User:Jraugustine/Sandbox

History
Ageless Fantasy was first produced in 2008. Based on the "psychology of scent" in which certain scents evoke memories, Ageless Fantasy is an attempt to implement scents with the intent to make a woman smell younger than her actual age.

Research on the project began with the writings of Chandler Burr. His books The Emperor of Scent and The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris & New York as well as his column Scent Notes were instrumental in the early stages of the project.

In addition to the writings of Burr, the creators studied the work of Alan Hirsch neurologist and Neurological Director of the Smell & Taste Research and Treatment Foundation in Chicago. Hirsch's research confirmed a link between certain scents and perceived age.

Combining Burr's writings and the research of Hirsch, the creators contacted Ungerer & Co. to create the fragrance. Ungerer & Co. developed several prototypes from which the formula for Ageless Fantasy was chosen.

Journal of Investigative Dermatology
In December of 2000, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology accepted for publication a study exploring the ways that the body’s production of odor‐producing chemicals changes with age. The study involved 22 subjects, 13 of whom were male and 9 female, and ranging in age from 26 to 75. The subjects were then divided into two groups, those less than age 40 and those over age 40. Headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was used to determine the kinds and levels of odor causing compounds each subject produced, and to probe for differences in the levels of odor causing compounds produced by people in different age groups.

The results of the study determined that subjects in the older group (age 40‐75) had more than twice the amount of 2‐Nonenal (an unsaturated aldehyde with an unpleasant, greasy and grassy odor) than the under 40 group. The study also found an increase in Omega 7 monounsaturated fatty acids and lipid peroxides in the older group. This finding led the team to conclude that the presence of these substances is related to age, and that it may lead to changes in body odor as people age.

Dr. Alan B. Hirsch and the Grapefruit Study
In 2005, a study by the Smell and Taste Research Foundation, headed by Alan B. Hirsch, sought to determine if there was an aroma that not only masked but counter-acted the "aroma of age." The investigators showed 37 people pictures of models while they were masked with surgical masks impregnated with various aromas and then with a plain surgical mask.

The participants were asked to estimate the age of the models they were viewing. Overall, viewers wearing masks impregnated with the aroma of pink grapefruit guessed the ages of the models in the photographs to be three years younger than they actually were. However, breaking the results down by gender brought the data into clearer focus.

Males inhaling the grapefruit aroma perceived females to be six years younger than they actually were.

This study was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in 2005. This study produced the first evidence that simple, single note aromas (in this case grapefruit) could not only mask the odor of aging, but could also change the perceived age of the person wearing it.

Dr. Luca Turin
Biophysicist, Dr. Luca Turin, is the major proponent of the controversial "vibration theory of olfaction." As such, Dr. Turin has had an interest in the perfume industry.

Through research in smells Dr. Turin has come to the conclusion a molecule's smell character is due to its vibrational frequency in the infrared range. Which is the core premise of the "vibration theory of olfaction."

Author of Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell, Dr. Turin has this to say about smell:

"We smell with our brains, not our nose. The nose is an extension of the brain outside the body, which is why scent is a shortcut to emotions."

Harvey Prince & Co. Independent Study
Harvey Prince & Co. sought to expand on the findings of Hirsch. Their intent was to determine whether a compound fragrance altered people’s perceptions about the age of the person wearing it. They hired an independent team to do the research.

The independent study reconfirmed the findings of the Hirsch study; that single note citrus fragrances such as mango, pomegranate and grapefruit counteract the "scent of aging." It also affirmed that single scents such as jasmine an musk create a sense of sophistication and modernity in a woman.

The study went on to show that, in fact, a combination of fragrances score high in the "young and passionate" category, and the "young and active" category. Combinations such as grapefruit and jasmin had these effects.

Product
Ageless Fantasy perfume is a compound of fragrances. Each fragrance is intended to bring out the characteristics of the combination fragrances as discovered in the Harvey Prince & Co. study.

Tropical notes (pink grapefruit, mango, pomegranate) counter the "scent of age." These tropic notes also bring back childhood memories and feelings of coziness, youth, and joy.

Florals (jasmin, cherry blossom) give an air of sophistication, creating the impression of a modern woman.

Citrus notes also create a sense of energy, vitality, or youthful vigor.

Marketing
Ageless Fantasy was distributed early in apothecary shops in New York City, the location of Harvey Prince & Co. In-store displays were the primary marketing tool during the formative months of Ageless Fantasy's life.

Serious marketing of the Ageless Fantasy fragrance began with an advertisement in the New York Times. Following this advertisement, companies such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus contacted Harvey Prince & Co. for rights to retail Ageless Fantasy.

Ageless Fantasy has made appearances in media outlets such as:


 * BBC radio stations
 * About.com's Top Holiday Fragrance Gift Splurges and Steals
 * CBS Radio FM NY
 * New York's CBS-FM 101.1
 * ABC TV's The View