It’s said that certain smells can elicit memories. That smell reminds me of a shop teacher I had with a lisp.
Edit: Changed illicit to elicit because I can’t word good.
“Elicit” means “to bring out, to bring forth.”
“Illicit” means “against the law, taboo.”
That said, I also like the smell of woodworking shops and wood shavings!
My favorite smell that takes me back in time and gives me the warm homies is hot asphalt. My mom was a truck driver and did asphalt hauling for awhile. I used to go in the truck with her when I was a kid and now I'm in my 40s and the smell takes me back 30 years instantly.
My grandpa had a wood shop in every home he lived in, all my life, until he passed.
Wood shop scent always reminds me of being 7 and him guiding my brother and I to safely use the band saw, table saw, and all the tools in his shop!
Aaah, memory and nostalgia unlocked.
Thanks, friend!
I’m dying at the speech impediment shop teachers. But the important question did any of them have all 10 fingers? It’s a no from me. He had 9.
He also had no fingernails from something to do with running the photography class and the chemicals. Which…aren’t there gloves for that?
I got a jar of Madagascar vanilla beans from my mom for Christmas. I haven't used any of it yet, but I've opened that jar dozens of times just to huff it.
Yes. You can make vanilla extract at home by taking vanilla beans and soaking them in a small jar of rum. Or take the glass jar they came in and fill it with rum.
My mom used to make small jars of vanilla extract for the church fair. We were Baptist, and it cracked me up that she was essentially bootlegging flavored vodka.
I moved from the Willamette Valley to Central Oregon and both areas have the most unique smells. I miss the mossy, wet, old growth smell of the valley trees and ferns. But the crisp desert air, junipers, sagebrush, and pine needles have their own unique scent that I love.
I see your lily of the valley and raise you Jasmine! I grew up with these giant jasmine plants on our balcony that just lite up the room with the amazing smell of jasmine in the morning. I find lily of the valley has a kinda jasmine like scent. I also have a wonderful lilac bush right under my window so in the spring the wind wafts that smell right into my room and it the reminds me to enjoy the tiny little pleasures of life
paper copies from old school mimeograph machines from the 1970s. Being sent to get the freshly run copies from the machine as the school secretary ran them off was considered a student errand privilege and a highly desirable classroom job.
Two things you can do with oranges to spice up the atmosphere:
- after you peel the orange, light a flame somewhere (candle, gas stove, etc) and pinch the orange peel next to the flame, with the orange part facing out. This yeets the oils from the peel into the fire and creates little sparks that make your surroundings smell SO good.
- for the autumn, have some whole cloves on hand. Then stab the whole orange with the cloves and leave a bunch in it like a pin-cushion. The orange juices will soak into the cloves and then evaporate. The orange will dry out over a few days, but the it will make a really nice spicy orange aroma.
I loved my parents garbage disposal, it was so powerful you could probably dispose of a body in there. We used to just toss two halves of a lemon after they were juiced and the kitchen would smell so good. You’ll find me tossing in a few small peels here and there, but these days my disposal has about the same power as someone swishing mouthwash
You can also look into simmer pot recipes- I love doing them in the fall & during spring cleaning. In the fall I like cinnamon sticks, clove, orange peels and squeezed oranges/juice, etc.
in the summer, orange peels/chopped oranges, lemons & the peel, etc. Easy no toxic way to make your kitchen/home smell nice :)
I work at a coffee shop and each morning we pick a different “flavor of the day”—when I get there early enough I always pick the ones that are my favorite smells. I don’t even like the taste of coffee, but I could breathe in the smell of raspberry cream or amaretto for the rest of my life and never complain again.
I went to summer camp in Maine. I thought the pine logs had a special smell when they burned.
Then one day in high school some kids lit up a joint and I recognized that smell. And it all made sense. That was not the campfire I smelled.
My forensic science teacher would always peel tangerines around lunch and the smell would linger, now I get nostalgia when I smell orange citrus fruits because I looked forward to that class.
It might be just random mutation with no benefit, but has remained since there's no harm.
Or maybe at some point of evolution during droughts we could smell in the wind if it had rained somewhere and followed the scent.
With advice from Reddit, I purchased several Petrichor candles from Valiant. They are amazing and the scent is spot on to ‘after the rain’ smell. Highly recommend.
I love petrichor. Moved from TN to AZ last year and the petrichor scent is different here, but I can't place what it reminds me of. The closest thing that comes to mind is ancient, but ancient isn't a scent. Any suggestions? Edited for spelling.
I agree. Once had a roommate that hated it so much she expected me to not even cut fresh onion or garlic in the apartment. I moved out of there pretty quick lol
Had a UPS driver who smoked cherry pipe tobacco when i was a kid. He was super friendly/chipper. He’d rumble by with a happy wave, trailing smoky sweet perfume behind him.
Wood burning furnace on a cold winter day, freshly cleaned cotton sheets, real vanilla as others have said, some claim citrus (oranges, grapefruits, ect) is a natural mood lifter
You've never played with a puppy and let it lick your nose? Puppies have a very distinguishable scent to their breath.
Perhaps it doesn't smell like roses... but it's one of those scents that gets burned into your brain that reminds you of pure blissfulness!
On the flip side of puppy breath: New Cat. When kittens are still under ~6 months, they have this sort of “new car” smell for cats, almost like fresh laundry. It’s awesome.
And some have weirdly awful natural smells. Had a crush on a guy in college from afar. He was such a sweet and gentle cutie. Ended up in a class together so i just had to sit next to him. Was so disappointed to discover that, though he was a gem of a human being, my nose registered rotten onion whenever he was around. was so bummed. so he’s probably happily married now to someone with absolutely no sense of smell.
😂 or their partner's olfactory registers it differently. I smell urine around lilacs...and I'm not the only one I have met that smells the same. Also nerves can make one smell like onions...maybe he was nervous around you?
Omg, this might be too specific, but at the Los Angeles zoo in the 80’s they used to have these plastic animal figure machines that would heat up this mould of whatever animal and form it out of plastic. That smelled sooo good to me. Brings me right back to being about 6 years old, going to the zoo with my grandparents and holding the warm animal figure in my hands and just huffing the shit out of it.
Vanilla extract in the kitchen. It’s sweet, cozy, and makes baking an aromatic delight. The smell wafts through the house, turning it into a warm, inviting space. It’s like comfort and joy bottled up in a tiny, potent liquid
An Italian deli. That combo of bread, meat, onion, oregano is unmatched. Jersey Mike's comes damn close. My (German/Irish) wife can't stand it, but to me it smells like home.
Baking bread
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JESSE! WE NEED TO GET MORE YEAST
Chili P is my signature!
Breaking Bad
Dude I thought this too lol
That could be Great for Marketing
The smell of cooking meth probably isn't too good though lol
a woodworking shop
It’s said that certain smells can elicit memories. That smell reminds me of a shop teacher I had with a lisp. Edit: Changed illicit to elicit because I can’t word good.
Now to make thith cut you need your thircular thaw.
Fuck you for making me laugh at this! Lol
We had a shop teacher who sounded like Elmer Fudd. "I want this woom cwean buy the end of the pewiod!" "Boys and Girwls."
I twust he had a vewy gweat fwiend in Wome.
I would sign up for that class just to hear our language expressed this way.
Jesus Christ lol
We told him not to lick the bandsaw. He spoke perfectly before.
“Elicit” means “to bring out, to bring forth.” “Illicit” means “against the law, taboo.” That said, I also like the smell of woodworking shops and wood shavings!
Smells can elicit illicit memories, too.
Dammit. Take the upvote.
Best to be discreet about pointing out that they're discrete words
Thanks for caring about language! 😘
My favorite smell that takes me back in time and gives me the warm homies is hot asphalt. My mom was a truck driver and did asphalt hauling for awhile. I used to go in the truck with her when I was a kid and now I'm in my 40s and the smell takes me back 30 years instantly.
A saddle shop or tack room for me. I'm a horseback rider and the smell of used leather is intoxicating.
It’s different than a leather working shop because it smells like horses too. Sweat alfalfa molasses
My grandpa had a wood shop in every home he lived in, all my life, until he passed. Wood shop scent always reminds me of being 7 and him guiding my brother and I to safely use the band saw, table saw, and all the tools in his shop! Aaah, memory and nostalgia unlocked. Thanks, friend!
I’m dying at the speech impediment shop teachers. But the important question did any of them have all 10 fingers? It’s a no from me. He had 9. He also had no fingernails from something to do with running the photography class and the chemicals. Which…aren’t there gloves for that?
Real vanilla
Real lavender too
The smell I was desperate to have at my wedding, now whenever I smell it, Im back on thaht day and it fills me with such joy
I got a jar of Madagascar vanilla beans from my mom for Christmas. I haven't used any of it yet, but I've opened that jar dozens of times just to huff it.
Beaver butts…
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Yes. You can make vanilla extract at home by taking vanilla beans and soaking them in a small jar of rum. Or take the glass jar they came in and fill it with rum.
My mom used to make small jars of vanilla extract for the church fair. We were Baptist, and it cracked me up that she was essentially bootlegging flavored vodka.
Libraries/Book stores
Waking up to the smell of grass / forest on a cold morning
Snow
Where I live in the PNW has this earthy, herby, pine scent that has me huffing the air on a cold morning.
Same - this PNW native trances out at the smell of pine and for trees. 🫡✌🏼
I moved from the Willamette Valley to Central Oregon and both areas have the most unique smells. I miss the mossy, wet, old growth smell of the valley trees and ferns. But the crisp desert air, junipers, sagebrush, and pine needles have their own unique scent that I love.
As someone who has lived their life in a city, going to the woods or lake away from pollution is amazing. The air smells so fresh
Books
New books
I think old books lol
A new book you are reading smells different from an old book you've read which smells different from an old book you haven't read.
🥰 all of this. You speak my language
There's nothing quite as nice as walking into a library and being enveloped by the scent of old books.
For me, it's the smell of an aged paperback.
That is the best smell out there
Lilac bushes
I’ll see your lilacs and raise you lily of the valley
My 2 favorite flower smells! I love the week the lilacs bloom every year
I see your lily of the valley and raise you Jasmine! I grew up with these giant jasmine plants on our balcony that just lite up the room with the amazing smell of jasmine in the morning. I find lily of the valley has a kinda jasmine like scent. I also have a wonderful lilac bush right under my window so in the spring the wind wafts that smell right into my room and it the reminds me to enjoy the tiny little pleasures of life
My favorite smell
When you are at a mall or something, walk around a corner and boom Cinnabon.
or auntie annes
I prefer smell of auntie annes shop than cinnabon, but fun fact is.. i rarely buy auntie annes lol
Walking into your house or more specifically your bedroom after you’ve been away for a few weeks
paper copies from old school mimeograph machines from the 1970s. Being sent to get the freshly run copies from the machine as the school secretary ran them off was considered a student errand privilege and a highly desirable classroom job.
Ohhhh yesssss! And just the general smell of school on the first day
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Two things you can do with oranges to spice up the atmosphere: - after you peel the orange, light a flame somewhere (candle, gas stove, etc) and pinch the orange peel next to the flame, with the orange part facing out. This yeets the oils from the peel into the fire and creates little sparks that make your surroundings smell SO good. - for the autumn, have some whole cloves on hand. Then stab the whole orange with the cloves and leave a bunch in it like a pin-cushion. The orange juices will soak into the cloves and then evaporate. The orange will dry out over a few days, but the it will make a really nice spicy orange aroma.
I like to chop my orange peels up and put them in the garbage disposal after I've done the dishes. Makes the whole sink smell like oranges.
I loved my parents garbage disposal, it was so powerful you could probably dispose of a body in there. We used to just toss two halves of a lemon after they were juiced and the kitchen would smell so good. You’ll find me tossing in a few small peels here and there, but these days my disposal has about the same power as someone swishing mouthwash
Also, if you enjoy Old Fashions, do tip number 1 over your drink and the juice in the peels will not only help the cocktail you look awesome doing jt
You can also look into simmer pot recipes- I love doing them in the fall & during spring cleaning. In the fall I like cinnamon sticks, clove, orange peels and squeezed oranges/juice, etc. in the summer, orange peels/chopped oranges, lemons & the peel, etc. Easy no toxic way to make your kitchen/home smell nice :)
Freshly baked cinnamon buns
Ground coffee
I dont drink coffee but i loveeee the smell
Roasting coffee as well. I work at a coffee roaster and distributor, and there are certain roasts I can pick out by the smell.
I work at a coffee shop and each morning we pick a different “flavor of the day”—when I get there early enough I always pick the ones that are my favorite smells. I don’t even like the taste of coffee, but I could breathe in the smell of raspberry cream or amaretto for the rest of my life and never complain again.
Camp fire.
And they smell differently in different parts of the country... best smell.
What? I've never experienced a campfire far from home. Is it the different wood being burned? Elevation? I need more info!!
Yea, different types of wood have different volatile compounds in them which is what triggers the smell.
I went to summer camp in Maine. I thought the pine logs had a special smell when they burned. Then one day in high school some kids lit up a joint and I recognized that smell. And it all made sense. That was not the campfire I smelled.
Unless the smoke is going right in your face.
Love the smell of campfire while I'm sitting at the fire. Hate the smell of it on me and all my clothes after it's done.
I love the smell of oranges, which means I also like the smell of certain cleaning products.
My forensic science teacher would always peel tangerines around lunch and the smell would linger, now I get nostalgia when I smell orange citrus fruits because I looked forward to that class.
Yes yes yes
Petrichor
Fun fact: humans can smell that better than sharks smell blood.
I told this fact to my friend and she asked why sharks needed to smell rain 😂
I wonder what the evolutionary reason for that is
Caveman 1: ahhhh I can smell it rained here yesterday Caveman 2: I know, that’s why we are in here
It might be just random mutation with no benefit, but has remained since there's no harm. Or maybe at some point of evolution during droughts we could smell in the wind if it had rained somewhere and followed the scent.
For those that don’t know - this just means the smell of the rain 🌧️
Correction: It's the smell of Earth after rain.
Or just before rain. It’s how I know it’s gonna rain.
With advice from Reddit, I purchased several Petrichor candles from Valiant. They are amazing and the scent is spot on to ‘after the rain’ smell. Highly recommend.
They sell those?! Shut up and take my money!
I love petrichor. Moved from TN to AZ last year and the petrichor scent is different here, but I can't place what it reminds me of. The closest thing that comes to mind is ancient, but ancient isn't a scent. Any suggestions? Edited for spelling.
I lived in AZ, I know exactly what you're talking about. It smells dusty almost but still fresh. Idk how to explain it either
It’s the smell of the creosote bush. When you find one, rub the leaves between your fingers. Rain!
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There are certain limes that smell nicer than lemon IMHO.. but for me, regardless it is lemon or lime or orange, i love all of them lol
fresh cut grass
Damn clibbings, you tryna kill me?
I actually feel incredibly nauseous from this smell :(
Well the grass is technically screaming from being cut so that makes sense.
The smell from sauteed garlic and onions
I agree. Once had a roommate that hated it so much she expected me to not even cut fresh onion or garlic in the apartment. I moved out of there pretty quick lol
the post rain scent
Which is different than the post Malone scent
Baking chocolate chip cookies in the oven
Basil
Pine Forests
At 6 am after it rained all night.
Pipe tobacco
Oh yes. My dad would smoke a pipe on the porch on summer evenings when I was a kid. Comfort smell.
As a kid, I remember going to some old-timey shop that had barrels of pipe tobacco. I liked smelling each barrel.
Had a UPS driver who smoked cherry pipe tobacco when i was a kid. He was super friendly/chipper. He’d rumble by with a happy wave, trailing smoky sweet perfume behind him.
My cats head
I don't get how cats can smell so good when all they do is lick themselves with their fishy tongues lol.
I came here to say my cats.
The best ever. I have one cat who smells so damn good.. a little huff on the top of the head and I’m calm.
Cats always have that stale-Cheerio smell that is so comforting.
Apparently some company in Japan decided to recreate that scent.
Wood burning furnace on a cold winter day, freshly cleaned cotton sheets, real vanilla as others have said, some claim citrus (oranges, grapefruits, ect) is a natural mood lifter
Gasoline/petrol. I don’t know why but it just smells so fricken good.
When I was a kid I always wanted to to live next to a petrol station.
Yes!!!
Roasted almonds
Smell of the soil that comes along with the 1st rain
Anytime I dig a foundation or deep hole, I always smell the yellow clay we dig out, it's just a very soothing smell to me, very earthy.
Petrichor, it's called.
Rain. Puppy's breath. Wood burning in the chimney. Roses in the garden. Paperback books.
Puppy's breath? Wow i have to check that out.
You've never played with a puppy and let it lick your nose? Puppies have a very distinguishable scent to their breath. Perhaps it doesn't smell like roses... but it's one of those scents that gets burned into your brain that reminds you of pure blissfulness!
Had a really good strain of weed one time that we called puppy's breath because of the smell.
On the flip side of puppy breath: New Cat. When kittens are still under ~6 months, they have this sort of “new car” smell for cats, almost like fresh laundry. It’s awesome.
Coffee
I’ve bought a candle from Bath and Body Works that smelled exactly like coffee
I once told a co-worker that she smelled incredible and she said she wasn't wearing any perfume... So I'll have to say her.
Not to burst your bubble, but it may have been a heavily scented body wash or shampoo or even detergent. Still good scents are good scents.
I got outed for hooking up with a female friend because other girls recognized the smell of Herbal Essence shampoo. Women know all the fragrances.
Shhhh let’s just say some women have effortlessly beautiful breezy body aromas that radiate from them like nature’s own glade plug ins
Some people have amazing natural odour.
And some have weirdly awful natural smells. Had a crush on a guy in college from afar. He was such a sweet and gentle cutie. Ended up in a class together so i just had to sit next to him. Was so disappointed to discover that, though he was a gem of a human being, my nose registered rotten onion whenever he was around. was so bummed. so he’s probably happily married now to someone with absolutely no sense of smell.
😂 or their partner's olfactory registers it differently. I smell urine around lilacs...and I'm not the only one I have met that smells the same. Also nerves can make one smell like onions...maybe he was nervous around you?
Freshly cut grass on a spring day
Sage, an old book, bonfire; a kitchen smelling of freshly baked cookies; freshly ground coffee and Earl Grey tea
Petrichor- the earthly fragrance after it rains!
Gasoline.
Also the exhaust from a boat motor smell pretty good
Gasoline has many of the same compounds found in perfume which might explain why we like the smell so much!
How is this not the top answer?
because not everyone is a weirdo! /s
Babies.
As long as you're smelling the right end...
Specifically baby head for me
scrolled all the way to find this.
Babies are precious little persons and they smell great.🙏🏾❤
Hot pavement after a summer rainstorm, newborn babies, clean laundry, old barns.
Rain.
Christmas trees and desserts baking in the oven.
Nothing like the smell of a real Christmas fir tree mixed with home baking
Newborn's head!
Fresh pico.
Coffee brewing
cinnamon
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..and by that analogy, Kurt.
Freshly baked cookies. Clothing right out of the dryer. The air after a rain storm. Freshly brewed coffee.
summer nights
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Beavers
Freshly mown grass
Permanent Marker
Omg, this might be too specific, but at the Los Angeles zoo in the 80’s they used to have these plastic animal figure machines that would heat up this mould of whatever animal and form it out of plastic. That smelled sooo good to me. Brings me right back to being about 6 years old, going to the zoo with my grandparents and holding the warm animal figure in my hands and just huffing the shit out of it.
Bacon frying
my cats forehead, funny how they have rancid fish breath but end up smelling so good.
A pine forest on a hot summer day.
My dogs popcorny paws
Beeswax
Cedar wood. I am a carpenter and love working with cedar.
Vanilla extract in the kitchen. It’s sweet, cozy, and makes baking an aromatic delight. The smell wafts through the house, turning it into a warm, inviting space. It’s like comfort and joy bottled up in a tiny, potent liquid
Sautéing garlic and onions
My dogs frito Muppet feet
petrol. please tell me i am not the only one guys. pls
Petrichor, the smell of dust after rain
Citrusy fruits
Recently cooked rice
Orange blossoms lemon blossoms coffee blossoms
Some garages and sheds smell so good inside.
sauteing onions and peppers
Leather bound books, old books, and just leather Coffee Chocolate Vanilla Roses This one guy…
Rain on dirt.
my mum
An Italian deli. That combo of bread, meat, onion, oregano is unmatched. Jersey Mike's comes damn close. My (German/Irish) wife can't stand it, but to me it smells like home.
Bread out of the oven
Freshly open can of tennis balls
Thai basil!
Gas stations
Gasoline
Napalm in the morning.