Luke Vorstermans BA

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Aromatherapy Expert

Luke Vorstermans Quick Facts

Main Areas: Creating and developing designer aromas to enhance moods and influence behavior.
Career Focus: Entrepreneur, business owner and pioneer in the area of using our sense of smell to enhance moods and influence behavior.
Affiliation: Founder of The Sense of Smell Lab

When I was four years old, I inadvertently put a small, metal bolt in my nose which I could not remove. Afraid to tell my mother, the bolt became a part of me. Kids do things like that!

Almost 20 years later, after a series x-rays relating to some oral surgery, my dentist pointed to the mysterious object in my nasal passage and asked whether I was aware of it. After a brief look at the x-ray, the light went on. “Yes!” I exclaimed. “I remember lying in bed and putting that thing in my nose.”

For health reasons, the object was subsequently removed and the vignette has provided lots of laughter whenever I bring it up. I don’t think it has enough weirdness to make the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not list, but it does reveal a life long bond with my sense of smell that has now, 50 years later, built the foundation of my health and wellness company.

Of our five senses, our sense of smell is unlike the others. Everything about our sense of smell sets it apart – the way it works, its influence on behavior, its control of our cravings and its usefulness to our health and wellness. Just watch this short, enticing video on its awesome power. Why has it been relegated to the bottom of the sensory pile?

I’ve spent the last six years fascinated by the power of the olfactory system. I’ve spent hours discussing this enigmatic sense with one of the world’s leading smell scientists, Dr. George Dodd. I’ve explored the use of scents and aromas in our environment and how companies are increasingly using aromas to influence our buying decisions. I probably know more about this sense than most, and yet I’m no scientific researcher or smell academic. I’m just fascinated at how our sense of smell can be used for so much more than just the occasion whiff of a fine wine, an exotic perfume or the smell of a cappuccino.

Whenever I’m asked what it is that I do, I reply, “I develop aroma products that use our sense of smell to enhance moods and influence behavior.” (It certainly gets a better response than, “I’m a teacher.” Or, “I’m a carpenter.” Everyone knows those occupations!) But mention the sense of smell and people respond with a perplexed look. Who knows much about our olfactory system and the part it plays in our health and well being?

Our sense of smell is a new medical frontier and exciting research is being conducted at leading universities and laboratories that are elevating this sense to new heights. Because the research delves deeply into biology, psychology and physiology, unless you got a bent for the sciences, it can get pretty technical – even boring. But for most of us, just a basic understanding about this enigmatic sense is all that’s necessary to start enjoying its benefits.

Whether you’re sniffing wines, savoring gourmet foods, turned on by your lover’s scent, relaxing with aromatherapy or trying to identify that fleeting odor, harnessing the power of your sense of smell will go a long way to enriching your life and providing you with an effective tool to manage your moods.

Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Luke Vorstermans

Few of us give much thought to our five senses and which one, more than any other, controls our emotions. It may surprise you but it's our sense of smell - the most enigmatic of our senses.

Aromas delivered directly to the smell receptors in our nose have a powerful effect on behavior. Just think of your response when you smell coffee brewing first thing in the morning or your reaction to a dead skunk by the side of the road.

We have fused together two strands of the scent world to form a powerful alliance of mood scents.

The first strand is aromatherapy used by millions of people around the world as a gentle and effective way of optimizing their health and well being.

The second strand involves contemporary scientific work on the sense of smell. We have identified a number of both nature-identical and also synthetic aroma molecules which have a more powerful effect on our feelings than can be achieved by the use of conventional aromatherapy oils alone.

Getting Started With Luke Vorstermans

We are the pioneers in advanced aromachology. Although our unique formulations are based on natural scent oils, we go far beyond what is offered in aromatherapy.

First, we explore a vastly greater range of natural scent oils than is accessible to most aromatherapists.

Second, we have a full professional perfumery service, so that we can achieve blends which only professional perfumers can perfect.

Third, we are exceptionally strong in smell and aroma scientific research and the latest findings in the psychology of perfumery are used in the creation of our blends.

Our scent formulas represent what is new and exciting in contemporary aroma science.