Imagine a world in which wherever you found yourself truly happy – in a forest, a fruit market, nuzzling a snoozing baby – you could capture its unique smell and have it re-created in a fragrance. Where perfume could be made to directly trigger a precious memory, to evoke a specific mood or emotion. Where your perfect scent could be identified by a brain scanner at your nearest perfume counter. Except this isn’t some beauty fantasy, it’s a commercial reality. Modern brands, from niche start-ups to global heritage houses, are applying neuroscience and unprecedented technical innovation to beauty’s oldest art form and attempting to not just make us smell good, but make us feel good. A new generation of so-called “functional fragrances” are set way to revolutionise the Perfumes are composed, sold and experienced forevermore.

Fiona Harkin, foresight editor at world-renowned trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory, tells me, “Functional fragrances are a growing development, based on the idea that perfume can have psychological and physical effects. Brands are looking to plants not just for their fragrance , but asking if they can also affect body temperature, blood pressure, mood.”

Luxury fragrance entrepreneur Audrey Semeraro has the data to prove that fragrance can materially change how we feel for the better. The daughter of a nuclear scientist, Semeraro founded her fragrance brand, Edeniste, on the principle of “active wellbeing”, enlisting two top academic neuroscientists to pinpoint – using EEG brain scanning, fMRI, biosensor and saliva tests – which olfactive molecules and according to had the ability to stimulate the parts of the wearer’s brain associated with increased happiness, energy, dreaminess, wellbeing, relaxation and seduction. Before two traditional and exemplary fine fragrance “noses”, Aurelien Guichard and Jérôme di Marino, even put on their lab coats.

The resulting collection is less Tomorrow’s Worldmore today’s Harrods counter – and it’s selling fast. Seven eau de parfums with a patented mood-stabilizing accord, designed to be layered with any of six “Lifeboost Active Essences”, each containing molecules scientifically proven to stimulate areas of the brain associated with relaxation, energy and more.

The Nue Co is another brand that also uses research into the connection between cognitive function and sense of smell in its very popular Functional Fragrance, promising to “instantly impact the wearer’s emotional state and soothe the mind”, with green cardamom, bergamot and coriander. It’s clearly having some effect. Retailers can’t keep it in stock.