View Full Version : Favourite smells.
What are your favourite smells? When you come across a favourite smell does it transport you back in time? Back to childhood or your earlier years? Does it remind you of home?
Two of my absolute favourites are citrus and cinnamon. For me, citrus reminds me of home. I grew up in a poor family and when Christmas approached mom and dad would buy a box or two of Mandarin oranges (when things were good), and we kids would all gather around the kitchen table and peel our Mandarins, squirting each other in the eyes with the peels, then sit quietly and savour the citrus delight one segment at a time.
Cinnamon much the same. Moms fresh homemade cinnamon buns and rolls, apple pie, and carrot cake. Oh the comforting aroma of cinnamon throughout a home! Heavenly.
Rain on freshly turned soil
My cats (totally indoor pets, so they always smell lovely)
Freshly baked bread coming out of the oven
Cloves
Really good espresso
ApatheticNoMore
1-21-11, 12:37pm
earth, grass, roses, daffodils and all the other springtime bulbs, jasmine ...
freshly cut grass, especially early in Spring.
Coffee.
I know this sounds weird, but a baby's head. When you hold a (clean) baby, you can sniff his/her head; not sure why, but that just makes me happy.
goldensmom
1-21-11, 12:44pm
Your favorite smells make me hungry Mrs-M. The first thing that came to mind when I read the title of your thread was freshly mowed hay because it meant the beginning of summer when I was in elementary school and all the good things of childhood summers. The smell of vegetable soup and fresh baked bread reminds me of late fall weather and colors. The next scent is the men's cologne Polo which is the cologne my husband wore when were first dating, anything he touched smelled like him after he left. I love the fresh scent of Yankee Candle's MacIntosh candles just because I like it. Ben-Gay reminds me of grandma.
My grandmother's house. It smelled like....well....hmmmm....my grandmother's house.:)
I have a photo album my Mom made for me after they sold the place after grandmother died. Years later when I opened the first page and saw her house, I could smell it. What a strange and wonderful experience it was!!!
I also love the smell of lily of the valley!
Freshly cut grass too is a biggie
Fresh smell after a spring rain
Food booths at the fair, baseball game, etc
Clean laundry
Coming home from work and smelling dinner cooking when I am still outside
Christmas trees
Puppies
Barbecues
Herbel Essence shampoo - reminds me of my first year of college.
Baled Hay - remains me of my horse and 4-H days as youth
Coppertone Tanning lotion - remains me of a semister in college I spent in Hawaii
vanilla, cinnamon, oranges. One of the things I bought from the evil Wally world this Christmas and really enjoyed were the cinnamon scented pine cones. I still have them on the table and they still have the smell.
-freshly cut grass
-sagebrush
-lilacs
-homebaked bread
-coffee
-zest soap
-dove soap
-apple pie
That's cool that you started this thread Mrs. M, because I was just thinking about this last week. This sounds weird but my favorite smell is the rubber mats in the ice rink. All ice rinks smell the same because of those rubber mats. I was always happy when I was skating as a little kid, then skated once in awhile with my husband as an adult and that smell took me back. Now we're at the ice rink a few days a week when my son skates and I still love that rubber mat smell.
Other smells I like: letters from my pen pal in Japan, clean sheets on the bed, the bakery where I used to work, dry leaves in fall, Bee & Flower sandalwood soap.
-Many flowers in bloom - roses, lilac, lily of the valley, citrus.
-fresh lemon, orange and lime peel
-baking bread
-Roasting turkey
-sagebrush and mint
-baby lotion
-and another vote for kitties.
coffee
ginger
puppies
fresh washed babies
earth after a rain
wood smoke
thai basil
New Hampshire
Super-excellent lists!!! :)
Does anyone here besides myself remember the smell of old cabins and houses where wood-heat was the main source of warmth? Like a wood smell of sorts, almost sweet. I love that smell!
Love so many of the smells listed here, but one is missing...
FRESH BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:+1::D
Pine-sol
Line dried clothes
Fall leaves
Coffee
Baby powder
Diaper rash ointment (the one with cod liver oil)
Old wood cabins (I think it's probably the mustiness)
Love so many of the smells listed here, but one is missing...
FRESH BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:+1::D
OH YEAH!!!!!
How about the smell of wet memographed (sp?) hand-outs in grade school?
Wildflower
1-21-11, 6:16pm
I LOVE baking smells - yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, any kind of cookies
Apple and cinnamon combo smell is my favorite
Newborn babies soft little heads
Rain
The smell of spring
The smell of autumn
A crackeling fire on a cold winter night
Puppies and kittens
Coffee
Roses
Lilacs
Lavendar
Sage
Mint
Vanilla
Chocolate
My DH
Oh I forgot one-I love the salty smell of the ocean!
Mrs. Hermit
1-21-11, 7:07pm
Lavender
Sandalwood
Patchouli (but my dear hubby HATES it!)
sage
Basil in the Summer
a really good rose. They're hard to find. We had a rosebush in Tucson that was so fragrant it scented our yard - and the other 3 rosebushes had no scent whatsoever.
Other plants: sweet acacia. You've probably never smelled this unless you've been to Arizona in the spring. They have puffy yellow flowers and a lovely fragrance. Lavender. Jasmine. Pine and spruce trees.
Citrus trees in bloom, and citrus fruits of all kinds.
Cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, fresh ginger.
Bakeries in Germany. They smell different from any bakery in the U.S. Not sure what it is - perhaps a different yeast culture, or the mixture of rye and wheat products. I was in Germany in 2001, 15 years after my previous trip there, and the first time I walked past a bakery I didn't see the sign first. The aroma stopped me immediately and transported my memory back!
iris lily
1-21-11, 11:04pm
Spring and anything that summons it: warm air mixed with lily-of-the valley or all of those spring flowering trees will do it.
Iris, blue and purple iris that smell like grapes--love that. I'm far less fond of the candy scented or chocolate scented iris, those are not "fresh" smelling.
I love the heavily scented, overpowering flowers that bloom in late, hot summer like oriental lilies, tuberroses, etc.
Certainly the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking are yummy.
I love anything cooking that includes onions.
iris lily
1-21-11, 11:07pm
OMG you are so right about freshly turned soil, that is probalby my FAVORITE smell. Just love it.
The toes of some of my (now deceased) bulldogs always smelled like popcorn. I loved that.
I just got back from sniffing the feet of our French bulldog and her feet--not so much a popcorn smell.
loosechickens
1-21-11, 11:57pm
the desert during and after a long awaited rain
clothes dried on the line on a windy day
homemade bread in the oven
and from long ago........the smell of Prince Albert pipe tobacco, the smell of my much loved grandfather. Some years after he died, I was in a drug store and some man bought a tin of Prince Albert and opened it in the store and that smell wafted forth, and I embarassed myself because I burst into tears. Haven't smelled that smell in many years, and don't even know if they still make Prince Albert (in the red can), but if I smelled it today, could close my eyes and crawl into my grandfather's lap immediately in my mind.
Sad Eyed Lady
1-22-11, 9:55am
Lavender
Sandalwood
Patchouli (but my dear hubby HATES it!)
sage
Basil in the Summer
Patchouli has always been a special smell to me - a reminder of other days I guess. My husband likes it also, so no problem there. I usually have a vial of the essential oil and it's odd the comments I get sometimes from total strangers when I wear it. I have also found that it is a smell that people either really like, or really can't stand!
Sad Eyed Lady
1-22-11, 9:58am
Yes, I have always had 3 favorite smells that haven't changed over the years. They are:
Coffee brewing, laundry dried outside, and honeysuckle blooming.
None of these particularly transport me back to childhood, but I know what you mean. There are some tastes that really do that for me, and that would be a good other thread for your to start Mrs. M!
IshbelRobertson
1-22-11, 5:32pm
There is a place in Scotland, between Aberfoyle and Callender, called The Duke's Pass. In season, it is the heady smell of heather blooming on the sides of the Pass, around the lochans...
Iris Lily, I almost put dog feet on my list, but I thought people might think I was some kind of perverted dog foot sniffer. The beagle I had when I was a kid had popcorn-smelling feet like that.
Iris Lily, I almost put dog feet on my list, but I thought people might think I was some kind of perverted dog foot sniffer. The beagle I had when I was a kid had popcorn-smelling feet like that.
I think I learned this from you, I'm not taking credit for it.
Probably years ago now you meniotned the popcorn smell and I right then checked with the bulldog in residence and yep, she dad it!
Lilacs and honeysuckle
Brut aftershave-my grandfather wore it
L'Air du Temps perfume-my signature scent
Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap-I can't stop sniffing myself when I use it
fresh hay
my horse's breath
leather
toast
libraries-that combination of books and Scotch tape/clear plastic bookcovers
bedding that's fresh from being hung outside
autumn leaves
Asquith & Somerset Citrus and Ginger bodyscrub---So yummy I could eat it!
Yankee Candle Willow Breeze
snow--you know, how the air smells right before it snows??
Mrs. Meyer's Geranium scented products--I don't think they make this scent anymore :(
Patchouli, lavender, banana bread, vanilla, cinnamon
Oh boy, so many superb smells here! I've never heard of popcorn smelling dog feet before, but patchouli is a longstanding favourite of mine as are so many others you guys mentioned. Lots of fun.
Shalom_Poet. Love the new thread start idea/suggestion you mentioned! :)
Thanks for joining in everyone and making this an enjoyable topic.
DH, goes through shirts by the dozens this time of year, so I'm ironing more, which means a heavenly scent of fresh-pressed washing!
There's something about cucumber and watermelon that is sooooooooo nice. It used to be a popular scent about 10 years ago, but I can't find it anywhere now. Its really fresh and wonderful.
goldensmom
8-15-12, 2:23pm
Apples
Just before it rains
Puppies breath
Coffee brewing
gimmethesimplelife
8-15-12, 2:31pm
Rain in the desert especially in the summer
Creosote leaves in the rain anytime
valerian - I know it smells awful but for me it works so I love the smell anyway
citrus blossoms - reminds me of my favorite time of the year in Phoenix - mid March before it's too hot and for two weeks the whole city smells like citrus blossoms when they flower the second week of March
lime juice
fallen leaves in autumn
Rain, although this year I can't remember for sure what it smells like.
Bacon frying.
More bacon frying.
Honeysuckle blooming.
Babies (niece just had a DD, so cool).
More chocolate chip cookies baking.
I used to have a small part-time business making and selling craft soaps with natural ingredients. I think at it's peak I was selling a couple hundred bars a month and experimented with a variety of essential oils. My favorites were lavender and western red cedar.
puppies
just about anyplace after rain, but especially the forest
bacon frying, though I rarely eat it anymore
the smell of spent shotgun shells (reminds me of hunting with Dad as a kid)
fresh white sheets that have been washed with a little bleach and hung outside to dry
Cool topic. It is sort of wild how I might be somewhere and pick up a smell that will bring back memories from decades ago.
Right on you guys! I'm submitting to this thread and choosing "all the above"!
I'm laughing right now over the "baby smell" entry. With little babies, all I want to do is eat them up!
How right you are, Rogar. Sometimes (so it seems), years can go by before I happen across a particular smell that transports me back in time. Like the smell of old wood cabins!
goldensmom
8-15-12, 4:31pm
I'm making dinner and the smell of dinner reminded me of a smell that transports me back to elementary school days and that is the smell of vegetable soup and fresh baked bread. The memory.....I am walking up the driveway from getting off of the bus, walking though leaves on the ground and our St. Bernard, jowls flopping (dripless), is running to meet me. Grandma has made bread and is making vegetable soup for dinner. Carefree days.
rosarugosa
8-15-12, 8:16pm
IrisLily & Kathy WI: Not to worry, we are a very accepting bunch and even "perverted dog toe sniffers" are welcome here! :laff:
Gregg: I have something similar, I love it when I'm working in the garden, and I smell delicious food smells and then realize they're coming from my house and DH is making something yummy!
Sad Eyed Lady: Patchouli transports me to a Dead concert!
Specific smells I love: lavender, lilac, lily of the valley, rugosa roses (of course), definitely basil, fresh oceanside air, the woods in the summer - and that just scratches the surface!
Patchouli smells like mold to me. Can't stand it.
My dogs toes smell like dogs toes. A little funky and doggie but not like popcorn.
I love The Body Shop Dew Berry scented oil. I don't think they make it any more.
Of course rain, sauteed onions and peppers in olive oil--actually any food cooking, snow, wood fire, mown grass, pipe tobacco, Neutrogena body oil, carnations, too.
Tussiemussies
8-15-12, 10:54pm
-- certain flowers, any type that smell good!
-- fresh cut grass
-- puppy breath
-- my husband
-- my grandparents and their home too
-- the way the air smells after a big rain storm
-- pine trees in nature
-- my dog
-- our home - there is no place like home!
-- coffee grinds before brewing them
-- a really good chocolate bar
-- the smell when I was young that waifted into my grandmother's house with the wind, from the coal mines
decemberlov
8-16-12, 10:14am
taking a walk in the fall or winter and smelling someone drying their clothes in the dryer
Loving all the new additions!
The crisp smell of the air before it snows for the first time of the winter.
Tussiemussies
8-18-12, 5:56am
That's a good one Charity!
I, too, love the smell of the changing of the seasons. There really is a magical sense that surrounds such.
Tussiemussies
8-18-12, 8:05am
I, too, love the smell of the changing of the seasons. There really is a magical sense that surrounds such.
I love that too Mrs. M. Each season has it own feeling and look to it, it is quite amazing!
It really does, Tussie, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. So lucky we are to get to enjoy four true distinct seasons.
Tussiemussies
8-18-12, 8:52am
It really does, Tussie, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. So lucky we are to get to enjoy four true distinct seasons.
I agree we are so lucky to have the four seasons, I would be so down without them...
I agree we are so lucky to have the four seasons, I would be so down without them...Me, too.
Square Peg
8-19-12, 1:42pm
I used to love the smell of lilacs. The house I grew up in had a fence made of lilac bushes, all around the yard. But lately when I smell them, the first scent is musty or moth ball-ish, like an old attic. Anyone else notice this?
What I do like:
Lavender
apple pie baking
autumn, especially when wood stoves are involved
the ocean
line dried sheets (bonus if they are still crisp and cool)
freshly cut grass. We live in wheat country and sometimes we can smell the wheat fields that have just been harvested
Wood-stove smell is (by far) one of my all-time favourites!! So homey...
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.