more of the egg sandwich you had for lunch. I really wouldn’t?underestimate?the power of that.

Neil

Ah! On that note, I think it’s time to end the programme. For more, find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages, and of course our website bbclearningenglish.com! Goodbye!

Dan

Goodbye!