Close your eyes and take a deep breath. What do you smell? In a place unlike any other, you catch a whiff of something you have smelt before. Something nostalgic? It may remind you of your ex-lover, freshly baked desserts, or of some distant memory. That connection may not be physical, but it remains nonetheless.
This phenomenon made me wonder: can I purposefully tap into those nostalgic connections? So, I experimented on myself. I didn’t inject myself with some zombie virus or anything like that. I decided to test an item with a simple act: putting on lotion. It was the summer of 2023, and I had worked on a craft that I was satisfied with. The entire day had been wonderful. I was sitting in bed scrolling through Netflix when a pretty show cover caught my eye. It would be one that genuinely changed the trajectory of my life. I didn’t know it then, but I had a feeling that night would be important.
So, I got out of bed and took out a brand new lotion: Gingham Gorgeous. It had been collecting dust for a while; taking it out was a truly impulsive move. I lathered my body with the lotion and realized that it smelt so good; it had such a sweet and mellow scent. It carried a vanilla-like scent mixed in with strawberries and a hint of a flower bouquet. I was pleased to discover that the Netflix show was a romance story disguised with adventure; which is a personal favorite trope of mine. Every little sweet interaction between the main characters made me giggle and kick my feet. The addition of Gingham Gorgeous created a fun and comfortable atmosphere which added to the night’s overall calming ambience. I thought about three things that night: how amazing the show was, how good the lotion smelt, and how nice the ambience was.
I continued that ritual on every good night. The pretty warm light of my new lamp would glow in the corner of my room and I’d be doing something I enjoy.
For a long time, I didn’t use Gingham Gorgeous, but on an unfavorable day, I returned to my comfort lotion. The feeling that I had turned to pure happiness. My stomach filled with that funny feeling of butterflies, but I wasn’t nervous. In my mind’s eye, all of the memories that I associated with Gingham Gorgeous played like a nostalgic movie. Thinking about these good memories washed away my bad mood and I went to bed happy that night. All I had to do was smell it and my mood instantly improved. My little experiment worked: scents have associations, and I loved the smell of Gingham Gorgeous even more.
One time, I smelt Gingham Gorgeous in the mall. Though I had no idea who it was, I quickly whipped my head around. Even in the wild, those same happy associations returned.
You can do the same as I did! Let’s say you’re having an amazing day that you don’t want to forget, simply find a scent to associate it with. It doesn’t have to be perfume or lotion, it can be anything. Focus on the scents around you. What do you smell? Even if it smells like nothing at first, there will always be something there–perhaps a faint scent that stirs a vague memory, creating a smell-memory association.
In a place unlike any other may be somewhere you’ve been before, through scent. The sweet smell of home can be replicated anywhere else. A domain of your own, a place cultivated by scent, can be created using anything with a scent. You might not realize it at the moment, but really focusing on your surroundings can help you truly cherish meaningful memories. You never know, you might just find a familiar scent that brings you back.
Works Cited:
Pinterest User Okaytrue. Gorgeous Bath And Body Works. Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/581668108156774499/
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