The Ten Smashing Smells Of Life
Smells – poetry to the senses.
As poet Charles Moore observes, ‘The earth smells good and the sky turns gold’.
Smells are everywhere. Flooding our senses and competing for attention. Pungent and strong, sweet and aromatic, smells are as real as the air we breathe.
Yet, in the modern industrialised world, it is the toxic and unhealthy odours that dominate. From the choke of car fumes to the dark acidic belch of factories that swamp the sky, the beautiful has been over-powered by the bad.
Well not at Real Simple People. Here the super smells aren’t forgotten. They are celebrated. Just like I previously wrote about in the 10 super sounds in life. The gentle and low-key that needs to make a come back. So, here are 10 smashing smells of life to look out for, or better still, sniff out. Delightful, energy boosting, simple but stunning smells. How many do you take in everyday?
1. Baked Bread. Have you been into a bakers or supermarket recently and caught the smell of freshly baked bread? It’s magnetic. You just want to buy some then and there and smother it still hot in butter or jam. It tastes as good as it smells. And you fall for it’s aroma every time.
2. Roses. These are one of the sweetest aromas in the flower world. Though any or many flowers have a gorgeous air too. You see a rose and you can’t help but bend your nose down close to it to drink in the scent. And it never lets you down. Mother Nature wears her perfume so beautifully in her flowers and most fragrantly in the rose.
3. Cinnamon. Not far from the bread counter you come across another wonderful waft. That of cinnamon. A spice that spices up any nose. It has a tang and a flavour that awakens all the senses with a tingle from tongue to tummy. And that it often accompanies a danish pastry makes it all the more delicious. It’s apparently good for you too (the spice that is!).
4. Freshly Bathed Skin. What a delight to be close to another person right after they have taken a bath or showered. Their skin is so soft but also smells like heaven itself. Even without any major skin lotions or potions their skin has a natural bouquet so fresh and almost baby like. You want to touch, to stroke and feel close. And rest your nasal passages next to the smell of purity.
5. Just Mown Grass. Another natural balm. Grass after mowing can hold you in your tracks. Make you stand still and lift your nose to the air and breathe in as much as possible. To sense Spring or Summer and all the delights the outside world offers. An alfresco aroma that brings back childhood and good times and sun on your skin. From park to back garden, picnics to lazy days and happy games. Be like kids again.
6. Freshly Ground Coffee. Once a richly distinctive smell only found in specific places, now it is an everyday stimulant on high streets everywhere. With unique boldness from the wide selection of coffee beans from around the world, it brings a double dose of sniff whiffery and rousing spirit . It hits your senses with the message, ‘Wake up’, or ‘Switch on’, or ‘Get Going’, and you buy and comply. Caffeine maybe, but uplift certainly.
7. Fresh Air. It’s not so much a smell but somehow you can take it in. You know when it’s around. Tell that it’s registering inside. Something stirs and says, ‘Wow, that’s fresh air’, and you feel good and alive. It touches your nose, your skin, your insides and your mind, exciting them all. It’s a force all of its own. A really good one.
8. Citrus Fruit. The epitome of zest. The promise is in their colour, the delivery in the sweetness as it arrives. Take a strawberry or a lime or a lemon and slice through and soon your senses are dancing transported to well being. A smell of life in full bloom. Of vim and vigour. Of vitality and perfect health. And feeling beautiful. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
9. Soft Washed Hair. This is where herbal essences glide into you apres douche. A partner’s sleek, silk like hair awash with hints of jojoba or elderflower or honeysuckle and you breathe them in as you close your eyes. True nature’s perfumery among soft strands make for the gentlest of combinations and a daydream of smells.
10. The Smell of Success. Okay, I admit it, not strictly a genuine smell. But one we pick up from people, or places or ideas. I couldn’t ignore it. It’s often one we deny citing it’s for someone else. But, if it comes our way, our senses are telling us something. Next time you smell success let that success in. And follow it. Or find out about it. Or ask to get involved. Or be it!
We need to forget smell hell. The noxious that hits our nose too regularly these days. Pay heed more and turn towards the fragrant finesse that exists. Sniff out golden whiffs that are always there. Have a nose to detect the aromas that awaken our moods and awareness. That act as an elixir. A potion to the pace of life. A lotion balm to our poor weakened immune systems. To say. ‘Thank You’ to it, ‘this is for you!’ And to say, ‘You are smashing….and so are they’. The smashing smells in life.
The world is a rose, smell it and pass it to your friends.
Persian Proverb
What smells are smashing to you? What have I missed? Remind me of something else super for the senses by leaving me a comment.
Image courtesy of Monica D
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Hello again, John! Ahh, smells. The smells that get my undivided attention are those that bring up childhood memories. They seem to come out of nowhere, then take me back in time. For me, I’ve found Gardenias and Jergen’s lotion remind me of days gone by. They say the olfactory sense is the most effective route to the subconscious mind, and I’ll have to agree.
So true Laurel how smells remind us of special things and special times. They transport us places and that’s why we smells are really magic spells.
Great post. I love the smells that soothe me (though ground coffee isn’t one for me, hate coffee!) or bring me back to simple times in my childhood. You’ve forgotten lilacs in the Spring, the ocean, and the unique smell of the air after a good thunderstorm. How about the smell of the kitchen on Thanksgiving? And of bubble gum (the baseball card kind)? I also love the smell of the incense they used to use at church during mass (they don’t do that anymore except at funerals)? Or chocolate? MMMMMM!
Smell is the strongest of our senses and has been shown to be most strongly and inextricably tied to memory.
Hey Maggie, you see you’re already begun making another smell list; that’s their pungent power. Keep those good sniffs flooding the senses and treat yourself to some fabulous feelings. Once you start (like I did) you start picking up a whole new bunch of brilliant stuff. Good sniffing Maggie!
There are a couple of rose bushes in my neighborhood that I swear have saved my life with their fragrances. I believe the devas of roses are divine messengers of all that’s good in life. Scent works directly on the limbic brain bypassing the conscious mind’s chatter.
If you like the smell of chocolate, I hope you get to visit Valrohna, France, home of the best chocolate in the world. The whole town is fragrant and they give free samples at the factory store!
I love the scent of the air when it first starts to rain.
And the scent of a wood-burning fire. Especially in cold weather. Primal.
Linda, I was so tempted to put chocolate in too as it’s a personal fave so gotta agree totally. After all smell chocolate and pleasure is surely about to follow!! And the smell after rain is quite unique and disturbingly addictive. You sound like a true expert Linda in the nasal zone- nice one!
Good stuff John. Appreciate, appreciate, appreciate… it is absolutely essential to living prosperously and celebrating a universe of abundance. I love the scents that magically bring me back to childhood moments when I am carefree. It is a reminder of my original unlimited nature… fresh cut grass does it for me!
Good link Rob. Great scents = carefree. That’s one hell of a cool formula. Great scents make great sense. Fab comments my friend.
Thank you so much John for this great reminder of SMELL, the absolute wonder of this gift. I like to go out and sit on my porch first thing in the morning with a cup of tea and sniff the morning air, and this morning because fall is on the way it was magnificent: chilled champagne, dare I say.
I’ve read that we remember a smell all our life. I was thinking about that a moment ago and there did arise for me the memory of walking down a country lane in Deven when I was a small boy evacuated from London with a milk jug in my hand to the nearby farm. I don’t think it was the cleanest farm in the world. I can just remember the smell of the manure in the air as I handed over my jug to Mrs. Wicketts and it came back to me a little later filled to the brim with foaming fresh milk.
Very happy to be sharing the planet with you John.
Amazing Chris, no sooner than you remembered the smell you were able to re-build that whole past experience, the time, the people, the feelings. Just shows that we can also make life brilliant today by using smells to boost our connection to current good stuff. The mind doesn’t know time so we can direct it to respond to smells as a sign that life is plain awesome. Be well and peaceful Chris.
Ahh, I love your post! Smells are so important, they can soothe us, trigger memories…your list is good, but can be expanded
I’d like to add to your list: the smell of crisp air in Autumn, of hyacinths, lilacs, peonies, apricots, vanilla, cardamom, the air after a rainstorm, the air in a warm, summer day in a meadow, the smell of forests, of chocolate cookies baking in the oven, of woodsmoke in a cold November day, of roasted chestnuts…I could go on forever…
Cristina, feel free to expand. Let smells cast spells all over your senses and come alive. I’m in DC this week on vacation and the smell of the heat has a new, powerful feel, so sometimes old smells can be refreshed depending where you are. But then again blueberry waffles and Italian pizza are new ones that taste sooooo good too! I’m on smell alert and loving the discoveries. Keep discovering too.
Really enjoyed your list of sniffs! Yep, they all ring true with me. A couple more to add are Sea Air with it’s extra healthy salty twist (maybe it’s extra good as it’s often packaged with the sound of the sea and a strong breeze, who knows?). Also, a personal favourite is the smell of oil, the kind you find in garages; reminds me of when I was growing up and is a constant backdrop in my jewellery workshop. Lovely.
Gee, great to have you along. You’ve got some cool aromas there and I also love that seaside scent mixed with the sound of gentle lapping waves. Real chill out for the soul (or sole ha ha). Brings back some special memories too!
Hello John,
How are you?
Thanks for sharing this and if i may add a few more please:
I love the smell of fairies washing up powder.
Grilled chicken,fish sprinkled with mixed herbs, lime juice and garlic hmmh!!!(not every day lol!!)
There’s bakery by my office and the smell of cakes, buns…….. lol!!(i agree delightful, nergy boosting lol!!!)
It’s not all about food, some new books and magazines smell nice too
Take care and enjoy the rest of the day.
Hey Ayo, how’s it with you? Fresh chicken with herb crust is a must – got me feeling hungry now. And I must confess buns and bread are my forte. My nose was born to sniff that stuff out wherever I go (and I have done on the first day on my Stateside visit) as it always promises a good time. You keep that nose nosing around for more good stuff. Be well.