Perfumes and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature

I will argue that aesthetically appreciating some perfumes and aesthetically appreciating nature can interact in intriguing ways. I shall identify three such ways, meant to be instructive rather than exhaustive. First, one can appreciate a natural scent, such as that of jasmine, through a perfume, that is, by means of its incorporation in a perfume. Second, in the case in which a natural scent (such as that of rose, or of fig) is artificially reproduced within the context of a perfume, the full aesthetic appreciation of this perfume as an instance of clever design presupposes the aesthetic appreciation of nature—specifically, the aesthetic appreciation of the natural scent that is being artificially reproduced. Third, nature-inspired perfumes can provide stories that can usefully inform subsequent encounters with nature.