scent diary: 46 posts

When people smell civet, natural or synthetic, for the first time, the natural response is to cringe, because this animalic material smells raunchy, dirty and sweet. My husband recoiled from me in horror when I once returned from the lab having spent the day working mostly with animalic notes. These days, on the other hand, nothing fazes me now (except, perhaps, for the material called Pineapple Compound that turns air entering my lungs into fruity, sticky cotton candy.) Scents, like tastes, can be acquired.

These days I even like some odd scents that ordinarily wouldn’t be considered pleasant, like mildew, mild skunk odor, hot metal, musty basements or wet paper. And I love civet in all forms.

Scent Diary is a place where we can share fragrances we encounter, good and bad, perfumes we wear and the scents around us. It’s a way to sharpen our sense of smell, but also just to enjoy the fragrance hobby in a different way. Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin; my grandmother is getting ready to prepare varenyky, dumplings stuffed with a variety of offal. It’s an acquired taste, but I absolutely adore this dish and its gamey, musky flavor, and I request it every time I visit.

What does silk smell like? Or linen warmed by the hot iron? Or colorful bundles of wool thread slightly damp from the rain? I never thought much about it all until I visited Reshetylivka, a small town in central Ukraine renowned for its embroidery college. I met people responsible for running the school, local masters and their students and even learned a few embroidery stitches traditional to the region. And I discovered that silk thread heated by warmth of the fingers smells like almond shells, that hot-ironed linen has a metallic and salty odor, unexpectedly wonderful, and that wet wool reminds me of Viola, my mom’s feline daughter.

Scent Diary is a place where we can share fragrances we encounter, good and bad, perfumes we wear and the scents around us. It’s a way to sharpen our sense of smell, but also just to enjoy the fragrance hobby in a different way. Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin, a men’s shirt. An example of traditional Reshetylivka embroidery, a blend of intricate drawn thread and cut out details. It’s all handmade, including the tassels.

“Why do you want to take my picture?” “You look so beautiful with these flowers, and they are the same color as your eyes.” “Oh, bless you, you’re making me blush.”

I can’t pass by the sidewalk sellers without at least glancing at their wares, and almost always I leave with a purchase: wild strawberries that smell of caramel and orange blossoms, a bunch of herbs for tisane tied with a string, or plums covered with a mottled silvery patina. When I saw this cornflower seller on a busy street in Kyiv, I already knew I couldn’t resist the temptation. And you know, cornflowers smell wonderful–green, earthy, with a subtle peppery note.

Our Scent Diary is a place where we can share fragrances we encounter, good and bad, perfumes we wear and the scents around us. It’s a way to sharpen our sense of smell, but also just to enjoy the fragrance hobby in a different way.

Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

In Workout for the Nose : How to Improve Your Sense of Smell I outlined several exercises that will improve your sense of smell. They are guaranteed to give results if you devote at least some time to smelling consciously. But  as I’ve found in my own training, the best results come from doing these exercises with someone else. Not only do you get more motivated to follow through, but you also learn from the observations of others.

So, let’s devote this week to the most basic–and the most effective–smelling exercise. It involves noting the scents you encounter in your day-to-day life and writing them down at the end of each day this week. We can then comment on each other’s fragrant experiences, share our own, and learn to use our noses more often.

Continue reading →

What do you smell around you these days?

It is officially spring. The Bradford pear trees are draped in the foam of blossoms, its marine connotations echoed by the white petals’ fishy odor. The sticky red buds on maple branches smell sweet and acidic, a mixture of hot metal and honey. On most mornings I step outside and feel uplifted by the bracing freshness. It works better than a cup of coffee!

As I enter the subway, I realize that these days I smell more perfume. Since people wear fewer layers, the sillage can be overwhelming. The usual green apple and peach scents of hair products are now supplemented with the fragrances I recognize. On Monday, I sat next to a girl wearing Dior J’Adore. On Wednesday as I was heading back home, a guy wearing Thierry Mugler Angel and tight black jeans complimented me on my perfume–I also wore Angel. Yesterday, my friend and I had to navigate the sushi bar to avoid a lady wearing half a bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. And this morning I smelled the dewy gardenia and coffee at Starbucks. Not much of a scent revelation, but it made for a more memorable morning.

Image: Pear Blossom by kellygifford via flickr, some rights reserved.