Hi everyone!  Welcome to the A to Z of Sex. I’m Dr Lori Beth and I am your host.  We are working our way through the erotic alphabet one letter at a time.  Today the letter is S and S is for Scent. In the animal kingdom, pheromones are scent markers and these trigger certain responses and behaviours. Some trigger sexual responses and others territorial. As human animals, scent plays a more complicated role in our emotional and physical responses. Research highlights scent as the strongest encoded sense in memory. Full sensory flashbacks can be brought on by a single smell. Scent alerts us to when partners are potentially good genetic matches and as to when we are fertile. Scent can warn us of danger and trigger the most comforting of memories. Perfume is still one of the most treasured gifts for women and men.

Today I am joined by Roja Dove. Roja Dove is one of the world’s most respected scent makers. He is a British Master Perfumer and is known most recently for his own scent line, Roja Parfums. Roja puts his passion and creative flair into every project he touches and his attention to detail is second to none.  In his words, ‘only the best will do’. He is known for working with only the world’s finest ingredients whether in a bespoke creation in one of his Roja line or in his Pour Maison line of scent for homes and offices. Each scent takes an average of six to 18 months to complete and all new releases are eagerly awaited.  From his flagship store, 51 Burlington Arcade in London, to the Haute Parfumerie at Harrods to any of his 145 outlets in 36 countries, his scents inspire romance, sensuality, and adorn the most discerning individuals. Roja states that a perfumer is a poet or a storyteller who creates the tangible from the intangible. His scents are luxurious and inspire complex emotional responses.

Our conversation ranged from the importance of scent to intimacy, sex and sexuality (essential according to Roja Dove) through to what the loss of the sense of smell means. Roja told me that people who lose their sense of smell often become depressed and more depressed than those who lose sight.

We talked about the use of scent to create an atmosphere in the home – and to create a sensual and inviting atmosphere. How you can be creative and vary your scent in the different parts of your home.

Roja spoke about the four types of scent – floral, chypre´, oriental and fresh {fougere} and how these relate to personality types. ‘Chypre´s have never seen a shade of grey’.

Roja spoke about how complex our sense of smell is and highlighted that we smell with our most primitive brain, not with our noses. His best advice is to be authentic, use your gut instincts when choosing scents and pay attention to your reactions rather than following fashion.  Choose a scent or scents that are authentically you – you want to wear the scent not have it wear you.

Roja Dove’s delicious creations can be found online at www.rojaparfums.com.  They can be found in the flesh at 51 Burlington Arcade at Roja Parfum flagship shop and on the 6th floor of Harrods in the Salon de Parfum in his Haute Perfumerie.  I encourage you to go along and enjoy a sensual sensory experience – experiment and smell deeply.

Thanks for joining me this week for the A to Z of Sex. Write in with your questions to drloribeth@atozofsex.com and visit both websites www.atozofsex.com and www.the-intimacy-coach.com to learn about alternative sexual choices, types of sexual relationships and to learn to sizzle and create that ideal lasting intimate relationship.   For a free 30 minute session with me, head over to www.atozofsex.com and click on the button that says ‘book now’.  Please join me next week when the letter will be T…