Hello everyone!
I’m Jan, an aesthetic psychologist, and I’ll be writing this column for MAGMANIA.
In this series, I’ll explore the mysterious world of scent from a psychological perspective. What kinds of psychological effects do scents have? How do they bring richness and color to our everyday lives? There is still so much I don’t know myself, but through this column, I hope we can explore these questions together.
Scent as an Aesthetic Experience

Have you ever come across the term “aesthetic experience”?

Every day, we perceive countless bits of information through our senses—seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and of course, smelling. And sometimes, in the midst of an ordinary moment, something inside us suddently stirs.
For example, the happiness that lingers after a delicious meal, the excitement of putting on a new outfit, the beauty you feel when looking at a piece of art.
These subtle moments—when something inside you shifts, gently or even profoundly—are what I call aesthetic experiences, or “Kansei experience” in Japanese.
My research explores how these experiences arise, and how they shape our memories, emotions, well-being, and even our identity. In modern society, the amount of information we process keeps growing—along with the speed at which we move through it. That is precisely why I believe it has become increasingly important to return to experiences that emerge directly from our own senses. And scent is one of the most prominent of these aesthetic experiences. Through centuries, fragrances have evoked memories and emotions, quietly accompanying us through everyday life.
MAGMANIA’s concept—“a world of fragrance that awakens the senses and instinct”—beautifully captures this idea.
So, what kinds of inner worlds can scent reveal to us?

Let’s start exploring together.