8th September 2022

 

At Fragrance Oils, our extensive knowledge spans all areas of perfumery – so we love a challenge! Our talented Scentmakers have been involved in the launch of a new and innovative multi-sensory gaming experience, Time Detectives, and we’d love to tell you all about it.

 

Time Detectives allows players to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the past while exploring some of history’s great mysteries. The first game unlocks the secrets of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s beloved warship that sank in battle back in 1545. The game can be played at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth and invites visitors to use their phones as magical spyglasses!

Fragrance has a powerful effect on our emotions, allowing us to make an immediate connection. To make the game a truly immersive experience, our mission was to develop some authentic scents that captured the Tudor period and told the story of life aboard the king’s extraordinary warship.

 

Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and before we work on any brief, our creative team get together to share ideas and discuss how to achieve the best results. While we were clear on what was required, we put together some mood boards to help spark our imaginations and transport us back to Tudor times – it’s not every day we’re asked to recreate the aroma of melted tar!

To find our more, we caught up with our Scentmakers Emma & Steph…

 

What was the biggest challenge?

 

Stepping outside of the box in terms of creating beautiful, appealing scents. These fragrances were really created to enhance the Mary Rose experience, transporting the customer back in time. The smell of melted tar and gunpowder aren’t everyday fragrances! Our aim was to evoke a reaction and enable the customer to feel as if they were really there, on board this notorious vessel in 1545.

 

 
My favourite fragrance was the melted tar! On smelling the fragrance you can really feel the heat from the flames, the fumes rising and visualise the molten tar being poured from the handheld tar ladle. The visual image that smelling the fragrance creates is incredible!
Emma
Scentmaker in Evaluation

HOW DO YOU THINK THE USE OF FRAGRANCE WILL ENHANCE THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE?

 

The sense of smell is extraordinary; it’s the strongest of all the senses when it comes to creating memories. The use of fragrance will no doubt elevate the Mary Rose experience to another level!

 

 

What did you enjoy most about working on this project?

 

Definitely the collaboration, working closely together to achieve the perfect olfactive profile; and the fragrance exploration aspect. This brief pushed the boundaries on what we typically work on day to day. It was a refreshing and encouraging challenge to take on.
Wonderful things can be achieved when there is teamwork and collaboration. I always enjoy every project that I work on, this particular one I relished the opportunity to have the creative freedom to formulate these evocative scents!
Steph
Scentmaker in Perfumery

Our talented Scentmakers are passionate about all things fragrance! This project was the perfect opportunity to think outside the box and explore how to create an authentic and memorable Tudor experience.

 

If you’re in the area and have chance to visit the exhibition- we’d love to hear what you think!

https://maryrose.org/time-detectives/

https://www.fragrance-oils.com/contact-us/