Need to Know

France – A new fragrance design studio, Bleu Nour, is revolutionising the perfume industry by turning colours into scents. Born and raised in Paris with a deep connection to Middle Eastern and North African culture, founder Nour Ibrahim has the rare condition of synaesthesia, which means she experiences an olfactory response when seeing colours.

Understanding the potential of multi-sensory experiences, Bleu Nour is inspired by synaesthesia and aims to build a common fragrance vocabulary using a visual approach. This innovative technique began with The Synesthetic Lab, a project developed during Nour’s time studying at Central Saint Martins. The project tackled the sensory challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly anosmia, or loss of smell, by creating a kit that connects odours with colours, thereby enhancing scent memory.

Bleu Nour aims to democratise the fragrance world by enabling everyone to experience scent in unique ways, a subject we explored in our Synaesthesia Scents microtrend report. Bleu Nour has already introduced captivating genderless fragrances Grounded and Neon Violette, and offers candles like Cendre et Or to elevate your space in a bid to make scent a multi-sensory experience accessible to all.

UK – The 2023 edition of the Youth Sport Trust Girls Active survey suggests the gap between the proportion of boys and girls who enjoy physical education (PE) is widening. Results show that, of the almost 25,000 children surveyed in England, only 64% of 7–18-year-old girls said they liked PE compared to 86% of boys the same age. The figure in a 2016 survey, which also included responses from Northern Ireland and Wales, was 74%.

Nearly two-thirds of all girls (64%), however, said they want to be more active in school, but barriers such as low confidence and periods stop them from taking part.

‘It’s not surprising, but it is disappointing to see that so many girls still lack confidence to really enjoy PE and physical activity at school. I can really empathise with their worries about being watched and judged by others,’ said Olympic pole vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw, who worked with the Youth Sport Trust on the Girls Active programme.

The survey follows the government promise of more than £600m ($728.4m, €688.2m) in funding to improve equal access to sports in schools, following an open letter from the England women’s national football team.

In Care Collectives, we previously analysed how exercise clubs and classes are turning care into the next pillar of wellbeing to answer women’s demands for judgement-free and safe spaces where they can be more active.