Let's Talk Sense and Scents

Jo Robertson


I have a nose like a bloodhound.



Seriously.



I can smell a stinky in a toddler’s diaper at fifty paces. Or something burning at 100 paces.








As a new bride I was in the kitchen while my husband watched TV (a black and white on spindly console feet can hardly be called a telly, but that’s another story). He was eating sunflower seeds in the shell. Suddenly I smelled a terrible stench, a cross between a burnt match and a rotten potato.



I rushed into the living room. “What’s that awful smell?”


He bent double, laughing. “I just bit into a rotten sunflower seed, but you couldn't possibly have smelled it from that distance.”
Uh, yeah.


This gift of “sense” is a mixed blessing. One, my husband could never, ever cheat on me. But, on the other hand, when my sweaty little boys ran in from outside, I had to pretend their sweaty little boy smell from all kinds of gross dirt-things was the scent of heaven.



Still do.



I'm amazed at how many people choose their fragrances from celebrity endorsements.


Because I’m ultra sensitive to smells, choosing a cologne is as serious as building a missile. The scent must be light and clean. I must not be able to detect it myself (it'll give me a headache), but I want others to be able to enjoy the delicately mild and pleasant odor.


My granddaughter Annie calls it “Grammy Jo’s smell.” She hasn't yet learned the concept of branding. My sons and daughters hug me, burrow into my neck and say, “Ummm, mommy smell.”


I’ve worn Jovan Musk oil for decades and strangers still stop me to ask what I’m wearing.


When I recently saw an ad of celebrity scents – at very expensively prices – I wondered if and why someone would buy a cologne or perfume based on someone’s celebrity status.


How about you?


Do you have a good nose for smells or not? What are your favorite odors?


Any favorite colognes or do you eschew them all and rely on nature’s scent? Are you willing to experiment with fragrances because they're endorsed by celebrities?


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Common Scents

David Beckham has 11 fragrances.

Well, actually the 11 are colognes that he lends his name to but I have no doubt he smells reeeeeallllly nice.

I’d already begun to think about discussing scents for this blog when I heard that tidbit. I’ve always been aware of the power of smells and their associated meanings but hadn’t “scientifically” given it any thought. So I did a wee bit of Googling and found a succinct explanation that while visual cues might invoke memories, scents invoke EMOTIONS linked to events in our lives.

Makes sense (er, scents?). When I smell chicken baking and especially the broth for making dressing I’m immediately sent back to my childhood when I was carefree, safe, loved. Or the memory of happiness I feel when I smell wax melded with spring breezes through the window. This one happened every year and I STILL can remember coming home from school after my Mom had done her spring cleaning and lying on the couch sighing in contentment. When my Daddy passed the only thing I wanted was his sweater…which smelled of him.

Not all aromas bring such positive memories. Some of you may know this from experience but every nurse knows that cancer has a smell. When I was a fledgling nurse, I had a patient who used a certain body powder along with this smell. To this day, if I catch a whiff of that powder every sad moment in that lady’s last days comes back to me.

Aromatherapy is big and I buy into a lot of it. Lavender DOES make you feel more relaxed and helps you sleep. A spa I go to for massages has a whole aromatherapy program. You close your eyes and decide which scent you want your massage lotion to contain. Supposedly, your body knows which one it needs. I never know what is in most of them but one time I stopped her after the second one. I said “That one, because it smells like Ireland.” (And no…it wasn’t the scent of Guinness).

Then there are the odors associated with such lovely things as garbage or the teenager with gym shorts that haven’t seen a washing machine since freshman year. And don’t forget the summer time wafting of SKUNK so many of us are blessed with.


But every person reacts differently to different scents and that’s what fascinates me! I mean my “Gosh that reminds me of my best friend’s wedding” might be your “Gak! Reminds me of that guy Stinky Toes I used to date”.

Genetics or perception?

Take the scent patchouli. I’ve seen this referenced in some books lately and in MY mind associated it with a paint or thinner smell. (I don’t think I’ve ever smelled it before). Yet it was brought up in a discussion on a talk show the other day and the host said “It’s a smell you either like or think it smells like sweat socks.”

This predilection toward invoking memories explains why we use them to describe physical and emotional reactions of our heroes and heroines to each other. Spice, musk, citrus, sandalwood, jasmine and…for some authors…patchouli….ups the desire, the need and helps the reader connect. Hmmmm…..David….beneath the sweaty shirt I smell musk and spice and man!

And a hint of soccer ball.

So I favor lighter floral scents, citrus and for the fellas in my life musk. What about you? What do you like? What do you favor on your guy?
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