Key takeaways
- Treat aroma like product UX: Design scent as an experience that evolves, not a static attribute.
- “Layering” is time-based: Top/middle/base notes = a structured progression, not terpene stacking.
- Lead with mood and intention: Design + story should precede strain taxonomy in how products are framed.
- Familiarity sells innovation: Unfamiliar terpene profiles need context and narrative to land.
- Terpenes are a shared language: They’re functional compounds and emotional storytelling tools.
Cannabis operators have spent the past decade learning how to speak data: THC percentages, yield curves, margin profiles. What they are only now remembering is how to speak in sensations.
Long before cannabis brands debated strain-naming conventions or terpene charts, perfumers already were grappling with the same problems: how to translate chemistry into emotional responses and how to guide consumers through an experience that unfolds over time. Fragrance, like cannabis’s effects, is invisible, emotional, and deeply personal. It is also engineered.
What can the cannabis industry borrow from perfumery’s centuries-old playbook? A surprising amount, according to perfumers who are deeply fluent in the art and science of their profession. The same sorts of molecules, narratives, and design logic increasingly shape modern flower, concentrates, and infused products.
Here are some of the lessons cannabis leaders should be paying attention to now.
Aroma is experience architecture
In perfumery, aroma is never treated as a static attribute. Instead, it is designed as an experience that performs, evolves, and communicates intention.
Saskia Wilson-Brown, founder of the nonprofit Institute for Art and Olfaction, describes fragrance creation as a balancing act between mechanics and meaning.
“Building a fragrance relies on several factors,” she said. “One aspect is technical performance: whether the fragrance will perform well in its intended medium, such as a candle or a fine fragrance. Another aspect, of course, is artistry. Will the fragrance evoke an emotion? A memory? An idea? Will it resonate with people who smell it? Will it adequately convey the intention of the perfumer?”
Perfumer and interdisciplinary artist Dana El Masri arrived at the same principle from a different direction. For her, every project begins with a single question: “What is the intention behind this?”
She noted newer cannabis products are beginning to reflect that sort of inquiry, with stronger branding and storytelling “ideally with a clear focus on the effects.”
Where cannabis diverges from perfumery is stakes. As Wilson-Brown pointed out, fragrances are “not psychoactive — at least not in normal circumstances,” while cannabis product developers must contend with both narrative and bodily response. The implication is significant: cannabis aroma cannot simply suggest a story. It must align with the physical experience the product ultimately delivers. Intention, in this context, becomes both creative and physiological.
Layering is time-based, not terpene stacking
Layering is a familiar, but misunderstood, term in cannabis. Too frequently, the concept is treated as an additive exercise: more terpenes, more complexity. But the perfumery world offers a more disciplined framework.
“Aromatic notes function in space and time,” Wilson-Brown said. “Rather than being experienced all at once, scent unfolds gradually. In classical perfumery, top notes sit above middle notes, which rest on base notes, creating a composition that evolves in waves of experience.”
While some perfumers aim for linearity, Wilson-Brown said this is rare. Most fragrances are designed to evolve.
El Masri reinforced this temporal logic through material behavior. In perfumery, top, middle, and base notes are determined by volatility, tenacity, and how compounds react with oxygen.
“All citrus notes, for example, have low flash points and disappear quickly,” she said, explaining why they are classified as top notes. Compounds like limonene (citrusy), myrcene (earthy), and caryophyllene (spicy) could be considered cannabis’s top notes.
Crucially, Wilson-Brown cautioned against confusing layering with accumulation. While accumulating materials is fundamental, she described the practice as “not so much layering as combining — like making a soup.”
In cannabis terms, stacking terpenes without structure creates noise, not sophistication. True complexity unwinds over time.
Why story and design beat ingredient lists
In addition to teaching how products are formulated, perfumery also can teach how they are framed. Fragrance rarely is sold by ingredient list alone. It is sold through mood, story, and design.
“Perfume is very story- and design-driven,” Wilson-Brown said. “I suppose cannabis retailers could approach the product in a similar way, not highlighting the strains so much as the vibe, the story, or the product design. Perfumery is generally understood as a luxury — not because it is inherently luxurious, but because that association has been hardwired for generations and reinforced with package design, advertising campaigns, etc.”
El Masri echoed the emphasis on framing through authenticity.
“Creating something that many people will like that also has a unique appeal — it’s very delicate,” she said. “I like to focus on the authenticity of the story and how it makes the perfume wearer feel.”
Use familiarity to introduce new terpene profiles
In perfumery, innovation rarely succeeds by shocking the senses outright.
“Many people are a bit hesitant to work with smells that are unfamiliar to them—until, of course, they get used to them!” Wilson-Brown said. “There are, of course, exceptions to this, but there’s a reason humans have gravitated to certain smells for millennia — rose, jasmine, cedar, and sandalwood, for instance. People like them because they’re considered beautiful, but also because they’re familiar and therefore carry connections to memories, emotions, or even concepts.”
In Wilson-Brown’s observation, the element of surprise is best introduced either through unexpected combinations of familiar things or with a story-driven introduction of a new olfactory profile. “An amazing story or perfume name can present things in a way that makes them more palatable to a wider audience,” she said.
The lesson for cannabis is subtle but critical. Novel terpene profiles do not fail because they are flawed. They fail because they lack context.
El Masri approaches this balance through emotion. She focuses on how a composition makes someone feel rather than how radical it appears on paper. Authenticity, she claims, is what allows innovation to land without alienation.
Terpenes are a shared language — when they’re accessible
Cannabis and perfumery converge most directly at the molecular level.
“Perfumery and cannabis have a lot in common — mainly terpenes,” El Masri said, noting that both industries rely on compounds like citronellol, limonene, and myrcene. For her, education is the overlooked opportunity. Making terpene knowledge accessible, rather than esoteric, could deepen consumer connection.
Wilson-Brown’s perspective reinforces this. Among perfumers, she explains, the goal is always communication. “A scent should communicate something — an idea, an experience, an emotion — and in turn be received in the spirit it was created,” she said.
Terpenes, then, are not just functional compounds. They are narrative tools.
El Masri’s Sour Diesel-inspired project illustrates the overlap. After researching the strain’s terpene profile, she translated it into a wearable fragrance that honored the source material while standing independently.
“This one was so much fun,” she said. “I was familiar with the Sour Diesel strain and conducted extensive research on the exact terpenes it contains. It took a few trials, but I think I created something unique and wearable, while still being a piece of art.”
The executive takeaway
Perfumery is not a trend for cannabis to chase. It is a different thought pattern that treats aroma as architecture, layering as temporal design, and terpenes as both functional and emotional instruments. As cannabis matures, the brands that lead will be those that treat scent not as an afterthought but strategically.
Audit your products and merchandising: Does aroma messaging match effects, and does the story explain the journey over time?
Aroma strategy FAQ
What can cannabis brands learn from perfumery?
Perfumery shows how to translate chemistry into emotion—using story, design, and time-based composition to guide consumer experience beyond an ingredient list.
What are top, middle, and base notes, and how do they relate to cannabis?
“Top,” “middle,” and “base” describe how aroma unfolds over time based on volatility and tenacity. Cannabis terpenes can be framed similarly to help consumers understand progression and effects expectations.
Why is terpene “layering” often misunderstood in cannabis?
Because it’s often treated as “add more terpenes.” Perfumery treats composition as structured balance and evolution, not accumulation.
Should cannabis retailers sell by strain or by vibe?
For many shoppers, mood, intention, and effect goals are clearer than taxonomy. Strain can remain available, but the primary frame can be experience-led.
How should unfamiliar terpene profiles be introduced to consumers?
Anchor them to familiar notes, explain what to expect over time, and use story or naming to provide context so novelty feels inviting.
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