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What is the difference between perfume, aroma, scent, and fragrance?
In today's episode, we break down these nuanced terms and show you how to connect over the topic of nostalgic smells and sense in English.
Hello there, Michelle.
What's going on today?
How are you? I'm good.
How are you? Feeling good.
Feeling good. The sun is shining in Denver, but I do have a question for you.
Yes. All right. So do you wear perfume, Michelle, on a regular basis?
Are you wearing perfume right now for a recording?
Can't you smell it?
No. No, I don't wear perfume.
There was, I think there is, I think maybe when I was a teenager, I had a little body spray.
There was one time where I did have a perfume that I liked to use, not all the time, but no, I don't use it.
Do you? No, I also had that phase.
I don't know if it's a phase thing or if it was a time, the 90s, the odds.
But in high school, I used to wear a particular scent.
Gappedream, I loved it.
Oh my gosh. I don't know.
That just went away.
I guess in college, I just stopped wearing it, and I haven't really worn scents since then.
Yeah. Every once in a while, you meet someone who has a scent.
Right. And sometimes it's too much, but sometimes it's very nice, right?
Sometimes it's like, oh, that's such a good scent, and now you know that person by that perfume.
Oh my gosh, it's so true.
Smells are so visceral.
I imagine if you're close to the person like 15 years later, you could smell that and think of that person, honestly, not just someone you pass, but someone you know that has a scent they wear all the time.
It's incredible. Yeah, it really is.
It really is. So today we are going to answer a listener question about words dealing with scents.
In 2020, we did an episode a little bit touching on this topic, but we're going to go over new words today and review a couple.
So I'm excited for today's episode.
Yeah. Before we get started, guys, we want to make sure you know that the best place to listen to all of your English is Wear Michelle.
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All right, Michelle, we have a question from a listener.
Would you read it for us?
Sure. This is from Sophia.
So Sophia says, hi, I am Sophia.
Excuse me. I just wanted to say a big thank you for your awesome podcasts.
They've been super helpful and I've learned so much from them.
Your explanations of English usage are always spot on.
Well, thank you, Sophia.
We appreciate that.
Thanks for listening.
Yeah. Okay. Now Sophia says, I have a quick question.
Could you clarify the difference between aroma, fragrance, perfume, and scent?
I'm curious about how these words are used differently.
Thanks a lot for your help and for all the great content.
Best Sophia. Thanks so much, Sophia.
That's a great question.
It's a really specific question, but I love that our listeners, Sophia is at this level, right?
To want to know the difference between these four words, very high level.
And that is the way to push your level, you know, from B2 into C1.
I love it, Michelle.
Right. Absolutely. So let's go over it.
Um, so let's start with perfume.
We were, just because we were already talking about this.
So what is perfume?
Okay. Perfume is usually you find it in a bottle.
Usually it's branded with a brand name like Chanel.
The one that I mentioned, Gab Dream was the big brands Burberry.
I mean, all the big brands, they have a scent or two or three or 10, right?
Um, sometimes when you're in a mall, you would spray it on your wrist or they give you little samples on your neck or, or, or maybe people walk into it.
They spray it in the air and walk into it.
I don't know. What is the proper way to apply perfume, Michelle?
What, I don't know.
I think I always used to do the spray and walk into it.
What about you? Uh, I think I usually just spray it on my, on my neck and my wrist.
I don't know. I, this is so long ago to be honest.
Yeah. But then there's a aroma, right?
Aroma. So now this isn't necessarily what we spray, what we pay money for in a department store and spray on our, but it's connected.
Right. Right. Right.
Right. Right. Exactly.
So this is, it's not, oh, I also want to say about perfume.
A lot of times celebrities are associated with perfume.
So you'll, you'll see in the ball, Katherine Zeta Jones or, you know, whoever it is, Selena Gomez, I don't know.
Yeah. And they're, they're all with their perfume.
Yeah. And it's always, perfumes always have like the wackiest commercials.
They do, they do, they do lots of models and things and very intense, very sounding music.
And sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be on a photo, a shoot like that, a video shoot for a commercial like that, you know, black and white.
Yes. Wow. What a world.
I guess in New York, you do sometimes run into that, right?
You see those shoots happening in Central park for sure.
Yeah. But yeah, so aroma could be perfume, but generally it's used to talk about a good, a good smell.
Right. So it could be any smell though.
So for example, they say the aroma of freshly baked cookies can help to sell a house.
Have you ever heard that?
I have heard that before.
I don't know if that's a myth or if there's any science linked to that, but people tend to gravitate where there are cookies.
Right. So if you, if you weren't going to do an open house, if you're going to do an open house, eyes will make these rise.
That's really funny.
Yeah. No, that's good.
So aroma though, is usually only used if it's a good smell, right?
Right. I don't think you would say the, yeah.
I don't imagine. I think so.
It's like the aroma of like trash.
No. I think there are, we have a lot of words to choose from when it comes to smells and we can do another episode on bad smells, right?
All that reeks lots of words.
Lots of words. Right.
I know that we talked about, you know, in that other episode, I believe it was that we did scent and smell and how, and how those can be a little bit different in terms of the good, if it's a good or bad scent.
But, but yeah, I like that idea of saying something smells.
Oh, there's so much we could go.
So y 'all pay attention guys.
Maybe one day a part two of this episode.
So aroma is perfume aroma.
Now the next one, Michelle fragrance.
Okay. Yeah. So, so this one is interesting.
It's a little bit more tricky in my opinion.
It could be a perfume.
So you might call a perfume a fragrance.
You could say what fragrance are you wearing?
But it could also just be the smell.
So the fragrance of flowers really set the mood.
What do you think about this one?
Oh wow. This is very specific.
Yeah. I agree. I think what fragrance are fragrance.
Are you wearing is definitely a chunk that our listeners should remember that is, I wouldn't say what aroma are you wearing?
Would you? No, probably not.
Right. For perfume.
Right. And fragrance is kind of good, I guess, as an, um, as an umbrella term because you have perfume and cologne, right?
So it could just be whatever it is a hundred percent.
Yeah. So yeah. So I think fragrance and perfume kind of go together in a sense.
Perfume is like the product.
It's the type of product, right?
Yeah. Fragrance is the more umbrella term, as you said, but it is often used for cologne or perfume.
Cologne is usually for men and perfume is for women, but I have heard it interchange sometimes that more women saying cologne, but that, I don't know.
So fragrance could also be about flowers, right?
Or other nice again, positive sense.
Good sense. Yeah. Right, right.
Exactly. Exactly. So now let's just go into scent.
So again, this could also be for you.
Right. What center are you wearing?
Yeah. What center are you wearing?
Oh, I love it. Right.
Or it could be more general.
Strawberry is my favorite scent, right?
Or, um, is there a cake in here?
I can smell a strong scent.
So that's for things.
It also, I think about like bloodhounds or something, dogs, like dogs, that's also used not just for things that we use to make things smell good.
It could also be bloodhounds are trained to follow a scent on a criminal investigation.
They go out in the woods and they look for the scent of blood or scent of something, or even in the airport in DIA.
That's what I was thinking.
Yeah. Yeah. And in DIA, it's a big place where you have a lot of dogs stiffing out drugs.
Right. Um, things like that.
So this one is not just for these beautiful smells of flowers and perfumes.
Yeah. Right. Yes, exactly.
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Okay, Michelle. Wow.
Do you have a good sense of smell?
Would you say? I think so.
Do you? I think my sense of smell is not that great, to be honest.
I think it could be much better.
So like what can you be more specific because I don't even really know.
Just sometimes like I can someone says, oh, I smell something and I just don't really smell it.
Or I just like, it's just less prominent for me.
It's light. Someone will say it's a very strong smell.
You can't smell it.
No. What are you talking about?
Well, did you ever lose your sense of smell during COVID?
I did. Yeah. A few times, but I couldn't tell if it was, this is just the smell, losing the smell of a, like a cold.
Cause that happens too, when you get a cold, but I think it's quite different when you have COVID is just a full loss.
It's like on and off.
It's not gradually going away.
So yeah. Interesting.
Well, let's talk about wearing a strong scent or a perfume.
I mean, is there any time do you think that you should avoid wearing a perfume, a cologne?
I think these days more than before, I think that the consciousness around this has been raised a bit.
Now there are allergies.
People are allergic to certain scents.
So I think for example, when I, my old meditation center back in Cambridge, they used to do announcements and say, you know, please avoid wearing a center.
Please wash it off as you enter the meditation center as people are allergic.
So it's a way of being socially conscious.
Yeah. Um, yeah. That's one thing I would say, Michelle, anything to add there?
Yeah. I think a job interview was a bad idea.
You don't know, you don't, yeah, you don't know who might have a reaction to it and then you're just going to kind of make them upset.
Yeah. And people have different levels of strength of their smell.
So even your shampoo could be very strong for someone and that could be enough.
You know what I mean?
Like don't overwhelm, just be careful at a job interview, right?
Yes. Yeah. So Lindy, do you have any strong reactions to certain scents or do you have a favorite?
I think all of our listeners are going to resonate with this.
It's no specific one I can think of, but it's just, or even the smell of cotton balls makes me think of my grandmother, sweaters, wool sweaters.
The ocean makes me think of my parents because they lived at the ocean.
It's just, and it's so visceral.
It's such an important part of our lives.
Do you have a smell that you don't like?
I mean, well, there's the obvious, nothing that comes to mind, anything particular for you, it's really repulsive for you, where it's like a knee -jerk reaction.
This reminds me, I don't love the smell of smoke.
So Dan loves the smell.
He says this weird gas station smell.
Some people like that smell or maybe even like a strong barbecue smell or those kinds of things that some people don't like that.
Totally. I actually have a really fondness for the smell of charcoal, barbecue charcoal, because in the eighties, that's what we didn't know that it was danger.
That's what we used.
Right now it's not the safest thing to use and people mostly use gas grills, but in the eighties we add the charcoal things and pour the lighter fluid on it.
There's your barbecue and it makes me think of my dad and making burgers on.
So I think our listeners are a hundred percent going to resonate with today's episode because smells are life, smells are memories.
Absolutely. People like maybe the smell of freshly cut grass.
My parents recently got a new car and there is new car smell, they call it, right?
I remember when I went into their car the first time, it was like, oh, it's a new car smell.
It's nice. Or what are your thoughts on...
This is a divisive one.
What are your thoughts on the smell of a campfire in your hair after you've gone into your tent?
Do you like that or do you not like that?
You think I go into a tent?
Okay, you don't camp.
Okay. We're in two different worlds.
I would. No, I would.
But I would camp and I have.
No, I don't like the smell of smoke in my hair.
But I don't know if it's so much campfire or more like cigarette smoke because it does kind of have a different...
I see it as very different.
I hate the smell of cigarette smoke in my hair or in general cigarette smoke, but campfire smoke, I love it because it means I've been outdoors.
I've been sitting around a campfire.
I'm camping. I'm in the woods.
It's a really positive thing for me, but some people hate that, that it lingers.
They just don't want that in there around them, lingering.
Yeah. Right. Right.
Right. Interesting.
Exactly. Anyways. Yeah.
But overall, guys, these words are fairly similar, but I'd say perfume and cologne are more about the actual spray, whereas fragrance or scent can be about either one.
And aroma is kind of the overall feel or smell, the aroma of a coffee shop, right?
Oh, yeah. So good. We're going to have to do a follow -up, Michelle, on the negative side for negative scents and smells and things to say.
But let's do a role play for today to solidify what we've learned for our listeners.
Let's do it. Here, Michelle, we are carpooling to a party and you just picked me up at my place.
Okay. All right. Here we go.
You look great. Thanks.
Oh, wow. Did you get a new perfume?
Yes. Got this new fragrance by Julia Roberts.
Oh, it's really good.
Sometimes those scents can bother my allergies, but this just smells great.
Oh, good. I'm glad.
Yeah. Dan sometimes wears this cologne that is just too strong.
Okay. Don't mind the aroma in my car of cake.
Wow. Why would I mind that?
It may make you hungry.
I'll try some at the party.
Nice. Yes. Who even the smell of like Dunkin donuts, walk into Dunkin Donuts.
You can smell the donut shop.
Yum. Yes. Or, or subway.
And like, subway don't they have an actual spray that they it smell bread.
Yeah. I guess subway it's true.
Interesting. So well, this is a fun conversation.
It could go on forever, but let's go back to the, the, the sense here.
So you said, Oh wow.
Did you get a new perfume?
And again, that is the product, right?
Yes. That presents a certain fragrance.
So you said, yes, I got this new fragrance by Julia Roberts.
I think she actually does have one.
I always see her face on one of them.
And then I said, sometimes those scents can bother my allergies.
But this just smells great.
So you're saying usually I have a problem, but this one's fine.
And then you said, yeah, Dan sometimes wears his cologne, this cologne that is just too strong.
So that's the men's version of perfume generally is what we would say.
Yes, exactly. It's not true.
He's, he, he's fine.
But I said, okay. And then I said, okay, don't mind the aroma in my car of cake, right?
I guess I could have said the aroma of cake in my car.
That would have been more correct, but, but yeah.
So basically it smells like cake.
And then he was like, why would I mind that?
Yeah. Who would mind that?
Uh, all right. Good stuff.
Michelle, where's another episode?
Our listeners could check out after this one is done to keep going with their sassy Saturday today.
Yes. Yeah. So I sent you over to another Saturday episode, which was how to greet a friend when you've lost touch.
So go straight to that one guys, fill your Saturday with all ears English, whether you're in the car, on the subway, walking your city in the park with your dog, whatever you're doing, you can keep listening to the show.
Michelle, what's the takeaway for today?
Anything? Yeah. I mean, this is, this was a really good specific question that shows that this listener, um, this listener, Sophia is thinking at this higher level.
That's really going to push her up.
Um, but again, sometimes they can be used interchangeably.
Um, but we gave you the main differences today.
So, so try it out and definitely be aware of, I'm curious, um, and culturally, if other sense, other, it's okay to wear perfume, strong sense, or has it, is the tide kind of changing all over the world where it's, you have to be a little more sensitive about that.
That's a good question.
So let us know on social media or in the comments in YouTube.
Those are all good places to comment on this topic, guys.
All right, Michelle, thanks for being over here.
And again, it's fun.
We could go on forever talking about these fans, but by the way for our listeners, guys, a great connection skill at any moment that you could go through what we've just talked about the smell of charcoal.
Whatever it is, weird smells that give you this like a feeling of life, like life that you've lived that matters to you.
That will build the connection between you and the other person, even if you don't share the same feelings about smells.
Okay. Yes. All right.
Well, this is a lot of fun, Lindsay, and I wish you only nice cookie smells or ice cream smells.
That's another good one.
Okay. We gotta get out of the mic, Michelle.
Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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