SLUG SLUG
Heather finds inspiration for
the fragrances she creates
in her travels, from exploring
the streets of Paris to
swimming with sting rays.
such a large role in our memories and our
relationships. It sounds like you had a
strong nose from a young age. How did you
end up in the industry?
KILLGO: Yes, whether I realized it or not,
I was fragrance typing at 16. For example,
in high school, Cool Water was a really
popular fragrance, and I remember smelling
Lysol Country Scent and thinking, “Oh,
this smells similar to Cool Water.” I made
the correlation between fragrance types.
Obviously, one was a low-priced industrial-
type scent, but I knew the main component
in both and made a correlation between
the two before I even knew anything about
them actually being fragrance types.
Fast forward a bit, I earned a degree in
chemistry and was originally interested in
the medical field, possibly pharmaceutical
research. Then I stumbled across a job ad
for a fragrance and flavor company and
found myself sitting in an interview with
Bruce Garlick, Vice President of Fragrance
Research and Development and Chief
Perfumer Arylessence, Inc., who told me
about this incredible industry and how
amazing it was to find out that you can
combine science with art as a profession. It
just opened up a whole new world for me,
where I could use my science background
and my degree, but I could also be an
artist, and I could have a job where I can be
visionary…. I really just stumbled into it…
I have no doubt that this was my calling and
my destiny, and I’m one of the lucky ones
that actually found that very early on in my
life.
DANGELICO: Why do you think fragrance
or scent has such an impact on us and our
lives? Once the world of scent opened up
for you, how do you underscore its value
and importance?
KILLGO: Well I think you can look at a
couple of things. I start with just basic
biology; our noses are actually really there
as a safety mechanism. Early on in the
development of man, noses were used to tell
if food was spoiled, or to sense danger... but
I actually think we’ve evolved to a place
where, now, scent is such a pleasurable
experience and we have the luxury of
experiencing it. We know that just a couple
hundred years ago, the only people who had
fragrance were royalty and the extremely
wealthy. So, when I educate people on
fragrance now, I tell them we’re like royalty
because we get to experience fragrance all
throughout our days. And a couple hundred
years ago, the world wasn’t such a pleasant
place as far as its smell.
I read once that our nose is basically
a pathway to our memory because you
can smell something and it will take you
directly to a moment in time… Fragrance
makes moments more memorable. If you
think about going to an event, such as the
county fair, or about a special relationship
with a family member, a lot of what you
remember is how something or someone
smelled. The limbic system combines our
memory of the way things happen and our
olfactory bulb, so I think the science is there
to prove that the two are closely related.
DANGELICO: You’re known as someone
who likes to approach your work in
different ways, push the boundaries a little
bit. How do you challenge yourself to
Issue 2, 2018 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | 13