Smell

Week Without Perfume

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

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Post by ElizaD

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For some reason I have not worn perfume for the last 14 days. It’s not that my collection is lacking—I have more than enough vials, bottles and pots in my vanity luring me in—it’s just that I wanted to recalibrate my nose completely. Perhaps it’s because of my upcoming trip to the Perfume House (Portland, Oregon, USA) or perhaps because it’s fall, a time for me of fresh starts, but whatever the reason, I just wanted to be free of added fragrances. I wanted to eschew all scents, but that is harder than you think without going out and buying all new everything. Even the foundation I wear, which is supposed to be fragrance-free, has the slightest powdery scent to it, and raises the question whether we can ever live in a smell-free place. Yes, we can try as much as possible not to add smells to our surroundings, but I have come to the conclusion that the air around us always smells of something.

Week Without Perfume

So, during the week as I ran my usual route along the trails in and around my town, I tried to be conscious of the scents I encountered and what they evoked: bio-diesel—French fries; cedar wood smoke—a cabin in the snow and skis outside the door.

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Eggs, bacon and coffee—I am a child again at my grandmother’s house in Cincinnati, Ohio; pine needles—a trail high in the mountains in the summer; the salty sweat of my partner—I am comforted and everything in the world is okay; dog poo—why don’t people clean up after their dogs; a wonderful perfume on a lovely coiffed woman—yes it was and yes she was; the faintest smell of patchouli—I am sitting in the meadow at our local counter culture fair; and stale cigarettes and dryer sheets—long-term residence.

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But the most lovely smell, and a welcome one after months of unusually dry weather, was the odor of cool rain on wet plants, of dirt still warm from summer as it was drenched with the first moisture of the fall. This is the smell of clean to me, of the earth being washed and renewed. And as I run, the fragrance washes over me, reminding me that everything natural has a beginning, middle and an end and that each of those phases of the cycle has a different aroma. The plant that smelled fresh and light as it began to grow, and took on a heady aroma as it matured, fades to a mellow earthiness as it dies. It’s no wonder that we have been trying to capture and bottle these fragrances since the beginning of time.

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And now my senses are refreshed, not just my nose, but the part of my brain that translates what I smell into something I can understand. I am ready for the pleasure of visiting the Perfume House, one of the best hand-selected collections of perfumes anywhere near where I live. I plan to make up for my weeks of asceticism by sniffing to my heart’s content.

I’ll have much to report on when I return.

What do you love to smell in your daily life?
ElizaD

A Sense Of Smell

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

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Post by Ainslie Walker
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Hello APJ

I recently learnt a friend of mine lost her sense of smell 2 and a half years ago. I find the subject fascinating so wanted to share. Here is her story;

“It wasn’t until the day after I fell and hit my head that I realised that I had totally lost my sense of smell. At first, all my senses had been dulled so it was not obvious to me but as I found myself struggling to enjoy food I realised it was because without smell, I couldn’t fully taste – the two are inextricably linked. It’s a weird sensation holding an apple to my nose and sniffing with no response coming from my brain (but I remember what it smells like which confuses me). Not to mention, hugely frustrating being unable to experience the full sensual onslaught of my morning coffee. I was in tears when I first realised. It’s like a plug has come loose and I can’t locate it.

Coffee sachman75 FlickrPhoto Stolen sachman75 Flickr

It’s also amazing how disruptive it is to my full understanding and appreciation of the world around me. I find myself craving the smell of petrol fumes as I cross the road or dreaming of cigarette smoke as I stand drinking outside the pub. Perhaps it is because it’s the most primeval and instinctual of the senses – without it, I feel like I can’t sense danger, I can’t quite feel safe, something’s not right and my brain won’t let me forget it. It’s like I can’t actually see properly because in many ways, I’m not getting the full picture.

Cheese Factory FotoPediaPhoto Stolen FotoPedia

Certainly it’s the most evocative of the senses, strongly tied to memory and place. And as the days wore on without a sense of smell I found myself experiencing “phantom” smells – memories of smell rising from the backwaters of my mind and overwhelming me at unexpected moments: bike grease, camembert cheese, suntan lotion, shitake mushrooms, lager and lime, orange ice lollies. Some of these you can probably taste as you read but they were definitely aromas in my mind – and strong ones – showing how symbiotic the two senses are. A lot of the time I get what I can only describe as a warm, organic chemical smell. I imagine this is what molecules smell like, or molecular fusion – the reforming of my sense of smell.

It can take three months for the “olfactory bulb” to restore itself and occasionally, when I’m not thinking about it too much, I notice that I’m picking up the subtleties of scent: I can smell soap on my skin or strawberry jam on my toast, and I can’t help but feel gleeful, giggling to myself. Being able to smell is truly wonderful. I hope it comes back fully and if/when it does I won’t ever take it for granted!”

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A book about this subject: Season To Taste by Molly Birnbaum – she was an aspiring chef who got hit by a car whilst jogging and lost sense of smell and taste.

Secret Of Scent Luca Turin Book DepositoryPhoto Stolen Book Depository

Another on the science of smell, with much more links to perfume is Luca Turin’s Secret of Scent. Fascinating!

It’s amazing that scientists still don’t understand mechanics of smelling or even its full purpose!

Luckily for my friend her sense of smell is returning and she can FINALLY begin experimenting with new perfumes again. (she stuck with the same perfume because there was no way to choose new ones) Needless to say she went a bit crazy on perfume purchases once it was coming back!

Ainslie Walker