I’m not much into smells—the perfumey-scented kind. I’m one who walks into certain stores, then turns and walks back out with a sensitive wrinkled nose. My family knows not to give me any scented gifts. (They may not know that I once bailed on a second date because of too much cologne.)
While I don’t usually burn them, I adore the idea of clever candles named for literary books and authors, like the Little Women candle: “Notes of lime peel, orange peel, grapefruit, mandarin orange, orange, tangerine, agave, citrus, sugar, lime, and peach recall Amy March’s pickled limes in Louisa May Alcott’s beloved book.” Or this one, called the Narnia candle: “The alluring perfumes of Turkish delight, crisp apple, and a forest of fresh pine needles capped with powdery flakes of snow. A luxurious candle opening a magical doorway to another world.”
Though I'm not sure about the “alluring perfume of Turkish Delight,” I also love the general idea of perfume. I recently read every comment of a blog post asking about what people wear as their “signature scent”—the perfume that captures their true essence, worn for a lifetime. Commenters described memorable fragrances worn by their grandmothers, mothers, or themselves. Some change their scent for each season. Others lamented their scents being discontinued. Only a few sounded like me—prone to headaches—so our signature scent tends more toward Dove soap.
Part of me would like a perfumed signature scent—I suspect it’s the grown-up part of the little girl who looked for her name on convenience store key chain stands. (Julie was hard to find…)
I’m learning to embrace the fact that the smells I love don’t come from a bottle….
The smell of a woodsmoke fire in the fall.
The smell of something buttery baking.
The smell of the ocean in the morning.
The smell of the ones I love, even the stinky dog.
a writing prompt
What smells do you love? Make a list, then choose one and write more about it.
Or consider these questions:
Do you have a signature scent? Does it come from a bottle, or from something else? What smells evoke a particular place and time for you?
If you like, share some of the smells you love, or your writing, in the comments.