I love fragrance. Be it perfume, candles, incense, wick diffusers, aromatherapy whatever. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath of something pleasant, is a small form of therapy, self care if you will. Sometimes i’ll use scent as a little pick me up to help me through a tough or stressful day.
Scent has the ability to impact us on a deep psychological and emotional level. It is the strongest of our five senses and directly affect our mood, behaviors and productivity. For example in one study, people who were exposed to natural plant odors lavender, orange coffee and licorice gave them a longer attention span.
Smell is also a memory ingrained in our minds. Unlike other human senses, olfactory responses are linked to the emotional center of our brains and correlate directly to our past experiences and memories. Odor linked memories such as you favorite food or your grandmother’s signature perfume is called the Proust effect. Other stimuli can make us recall past memories but they aren’t as detailed, sudden or vivid in relation to smells.
I’ll never forget when I visited a fragrance shop and sprayed on a scent that smelled like the air at the beginning of a rainstorm. It immediately transported me back to 1985. I was five and having the best time at our annual block party running around outside with my friends, suddenly it began to rain and I can remember running home for shelter. The smell of the rain and it hitting the hot concrete was a memory that I didn’t know I still had. It instantly came back when I experienced that fragrance and it made me cry. It was such a great memory, being so very young and carefree…Let me go find that perfume so I can be nostalgic again.
Surround yourself with fragrance that makes you happy, brings you joy, creates a vibe and helps you recall beautiful memories.
chronically fly 