Scent and memories....

[rileygirl]

C Howard's Violet candy brings back memories of my grandpa. He'd chew those and wear this certain cologne that I don't know the name of.

Vitalis hair oil reminds me of my daddy.

Chanel No 5 reminds me of my mom.

Right Guard, Tide Detergent, and Eternity for men reminds me of my 1st boyfriend also known as Nike Golf. yummmmmmm

 

[laloki]

• Rain on the earth reminds me of when I would run outside when I was about age 5 after it rained and eat the dirt.
• Rose or Gardenia fragrance reminds me of my great Grandmother, she would always spray it before she entered a room...no matter where she was as she always carried a bottle in her purse or apron pocket.
• Perkins Paste (white thick glue in a little pink plastic bottle) reminds me of the kid I sat next to in Primary School who would to eat it.
• Lux Flakes remind me of when my children were babies...I can still smell them when I pull out the baby clothes that I have kept.

 

[claireZk]

Whenever I smell rosewater or bayberry, it reminds me of this park my mom took me to when I was little that had a mansion with bayberry bushes planted all around it and a HUGE rose garden. This place was like heaven to me

Lilacs and honeysuckle remind me of the house where I grew up.

White Linen and Shalimar remind me of my mom.

Victoria's Secret Supermodel perfume just came out but as soon as I smelled it, it jogged all these OLD memories. I'm still trying to figure out why it's so familiar to me. It made me remember (among other things) my first bf giving me an antique silver compact for Christmas like 12 years ago

Ohh man... I'm thinking of so many I could go on all night so I'll just stop here lol!....

 

[PrinceAbdullah]

I was thinking of opening a thread just like this one before....

Every time a smell this certain perfume it reminds me of my favorite teacher in elementary school. Her name was Mrs. Millstene.. She was my favorite teacher. She would have this really good smelling perfume on. Every time I smell it, it reminds me of my 2nd grade class. I kinda get emotional since it reminds me of how fast time passes by.

Also the smell of gasoline reminds me of my childhood in Jordan.. I get vivid memories that just flashback..

 

[i_wona]

• Rain on the earth reminds me of when I would run outside when I was about age 5 after it rained and eat the dirt.

This sentence started out so romantically I thought it was going to end rather differently than it did LOL

 

[i_wona]

Thank you everybody for your replies- I appreciate it....my minor is in psychology and my major is Biology with the future intentions of becoming an Obstetrician. Scent and memory always intrigue me.

When my son was born, November 4, 2001, my body took a beating because he was born Cesarean section at 9:48 pm on my mom's birthday~ yep, she turned 49 on the day her first grandchild was born. Seth was a huge baby, 10 pounds 1 ounce, 21 inches long and went straight to size 1 diapers. Well, after my body was able to move around fairly well I'd stay up watching him sleep, breath, move his mouth, cry and twitch. My mom brought me flowers in the hospital the next day and that night after feeding him and letting him sleep, I knew it was time to change his diaper- I could have just changed it but I wanted to see if the smell of flowers would wake him up. I took a flower from the vase and placed it by his nose so he could pick up the scent, a few moments later he opened his eyes slowly and awoke. Small things like this amaze me, this tiny baby smelled sweetness for the first time in his existance...

I've heard they tell expectant mothers to take a gentle perfume/oil/scented cream with them to hospital when they're in labour. You're supposed to wear it when you first hold your baby and they become attached to the scent because the feelings associated with it are soft and warm and are usually associated with their first feed.

The when you get home, keep wearing it so your baby is subconsciously but immediately comforted by your smell. Given they don't have much sight at first, scent is very important for them as they feel their way around!

 

[i_wona]

Alaska this thread is so fantastic! I loved everyone's stories.

I also find that bad smells trigger memories too (makes sense DUH). I really don't like the smell of manicurists' shops, as I got lost in an arcade once when I was a kid. The beauty therapist must have rescued me while I was blindly crying and running and she made me wait in her shop while deciding what to do. It's really weird because she was so nice to me, yet to this day, I find my heart beats faster when I smell that melting acrylic smell and I feel nervous even though there's nothing to worry about.

 

[alely]

My grandmothers house in Mexico has this aroma that I can´t even begin to describe, it smells like my grandmother and her warmth and love and every time I smell it, it just makes me feel like I am safe and sound in her arms.
I actually only ever smell it when I am in her house in Mexico or when she´s around, but two years ago I was in my room at uni and I was looking around in my room for something and all of a sudden, out of nowhere I smelled it and I just began to cry. I hadn´t been back to Mexico in a few years and it was like it was reaching out to me beckoning me back with the smell. Needless to say I went back that summer after about 5 years of not going, it was really wonderful to go back

 

[Kiss Me Deadly]

I just had something like this happen... heres my story..

We're stuck up here in the northeast with the winter, which I hate.. I hate the cold, wearing all the coats, heavy fabric etc.. and one day we had like a random relativley warmer day in like the 50's.. and the kids were out.. and one was eating a candy apple... I got such a nice wiff of it, it just brought me back to when my boyfriend and I would vacation every summer in Ocean City.. and I just had all these memories of the boardwalk, and the candy and fudge shop.. It was so nice to have that summer memory in the middle of the winter

 

[shasha17a]

Whenever I smell vanilla fragrances, I think of my 8th grade year. That was what I wore then.

 

[caitlin1214]

This isn't a memory but it's an example of how scents have had a negative effect on me.

Let me start off by saying my grandmother always hated carnations. She always associated them with a funeral flower. My mom doesn't like them, either.


I never liked the look of them, but I did like the smell.


Well, once I was heading to a Weight Watchers meeting (held in the common room of a Greek Orthodox church).

As you can see from the picture, the door I go through for my meetings is on the lefthand side.

I get to the door and there's a sign essentially saying due to the fact that there's a funeral that day, the meeting is cancelled. (Looking back on it, I should have figured there'd be no meeting that day, since there was a hearse parked in front of the church and the back door was open.)

After letting my ride know that I'd have to be picked up again, I crossed in front of the main door to get to the driveway. As I was crossing, I was hit by this wall of stench. There must have been a bouquet on top of the casket made up of carnations.

That made me choke up a little. I then understood why my grandmother and mother disliked carnations so much.

 

[Alaska]

I think that smell memory is stored in the right hemisphere of the brain - so that when it is activated it brings back 'big picture memories' (as opposed to the left brain where language based memories are stored). Also they are untainted (its not like you have revised them in your mind etc) which is why they are so powerful because they are relatively pure.

For me the ones that do my head in - is when I use a toiletry product - shower gel/shampoo - especially out of the blue - at someone else's house etc - and it just shoots me back to a time when I used a product with that smell myself. It might even have been for a couple of months - but I am taken straight back to that time. And so many long forgotten memories from that time come back to me.

Thank you for that knowledge!!!! Using the purple Aussie products brings me back to 8th grade~! The only reason I remember is because my mom hated it!!:shame:

C Howard's Violet candy brings back memories of my grandpa. He'd chew those and wear this certain cologne that I don't know the name of.

Vitalis hair oil reminds me of my daddy.

Chanel No 5 reminds me of my mom.

Right Guard, Tide Detergent, and Eternity for men reminds me of my 1st boyfriend also known as Nike Golf. yummmmmmm

• Rain on the earth reminds me of when I would run outside when I was about age 5 after it rained and eat the dirt.
• Rose or Gardenia fragrance reminds me of my great Grandmother, she would always spray it before she entered a room...no matter where she was as she always carried a bottle in her purse or apron pocket.
• Perkins Paste (white thick glue in a little pink plastic bottle) reminds me of the kid I sat next to in Primary School who would to eat it.
• Lux Flakes remind me of when my children were babies...I can still smell them when I pull out the baby clothes that I have kept.

wowzer!!!

Whenever I smell rosewater or bayberry, it reminds me of this park my mom took me to when I was little that had a mansion with bayberry bushes planted all around it and a HUGE rose garden. This place was like heaven to me

Lilacs and honeysuckle remind me of the house where I grew up.

White Linen and Shalimar remind me of my mom.

Victoria's Secret Supermodel perfume just came out but as soon as I smelled it, it jogged all these OLD memories. I'm still trying to figure out why it's so familiar to me. It made me remember (among other things) my first bf giving me an antique silver compact for Christmas like 12 years ago

Ohh man... I'm thinking of so many I could go on all night so I'll just stop here lol!....

the power of memory and scent!!!

I was thinking of opening a thread just like this one before....

Every time a smell this certain perfume it reminds me of my favorite teacher in elementary school. Her name was Mrs. Millstene.. She was my favorite teacher. She would have this really good smelling perfume on. Every time I smell it, it reminds me of my 2nd grade class. I kinda get emotional since it reminds me of how fast time passes by.

Also the smell of gasoline reminds me of my childhood in Jordan.. I get vivid memories that just flashback..

Soo interesting!!!

 

[Alaska]

Alaska this thread is so fantastic! I loved everyone's stories.

I also find that bad smells trigger memories too (makes sense DUH). I really don't like the smell of manicurists' shops, as I got lost in an arcade once when I was a kid. The beauty therapist must have rescued me while I was blindly crying and running and she made me wait in her shop while deciding what to do. It's really weird because she was so nice to me, yet to this day, I find my heart beats faster when I smell that melting acrylic smell and I feel nervous even though there's nothing to worry about.

Thanks! And it's true---scent can trigger horrible memories too! The smell of smoke from an outboard boat motor always reminds me of getting stuck in the ocean going to our campsite....at least the water was calm...

My grandmothers house in Mexico has this aroma that I can´t even begin to describe, it smells like my grandmother and her warmth and love and every time I smell it, it just makes me feel like I am safe and sound in her arms.
I actually only ever smell it when I am in her house in Mexico or when she´s around, but two years ago I was in my room at uni and I was looking around in my room for something and all of a sudden, out of nowhere I smelled it and I just began to cry. I hadn´t been back to Mexico in a few years and it was like it was reaching out to me beckoning me back with the smell. Needless to say I went back that summer after about 5 years of not going, it was really wonderful to go back

Grandmothers always have their own scent...one of my grandma's loves to use PINESOL whenever she cleaned (back in the day) and smelling that brings me RIGHT back to her kitchen and watching her clean up the floor...she had 11 children with my (recently) passed grandpa Noah- ahhhhhhhhhh.......bittersweet memories

I just had something like this happen... heres my story..

We're stuck up here in the northeast with the winter, which I hate.. I hate the cold, wearing all the coats, heavy fabric etc.. and one day we had like a random relativley warmer day in like the 50's.. and the kids were out.. and one was eating a candy apple... I got such a nice wiff of it, it just brought me back to when my boyfriend and I would vacation every summer in Ocean City.. and I just had all these memories of the boardwalk, and the candy and fudge shop.. It was so nice to have that summer memory in the middle of the winter

those memories give your step an extra bounce IMO---- remembering things through association can even create instant embarrassment!! lol~ I was walking with my son the other day and smelled the choke cherry brush growing...reminded me of when I first got here and taking a bio class...we had to do a scientific paper....looking back it was so elementary but I took it SOOO seriously I can hear it in my "voice" in the paper :shame:

Whenever I smell vanilla fragrances, I think of my 8th grade year. That was what I wore then.

I remember wearing something vanilla-- they still sell it at Walmart too!

This isn't a memory but it's an example of how scents have had a negative effect on me.

Let me start off by saying my grandmother always hated carnations. She always associated them with a funeral flower. My mom doesn't like them, either.


I never liked the look of them, but I did like the smell.


Well, once I was heading to a Weight Watchers meeting (held in the common room of a Greek Orthodox church).

As you can see from the picture, the door I go through for my meetings is on the lefthand side.

I get to the door and there's a sign essentially saying due to the fact that there's a funeral that day, the meeting is cancelled. (Looking back on it, I should have figured there'd be no meeting that day, since there was a hearse parked in front of the church and the back door was open.)

After letting my ride know that I'd have to be picked up again, I crossed in front of the main door to get to the driveway. As I was crossing, I was hit by this wall of stench. There must have been a bouquet on top of the casket made up of carnations.

That made me choke up a little. I then understood why my grandmother and mother disliked carnations so much.

so intersting....my grandfather Noah recently passed and us grandchildren held carnations....this must just be the norm for funeral......thanks for sharing the story!

 

[rachieface]

OMG this happens to me ALOT apparently. I have a really sensitive sniffer - like ALWAYS smelling something.

But, I guess I never noticed how smells and memories coincided together for me until I "dated" a guy and then like a year or two later I smelled his detergent on someone else and I was INSTANTLY like floored. It was so weird. Like I probably smiled like a huge dumbass walking around shopping by myself or something.

Also, no one who I was ever really close to smokes but whenever I smell a box of cigarettes, I have a nagging feeling that there is a memory I am missing because the smell is so familiar. It's like always on the tip of my tongue but never comes out.