Expert claims product presentation is vital to fragrance development

David Prybus, who is an expert in the field of fragrance and owner of the UK-based online portal ScentsOfTime Limited, says there is compelling evidence that specific personality types correspond with specific fragrances.

Prybus references a recent survey his company has conducted concerning 150 executive women worldwide, who were questioned on their use of fragrance, while also being asked key questions to determine what type of personality they have.

Myers Briggs Index​

The personality types are arranged according to the Myers Briggs indicator, which was developed in the early 20th century to determine individual perception and judgment, and ultimately arrives at 16 different personality types.

The personality types are determined by outlining four different variants within the four core personality traits – perception, processing information, decision-making, and structure – ultimately arriving at a personality profile determined by four characteristics.

What is interesting is that fragrances are also commonly divided into 16 different families, something that prompted Prybus and his team to investigate if there was any correlation between personality type and the types of fragrances individuals went for.

Extrovert or introvert​

From the information on personality type, it can also be decided whether an individual is more an introvert or an extrovert, and the survey attempted to investigate whether this had an effect on fragrance choice.

To do this the survey asked the women to list up to four fragrances they purchase and used themselves.

Intuitive thought would have us believe that extroverts would go for strong, bold fragrances, while introverts would go for more subtle scents.

Unexpected survey results​

The results of the survey were quite unexpected, and in fact showed that choice of bolder or more subtle fragrance varied among both groups to about the same degree, demonstrating no real difference.

The survey findings state that the choice of fragrance may be more influenced by other factors such as olfactory experience, the color of a brand, the packaging design and the way it is marketed.

“It would seem the perfume choice is likely of not who you are, but who you would like to see yourself as or be seen as,” ​the survey findings state.