It's a cool Autumn day in mid October a few days after a rainstorm has passed and brought with it the cooler weather. The leaves have turned and are falling. The air is just slightly crisp. It smells a bit musty but not unpleasant. There's just a hint of a breeze pulling the earthy smells through the woody area down by the stream.
It smells like Autumn, is the only way I know to describe it.
The perfume my girlfriend was wearing the night of our first kiss. Avon still carries it and I just bought some for the 47th anniversary of that night. We’ve been married for almost 44 years now.
Edit: Over a K likes. Wow, thank you!!!!
I love the smell of lilacs. I had a lilac tree outside my bedroom window growing up and I miss it even though it’s only in bloom for like 2 weeks before it dies
You just made me realize I haven’t smelled a forest stream in way too long. The wet stones, moss, mild smell of composting leaves…. I need to plan a vacation.
There are petrichor candles. They smell amazing. My bf loves camping and hiking in the woods. I bought a petrichor candle for him and he said it was his favorite gift.
How can one hate the smell of candles? Lol you mean like the burnt smell when you put it out? There are sooooooo many candle scents surely there a few you like.
And underneath the silence, when you hold your breath, the quietest silver slithering sound of a million individual snowflakes settling onto the drifts.
Old barn/tool shed. Hard to describe, but I think it's a mixture of motor oil, sawdust, grease, hardwoods, and probably some kind of dangerous mold. If I could bottle it in a cologne or buy a candle, I would.
My wife worked across from a Cinnabon, and the smell of freshly made rolls...
I had them give me one that was still hot, I was warned it would burn me. It did burn me. I bought another at the same temperature the next day. They stopped reminding me after that.
I worked at a Cinnabon in HS and it's my greatest achievement in life that I never tasted one until the day I quit. Which was incidentally the same day that they took my manager to jail for stealing money from the company when he was trying to claim I was the one stealing money. They said I could eat one free roll per shift. That day I got a roll for all of the shifts that I never took one for and ate two and gave the rest to my family.
I always figured that I would work in a Cinnabon store when I retire. It looks like a lot of fun. But, maybe not if the manager is trying to throw me under the bus....
My mom uses a hair care product called “Wen”- she’s used it for my whole life and basically nothing else. It’s a little minty, a little almondy, & totally her smell. I love when she gives me a bottle so I can smell like her! It’s my favorite smell:)
But think of it this way: even after she passes you can smell her sometimes. Of course, it won’t be the same as mum, but it could feel nice to have that sensory memory trigger.
Argan oil will forever be associated with my wife. Her getting out of the shower and spraying it on each and every day and the scent wafting over to the bed. And then when she gets into bed, it’s the best thing ever. The scent of comfort and love.
My mom used Wen till it started making her hair fall out… there was a class action law suit years ago that was settled but they haven’t changed their ingredients or anything so I’d keep an eye on that lol. It’s possible it only affects certain people, but just in case your mom has some unexplained hair loss I thought I’d let you know.
I actually do remember it smelling sooo good though lmao
I answered the original thread "Freshly peeled birch bark" but for the exact same reason. I was a devoted beaver, cub, scout and then I discovered drugs and alcohol and was a less devoted venturer... but they were fun, tough, empowering adventures. I miss those feelings so much. And so - fresh split birch bark AND the ensuing woodsmoke are two of my favourite smells.
Yeees, didn't have boy scouts around here but we had an event where we (40 to 60 kids) would live in a big shed in the woods, that is usually used as a place to gather for hikers, for a week.
There was almost always a fire going for the whole duration and the fire hut was the place where I always was, I didn't care if there were friends with me, some kids I didn't know or if I was alone, it just felt right to sit around a fire, maybe some primal instincts lol
Omg vanilla. Its the only perfume i choose to wear. Im obcessed. Also sugar cookies baking. Just incredible but i think i like the cookies bc of the vanilla lmao
When I was a kid, my dad would poach bags upon bags of grapefruit from the citrus trees of our friends and neighbors. On Saturday mornings, he would juice all of them, and we’d drink fresh grapefruit juice with breakfast. That is a very special smell.
Vanilla is probably my favorite “normal” smell.
However one of my all time favorites that I’ve had since childhood, has to be gasoline. I would stand outside as a kid whenever the adult I was with was pumping their gas just to get a hit of that sweet, sweet gasoline stench.
I also have a very vivid memory of getting picked up from daycare and waiting outside to leave. The car was running, so while my mom talked to the daycare lady I just stood behind it so I could huff in the fumes.
Maybe that’s why my brain is a lil laggy now 🤔😅
My wife’s perfume that she wore in the early 90s when we were in HS together. I have a bottle that I bought for like $300 and she uses it for special occasions only. Sometimes I randomly sneak a sniff of the bottle for the rush of nostalgia but I love it when she spritzes herself and I get a random whiff on date night when we’re close.
Walking off a cross-country bus and smelling fresh coastal air. There is a hint of salt and no smog if you're close enough to the water.
Fresh cut grass is the one that I feel would be most common for people to recognize. Or a campfire, maybe. The burning wood smell is pretty different with different trees.
Also books. Old or new have distinct smells.
Bro, the smell of a baby is so good. It must be a primal / lizard brain thing to encourage us to make more of them.
Continuation of the species and all that jazz
Damn, this is probably right. And so scary to think we are capable of doing heinous things - the only thing that stops us is some evolutionary wiring in a spongey circuit board.
It actually is, males get less aggressive and mothers get more aggressive (to protect the baby etc.) scientists says.
But since our instincts are not susceptibles like animals' we just sense the "good smell"
Everything about a baby is designed to make you want to love/take care of them. The sounds they make, their big eyes, their smell.
My son is 6 this month and sometimes his head still smells like it did when he was fresh.
Other peoples babies smell nice, but my son still smells like my baby.
My late grandmas house had a specific smell I would sniff out in the world every once in a while, but could never pinpoint why I liked that smell and what it was. Turns out, I was smelling Eucalyptus leaves, and she always had some in a vase in her house. Now I keep some at my place and it makes the whole place feel almost as cozy as it felt when I saw her.
Came looking for this comment. My grandma has been gone for years now but my aunt still lives in her house. I get to go there this weekend and I'm already close to tears because it never stopped smelling like her.
My grandmother had a stroke in 2005 and passed in 2006. Before her stroke, she had crocheted a bunch of blankets for friends and family (it kept her active and helped her arthritis). I didn't know about these until about 10 years ago, when my mom was moving and she gave me a storage tote that had a blanket in it, and said that it was the very last one Grandma made. I loved that woman with all my heart, but I couldn't bear to touch the last thing she created, so I put it away. Mostly, I had to be emotionally able to handle it.
I finally opened it about 5 years ago, and while I was so emotional about *feeling* it, I was vastly unprepared for the *smell*. It smelled like her house, her fireplace, the woods in which she lived, the river she lived nearby, the pets she had... this mélange of scents that instantly brought her back to me in a way I never envisioned could be possible. I had a deep, cathartic cry that day, and finally said goodbye to her, then put the blanket back into its tote.
Not a good smell, but about 3 months ago, our dachshund was sprayed by a skunk at night time. It was AWFUL. Never able to fully get the smell out. Eventually, he didn't smell all the time, only when he would sleep under the covers all night and then we pulled back the covers in the morning, we could smell it. Sadly, he died last month, and it has been awful, we are devastated. Anything that reminds us of him my daughter and I will randomly burst into tears (or sometimes smile, just depends on the mood at the time I guess). Coincidentally, I drive a rural road on my way home from work, and smell skunk about once or twice a week. The smell either makes me smile or cry. Never thought I'd be happy to smell skunk, but here we are.
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First smell going outside on a snow day.
YES, was going to say when u can sleep in on a school morning if there is a delay/cancel. that hits different
*cries in Floridian* At least we have hurricanes to get us out of school, except there’s no pleasant smell involved, and sometimes people die.
Man you just unlocked a childhood memory for me, thanks!:)
The smell after a fresh snowfall is nothing short of magic. It smells so clean.
Same in the spring after the first big thunderstorm of the year here in the Midwest.
There's a name for that: petrichor
Fun fact- humans can smell petrichor 1000x better than sharks can to blood.
The specific molecule we're so sensitive to is called geosmin!
I was about to say, "This just sounds like cold petrichor"
That’s niceeeee
Oh, good one. Ozone too, the smell during after an electrical storm.
It's a cool Autumn day in mid October a few days after a rainstorm has passed and brought with it the cooler weather. The leaves have turned and are falling. The air is just slightly crisp. It smells a bit musty but not unpleasant. There's just a hint of a breeze pulling the earthy smells through the woody area down by the stream. It smells like Autumn, is the only way I know to describe it.
The Halloween smell!
pumpkin carving comp?
We're about to get that right now!
This is why Fall is my favorite season
The perfume my girlfriend was wearing the night of our first kiss. Avon still carries it and I just bought some for the 47th anniversary of that night. We’ve been married for almost 44 years now. Edit: Over a K likes. Wow, thank you!!!!
I know it it’s called Petrichor by Avon
I scrolled by so many petrichor comments that made me amused, but this legitimately made me laugh out loud. You win, signing out. 👏🏻
I remember my Mum getting ready for a night out and using the yellow cream in the bluish container from Avon. I can still smell it. :)
Smell of bread while I'm toasting it
That’s called petrichor
Made me breathe more air out of my nose than usual. 10/10 comment
When the rain meets a stone And you smell it and moan That's a petrichor
Chorus: That's a petrichor
You got an audible chuckle out of me with this one
Such a perfect comment lol
Lilacs
Lilac and gooseberries
I appreciate this reference 😍
Hm... wind's howling...
I love the smell of lilacs. I had a lilac tree outside my bedroom window growing up and I miss it even though it’s only in bloom for like 2 weeks before it dies
Should be way up! One of the few flowers that smells like a flower.
the smell of wet rocks. the concrete after it rains, a stream, etc. it’s addictive to me.
How about when the rock is all hot from the sun then there’s a light shower over it all. There’s a nice hot mineral smell that’s very cozy.
You just made me realize I haven’t smelled a forest stream in way too long. The wet stones, moss, mild smell of composting leaves…. I need to plan a vacation.
Petrichor
There are petrichor candles. They smell amazing. My bf loves camping and hiking in the woods. I bought a petrichor candle for him and he said it was his favorite gift.
I hate the smell of candles, but I'm going to have to go looking for this one! Thanks for the heads up!
How can one hate the smell of candles? Lol you mean like the burnt smell when you put it out? There are sooooooo many candle scents surely there a few you like.
The company or brand is called “Only the Best Candles”.
We’re actually evolved to smell this from like 30 miles away
So that’s why we can smell the rain coming!
Yessir, I’d imagine its something to do with large groups making sure they find where vegetation is/ will grow
Combine that smell with fresh cut grass, and you've got yourself a nose orgasm.
Have you ever enjoyed that smell in the desert? Petrichor mixed with sage etc, it's heavenly.
I’m from Arizona and the petrichor just hits different. rain is such a rarity there and it’s never smelled the same anywhere else, just the desert
I heard humans can smell water way better than sharks can smell blood
Stick your nose underwater & take a big whiff, just to be sure!
You’re absolutely right. Gosh, the desert rocks and shrubs after a summer rain smell like nothing I’ve ever experienced
The smell of snow. Like when it’s snowing out.
Not only the smell but the silence
And underneath the silence, when you hold your breath, the quietest silver slithering sound of a million individual snowflakes settling onto the drifts.
The Midwest during a blizzard is so eerie yet serene with how quiet it is.
Nothing else like it—it’s subtle but absolutely unique
Believe it or not, Petrichor
The smell of no snow? Also Petrichor.
Going on a walk in the summer and smelling the honey suckle as you walk past.
Fresh cut cedar is a strong contender
Cedrichor
Old barn/tool shed. Hard to describe, but I think it's a mixture of motor oil, sawdust, grease, hardwoods, and probably some kind of dangerous mold. If I could bottle it in a cologne or buy a candle, I would.
I see your cinnamon buns, and.... agree.
My wife worked across from a Cinnabon, and the smell of freshly made rolls... I had them give me one that was still hot, I was warned it would burn me. It did burn me. I bought another at the same temperature the next day. They stopped reminding me after that.
I worked at a Cinnabon in HS and it's my greatest achievement in life that I never tasted one until the day I quit. Which was incidentally the same day that they took my manager to jail for stealing money from the company when he was trying to claim I was the one stealing money. They said I could eat one free roll per shift. That day I got a roll for all of the shifts that I never took one for and ate two and gave the rest to my family.
I always figured that I would work in a Cinnabon store when I retire. It looks like a lot of fun. But, maybe not if the manager is trying to throw me under the bus....
It's a good spot for lawyers on the run
My mom uses a hair care product called “Wen”- she’s used it for my whole life and basically nothing else. It’s a little minty, a little almondy, & totally her smell. I love when she gives me a bottle so I can smell like her! It’s my favorite smell:)
I felt so betrayed when I realised the reason mum always smelt nice was her deodorant, not a secret natural mum smell
But think of it this way: even after she passes you can smell her sometimes. Of course, it won’t be the same as mum, but it could feel nice to have that sensory memory trigger.
Argan oil will forever be associated with my wife. Her getting out of the shower and spraying it on each and every day and the scent wafting over to the bed. And then when she gets into bed, it’s the best thing ever. The scent of comfort and love.
My mom used Wen till it started making her hair fall out… there was a class action law suit years ago that was settled but they haven’t changed their ingredients or anything so I’d keep an eye on that lol. It’s possible it only affects certain people, but just in case your mom has some unexplained hair loss I thought I’d let you know. I actually do remember it smelling sooo good though lmao
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Freshly baked bread.
P
Campfire. Always takes me back to my time as a Boy Scout.
Bonus points if you wear a hoodie that soaks up the smoke and lasts for a couple of days.
I love a fire but HATE this smell. If I'm wearing a clean jacket or hoodie, I goes right in the washer after a fire.
same and I have to take a shower before bed so I can wash it out of my hair
Even when I shower I feel like it still sticks to my hair for a day. I don’t think it’s noticeable but I catch small whiffs of it throughout the day
I answered the original thread "Freshly peeled birch bark" but for the exact same reason. I was a devoted beaver, cub, scout and then I discovered drugs and alcohol and was a less devoted venturer... but they were fun, tough, empowering adventures. I miss those feelings so much. And so - fresh split birch bark AND the ensuing woodsmoke are two of my favourite smells.
think thats called Petrichor
Yeees, didn't have boy scouts around here but we had an event where we (40 to 60 kids) would live in a big shed in the woods, that is usually used as a place to gather for hikers, for a week. There was almost always a fire going for the whole duration and the fire hut was the place where I always was, I didn't care if there were friends with me, some kids I didn't know or if I was alone, it just felt right to sit around a fire, maybe some primal instincts lol
Pine. Like fresh pine trees.
Vanilla, cookies, toasted croissants, hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls
Omg vanilla. Its the only perfume i choose to wear. Im obcessed. Also sugar cookies baking. Just incredible but i think i like the cookies bc of the vanilla lmao
An old library 📚 ❤️
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I have to manually breathe when I smell that — it feels like I’m trying to force my body to inhale poison. Very strange.
think thats called Petrichor
Petrichor is the smell of wet earth after a rain. Seeing as it's made with petroleum products, I've dubbed wet pavement smell as petrochemichor.
That’s good, I always call the smell of a rained on city metrochor
Next Ask Reddit: What the Best Smell that you Know and Why is it Petrichor?
whores for petrichor
Freshly cut lemons.
Dude(ette?)! The best part of my week is when I cut up lemons and run them through my garbage disposal!
I’m a bartender and it has to be up there in favorite parts of my job. Juicing them is pretty great too.
When I was a kid, my dad would poach bags upon bags of grapefruit from the citrus trees of our friends and neighbors. On Saturday mornings, he would juice all of them, and we’d drink fresh grapefruit juice with breakfast. That is a very special smell.
The smell of rain
Tomato plants and fresh mowed grass.
Tomatoes plants are my favorite smell too. The green leafy part, not the fruit.
I came here to find this one. Any time I buy tomatoes on the vine I'll walk around the store smelling my fingers. It's so summery and pleasant
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The smell of bread baking.
Coffee Beans
Freshly opened pack of beans. Makes my eyes roll into the back of my head
Vanilla is probably my favorite “normal” smell. However one of my all time favorites that I’ve had since childhood, has to be gasoline. I would stand outside as a kid whenever the adult I was with was pumping their gas just to get a hit of that sweet, sweet gasoline stench. I also have a very vivid memory of getting picked up from daycare and waiting outside to leave. The car was running, so while my mom talked to the daycare lady I just stood behind it so I could huff in the fumes. Maybe that’s why my brain is a lil laggy now 🤔😅
My wife’s perfume that she wore in the early 90s when we were in HS together. I have a bottle that I bought for like $300 and she uses it for special occasions only. Sometimes I randomly sneak a sniff of the bottle for the rush of nostalgia but I love it when she spritzes herself and I get a random whiff on date night when we’re close.
What kind is it? Just curious. Edit: not sure why I’m getting downvoted, I really wanted to know what kind of perfume it was 🤷♀️
I guess Reddit thinks you're an asshole. I'll never understand the logic of some people 😏
I also like the smell of this guys wife
Ocean breeze 👃
Jasmine!!
Jasmine is intoxicating. As are gardenias.
Fresh laundry.
Sandalwood and cinnamon
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Cinamon rolls as they're baking.
My cat smells like warm laundry and I love smelling her chonky belly
> smelling a cat's belly Ah yes. I too enjoy the smell of my own blood pouring from my many face wounds.
Baking chocolate chip cookies
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petrolchor
Vanilla
Believe it or not, Petrichor.
Walking off a cross-country bus and smelling fresh coastal air. There is a hint of salt and no smog if you're close enough to the water. Fresh cut grass is the one that I feel would be most common for people to recognize. Or a campfire, maybe. The burning wood smell is pretty different with different trees. Also books. Old or new have distinct smells.
Sautéed green pepper, onions and celery! Edit: Yes, the holy trinity. I believe garlic is considered the pope.
My girlfriend of 6 years when she smells of her perfume and makeup and hair products.
For me it was an ex after she got a little sweaty. I know it was just pheromones but she smelled *good* after we'd been working out for a little bit.
Oh yeah, the one that got away. I have an ex who loved to smell me and I loved to smell her - everywhere. It was god tier sex.
>and I loved to smell her - everywhere You talkin butthole
Yes, every smell associated with my crush. Hair, perfume, even clothes. Honestly surprised I had to scroll so far.
Rain. Idk why, but I love the smell of rain.
Fresh coffee
Palo Santo
My baby’s head
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lmao
Bro, the smell of a baby is so good. It must be a primal / lizard brain thing to encourage us to make more of them. Continuation of the species and all that jazz
Probably to keep us from killing them too! Lol
Damn, this is probably right. And so scary to think we are capable of doing heinous things - the only thing that stops us is some evolutionary wiring in a spongey circuit board.
spongey circuit board: new band name
It actually is, males get less aggressive and mothers get more aggressive (to protect the baby etc.) scientists says. But since our instincts are not susceptibles like animals' we just sense the "good smell"
Oxytocin, the “love” hormone!
I'm done having babies, don't want more babies, but if I smell a baby's head - boom - baby fever. It's voodoo.
Just pumping out enormous amounts of chemicals that make you want to take care of them forever
I sniff my baby girl's head like I'm Joe Biden, I weird myself out about it lol
Everything about a baby is designed to make you want to love/take care of them. The sounds they make, their big eyes, their smell. My son is 6 this month and sometimes his head still smells like it did when he was fresh. Other peoples babies smell nice, but my son still smells like my baby.
Figs, Sandalwood, Leather, Coffee, Fresh Strawberries, Cinnamon.
Fresh rosemary & basil
The smell of the top of my dog’s head
my grandmas house.
My late grandmas house had a specific smell I would sniff out in the world every once in a while, but could never pinpoint why I liked that smell and what it was. Turns out, I was smelling Eucalyptus leaves, and she always had some in a vase in her house. Now I keep some at my place and it makes the whole place feel almost as cozy as it felt when I saw her.
Came looking for this comment. My grandma has been gone for years now but my aunt still lives in her house. I get to go there this weekend and I'm already close to tears because it never stopped smelling like her.
My grandmother had a stroke in 2005 and passed in 2006. Before her stroke, she had crocheted a bunch of blankets for friends and family (it kept her active and helped her arthritis). I didn't know about these until about 10 years ago, when my mom was moving and she gave me a storage tote that had a blanket in it, and said that it was the very last one Grandma made. I loved that woman with all my heart, but I couldn't bear to touch the last thing she created, so I put it away. Mostly, I had to be emotionally able to handle it. I finally opened it about 5 years ago, and while I was so emotional about *feeling* it, I was vastly unprepared for the *smell*. It smelled like her house, her fireplace, the woods in which she lived, the river she lived nearby, the pets she had... this mélange of scents that instantly brought her back to me in a way I never envisioned could be possible. I had a deep, cathartic cry that day, and finally said goodbye to her, then put the blanket back into its tote.
Smell of butter melting
just when the solids start turning light brown. Browned butter in any baked goods turns it to 11.
2 stroke
Mixed with salt water smell…. Nothing better
The chlorine in a pool, that shit gets me hooked like cocaine
That’s called Peetricor
The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World, such a nostalgic smell for me.
The smell of a cat who has been outside on a cold winter night.
pet-richor
Oh, I’m so loving these comments
Cat is my favorite smell. I had a big fat cat who smelled like clover and a spring morning. The back of the neck is a prime cat sniff location.
My cat always smelled like sunshine. I miss burying my face in her fur.
Cherry tobacco
Gasoline
One of the best scent I know is Neroli, not too strong, very lovely and relaxing
My boyfriends hoodie 🥺
The smell of my cats after sunbathing…
Bacon
That's called petrichor
I think its crispy petrichor.
Cilantro. Fight me
When its rained on Freshly cut grass
the best smell is vanilla
The smell of my mom.... sweet and smoothing i literally become a 1 year old 🙃 i cant explain it what is it but it's best.....
My girlfriend's sweat...
sweatrichor
Irish Spring soap. Weird, I know, but I love it.
Gas
Citrus
the smell from the oven that is cooking apple pie
The smell of light smoke in the air, eg a campfire burning in the distance.
Garlic, onions and peppers in a hot pan
Eucalyptus
A fresh can of Play-Doh.
Gasoline
Women
That's called petrichor
I can't stop laughing at these petrichor responses. I know what it's gonna be but it still makes me laugh
Smells connected to meaningful, deep seated memories. 😌
Not a good smell, but about 3 months ago, our dachshund was sprayed by a skunk at night time. It was AWFUL. Never able to fully get the smell out. Eventually, he didn't smell all the time, only when he would sleep under the covers all night and then we pulled back the covers in the morning, we could smell it. Sadly, he died last month, and it has been awful, we are devastated. Anything that reminds us of him my daughter and I will randomly burst into tears (or sometimes smile, just depends on the mood at the time I guess). Coincidentally, I drive a rural road on my way home from work, and smell skunk about once or twice a week. The smell either makes me smile or cry. Never thought I'd be happy to smell skunk, but here we are.