They might use a natural scent as the basis for a perfume, but then they typically add to this by using synthetic compounds produced in a laboratory. (Synthetics also make it possible to affordably mass-produce perfumes.) Both Mr. Ellena and Ms. Beaulieu scoff at amateurs who want to hear that perfumes are all natural.

WSJ: Book Review: Diary of a Nose | The Perfume Lover

It was not until 2001, however, that Manfred Milinski and Claus Wedekind of the University of Bern wondered whether there was a correlation between the perfume a woman preferred and her own natural scent.

ECONOMIST: Perfume science