Fragrance &Microbiome

Have you ever fallen in love with a perfume in the store — only to find that it behaves completely differently once it touches your skin?

You’re not alone. Many people experience this disconnect. A fragrance that blossoms beautifully on someone else may fade quickly or smell off on your own skin. Why?

The answer lies in skin chemistry — and more deeply, in the skin microbiome.

Each person’s skin has a unique profile of pH, moisture level, oil content, and sebum production. These components influence how a perfume’s volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are absorbed, retained, and released. But all these skin chemistry factors — pH, moisture, oiliness — are in turn strongly influenced by the skin’s microbial community.

Our bodies host trillions of microbes, and on the skin, they form a living, dynamic ecosystem. These microbes interact with fragrance molecules in complex ways — modifying them, amplifying them, or even causing them to vanish faster than expected. This microbial interplay explains why the same perfume smells different on different people.

Fragrances are made up of volatile organic compounds, both natural and synthetic. Many of these same compounds are also found in nature and are acted upon by bacteria in the environment — in soil, water, plants, and air. The bacterial families that live on our skin share similar capabilities. What they do to the aroma molecules in nature, they may do — in their own subtle way — on your skin.

Scientific research in body odour analysis, environmental microbiology, and fragrance molecule biosynthesis has yielded valuable insights into how microbes influence scent molecules. By bringing together these strands of evidence, we begin to understand how skin bacteria shape the performance and evolution of fragrance on each individual.

Perfume personalisation today typically includes age, gender, skin type, and climate. But without the microbiome, these factors only tell part of the story. By incorporating microbiome insights — based on well-established bacterial profiles and compound group classifications — we can offer a new dimension of personalised fragrance advice.

The skin microbiome doesn’t replace your personal preferences. It enhances them. It helps explain why some perfumes work better on you than others — and how to make more informed choices.

We provide advice on fragrance performance based on microbiome inputs. We do not advise on any medical condition, prevention, or diagnosis. This is not a diagnostic or medical tool. It is a wellness-based concept — aimed at helping individuals make smarter, more satisfying fragrance decisions.

At FragraGenomics, we are exploring this intersection of scent and science. A new way to connect your biology with your fragrance identity — not as a replacement for perfumery’s art, but as a tool to deepen its meaning and potential.