September 27, 2008 | My Jottings
Isn’t the power of smell amazing? Many of my memories are all tied up to the scents I remember, and I know you relate. One familiar whiff can instantly transport me back to a room I was standing in as a child, or to a recollection of a person I dearly loved. So today I have four questions about the scents in your life.
1. What scents (perfumes or otherwise) do you remember from your childhood? I remember the aroma of baking persimmon cookies from my mother’s kitchen, even though I hated persimmon cookies. I remember the Old Spice on my dad’s jawline. I remember what a new Nancy Drew book smelled like when I opened it. I remember a rarely touched bottle of White Shoulders perfume sitting on my mother’s dresser. She didn’t wear it, but I used to open it and think it smelled very sweet. And the smell of chlorine from all the pools I swam in brings strong and pleasant memories.
2. What perfume or cologne did your mother wear? My mom wore Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew, and occasionally Jean Nate.
3. What perfumes or colognes do you wear? I like Estee Lauder’s Beautiful, and Priscilla Presley’s Moments. I used to wear Jovan Musk Oil as a teen – all the rage in the 70s. I smelled Red Door on a woman at the mall recently (I asked and she told me) and I thought I would like to try it.
4. What do you do to make your house smell good? Take out the garbage, have the dogs bathed and groomed, spray Michael’s cologne on our sheets, simmer water, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon on the stove, and write posts about smells to get other peoples’ ideas.
Now it’s your turn. What are your scents and sensibilities?
I remember Dad’s cologne, Jovan Musk and how he always smelled good. I of course remember you wearing Beautiful, Moments and Splendor. I remember Youth Dew and how Grandma would powder Sharon, Carolyn and my bottoms when we got out of the bathtub.
I remember how Myrtle’s fur smelled, dirty but pleasant. I remember the smell of puppy breath and “puppy” on Winnie and Edith and Mildred. I remember the smell of the Lester Park Library, I remember the smell of our musty basement. I remember liking the smell of gasoline (I KNOW IT”S TERRIBLE!!!) whenever I’d go to Food ‘N’ Fuel with Dad and how I’d take a big whiff. I remember how my Lester Park kindergarden class room smelled.
I have a fragrance addiction/obsession. I have a lot of favorites. The first perfume I ever got was called, Tea Rose, I think I was ten and I asked for it for my birthday. I moved onto Malibu Musk, Xclamation, Jovan White Musk and Freesia from Bath & Body Works. Now a few of my favs are: Donna Karen Cashmere Mist, Lancome Aroma Tonic, Calvin Klein Obsession Night and Sheer Obsession, CoCo Chanel Mademoiselle, Dolce Gabbana Light Blue, Georgio Armani Sensi, Moschino Couture, The Body Shop Zestini, Lolita Lempecka, Japanese Cherry Blossom and Thymes Kimono Rose and Wild Ginger. I also like Dove Go Fresh in Lemongrass and Grapefruit! There’s a few for you!!!!
To make the house I am currently living in smell good I clean with bleach, spray lysol disinfectant spray on door handles and light switches, febreeze fabrics, burn scented candles, cook or bake, spray inexpensive body mist in rooms, do a load of laundry with good smelling detergent, open the windows and air the place out. I also like these incense cones that are sold at Walmart. They are oil based and take about ten minutes to burn. I like linen spray, and I also will spritz a vacuum bag with a perfume that I don’t often wear before I vacuum and that leaves a nice scent. I put lemons down the garbage disposal. That smells GREAT! And I also really like Method, which is a brand of cleaning products sold at Target. They are non toxic, I think, and they come in fragrances such as Eucalyptus, Grapefruit, Lavendar and Cucumber.
September 28th, 2008 at 10:03 pmI like the smell of anything fall-like. Apples, rainy weather, crackling fires, peppermint, pine trees, pumpkin. I like the smell of puppy-dog ears, which also resembles the smell of Elijah’s hair. I remember winter smells the best from my childhood– the smells of Christmas, the food from Thanksgiving, roast chicken at Grandma Bernie’s house. To make my own house smell nice I like to burn candles and oil. The scents I choose are usually the same as the ones mentioned above. Pine, pumpkin or such.
When I was pregnant I had a mild, mild form of Pica, in which I craved the smell of chalk and gasoline and especially spray paint. Mmmmmmm…..spray paint. I still love it and I will go out to the garage just to breathe it in. Strangely, I also adore the smell of musty basements.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:44 am