What are your favorite smells?

[BlueMoose]

I love the smell of the rain and the smell of the leaves in the fall. I also love the smell of coffee and vanilla and cinnamon.

What about the rest of you?

Is this a really weird question?

Chrisi :rolleyes:

[Alisa]

Yes it's a weird question - but that's a good thing!

I love the smells of vanilla, anything citrus, salt water, wood, anything that's been dried on the clothesline, coffee, and lilacs.

[Missi]

Ok, I'm challenging anyone to come up with anything stranger....

I LOVE the smell of the vent from the dryer. Not in the house, but the vent that leads outside. We had one that came out of the house to the driveway in my childhood home, and I loved the smell when my mom had clothes drying.

(my guess is that the smell comes from the fabric softener, but I really don't know)

[emilycat]

Chrisi, this is an awesome question!
Seriously, when I saw the post, I thought, ooh, how much fun! I'm very into smelling things

Food-related: I love vanilla, cloves, garlic cooking in olive oil, rosemary, baking bread.

Non-food-related: daffodils, gardenias, the ocean, mountain air, rhododendron, the smell of an old library book.

And this one amuses me particularly -- I have an incredible fondness for soap -- the scent of a freshly showered, Dial-washed man turns me on way more than any cologne ever would. :)

[MrsReber]

Missi, that's not too weird. Our dryer vent is near our garden. My husband loves it when the dryer is on and he's in the garden. He says "it smells like our baby!" when the baby's clothes (which always smell good, thanks to Dreft) are drying!!

LOVE cinnamon- the smell of apple pie or anything garlic!

[Jewel]

Had to think about this one!! I love the smell of coffee brewing in the morning almost as much as I love the taste of it. The smell just says 'good morning' to me. I also LOVE the smell of garlic and onions sauteeing in a touch of olive oil on my stovetop. That just says 'home' to me. And even though I don't EAT the stuff anymore, I love walking past a KFC and smelling those 11 herbs and spices melding together around that artery-clogging and thigh-thundering fried chicken! You can actually open your mouth and almost eat that smell it's so thick! I also love the smell of a Mexican Restaurant as soon as you walk in.

Non food-related, I'm a sucker for 'Obsession for Men' and beg DH to wear it when we're leaving the house just so I can be 'reminded' later. We'll be walking out the door and I'll say "Did you remember to Obsess for me??" and he'll run back to the bathroom to spray some on! We can be in walking around in Home Depot and I can get a whiff of him and my knees go weak! :D

[SandyM]

Non-Food Related - Freshly washed towels, a lilac bush in full bloom, roses from my DH, a just-mowed lawn, freshly-harvested hay, and as odd as this seems, a horse. I love the smell of horses. Oh, and my dogs after a bath :D :D :D

Food Related - Roasted garlic, a turkey roasting in the oven, the first sniff of a good cab, fresh-baked bread or pie or cookies, the first tomato pulled from my garden, concord grapes.
And, almost forgot, fresh-brewed coffee, even though I don't drink the stuff.

I don't dig cologne on a guy, so DH just out of the shower.....mmmmmmmmmmm :D

[CAROL ANN]

I am alot like emilycat. I like to smell vanilla, garlic cooking, books and a Moisturizing Dial washed man. I also like English Leather cologne for men. I don't know if you can still get it. But it always makes my knees weak.

[aggie94]

Like Carol Ann, the smell of Drakkar Noir gets me weak in the knees. I know - it's SO 1980s, but I think it's the memories of high school that it brings back that really get to me.

Food-related: basil; almond anything (especially amaretto); curry; freshly-baked cinnamon rolls; mesquite charcoal

Non-food related: LILAC is my favorite floral scent, but I also love plumeria (reminds me of my honeymoon) and jasmine; pine, spruce, fir, and all those yummy-smelling evergreens that remind me of Christmas

[lhall]

For a smell that brings back childhood memories I like vinegar. I know it's wierd, but it always reminds me of Easter!

I also love coffee, and fresh flowers.

Leigh

[maizeyoats]

I love lily-of 0the-valley and lilacs and roses and many other of my garden flowers.
Mostly I love the smell when I'm baking brownies, chocolate chip cookies, pies, cake......oh, excuse me I just got hungry and must go bake something!:D

[daner94]

Eva-- Haha! The same for me! I had something hot and heavy with a guy who practically bathed in Drakkar back in the day.
When I do smell it I always get reminded of those naughty times.

I like the smell of food cooking, period!! Especially onions caramelizing.

But the weird one is the smell behind my cat's ears on her head. I just love it. :)


Dana

[Gail]

Garlic, garlic and garlic.

....oh. And did I mention garlic? :p

[MKSquared]

Food-Related: Fresh-brewed coffee; roasted coffee beans; grapes on the vine in late, late fall when they're too ripe; horseradish

Non-Food Related: fresh mulch; cedar; Liz Claiborne Curve for Men (yum); lilacs; autumn Saturday mornings at Ohio State (tailgating, beer, crunchy leaves and a cool breeze)

The one I can't stand: Jergen's soap! The smell of cherry + almond has made me queasy since I was really young!

[SusieO]

I'm with Emily on the freshly-showered man. But I prefer Ivory soap.

I also like the spicy scent of carnations, and the smell of the ocean. I have some Oceanus shower gel from The Body Shop that is just heavenly.

And I love the laundry scent coming from the dryer vent.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by MKSquared
The one I can't stand: Jergen's soap! The smell of cherry + almond has made me queasy since I was really young!

LOL! I love the smell of cherries & almond. Jergen's soap is in every bathroom in my house, and at the kitchen sink!

[LaraW]

I love the smell of bread baking and freshly brewed coffee...

My parents have a bread machine that has some sort of a timer on it, and they will set it so that they have a hot loaf of bread ready for breakfast.

I also love the smell of freshly washed clothes that are still warm from the dryer.

[HARRYET]

Food related: cinnamon, fresh bread baking, coffee brewing, and turkey roasting to name a few.

Non-food related: The desert after it rains (which isn't to often), the lawn being mowed, the dryer vent, and freshly bathe children snuggling up w/mom!.

Ann :D

[beejayw1]

Bluemoose, what a wonderful idea for a discussion!

When I was a little girl I used to go through the spice cabinet and open jars and just sniff. To this day, the smell of cinnamon or vanilla or cumin brings back wonderful memories.

So what smells do I like?
(Dare I admit it?) I like the way my hands smell the day after I've been chopping garlic. I know we're all supposed to wrinkle our noses and say eeeewwww! (and I always rub lemon juice into my hands and scrub them well), but it's a nice, homey scent.

The smell of good olive oil.

Anything chocolate as it's baking.

Yeasty bread.

Fresh-picked raspberries

Non-cooking:
Wood smoke in autumn when you're not expecting it
Lilacs (it isn't officially spring till I've smelled them)
Lily of the Valley, caught during a walk
Mimosa
The scent of rain-heavy wind
Fresh-washed cotton sheets
Surf (as you're walking beside the ocean)
Baby lotion
Cat fur (a nice, clean cat; has a sort of 'honey' like smell)
A well-kept horse
Mown hay

Gosh, I could go on! Now I have to go for a walk!

[beacooker]

Cool question, Chrisi!

Like aggie and Dana, I'm an 80's girl, and Drakkar Noir really gets me.

Food related - nothing new: coffee brewing, vanilla, garlic, fresh bread, chocolate chip cookies baking, cinnamon.

Non-food related: PUPPY BREATH!!!, really faint cigarette smoke ( I gave up smoking several years ago, but there are times when I get just a quick whiff of it and it smells good - I know, tomatoes are being thrown at me), clean baby, clean husband, the smell right before a thunderstorm.

[Vanessa]

Love the smell during Fall and also the smell after rain. I enjoy citrus and the smell of bake goods , cinnamon is my favorite as well as vanilla.

[SueK]

I love the smell of anything baking, but especially things with cinammon in them!

I also love the smell of the air in the fall--the air is so crisp and has such a great scent and it means it is football season! :) I love the smell of suntan lotion because it reminds me of sunny days and the beach.

Also, we live near an Outback, and even though we never really go there, and I don't eat much steak, when we are outside at night, if the wind is right, the scents coming through our yard make my mouth water!!

[Little Bit]

I went to summer camp in north Georgia as a child, and have such wonderful memories of the freshness and coolness and fragrance of the air. Recently I discovered that the camp had been sold and re-designed, or more like updated for larger groups, and retreats, and has kids there once again. Lucky kids! Just thinking about the place evoked such wonderful sense memories! It makes me feel cooler just thinking about it.

I also remember the way my grandmothers' houses smelled. Very different, but both evocative and comforting.

Favorite scents? Violets, honeysuckle, cinnamon, chocolate, coffee, fried chicken (homemade only! LOL!)

[lindrusso]

Great topic! Many things in my house are unscented because they make me sneeze! I go for unscented detergent, dryer sheets, hairspray, shaving lotion and on and on. But it's really the very perfumy or floral things that make me sneeze. I almost got ill in the candle shop today - I think I just have a very sensitive nose! Whenever I see those perfume sample ladies at the mall, I run the other way!

But, I love the earthy smells like cinnamon, musk, vanilla (not quite earthy, but not fruity and floral either!), etc.

And beacooker - gosh I totally forgot about the smell of puppy breath! Even though I haven't had a puppy since I was a little girl, I can still imagine the smell!

Since I don't use scented laundry items (you wouldn't have any fun sniffing around my dryer vent :) ), I rely on the clothesline - mmmmm.

Gosh, as far as cooking goes there are many: GARLIC, onions, yeast breads, cookies, etc., etc.

I also love the smell of rain before it rains - you can just tell it's coming.

[lanie]

I love the smell of coffee brewing, garlic & onions sauteing, love Angel perfume, love the smell when walking outdoors in the Fall and pass a house that has a fire going, most of all I love puppy breath! :p

[AndreaU]

Food Related: Chocolate!!, baking bread, vanilla, and Life cereal

Non-Food Related: Gardenias (always remind me of my first trip to Disney World!), Lilies of the Valley, Lilacs, Aussie shampoo & conditioner, plastic (as in the Halloween costumes that came in a box with a mask), "new car smell", Sunflowers perfume, and Autumn/Fall

[JennieL]

Chocolate chip cookies baking. ...mmmmm Fresh coffee, bread baking..... and yes Drakkar Noir.... also anj 80's girl here!

[BlueMoose]

You are all reminding me of a lot of smells that I love. Does anyone else think that puppy heads smell like corn tortillas?

How about the copies we used to get in school...the ink was kind of blue/purple and if we got them when they were still kind of wet everyone would smell them!

[Jasmine-Rose]

Food related: yeasty bread, basil, rosemary, Earl Grey tea

Non food related: daffodils, lavender, basenjis, mown hay, wood fires

A little weird: freshly shaven pencils (I still prefer them to mechanical ones

I'm sure I'll think of others later. I read somewhere that the sense of smell is one of the most powerful memory triggers - I believe it!

GREAT QUESTION!

[jazzcat]

Jasmine-Rose, I do agree with you that smell is indeed a memory
trigger. For example, my ex-husband's girl friend wore a certain perfume and when a very good friend of mine had it on I begged her not to wear it around me. She didn't. I felt badly asking her that but she understood. How intricate senses are! Even though I'm well past it now I still think I'd want to "belt" someone who wore that perfume around me, even 11 years later.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by BlueMoose
Does anyone else think that puppy heads smell like corn tortillas?

I've never noticed that before, but I'll remember to check when I get home. I once saw a graffiti in this coffeehouse in college that said, "Have you ever noticed that puppy feet smell like Fritos?" It's SO true! Maybe puppies are made of corn...

[AndreaU]

BlueMoose & Aggie- you had me cracking up, literally laughing my --- off with the puppy smells!! I have 2 "corn" dogs!

As for the "mimeographed" copies in school- oh, yeah! Nothing better than a smelly, damp piece of paper to make a kid's day!

[BosunsWife]

I love the smell of my DD - I just snuggle in with her and snuffle her neck.

Citrus, vanilla, plumerias and lilacs probably top the rest of my list.

[MrsReber]

How funny, I love Drakkar, too - or Jovan musk. Mmmmm. But that sweaty man smell is sometimes good, too- not the "I forgot my deoderant" smell, but the smell after he's worked out in the yard for a bit.

Ha ha- I remember the "ditto" machine in school!! The warm copies!

And I like horse smell, too. Brings me back to my childhood big time. I used to ride alo then. Funny how smell can take you back somewhere in an instant like that.

[Jennett]

Wow, I'm having sensory overload here. Reading everyone else's favorite smells, even if they're not my faves, evoked so many memories.

Food related: coffee, baking bread, vanilla, rosemary, tangerines, sun-warmed tomatoes fresh off the vine, onions and garlic cooking in olive oil, cloves, lapsong souchong (sp?) tea.

Non-food related: air during a rainstorm, air after a thunder/lightning storm, snow, fallen leaves in autumn, hay, horse tack/saddle soap, fresh laundry, pine trees, honeysuckle, violets, day lilies, lavender, ivory soap, wood smoke, blown out matches.

I also love a lot of chemical scents--blueprints (or "blues" in publishing), several brands of markers, mimeographs, freshly tarred roads. Gross, I know.

[Chefzhat]

Coppertone!!

[JHolcomb]

OK, this is weird, but I love the smell of linseeds. They smell just like the school my dad has worked at for 30 years-they must have used paint with linseed oil in it to finish the gym floor. A very comforting smell.

I also love vanilla, almond extract, chocolate cake in the oven, cinnamon, garlic, and cooking onions.

I love the smell of my husband's skin, before or after showering, with or without Cool Water cologne (which he wore when we first started dating) and patchouli and Tresor perfume. And fall air. DH likes the smell of skunks. Weird.

Oh, and cats always smell suspiciously good.

[Mbart]

I'm going for major sympathy here...I have really bad sinuses. I've had three surgeries and still I am on daily medication to help, and if I stop taking it for any length of time, I HAVE NO SENSE OF SMELL!!! I have lost my sense of smell for as much as a year! I cannot tell you how lousy it is not to be able to smell! I'm talking, not even knowing if the baby has a dirty diaper! But then, when it comes back...it's amazing! I forgot that water has a smell. Or scotch tape! Or cold winter air! Aaaaaa, it is such a beautiful gift, the sense of smell. And food tastes so much better!

Thanks for reminding me not to take it for granted! And for reminding me...I need to renew my prescription, I'm all out!

[lhall]

My dad had a severe head injury about 3 years ago and (we think) as a result of having a tube stuck up his nose he has lost his sense of smell. After has last surgery to repair the hole in his head (um, replace piece of skull they had to remove) some of it came back, but not much. I always forget and ask him where he wants to eat if we go out, but he doesn't care because most food doesn't taste. He's never going to get his sense of smell back. That has to be awful. He describes eating steak as being like chewing cardboard.

Leigh

[beejayw1]

I'm going for major sympathy here - (mbart)

Mbart and Ihall's father have my complete sympathy!

There's so much you take for granted, that you really shouldn't. Doesn't hurt to count your blessings from time to time.

And while we're at smells, how about a brand-new, not yet read hardback book? (and if it happens to be by one of your very favorite authors, so you know you're going to love it, you're experiencing one of life's great pleasures!)

[funnybone]

Everyone has mentioned some of my fave smells, but I don't think that an Apple Pie, baking in the oven, was mentioned. I love the smell of any apple dessert baking!

As a kid in school, I remember the teachers using what we called a "Ditto" machine to run copies (they made those purple written pages) and we used to sniff them - if they were fresh. Now, I can't say I loved that smell, but I remember the whole class smelling it.

The other thing I love is the smell of Pineapple Soap. I bought about 5 bars during our trip to Hawaii. They handmake it there (Honolulu Soap Co.) and it smells like pineapples!!! Only I am allowed to use it - lol!

[Alisa]

Originally posted by funnybone
The other thing I love is the smell of Pineapple Soap. I bought about 5 bars during our trip to Hawaii. They handmake it there (Honolulu Soap Co.) and it smells like pineapples!!! Only I am allowed to use it - lol!

That soap sounds wonderful, funybone - now Bosunswife will know what to get us all for Christmas...:D