A question to native English speakers: sillage
11 years ago
We use the word sillage for the strength that a fragrance has when smelled not directly on skin, but some inches away from it.
If a perfume makes you literally stand in the middle of a big cloud of fume we talk about a strong sillage whereas a low sillage means it is only detectable if you sniff directly at the skin where it was applied.
I am not so content with this technical term since only perfume insiders will know it. I think, originally this technical term was used in nautics where it described the level of water displacement that a ship has.
In my German reviews I sometimes use the word "Projektion" instead, and I wonder if "projection" would also be understood in English. To project something onto something is actually what sillage does since it transports the fragrance from the skin to the environment.
So, native speakers, can we use the word projection instead of sillage? Would this be an acceptable alternative?
If a perfume makes you literally stand in the middle of a big cloud of fume we talk about a strong sillage whereas a low sillage means it is only detectable if you sniff directly at the skin where it was applied.
I am not so content with this technical term since only perfume insiders will know it. I think, originally this technical term was used in nautics where it described the level of water displacement that a ship has.
In my German reviews I sometimes use the word "Projektion" instead, and I wonder if "projection" would also be understood in English. To project something onto something is actually what sillage does since it transports the fragrance from the skin to the environment.
So, native speakers, can we use the word projection instead of sillage? Would this be an acceptable alternative?