power of sense of smell

Isn't it interesting how you can smell something and it instantly brings back memories?

The last couple of months I've been getting interested in colognes. For years I was nothing but either a Jovan Musk or an Old Spice kind of person. Old Spice deodorant, aftershave, cologne... maybe some musk once in a while. That was it. Recently I've been thinking that was very boring so I was trying some new stuff.

I've tried several different colognes and EDT's (thanks to internet and sample vial sizes), but what really brought back memories was me buying a bottle of Brut cologne. I had never worn this stuff, didn't know what it smelled like, but the smell brought back memories. I remember smelling this stuff in the 80's. My first Karate teacher smelled like this, my grandpa smelled vaguely like Brut too, but I never connected the name to the scent, but the scent was connected to the memory. Very wierd how people can smell something and it conjures up instant memories. That's the only cologne I've tried that I've actually smelled before, that I can remember at least. Other ones like Tabac, English leather, et.c don't seem to connect with people or situations. Maybe nobody I cared about wore them, who knows...

I dated a guy that wore Jovan Musk Oil for Men back 25 years ago or so.... but, if I smelled it today, I would instantly think of him. Old Spice smells like my Dad... My favorite smell is fresh cut grass... it brings back Saturday mornings in during summer vacation back to me instantly... all these years later..

Great smell which I have not experience in a long time --- ZEST-fully clean!!!!
And oh, yes, the classic BRUT always takes me back to childhood, I might have to go and get a small bottle tomorrow. Who knows... might pick up the new Brut Evolution.

Xavier said:

Great smell which I have not experience in a long time --- ZEST-fully clean!!!!

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My father always smelled like Zest when I was a kid. Lots of memories of quality father/son time in the morning with this one.

There is lots of info on the net about the correlations between the two. Interesting reading.

Mama Bear said:

Old Spice smells like my Dad...

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Ditto... even now, 42 years after his death.

My favorite smell is fresh cut grass... it brings back Saturday mornings in during summer vacation back to me instantly... all these years later..

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I also like that smell... but it reminds me of baseball season (Neat's Foot Oil also does that to me... spending all Winter getting that new baseball glove ready for those pick-up games).

Shalimar reminds me of Kathy Kimble, back in high school

This is not said for shock or smut effect:
I vividly remember the scent of a teenage girl from when I was in my mid teens; I am 55 now. Aromatic memory is astounding isn't it?

It's no different than hearing a "classic" song and being transported back in time and bringing back memories. The sense of smell is amazing.

Randy

Brut Revolution is worth trying but nothing like the original. It's aquatic/ozone with pepper/leather type smells. Average staying power, and predominantly it is a blast of that aquatic/ozone thing. OS Signature is similar but smells different- maybe more complex, less ozone. Both are lower priced colognes. I tried Aqua di Gio but can't see spending so much money for what smells like an average "ozone" type fragrance, when there are better ones IMO that are cheaper.

There aren't alot of other colognes I have tried that evoked alot of memories. Maybe English Leather- I believe I've smelled that someplace before, somewhere. Probably because most men don't wear anything but drugstore colognes or aftershave?

Mama Bear said:

My favorite smell is fresh cut grass...

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+1!

After my university years, and all the years before that, of playing baseball....nothing smells so sweet to me as stepping onto a field where the infield has just been perfectly mowed. That smell brings back memories of thousands of ground balls, of teammates, losses, and victories. Even now, living in the city, on the VERY rare occasion I get the chance to smell freshly cut grass makes me miss the smell of leather and pine tar.

I caught a whiff of a scent that reminded me of an ex-girlfriend's house, and it was like I was 18 again.

I've always thought it was kinda cool. I'm chugging along doing something, then a catch a whiff of something and I stop and have a flashback moment.

I have read that scent is the strongest memory trigger we have.

I like grass smells too. There is a grass farm a couple miles from my house and if I'm riding my Honda Reflex through there after a rainstorm it smells great. It's nice to have natural things to smell. Living out in the burbs most of the time you aren't smelling anything natural, you are smelling asphalt, brown water (sewage dumped on lawns, yuck), insecticides and car exhaust all day, yuck.

The Olfactory Nerve located at upper part of the nasal cavity is the only nerve in the human body connected directly to the brain! That's why I still remember the very first dance with my wife. Marco.

krawlx said:

+1!

After my university years, and all the years before that, of playing baseball....nothing smells so sweet to me as stepping onto a field where the infield has just been perfectly mowed. That smell brings back memories of thousands of ground balls, of teammates, losses, and victories. Even now, living in the city, on the VERY rare occasion I get the chance to smell freshly cut grass makes me miss the smell of leather and pine tar.

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Then you have to get a cake of SCS Fairway ...

Mama Bear said:

My favorite smell is fresh cut grass... it brings back Saturday mornings in during summer vacation back to me instantly... all these years later..

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Yowzers!

Fresh cut grass brings back memories of saturday mornings alright... saturday morning chores that is!

yup... the power of scents!

marquinho said:

The Olfactory Nerve located at upper part of the nasal cavity is the only nerve in the human body connected directly to the brain! That's why I still remember the very first dance with my wife. Marco.

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Nope! All 12 cranial nerves are directly attached to your brain.

momo360 said:

Yowzers!

Fresh cut grass brings back memories of saturday mornings alright... saturday morning chores that is!

yup... the power of scents!

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Ah, those carefree days when the worst thing I had to worry about was getting the lawn mowed!!

The Marine Corps Recruit Depote - dial soap. After an awful day it was a hot shower and dial soap - clean again, but as we marched back to our barracks we took a detour into the sand pit for more excercise - then crawled into our bunks tired and very dirty. The good old days.

The smell/taste of Gatorade Cool Blue instantly transports me back to high school when I worked on Kiawah Island in a small sporting goods/beach store. I'd buy one of these every day at the ice cream shop after unloading merchandise I picked up from our other store. Every time I take a sip, I'm there walking down the board walk.