We’ve long admired the captivating visual language of New York-based Creative Director Isioma Iyamah, whose multidisciplinary practice illuminates the rich stories of our shifting cultural landscapes. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by scent; the chemistry of it, the psychology of it, the experience of it,” she reflects. In this Table Talk, Iyamah invites us into her sensory world, offering an intimate exploration of her connection to scent.

For many of us, the memories and emotions elicited by scent are powerful and evocative, and we all have favorites. What’s interesting to me about our preferences is the fact that we can’t consciously explain ‘why’ we gravitate towards them, we just do.

THE SCENT OF LOVED ONES

To me, my mother’s scent is never-changing and unique to her; it’s a warm, powdery, somewhat floral, milky scent that I think is just her, likely imprinted on me from when I was very young.

That scent of my partner; slightly salty, slightly sweet, and grounding, with a hint of copper pennies especially after he’s worked out (strange comparison, but here we are) – a skin scent that appeals.

Or my dog who, first thing in the morning, smells sort of spicy/musky, earthy, almost doughy, like a salty little doggy bun after baking all night in her bed. No one else smells like them. And I’ve always wondered what I smell like to others.

AUTUMNAL SCENT EXPLORATION

Molecule No. 1: A fragrance

It’s been around since the early 2000s (you can tell by the branding!). It’s composed entirely of Iso E Super, which was synthesized by IFF in the 1970s. I’ve worn Molecule No. 1 daily for about 13 years, often layering it depending on my mood. It mostly smells like a light cedarwood, with hints of gently sweet incense, ambergris, and patchouli. It’s a very fresh, very transparent woody / animalic (leathery, musk-like) scent that interacts with your skin chemistry to create something unique. 

Ambroxan: A scent molecule

It’s a molecule synthesized from a plant in the 1950’s to replace the expensive, rare and environmentally unsustainable ambergris – a sort of protective mucus produced and then later released by sperm whales in response to irritating, indigestible bits (shells, octopus beaks) from their meals. It’s used as a base note and scent fixative in perfumes and provides a creamy, velvety, woody, amber-y accent. I love it. 

Petrichor: The smell of rain

Very familiar to all; very evocative, much loved – the smell of rain on dry soil or streets; minerals and moisture, earthy but fresh, at once reviving and comforting. The scent itself is composed of three inputs; ozone, which rainwater encapsulates as it comes down, geosmin, which is a chemical that bacteria in the soil release when it rains, and plant oils that are released as they’re pummeled by raindrops.