The Research BEHIND KLARA
Atmospheric Blends
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How olfactory science informs the design behind our blends.
Of the five senses, smell has one of the most direct connections to the brain’s limbic system. The area involved in memory, emotion, and behavior.
Because of this, scent has long been studied for its effect on mood, perception, and the way we respond to our environment.
This connection matters because scent can help shape the mental conditions that support attention, consistency, and sustained focus.
This idea is carried into Klara through the botanical compounds in each candle.
Olfactory System — Neural Pathway
From Molecule to Mind
Scent is the only sense that bypasses the thalamus — traveling directly to the brain's limbic system, the seat of memory and emotion. No other sensory input has this level of direct access.
Brain Region — 01
Amygdala
Processes emotional arousal and stress response. Scent signals modulate amygdala activity — reducing baseline anxiety and creating the calm, stable mental state that sustained focus requires.
Brain Region — 02
Hippocampus
Central to memory formation and retrieval. Scent-triggered memories are among the most durable in the brain — anchoring your environment to a consistent, conditioned state of focus over time.
Brain Region — 03
Prefrontal Cortex
Governs executive function, working memory, and directed attention. Receives downstream limbic input — meaning a calmer emotional baseline directly supports higher-order cognitive performance.
Source — Gottfried, J.A. (2010). Central mechanisms of odour object perception. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(9), 628–641.