1)if you haven’t, read the book Perfume. It is the best book with smell as a central organizing principle.
2)When I was in kindergarten, I would run up stairs to all the neighbors’ porches and open their doors to inhale. I had figured out that all houses smelled differently and I wanted the new smell experience.
3)my grandfather’s garage which smells of gasoline and Valvoline along with chiclets and dozens of packs of playing cards in rows of metal cabinets from the inventory of the family hardware store that was sold in my youth.
4)4711, the smell of my mother. Which I wear everyday.
Balsam pine. Oh man! Yeah. I'm transported to the woods at Squam Lake, Holderness NH...an art retreat. The 1st time I dared to defy my controlling (now ex) husband. I learned myself. And I learned that 150 women can get along with no drama, and become sisters, family. Yep, it's the Balsam pine every time.
"Perhaps he’s changed. I have no way or care to know. I can’t remember what he looked like, I can’t remember his scent, and I can’t remember him because the things I can remember are dipped in Aqua Di Gio, Garnier Fructis Curl Scrunch Gel, the heavy scent of maple in Chardon, shoveling manure, tossing hay bales, burying my face in my horse’s musky coat, the popcorn shop overlooking the falls, running through patches of California Cudweed, campfire food, gasoline on hot pavement, cut grass just a day after the rain, my cat’s breath, my dog’s paws, candy canes melting in cocoa, Christmas Tree lots, aloe on sunburnt skin, and buttered shrimp swirling with the salted air"
Upon learning that the actor Richard E Grant smells things intensely, and has a bit of an obsession about it, I thought, "Oh good, I'm not the only weirdo."
Look, we're animals, to deny our olfactory senses is to deny our animal nature. Dumb jock.
Make mine wet rot in autumn, pine at the end of summer, hands brushed through lavender and rosemary.
Smell is such a strong connection for me as well! And apparently it is a thing with our friends about how I smell, the comment on it frequently. Not a bad smell they've assured me! My ex co-workers still talking about how the office isn't the same without the scent that signals I am there. It is little weird I admit, because I'm not sure what I wear that is that distinctive. But, the first time I walked into our house here and it smelled like us, I felt exactly as you described.
Wow, lovely! 36 years ago I drew close to this girl I had recently met. We had gone on a long walk and made dinner together, and now I drew near to her, preparing to kiss her, and I sensed this delicious, undefinable scent on her breath--soft, musky, sweet--and I kissed her lips and that scent joined the sensation of softness. Now, after 32+ years of marriage, I still smell it, that same scent, lingering in the air just before a kiss. I knew that very first time that she was the one for me and she still is. Thanks for triggering that memory.
Loved this one! I have an old dresser that was my grandmother’s and the paper that lines the inside of the drawers is old and crumpled and smells like her (a mix of Jessica McClintock perfume and Ester Lauder moisturizer). The paper literally does nothing to protect the drawers and is disintegrating but I absolutely refuse to throw it out. I stick my nose waaaayyy back in the drawers and just soak it in. Brings back memories of watching her “put on her face” and wander around in knee high stockings and her camisole tucked into her underwear while she ironed her pantsuit for church 😂 she was a trip of a lady - always dressed to the nines. Vast majority of my days involve no makeup and leggings but when I get dressed up, I like to smell those drawers and channel a little Doris deep within me. Thanks for making me think of this! Made me smile
Wow, this was incredible. My girlfriend loves books, rain, mountain air. As odd as this sounds to me, I love the smell of my close friends and family. There are so many memories tied up with them that it just evokes a feeling of belonging.
so important.....home, comfort, nostalgia and of course cooking! I know what will work in a dish and what won't by simply smelling it before adding it or moving on with the search. When I was little, my mother dressed my sisters and me in matching clothes -she swore I could tell which outfit was mine when it came out of the wash by smelling it! And I'll never forget the smell of my grandmother's back yard in SLO -a sun baked, aged geranium garden mixed with the scent of linseed oil and oil paints from her studio above.
This was fantastic! Have you read Ed Yong’s An Immense World? You capture the senses in similar ways (and that’s a huge compliment).
For me, moving to the foothills ushered in the scent of florals. Each spring, for about two glorious weeks, the lilacs bloom, filling our patio with delight each time we traipse through. Then, lavender. It makes me happy just to think of it.
I had to shake my head and return to your writing because all the scents started evoking memories in me... that's the pull of your writing - so visceral you take me to so many heady places.
One of my scent memories: Beside the house I grew up in, an old Victorian in St. Paul, MN, there was a dark narrow sidewalk between our house and the next. The neighbor's house was also three stories - a dark gray while ours was more of a lighter bluish gray. Between the two houses were thick expanses of lily of the valley. I loved their bobbing white buds, but mostly the scent wafting up. When my maternal grandmother visited and slept in my bed, I soaked up her scent - also lilly of the valley - and held her close until my mother washed the sheets. I finally planted lilly of the valley on my property - can't wait til it spreads so I have a wide swath to breathe in.
Nov 27, 2022·edited Nov 28, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright
My partner lost his sense of smell during radiation therapy for lymphoma in his sinus. I have persuaded him that he has *not* lost his taste -- he's the first to point out bitter coffee or pie that is too sweet -- but oof, smell, and all that goes with it, is such a profound loss.
Sometimes I tell him what things smell like, trying to associate-smell, both with my own nose and his memories. But as time goes on, memories have flattened. It is deeply sad.
**
But oh boy! The smell of home(s)!! I've lived several times in Oxnard, and the smell of agriculture and eucalyptus brings me back to being 24 and all that accompanied that first inhale.
Several things come to mind:
1)if you haven’t, read the book Perfume. It is the best book with smell as a central organizing principle.
2)When I was in kindergarten, I would run up stairs to all the neighbors’ porches and open their doors to inhale. I had figured out that all houses smelled differently and I wanted the new smell experience.
3)my grandfather’s garage which smells of gasoline and Valvoline along with chiclets and dozens of packs of playing cards in rows of metal cabinets from the inventory of the family hardware store that was sold in my youth.
4)4711, the smell of my mother. Which I wear everyday.
Balsam pine. Oh man! Yeah. I'm transported to the woods at Squam Lake, Holderness NH...an art retreat. The 1st time I dared to defy my controlling (now ex) husband. I learned myself. And I learned that 150 women can get along with no drama, and become sisters, family. Yep, it's the Balsam pine every time.
Loved this - fantastic writing:
"Perhaps he’s changed. I have no way or care to know. I can’t remember what he looked like, I can’t remember his scent, and I can’t remember him because the things I can remember are dipped in Aqua Di Gio, Garnier Fructis Curl Scrunch Gel, the heavy scent of maple in Chardon, shoveling manure, tossing hay bales, burying my face in my horse’s musky coat, the popcorn shop overlooking the falls, running through patches of California Cudweed, campfire food, gasoline on hot pavement, cut grass just a day after the rain, my cat’s breath, my dog’s paws, candy canes melting in cocoa, Christmas Tree lots, aloe on sunburnt skin, and buttered shrimp swirling with the salted air"
Upon learning that the actor Richard E Grant smells things intensely, and has a bit of an obsession about it, I thought, "Oh good, I'm not the only weirdo."
Look, we're animals, to deny our olfactory senses is to deny our animal nature. Dumb jock.
Make mine wet rot in autumn, pine at the end of summer, hands brushed through lavender and rosemary.
I smell _everything_ and my wife thinks I’m a weirdo. I’m glad I’m at least not the only one.
Smell is such a strong connection for me as well! And apparently it is a thing with our friends about how I smell, the comment on it frequently. Not a bad smell they've assured me! My ex co-workers still talking about how the office isn't the same without the scent that signals I am there. It is little weird I admit, because I'm not sure what I wear that is that distinctive. But, the first time I walked into our house here and it smelled like us, I felt exactly as you described.
This scentiment resonates. :) Campfire scent lingering in clean hair on a Monday is a favorite.
My grandfather's cologne, which still overwhelms our noses randomly some 15 +years after his passing.
Lake George air, that always puts a smile on my face the second I roll my windows down and take a deep breath.
My mom, dad and brother, all smelling like me with a twist.
Wow, lovely! 36 years ago I drew close to this girl I had recently met. We had gone on a long walk and made dinner together, and now I drew near to her, preparing to kiss her, and I sensed this delicious, undefinable scent on her breath--soft, musky, sweet--and I kissed her lips and that scent joined the sensation of softness. Now, after 32+ years of marriage, I still smell it, that same scent, lingering in the air just before a kiss. I knew that very first time that she was the one for me and she still is. Thanks for triggering that memory.
Loved this one! I have an old dresser that was my grandmother’s and the paper that lines the inside of the drawers is old and crumpled and smells like her (a mix of Jessica McClintock perfume and Ester Lauder moisturizer). The paper literally does nothing to protect the drawers and is disintegrating but I absolutely refuse to throw it out. I stick my nose waaaayyy back in the drawers and just soak it in. Brings back memories of watching her “put on her face” and wander around in knee high stockings and her camisole tucked into her underwear while she ironed her pantsuit for church 😂 she was a trip of a lady - always dressed to the nines. Vast majority of my days involve no makeup and leggings but when I get dressed up, I like to smell those drawers and channel a little Doris deep within me. Thanks for making me think of this! Made me smile
Wow, this was incredible. My girlfriend loves books, rain, mountain air. As odd as this sounds to me, I love the smell of my close friends and family. There are so many memories tied up with them that it just evokes a feeling of belonging.
so important.....home, comfort, nostalgia and of course cooking! I know what will work in a dish and what won't by simply smelling it before adding it or moving on with the search. When I was little, my mother dressed my sisters and me in matching clothes -she swore I could tell which outfit was mine when it came out of the wash by smelling it! And I'll never forget the smell of my grandmother's back yard in SLO -a sun baked, aged geranium garden mixed with the scent of linseed oil and oil paints from her studio above.
This was fantastic! Have you read Ed Yong’s An Immense World? You capture the senses in similar ways (and that’s a huge compliment).
For me, moving to the foothills ushered in the scent of florals. Each spring, for about two glorious weeks, the lilacs bloom, filling our patio with delight each time we traipse through. Then, lavender. It makes me happy just to think of it.
Dude sounds like an a**
I had to shake my head and return to your writing because all the scents started evoking memories in me... that's the pull of your writing - so visceral you take me to so many heady places.
One of my scent memories: Beside the house I grew up in, an old Victorian in St. Paul, MN, there was a dark narrow sidewalk between our house and the next. The neighbor's house was also three stories - a dark gray while ours was more of a lighter bluish gray. Between the two houses were thick expanses of lily of the valley. I loved their bobbing white buds, but mostly the scent wafting up. When my maternal grandmother visited and slept in my bed, I soaked up her scent - also lilly of the valley - and held her close until my mother washed the sheets. I finally planted lilly of the valley on my property - can't wait til it spreads so I have a wide swath to breathe in.
My partner lost his sense of smell during radiation therapy for lymphoma in his sinus. I have persuaded him that he has *not* lost his taste -- he's the first to point out bitter coffee or pie that is too sweet -- but oof, smell, and all that goes with it, is such a profound loss.
Sometimes I tell him what things smell like, trying to associate-smell, both with my own nose and his memories. But as time goes on, memories have flattened. It is deeply sad.
**
But oh boy! The smell of home(s)!! I've lived several times in Oxnard, and the smell of agriculture and eucalyptus brings me back to being 24 and all that accompanied that first inhale.