What smells?

(For those of you who have been around for awhile … this is kind of a throwback to the ole’ medical researches.)

What is it with smells?! I feel like sight and hearing get all the credit as far as senses go, and smell gets the short end of the stick. Smells are just so good sometimes, and they can make me feel so good!
*Freshly cut grass
*Brewing coffee
*Rain on pavement
*Gas at the gas station (I never said I wasn’t weird)
*Campfire, oh sweet campfire

Supposedly when I was little, I’d open up gifts and the first thing I’d do, if it was a new sweater, for example, would be to smell it. (again, the weirdness)

But smells just have so much power. When I smell Caress soap, the pink kind, I’m instantly taken back to my grandparents’ bath tub as a little girl. My grandma would lather up her hands with that Caress soap. Forming an “O” with her finger and thumb, she’d then blow bubbles at me.

My little neighborhood in California had a distinct smell, formed by the giant eucalyptus trees. It took some time, but soon, that smell meant “home.” It meant my bed, my couch, my comfort was nearby.

I’ve worn the same perfume since high school. I’ve tried and tried to change but after hours at the perfume counter, I inevitably land on the same one. And many friends say, “I smelled you the other day…” meaning they got a whiff of someone wearing my perfume. Probably not a good thing.

A particular kind of curry relocates me to Morocco, wandering the tiny alleys of Marrakesh or Fes.

Burning incense, especially a specific brand of patchouli, takes me right back to college and my old boyfriend.

Or how about freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? I’ve started going to this church pretty regularly on Sunday nights and they actually bake cookies during the service, so that when you exit the sanctuary, you’re nearly blown away by the smell of fresh cookies You can’t help but stay for a cookie, cup of milk and some mingling. Manipulative? I think so, but I keep going back.


Well, turns out our sense of smell is 10,000 times more precise than our sense of taste. So take that, tongue! And, new research says it also has the power—when associated with good, happy times or events—to lower stress, improve physical performance and even help us lose weight.

According to the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, "Smelling something good tricks your brain into thinking you've eaten it." Now this seems weird to me. Doesn’t smelling good food make you want to eat it? But the point is, stop and smell the roses … because it’s good for you! Because it may make you smile. It may make you feel good!