NationStates Jolt Archive

I just bought some sunscreen and I opened it and the smell immediately gave me a flashback to when I was a kid and we had rented this house in Spain for our summer vacation. Apparently, certain sunscreen scents haven't changed much since the 80s, even though this one is all fancy and organic and whatnot.

For years, the smell of a certain deodorant (some spray, like Axe) made me think of the very first boyfriend I had when I was fourteen. I'm sure I'd still smell it today, but the product has been discontinued. Shame, really.

When I smell something like that, my eyes always automatically close for a split-second while my brain digs up the corresponding memory.

I love it. :)


I'm pretty sure everybody has their own "memory trigger scents" - care to share?


Will I add a poll? I think I just might.

My West Virginia flag still smells like my Grandparent's house. Reminds me of vacations in the U.S.

Smelling curry reminds me of trips to India

I just bought some sunscreen and I opened it and the smell immediately gave me a flashback to when I was a kid and we had rented this house in Spain for our summer vacation. Apparently, certain sunscreen scents haven't changed much since the 80s, even though this one is all fancy and organic and what not.

For years, the smell of a certain deodorant (some spray, like Axe) made me think of the very first boyfriend I had when I was fourteen. I'm sure I'd still smell it today, but the product has been discontinued. Shame, really.

When I smell something like that, my eyes always automatically close for a split-second while my brain digs up the corresponding memory.

I love it. :)

I'm pretty sure everybody has their own "memory trigger scents" - care to share?

Will I add a poll? I think I just might.
There are so many that I would be hard put to list them. One of the most intense for me is the smell of cordite. That brings back a flood of memories both from military training and Vietnam. :(

On the lighter side, the smell of White Linen perfume sends me into spasms! :D

Oh!, all the time.

I have a nice retaining memory concerning scents. Parfumes usually get me to the first meaning people I met with that parfume.

Tar melting in the summer heat always brings back memories of riding my bicycle all over the neighborhood, exploring this and that and daydreaming and ... :) That was back when summers were at least six months long, if not longer.

Oh yeah, smell is the most memory-triggering sense there is, and sound isn't too far behind.

The smell of fresh made brushetta (i know i spelled that wrong) always reminds me of my late grandmother.

tis what her kitchen always smelled like. she made it all the time.

My husband's pillow smells like him, not really his cologne or anything, it just smells nice, and reminds me of him.

I like the smell of cucumbers, they remind me of summers on the farm.

My husband's pillow smells like him, not really his cologne or anything, it just smells nice, and reminds me of him.

I like the smell of cucumbers, they remind me of summers on the farm.
I love the way my grandchildren smell, especially the little ones. :D

Yes! When I was little my Mom used to wear a certain perfume. My Aunt had it on the other day and I instantly thought of Mom!

Someone sprayed "right guard" deodorant and it reminded me of my grandfather's bathroom. I wish there were a smell which would help me remember other such instances...

Yay, so many replies so quickly! I was kind of sure this thing would just crawl on to page 6 and die a quiet
death. :)

One of the most intense for me is the smell of cordite. That brings back a flood of memories both from military training and Vietnam. :(
Erm, yeah, about that second poll option.... can you say awkward? Argh. >.<

I love the way my grandchildren smell, especially the little ones. :D
I did an experiment once, wore baby lotion everyday instead of my usual perfume, every woman I walked by said "you smell so good, what perfume are you wearing?" haha, I smelled like a baby

i have certain scents, but i dont think they remind anyone of anything in particular. but it does make them run for fresh air:D

I love the way my grandchildren smell, especially the little ones. :D


i never understood when people say children smell nice, everytime i smelled my little cousins they smelled like dirt or poo or both.

maybe when i have kids of my own ill understand......

i have certain scents, but i dont think they remind anyone of anything in particular. but it does make them run for fresh air:D
Heh, I was waiting for that one - but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase the question, so sue me. :p

i never understood when people say children smell nice, everytime i smelled my little cousins they smelled like dirt or poo or both.

maybe when i have kids of my own ill understand......
it's only clean children. Baby shampoo and baby lotion is what smells nice, go to the store, and smell the baby shampoo, that's what they are talking about.

The smell of fresh cut grass on an early fall morning when the field is covered in dew... always makes me miss playing HS football.

it's only clean children. Baby shampoo and baby lotion is what smells nice, go to the store, and smell the baby shampoo, that's what they are talking about.


ah ok, baby shampoo does smell good, more so than adult shampoo.

i have certain scents, but i dont think they remind anyone of anything in particular. but it does make them run for fresh air:D
There's a company in the US that sells carbon-fibre underwear, said to eliminate 99% of those ... ahem ... scents. Just $64.95 US, I think we'd all chip in on a pair for you. :p

People say that actually I am a walking mix of cigarrette and parfume...

I guess I am a scent memory, indeed.

There is one kind of perfume. I don't even know what it is, but when I smell it, I immediately think of a Brazillian exchange student at my school. It was something wild and sweet...

And chocolate...*sighs* Goddess, my Goddess...

There's a certain cologne that always reminds me of a friend/ex-boyfriend of mine. I don't even remember what it is, but whenever I smell it, I'm reminded of him.

The smell of horses reminds me of when I was younger and went to equitation camps in the summer.

Mulled/spiced wine always reminds me of Christmas-time in high school, when I was in Europe. It was always fun to wander the Christmas markets with a cup of vin chaud to warm my hands. Glühwein in German, unless I'm sorely mistaken?

Glühwein in German, unless I'm sorely mistaken?Not mistaken at all. And a perfect "ü" there, too. :p

I heard something over the weekend about a device that can record and - better yet! - play back scents. It's a good meter long and it analyzes scents, records information about them, and then uses 96 different scents to mix up a replica. Obviously the size has to be worked on, but maybe we should get Apple working on the iPod equivalent right away. I propose it be called the "iSchnoz". (And really, I did hear about this, it wasn't one of my weekend daydreams.)

I heard something over the weekend about a device that can record and - better yet! - play back scents. It's a good meter long and it analyzes scents, records information about them, and then uses 96 different scents to mix up a replica. Obviously the size has to be worked on, but maybe we should get Apple working on the iPod equivalent right away. I propose it be called the "iSchnoz". (And really, I did hear about this, it wasn't one of my weekend daydreams.)
That would be an awesome thing to have. No more holding your breath because the guy in front of you at the supermarket check-out hasn't bathed in a month, or shallow breathing because the person shoved into you in the subway reeks of sweat.

You could just get out your pretty little iSchnoz and drown your senses in vanilla and cinnamon. Or leather jackets, cigarette smoke, and this (http://www.marionnaud.ch/img/linien/detail/95.jpg), if the mood is to be sexy rather than cozy. Mmmhhhh, the possibilities are endless.

I heard something over the weekend about a device that can record and - better yet! - play back scents. It's a good meter long and it analyzes scents, records information about them, and then uses 96 different scents to mix up a replica. Obviously the size has to be worked on, but maybe we should get Apple working on the iPod equivalent right away. I propose it be called the "iSchnoz". (And really, I did hear about this, it wasn't one of my weekend daydreams.)

That would make my D&D games so much more authentic.. stick it down into a storm drain "damp dungeon" Leave it in the lockerroom for a week during a water shortage "Reek after battle" mebbe get some smells of baked herb potatoes and such.. mm... herb potatoes..

The smell of roses always remind me of funerals. Rather sickening smell.

I did an experiment once, wore baby lotion everyday instead of my usual perfume, every woman I walked by said "you smell so good, what perfume are you wearing?" haha, I smelled like a baby
Uh huh. And what did your hubby think? LOL!

Yay, so many replies so quickly! I was kind of sure this thing would just crawl on to page 6 and die a quiet
death. :)

Erm, yeah, about that second poll option.... can you say awkward? Argh. >.<
Nahh. That's not a problem. It's actually a variation of a line from "Apocalypse Now," which was a terrible movie but had some good lines. :)

I can never remember WHAT a smell is that triggers a memory except one thing.

Every time I smell hot wood (like, when it's in an electric sander or you saw it very fast) I think of my grandfather. He was a carpenter and died when I was a lot younger but I remember being in his workshop when he made me a set of cricket stumps to replace some that got damaged by a couple of thugs.

I never figured out carpentry myself :p

i never understood when people say children smell nice, everytime i smelled my little cousins they smelled like dirt or poo or both.

maybe when i have kids of my own ill understand......
Well, I don't mind when little kids smell of dirt and grass and other outdoors things, but I have to admit that the poo thing bothers me. Heh!

What I think most people are talking about is when the little ones have just gotten out of the bath or just awakened in the morning, and they smell ... well ... it's hard to describe. It's like if you took love and joy and innocence and distilled them into a scent, then added just a pinch of how you yourself smell ... that's what my grandchildren smell like. :D

Bacon. Grandma's house.



Thats it.

Cantaloupe smells like summer.
Chocolate reminds me of Salinas where I lived by a large chocolate factory.
Honeysuckle blossoms remind me of romance and love lost.

Bacon. Grandma's house.

Thats it.
That's enough. Everytime I smell cinnimon buns, I get a flood of memories of my grandmother. :)

Cantaloupe smells like summer.
Chocolate reminds me of Salinas where I lived by a large chocolate factory.
Honeysuckle blossoms remind me of romance and love lost.
Honeysuckle. Wow! What a flood of memories that scent brings back to me. I grew up in an area where it grew in abundance, and the scent of it reminds me of warm Summer nights, playing tag under the streetlights, homemade ice cream, and on and on.

It also reminds me of a girlfriend of mine. We were traveling cross-country and somehow wound up having a picnic lunch in a wood where masses of honeysuckle grew. After lunch, we just looked at each other, then gathered a huge mass of honeysuckle, spread it on the ground and made love on it. We both got a few insect bites, but as I recall neither of us much cared. :D

That's enough. Everytime I smell cinnimon buns, I get a flood of memories of my grandmother. :)
It's strange the connections you make in your memories.

It's strange the connections you make in your memories.
Yes. She use to make them all the time and the scent would linger in the house and on her. Sigh.

Chocolate reminds me of Salinas where I lived by a large chocolate factory.
That made me remember that whenever I smell amaretto, I'm reminded of my time living in Italy. I lived very close to where they make Amaretto Di Saronno. :D