TiL's fragrance, a story of emotions...

TiL is a holistic beauty brand , created from the ultimate holistic tree, the linden tree .

He was the one who guided the entire creative process .

Him, or rather them, the hundred or more than a hundred-year-old linden trees , rooted for generations in our family estate in Dordogne . With their astonishing powers over the mind, body and skin, they gave birth to TiL, its marvelous fragrance and its cosmetic and beauty supplement ranges.

We wrote this series of articles on TiL's scientific backstage  because it is not only a natural, local, clean, vegan and ultra-sensory brand . It required 3 years of R&D , under the leadership of the greatest experts , and everything we put forward has been scientifically proven. We have thus promoted this incredible tree, used for centuries for its virtues (Pliny the Elder already called it “ the doctor tree ”), through ^21st century Science, biotechnology and neuroscience.

Neurosciences were requested for L'Eau qui Enlace , this wonderfully delicate fragrance created by the talented perfumer Francis Kurkdjian . An ode to a tender and cheerful childhood, a real invitation to a stroll under an avenue of flowering linden trees on an early June morning.

After smelling the fruit of her work over several months, a divine scent, and collecting the emotional reactions of those around us, we wanted to go further and objectify through Science the emotions it aroused, as they seemed so powerful to us. . Especially since Francis Kurkdjian then fine-tuned the note to include it in all the cosmetic products in the range, adapting it one by one. It is therefore the olfactory signature of our entire brand.

In this ^4th episode, we interview Francis Vial, President of Emospin, Clinical Study Centers specializing in quantifying the emotional impact of perfumes , in collaboration with Doctor Arnaud Aubert, researcher in neuropsychology . Their mission? Scientifically quantify emotions, to assess consumer well-being , using a range of tools.

 

What is Emospin’s approach?

The challenge of emotions is colossal, since they, since the origins of humanity, have been a fundamental element in the development of our thoughts, our motivations, our decisions, our memories... of all of our behavior in general.

At Emospin, we have been working on emotions and the way they influence the consumer experience for more than twenty years.

In the world of academic research, emotion specialists generally study negative emotions , but more rarely positive emotions . Nearly 90% of publications concern stress, anxiety, fear, depression , etc.

If this knowledge is of major interest for the clinic and to best respond to pathologies associated with emotional disorders , it is less relevant for those who seek to promote different forms of pleasure and well-being .

Regarding the methodological question, there is no miracle device that directly measures emotions, no “emotiometer” . We therefore measure the different emotional components (behavioral, physiological, cognitive) with the tools adapted to each problem, and it is by combining the different measurements that we obtain a reliable evaluation of the emotional state.

 

What dimensions are you studying?

Our strategy is to establish a protocol which combines the most appropriate verbal (questionnaires, psychometric scales, interviews, spontaneous speech) and non-verbal (ethological analyses, physiological measurements) methods, taking into account the characteristics of the subjects, the product or of the experience studied, and the context of consumption/use.

The combination of the measurements obtained, via a proprietary algorithm, allows us to quantify the hedonic potential of the experience, by characterizing for example the emotion felt by the subjects during the sensory discovery of the perfume. With this method – Emochar – we can specify the type of positive emotion involved during the experience, according to 7 different dimensions .

We have 3 toolboxes to address the 3 components of emotion:

1 – The subjective or cognitive component

This is what we verbalize, that is to say the way in which we express our emotion through the verbal channel. In our toolbox, we therefore have the tools of psychology , including validated psychometric scales , but also lexical analyzes or text mining, which make it possible to analyze the content and structure of a verbal statement to identify the mental representations associated with this or that experience, this or that perfume.

2 – The behavioral or expressive component

In our case, this involves the analysis of the vocal signal, the emotional charge transmitted by the voice .

When we express ourselves orally, we emit 2 types of signals simultaneously, via 2 different channels:

.the verbal channel : these are the words we use and the meaning associated with them,

.prosody , or the tone of voice , which modulates the meaning of the words used and conveys information about the emotional state of the speaker.

I am thinking of a very simple example to illustrate the existence of these 2 channels and their relative independence: you have your partner on the phone, and you ask them “how are you?” » ; he will respond very clearly using unambiguous terms such as “it’s okay” or “it’s going very well”. This is the verbal channel. However, with the tone of voice, your brain will unconsciously decode the underlying emotional charge , and if the two channels are dissonant , you will have this diffuse impression, this “ intuition ” that something is not right.

This emotional content that we convey is universal, it crosses the barrier of cultures and languages, and even species since this also applies between humans and animals : when we speak to our dog or cat, it is sensitive to the prosodic channel, to the emotion conveyed by his master's voice, even if the meaning of the words escapes him. And this understanding of the emotional signal by the animal greatly contributes to the attachment it has to its master.

3 – The physiological or somatic component

Here we analyzed the respiratory rate . It is a measure often used in psycho-physiological studies which focus on the link between emotions and odors .

The respiratory rhythm is very involved in the perception of perfumes , these slowing down or accelerating it . A hedonic response to a pleasant scent will, for example, be associated with a slowdown in breathing rate and an increase in inspired volume during the discovery phase in particular. During an aversive response, it is exactly the opposite, and the spontaneous tendency will be to limit inspirations, or even to temporarily block breathing in a completely spontaneous or automatic way.

Concretely, what are the different stages of the study?

• The subjects' verbal responses during the discovery of the perfume are recorded and digitized. We recover the prosodic signal through the analysis of the vocal spectrum using specialized software. The different physical parameters extracted from the analysis of the vocal spectrum are then combined in order to calculate the value of two fundamental dimensions of emotion: valence and arousal.
  Valence represents the affective tone of the emotion. We therefore have 2 poles, one positive, and the other negative (displeasure, aversion, etc.).
  Arousal represents the intensity of the processes underlying the emotion, with high values ​​showing a state of arousal, low values ​​sedation and calming. These values ​​make it possible to determine whether it is, for example, relaxation or euphoria.

• For the respiratory rate , a chest strap equipped with sensors very sensitive to movements of the diaphragm is installed on the person, connected to an application which does the conversion, then it is quantified by computer.

• For psychometrics , subjects are asked to describe their sensory experience through a psychometric scale with a set of emotional terms.

How do you then arrive at the final conclusions about the perfume?

Our multivariate approach questions expression with prosody, physiology with respiratory rhythm, and the subjective with psychometrics.

The combination of these approaches powers our Emochar algorithm and makes it possible to score on 7 main dimensions of positive emotions : arousal, relaxation, sensuality, pleasure, tenderness, amusement and self-esteem.

What are the results on TiL's fragrance ?

The study was carried out with 22 women, of all generations . Its objective was to evaluate in vivo the influence of perfume on the emotional response, during an olfactory discovery .

• From the point of view of prosody , the TiL perfume obtains very significant results , making it possible to objectify a state of relaxation and appeasement associated with its olfactory discovery .
• Concerning the respiratory rate , we observe a reduction of 15%, also very significant and consistent with this idea of ​​exploration : I improve the exploration of my product, I slow down my respiratory rate and I increase the inspired volume to have a greater absorption of odor. What is interesting with TiL is that we are on a positive exploratory profile , in correspondence with the other dimensions studied.
• For psychometric analysis, the negative part is non-existent, and that is quite interesting: we really have a very important consensus on the positive facets of emotion. What the subjects express in a very meaningful way is pleasure, joy, relaxation and relief . Behind this, there is comfort, appeasement . These are the adjectives cited most frequently and with the highest intensity , and which show a very high hedonic potential , with a fairly exceptional consensus.

In the end, L'Eau Qui Enlace, TiL's fragrance,  obtains maximum scores in terms of pleasure, relaxation, and appeasement, very markedly . We are on a clear profile, not very heterogeneous, with a perfume which is, in a very consensual way, pleasant. There are no negative answers, only positive , and this is something that is not common in perfume. From experience, it is even very rare !

At TiL, with L'Eau Qui Enlace, we talk about pleasure, of a truly hedonic type . The smell has a “come back” taste , it’s an intrinsically hedonic sensory experience that we want to both renew and prolong , it’s not just simple pleasure…

And in comparison with other perfumes?

What we really noticed in this perfume and which is very interesting, is that there is very little variability . Now, for smells there are always many; there are people who like, who don't like, who like less, who have very, very different evocations and who will not necessarily smell the same thing for the same perfume.

It has the lowest individual variability ever observed . A perfume can be very segmenting, very polarized. Even vanilla, which is a very consensual smell, will always find 5 or 6% of people who hate it.

With this fragrance what is quite astonishing is that there is really a big consensus, that is to say that there is almost no aversive response and we have a variability which is zero.

The perfumes that are on the market all by definition have sufficient acceptability, yet there will always be people who try and say “Oh no not that, it doesn't smell good/I don't like it!” » . Because depending on numerous memory elements, but also sensory, psychological or genetic , there are things to which we are not very receptive, or even defensive. But here, we really have a perfume with completely optimal acceptability.

The words of Francis Kurkdjian