sillage
noun

- the degree to which a perfume's fragrance lingers in the air when worn

Oxford Languages

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WORD ORIGIN

The word sillage comes directly from French, where it means "wake" or "trail" - as in the wake left behind by a boat moving through water. It entered perfume terminology in the mid-20th century and meant the scent trail left by someone wearing perfume as they move through space - the olfactory "wake" that lingers after they've passed.

The metaphorical leap from "water wake" to "scent trail" is quite poetic - both involve something invisible (or semi-visible) that marks a person's passage through space and then gradually dissipates. In perfumery circles, sillage is often discussed alongside longevity (how long a scent lasts) and projection (how far it radiates from the skin).

The term became necessary in the 1900s because of the evolution of chemistry. Before then, most perfumes were natural and volatile, evaporating quickly. The 20th-century use of fixatives and heavy base notes allowed chemists to create a "linear" trail that could survive for minutes—or even hours—in a hallway, requiring a specific word to describe this new physical phenomenon.

When discussing perfume, don't confuse “sillage” with the agricultural product “silage” which means fodder or animal food!

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PROTECT A SMELL
Is It Possible To Trademark a Smell?

Registering a scent as a trademark is notoriously difficult because of a "non-functionality" rule: the smell cannot be the product itself (like a perfume) or a natural byproduct of the ingredients. To succeed, companies must prove that the scent serves no purpose other than identifying the brand.
 Because you cannot "draw" a smell, these trademarks need to be defined by highly specific, evocative written descriptions. Here are some of the most famous examples and how they are officially described.

- Play-Doh (Modeling Clay). 
Hasbro successfully trademarked this scent in 2018 after decades of use. It is perhaps the most famous example of a "nostalgia" scent being legally protected.
Official Description: "A sweet, slightly musky, vanilla fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, combined with the smell of a salted, wheat-based dough."


- Crayola Crayons.
 Crayola won a long legal battle in 2024 to protect its signature scent. The patent office initially argued the smell was just a byproduct of the wax and ingredients, but Crayola proved they used a specific, non-essential "special step" to create it.
  Official Description: "A unique scent of a French vanilla fragrance, with slight hints of honey and a light musk, combined with the smell of a paraffin-based wax."

- Verizon "Marquee" Stores. 
Verizon uses "scent marketing" to make its retail environments feel distinct from competitors like AT&T or Apple.
Official Description: "A flowery musk scent" (pumped through the air vents of their flagship stores).

Other Notable Registered Scents:

- Tennis Balls. "The scent of newly mown grass" (registered in the EU).

- Darts. "The strong smell of bitter beer" (registered in the UK).

- Shoe Polish. "A fresh, sweet orange fragrance."

- Pain Patches. "A minty scent by a mixture of methyl salicylate and menthol."

- Engine Oil. "Strawberry," "Cherry," and "Grape" (for lubricants used in racing).

Why aren't there more? The legal threshold is incredibly high. For instance, Chanel No. 5 cannot trademark its scent because the scent is the product; it is "functional." Similarly, a "lemon-scented" cleaner usually cannot be trademarked because lemon is a common functional scent used to mask chemical odours.

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SYNONYMS


air, aroma, aura, bouquet, breath (of), carry, emanation, essence, exhalation, fragrance, hint (of), heaviness, lingering smell, musk, must, nose, note, odour (trail), perfume, pungency, redolence, savour, scent (trail), SILLAGE, smack of, smell, spoor, sweetness, tang, trace, vapour, whiff

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“In his celebrated book Perfume, Patrick Süskind describes the power of SILLAGE to influence and control behaviour.”


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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D

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