Old smells, that immeditately transport you back in time?

[Viviene]

Windsong perfume always brings back the memory of my mom. Lilac and peony scents bring back my grandparent's home in Garrison, NY where we would get bunches of lilacs and peonies and bring them into our teachers on Monday mornings (we always had Sunday dinner with my grandparents).

Cigar smoke brings back both my grandfathers to me. When we moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1969 my brother, Joe was 3 years old. Someone where my Dad worked had a baby and the proud Dad passed out cigars. My Dad was sitting in the living room smoking that cigar and my brother, Joe, came out from his bedroom and said, "Is Nonno (my Dad's father) here?" My mother lost it and cried her eyes out. My folks were totally on their own with no family other than the six of us in Phoenix. It was a great place to live but I think at that moment my folks were probably second guessing their decision to move so far from the rest of our family.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Oh, boy, a lifetime of memories:

There was an old garage I passed on the way to and from grade school, used to stop in there and chat with the mechanics. The garage was dirty, greasy, messy, and I loved the smell of that place. Still love to smell garages and gas stations where they repair cars.

Had several lilac bushes outside my bedroom window when I was a kid. I love the smell of lilacs and it takes me back to my childhood.

Tomato plants have a special smell and I associate it with my father's gardens. Iowa has the best tomatoes in the world. And the best corn, another smell -- cornfields.

There was a bakery a block away from the second grade school I attended. I would smell fresh baked bread coming from the building -- heavenly. Also, there was a bakery in Queen, just over the 59th street bridge. I could smell it at any time day or night, nothing like that smell.

Patchouli reminds me of the time I spent living in NYC just a block off St. Marks Place. All the hippie boutiques there had it and many young people wore that scent.

Bodies of water all have specific smells -- the ocean smell, and seaweed, both at Cape May when I was a kid and later in San Diego. The river smell reminds me of river fishing when I was young, also lake smells.

The smell of my little dog, which I can still "smell" in my memories. I used to bury my nose into the ruff of his neck. It was the last thing I did before he died, knowing I would probably never smell that particular smell again.

So many smells, so little time....

karol

 

[warbird]

Noxzema

Everytime I smell that I think of my grandmother. I remember she washed her face with that every night and I would smell it when she kissed me goodnight. Many mornings I would sit with her and she would regale me with stories. She lived in Africa as a missionary and ran an orphanage for 30 years and had many many adventures. She lived till 104 years of age. Well into her 90's she was still going on hikes through the woods with me. I have wonderful memories of her and that smell always always makes me think of her.

 

[Harp]

...nonsens. Guiness is good for you! :beer: lol

No doubt. I'm more the Miller Lite type. "Tastes great, and a third less calories than Guiness!" lol

 

[LizzieMaine]

Guinness = nectar of the gods.

I've never noticed the smell, though. It doesn't stay in the glass long enough.

 

[Viola]

You know what smells good? Mashed sweet potatoes with pineapple chunks or marshmallows in it. Mmm.

-Viola

 

[ShooShooBaby]

i have these two poinsettia-shape candles, and they immediately transport me back to christmases spent at my grandma's as a child. i can't put my finger on the smell exactly, but that's what her whole house smelled like at christmas. i'm so glad i got those candles after she died. i'll never burn them!

 

[BellyTank]

My Indian clothes smell like the air and water in India -- I can't really explain that smell. Sort of old and dirty, but not unpleasant.

Hi Gluegungeisha-
Namaste, Sat Sri Akaal.

"The India Smell" is something we often talk about here- ex-pat Indians often talk about it- my Wife's parents are from Punjab/Delhi.
My Mother-in-Law juust cooked dinner and is sitting beside me sewing a Sari as I type...
We call "The India Smell", surprisingly, "The India Smell".
My Mother-in-Law doesn't know what it is but to me, it smells like ironing silk very hot- but maybe that's Indian silk. But whenever I come back from India, or my Wife does- open the suitcase and there's the India Smell.
A closet full of Saris and Salwar Kameez... silk, dye and hot pressing.

I like the smell.

B
T

 

[BellyTank]

One of the best smells, for me, which always brings a smile to my face and makes me take a deep breath
(like when you read this sentence)and is so evocative of my youth-
is:

*The smell of rain on hot concrete or asphalt.*

I think this is the best smell.
Apart from the India smell.

B
T

 

[pigeon toe]

I recently smelled the same cologne that one of my best friend's used to wear when he was in 10th grade, when I was totally in love with him! Of course, he ended up being gay (just my luck!) but it totally brought me back to when I was just head over heels for him. It was totally weird!

I also love the smell of air conditioning because it reminds me of my grandparent's house in New York. It would get so hot and humid in the summer and I would just sit in front of the AC all day. I loved the smell of it.

The smell of Murray's pomade and cigarette smoke reminds me of when I first fell in love with my boyfriend.

I could go on forever with these sort of things.

 

[DanielJones]

The smell of Dial soap takes me back to Marine boot camp in San Diego. Bang! That fast.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[be_lovely]

I think scents and memories are strongly linked. And, each season has its own smell. (At least to me) The smell of snow in the air in the winter, so crisp, the smell of chocolate esp at the Hershey factory takes me back to easter time when i was a little girl, and theres a certain cologne that my dad wore when i was little, that when i catch a whif, it takes me back to my childhood when he would pick me up and carry me around, i have one memory of that scent so vivid, he was wearing a navy blue sweater with parachutes embroydered on it, and i remember he laid me on the couch because i fell down the steps, put on dennis the menace, gave me a "red flabored popcicle" and sat there with me until i felt better. I still to this day have a strong bond with my daddy.

AAh memories........

 

[Trampilot]

There's a particular brand of detergent which always reminds me of nursery school.

 

[Harp]

And Flax Soap--Sister Malachai always kept me and my pals after
school to wash and wax her classroom; just for throwing erasers! lol

 

[MagistrateChris]

Vegetable barley soup cooking on a stove reminds me of my father cooking it on the weekends in late fall, during college football season, and how we'd go watch a game, sometimes live, and then come home, eat the soup with buttered saltines. I've yet to make it as well as he did, but I'll keep trying.

The smell of gunoil and a .22 rifle (smells different to me than other gunpowder, for some reaon) reminds me of that first shot I took with my dad and grandfather in Warsaw, Kentucky, where my father had a little cabin on the Ohio River.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Memories . . .

Exhaust from an old car - exhaust from a new car just isn't the same.
Giorgio perfume - I loved her "Lace, long hair and Giorgio."
Books - old and new.
Bread in the oven - and fresh out of the oven.
Rain on the road - brings new meaning to the saying, "Right as rain" to me.
Old car interiors - whether restored with leather or musty, dusty and fresh from a long hibernation in a forgotten garage.
The muck and mire of a lake - reminds me of camping at Clay Canyon with my family.
Grease - all those Saturdays spent helping my father work on the family car.
The plastic Christmas tree that is still in my family (my sister now has it) - my parents paid thirty-five dollars for it at Sears somewhere back in the sixties - great expense when you have seven kids - and after years of using it we went the real tree route . . . it wasn't the same. That tree, to me, is the smell of Christmases past. And the strangest thing is . . . the older that tree gets, the more real it looks.


Lee

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Windsong perfume . . .

You brought back to me the song from their advertisements; "Windsong is always on my mind."


Lee
________________________

I'm pretty sure that's how it went.

 

[Classydame]

Wet pavement reminds me of riding my bike in a warm summer rain.

The smell of an ice rink reminds me of my brother's hockey practice and games. He played until he was 17.

The smell of dirt reminds me of the weeding and planting I had to do as a child.

I love the smell of cedar. It evokes memories of being on the Swinomish reservation with my grandmother. I really miss her. Sometimes, a warm wind will blow through me and I can feel her.

Lilacs, we had them all around our house growing up.

I love all the different scents that come to me while riding on the back of a motorcyle. To me they evoke the feeling of freedom and total abandon.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

While I detest the smell of cigarette smoke and am, in fact, allergic to it, I have always liked the smell of pipe tobacco -- and Middleton cigars that are made from pipe tobacco.

My father smoked a pipe for a number years, he had given up cigarettes after the first reports came out, and so took up the pipe. Liked the smell even when I was a kid.

I love the smell of freshly brewed coffee, especially when I first wake up.

Fresh hot baked cinamon rolls will get me every time. Can't resist that smell, remember the rolls that were baked every morning at a favorite restaurant near the Drake campus. When I smelled them, I had to get one.

Love the smell of jasmine for some reason, even though I am not a fan of sweet, flowery perfume smells. My perfume, since its debut in the 70's, has been Chanel #19.

karol

 

[GeniusInTheLamp]

I also get pushed back into the past when I smell old gasoline. My paternal grandparents had a gas tank in the driveway of their garage (for my grandfather's school bus).

Also, the smell of an old lawnmower while it's doing its job (along with the smell of freshly mowed grass).

My father used to own a paint store, so I get nostalgic when I smell paint, wallpaper, or cardboard. The smell of a newly renovated apartment has the same effect.

The smell of old axle grease reminds me of my uncle's garage (he liked to restore old cars) and of the garage I used to pass when I walked to school.

My maternal grandmother used to fix lasagna and fried chicken a lot (though not together), so those smells remind me of those grandparents' home. Another less healthy but still pleasant (in its own way) reminder of their home: tobacco smoke (they both used to smoke; fortunately, they both quit).

The burning tubes inside an old B&W TV reminds me of several televisions throughout my childhood.

The smell of gutted fish reminds me of my great-grandparents' home in Iowa (my great-grandfather was an avid fisher).

My favourite nostalgic smell is musty books and photographs. Now there's a smell that takes me back.