Developing your olfactory awareness: the secret to choosing the right and lasting perfume

By Marie-Sophie Schaupp — Co-founder of Maison Diaphane

Maison Diaphane highlights olfactory culture through a new selection of magazines and books published by Nez Editions. These works invite you to understand and experience perfume differently: they explore raw materials, major houses, trends, and perfumers' techniques, blending pedagogy with an artistic perspective. A way to go behind the scenes of creation and develop a more conscious olfactory sensitivity.

This offer has just arrived in store: you can now discover this olfactory library at Maison Diaphane, in Angers, and also find it online.

Discover the Library collection

Why developing your olfactory culture changes how you choose a perfume

Choosing a perfume is not just about liking a scent. Behind every fragrance lies a raw material, an intention, a story, and an emotion. Yet, most people discover perfume instinctively, without truly understanding what they are smelling. The result: fleeting infatuations, an accumulation of bottles, and rarely a true signature.

At Maison Diaphane, we believe that olfactory culture is key. It allows you to refine your perception, better understand your preferences, and build a lasting relationship with perfumes. This is why we have developed a dedicated library, composed of magazines and books published by Nez Editions — works designed as accessible gateways into the world of contemporary perfumery, not just for experts.

Understanding raw materials to better experience

When you discover a note like rose, tuberose, or jasmine, you often perceive a global impression: floral, feminine, soft, or powerful. But the reality is much richer — each material has multiple facets.

• Rose can be fresh, fruity, honeyed, green, or spicy.
• Jasmine can evoke skin, light, sensuality, or purity.
• Tuberose oscillates between creamy, milky, narcotic, and almost animalic.

Reading about these materials transforms the way you smell: you go from a vague sensation to a precise perception, which then allows you to more easily identify the perfumes that truly suit you. To deepen this exploration, you can also browse our selection of niche perfumes and concretely compare the facets discovered in the books.

Going behind the scenes of creation

Nez magazines and books tell the story of perfumery from the inside: the work of perfumers, trends, innovations, artistic and cultural inspirations. Understanding how a perfume is built profoundly changes your perspective — you no longer just smell a result, but a language: the contrasts, the accords, the tension between materials, the perfumer's signature. This knowledge enriches the in-store experience: the dialogue becomes more precise, the trials more targeted, the choices more coherent.

Developing a lasting olfactory signature

A signature is not built by chance. It evolves with time, seasons, emotions, and life stages. Olfactory culture allows you to step back, avoid common mistakes, and better understand why a perfume attracts or repels you. It also helps to:

• recognize the olfactory families that suit you;
• understand why a perfume doesn't last on your skin;
• choose a perfume to give as a gift without making a mistake;
• build a coherent olfactory wardrobe.

This approach aligns with the support we offer during the olfactory diagnostic at Maison Diaphane.

Perfume as culture, not just a product

Perfume is an art, just like music or gastronomy. The more you discover it, the richer and more personal it becomes. Reading, smelling, comparing, testing: these actions develop a unique olfactory sensitivity and memory. Nez books are designed as living tools — they do not replace sensory experience, but extend and enrich it.

The Maison Diaphane introductory library

Developing your olfactory culture is a journey. Here are the readings we most often recommend in store to progress: understand a material, refine your perception, and put words to what you feel — to choose more accurately.

Step 1 — Understanding materials

Four notebooks to recognize key facets (spicy, floral, milky, narcotic) and learn to smell with precision.

Pink Pepper in Perfumery — spicy, fresh, vibrant sparkle. To understand what "awakens" an accord.

Rose in Perfumery — fresh, honeyed, green, spicy: finding "your" rose.

Jasmine in Perfumery — light and sensuality: recognizing its variations (skin, cream, radiance).

Tuberose in Perfumery — creamy, milky, narcotic: understanding a flower of contrast.

Step 2 — Refining your perception

Learning to put accurate words to what you feel: mental images, associations, contrasts.

Nez 18 — The Color of Scents is a fascinating issue for connecting perception and language: when a scent evokes a material, a color, an atmosphere. Ideal if you "smell a lot" but are looking for a more precise interpretation of your sensations.

Step 3 — Exploring niche

Understanding what distinguishes an independent creation: signatures, biases, style, intention.

Niche by Nez & Vapo Maison Diaphane is a panorama dedicated to niche perfumery: houses, trends, and signatures. An ideal read to fuel your curiosity and quickly recognize what makes a characterful perfume strong.

To choose quickly (without making a mistake)

• You love fresh and modern spices: Pink Pepper in Perfumery.
• You are looking for an iconic, but nuanced floral: Rose in Perfumery.
• You love luminous and sensual florals: Jasmine in Perfumery.
• You love opulent and carnal flowers: Tuberose in Perfumery.
• You want to put precise words to your sensations: Nez 18 — The Color of Scents.
• You want to understand niche perfumery: Niche by Nez & Vapo Maison Diaphane.

At Maison Diaphane, we believe that every perfume is a encounter. That's why we carefully select rare, independent houses that carry meaning and emotion. But we also believe that perfume is best chosen when you learn to smell: understanding materials, recognizing accords, refining your vocabulary — this is the surest way to build a coherent and lasting signature.

To go further

• Maison Diaphane's method for choosing your perfume without making a mistake
• The alphabet of perfume: essential olfactory vocabulary
• Understanding perfume raw materials
• Why perfume doesn't always last on the skin