JENN McKINLAY: Okay, this might seem like a weird question but what are your favorite scents?
I ask because I was making my monthly trek to the “smelly store” as the Hub calls it (more commonly known as Bath and Body Works) and they had a whole new lineup of candles and whatnot. Joy!
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| Clearly, I have a slight problem with candle accumulation. |
Now I know some people are scent sensitive and others think that burning candles is toxic and I get that, I do, but I have a husband, two dogs, and five cats. Y’all, I need to smell something besides man and critter in my house!
Hub generally tags along on this errand and unsurprisingly steers me away from the vanilla cinnamon cupcake candle scents to the more gender neutral eucalyptus and spearmint, which we both like. He's also the bergamot, leather, and distilled gin guy, none of which really work for me.
If I had to pick my favorite scents, I’m going with fresh laundry, coconut, and limoncello as my mainstays with crisp apple and balsam fir as seasonal faves.
How about you, Reds? What scents bring you joy in life or in candles?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, I love this topic! I’m very scent sensitive, and Jonathan always howls with laughter when I say… Have you been eating Doritos? And he says I’ve had ONE! How do you know?
And if something smells like red onions it makes me really unhappy.
But happy smells, oh, what a wonderful topic. For candles, I love cinnamon, and coconut.
And oh, vanilla.
For fragrance like shower gel, my faves are lemon, and coconut. And sometimes freesia , but it’s not always the same fragrance, which is confusing.
There used to be a body spray called Gloomaway, which was a gorgeous kind of sugary Lemmon, which I absolutely loved. But they don’t make it anymore.
I use fewer candles than I used to, because someone told me they can make your ceiling sooty.
But by my bed I have a vanilla candle that is fragrance enough without lighting it.
LUCY BURDETTE: Hank, Gloomaway??? What were they thinking?? No wonder they don’t make it anymore.
My go to is lavender. EO makes a good line of lavender products, as does my favorite Alaskan company. When we burn candles, it’s almost always balsam fir.
But I’m also very partial to the smell of good food cooking and baking! Chocolate cake in the oven? Count me in! Roast chicken, same. Spaghetti bolognese–yes!
JENN: A spaghetti bolognese candle for those of us who don't cook? Maybe you're onto something, Lucy!
HALLIE EPHRON: Jean Nate? Does anyone remember that? I’m sure I have some… somewhere. Seems like it’s citrus-y. That and fresh baked bread (but in the oven… not in a candle).
And I used to love the smell of GAIN laundry detergent. Not so much now. I no longer want my clean laundry to smell unless it’s from hanging on the line outside.
RHYS BOWEN: I like fresh citrus scents. I grew up with 4711 cologne and still like that although I rarely use it. Actually I hardly ever use scents as I’m allergic to some. But give me baking bread, campfire smoke, the scent of a pine forest and I’m happy.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: What a fun topic, Jenn! I’m super scent sensitive, so I don’t like a lot of candles, but there are some that I love. I bought a ridiculously expensive candle in Round Top this year because the smell was so divine. It’s called Tomato Season and it’s a combination of tomato leaves, cucumber, sage, and basil. That may sound weird but trust me! (And Trader Joe’s $4.99 Tomato Leaf candle is not even from the same universe…) (Tomato Season is made by a company called LAFCO if anyone is interested.) I also love a candle called Sea Pines by Mersea, which I burn every year around Christmas. And while I’m not usually crazy about vanilla-y/cookie type of scents, I have a candle called Pumpkin Bourbon that I’ve been nursing through the last few autumns.
But my favorite scent of the moment is a bar of lavender soap made by my friend at the farmer’s market. Olive oil, goat’s milk, and lavender essential oil. I can’t wait to get in the bath every night. I’m convinced lavender reduces my stress levels.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Jenn, I’m laughing, because I call all the goodies from Bath and Bodyworks “smelly stuff.” Tell your hubs it’s not just him.
I love lemon scent, dating back to the first “grown up” splash I got for Christmas the year I turned 13. I would uncap it just to take a whiff. So I adore candles with sharp citrus scents, as well as florals like rose and gardenia.
The Maine Millennial, who got really into scented candles during the pandemic, also turned me on to them. Every Christmas I get a couple of the Bath and Body Works balsam candles - I swear, y’all, they really do smell like being in a pine forest - and I burn them to the bottom. She and my other kids have also been gifting me personalized Yankee Candles for special occasions. Here’s a delicious lilac scent (my favorite flowers!) from last Mother’s Day.
How about you, Readers? What are your go-to scents?
I have to agree with Hallie and Rhys on the baking bread scent . . . and agreeing with Julia on lilac for the candles . . . .
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: such a deliciously smelly enjoyable dip into fun. Yes Hallie,I met Jean Nate when I arrived in the STATES I Victor had bought it for me andI progressed through all the ,lemony scents to end up with Badebas always in the bath and shower not to mention gifting it a lot. For example Jenn it works on teen boys too.
DeleteBut going back the first scent I was ever given was Chanel #5 what a treat. I was 16. So have always loved French perfumes to wear though I don't use other than for special occasions now. Then I'll wear Hermes and feel very spoiled.
But in general I love lavender which I buy from a vineyard in Napa, where they make an amazing body butter. I'm not a great candle sniffer and can't stand B B &B, or Yankee Candle stores. They do give me allergies.
Celia, I wore Chanel #5 for a brief while as a young woman, too. I gave it us as just too expensive, and I honestly can't remember the scent now, but I do remember feeling oh so sophisticated when I wore it!
DeleteLavender is a traditional herb used for soothing and calming. Dr. Teal's brand lavender bath products are wonderful.
DeleteAn English friend, an ex-pat writer who has lived in France for more than 30 years, collects perfumes, and has written many articles about the classic perfumes, plus newer ones. Fascinating information.
I can't use any scents on my hypersensitive skin, and I've always choked when I walk by a candle store. But someone gave me a mildly grapefruity candle that is delightful, and I've always loved gardenia.
ReplyDeleteReal scents are a different story. My lilacs are blooming and I take in a big inhale when I walk past. Bread baking? Divine. The smell of ripe local strawberries, a steak on the grill, tomatoes roasting in the oven, a pine forest, and the salt air at the beach (where I will be at the end of the day today starting my Cape solo writing retreat!), all make me happy.
Edith, if I dared even the tiniest sniff of those lilacs that give you such pleasure, I’d be passed out on your walk! Infinite variety of being human. Enjoy. Elisabeth
DeleteEdith and Elizabeth, I've noticed that I get sick in hotels with carpets since perimenopause!
DeleteAs a winetaster, I'm very sensitive to smell.
ReplyDeleteDid you know you can burn a scentless candle to get rid of household smells like cooking?
You don't have to trade one smell for another.
Of course for specific occasions lavender is great for relaxing, pine is wonderful for evoking holiday atmosphere, and so on.
A wine taster!!!!!
DeleteBecky Sue that would be a fun and interesting JRW topic (Jungle Writers??)
Somalier's talk about tasting everything from leather (?ick) to apples, strawberries, chocolate...
How come no one mentions the wine tastes like grapes? I would like to know more though. I've always wondered about wine tasting even though I'm not a big wine drinker.
I don’t burn candles. It was just a safety thing I adopted when I had young children and now I am sort of afraid I will light one and forget all about it.
ReplyDeleteScents I like are lemon, lavender, brand new box of crayons, new car, cinnamon, and I believe the candles my mom always had were bayberry.
I think I am allergic to Eucalyptus because it makes me sneeze and gives me an instant headache when I walk in a place that has it.
Brenda, yes “brand new crayons”… one of the world’s best smells! Elisabeth
DeleteJenn, I love the smell of lemon, of vanilla, of pine. I love the scent of real fruit and flowers, but not artificially produced.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of scented candles in a bathroom cabinet but it has been years since I have even looked at them. I am among the "candles are toxic" crowd, so we rarely burn any scented candles. I am very smell sensitive and artificial scents can give me headaches. I use unscented laundry detergent, cleansers and soap as much as possible. If I am going to smell like something, I will choose it, not some random scent of laundry detergent. But I do wear perfume occasionally, very lightly applied.
Inside my house, I cook and bake frequently, so most good smells in here are real. We no longer have a pet, no need to cover the smell of wet dog.
I'm not hypersensitive to any particular scent but the places that sell potpourri should be classified as toxic waste dumps. I'm not a big fan of candles and the like except to give as gifts to the various women in my life that I might have to give a gift to at one point or another. I've yet to run across one who hates scented candles so it makes at least part of gift-giving easy for me.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I hate walking into Bath and Body Works, Yankee Candle, the grocery store bleach aisle or any other option that attempts to poison me with their toxic smell-o-rama.
There are various scents I like I'm sure, but I can't think of any off the top of my head that stands out above the rest.
Hahaha, Jay - count me as a hater of scented candles! Good thing I'm not on your list. ;^)
DeleteJay, I agree. When I used to walk into stores like Bath & Body Works I'd get a headache. Lots of scents have harmful chemicals and very little of the actual "scent" they claim (like lavender or lemon, etc). People don't realize how unsafe burning scented candles really are.
DeleteEdith, well to be fair, I only buy the candles for the people I actually know would like them so I wouldn't get you one. I figure the latest of edition of Poisons of the World would be a better gift for a mystery author.
DeleteAnonymous, yeah I would get a headache at times when I walked through various stores that had sections of potpourri and such. Or worse, the perfume counters with the spray bottles.
Oh Jay, you just brought up a long suppressed memory: perfume sprayers. Not the bottles - the people who would spray you without your consent! Ugh! I doubt they do that any more, but oh that was obnoxious. — Pat S
DeleteThere's one of those scent/soap stores on the main drag in Venice. You can smell the stuff from out on the street. I don't dare go in. I used to be extremely sensitive to scent, getting migraines from being around people wearing scent. I guess it's not so bad anymore. I friend got me into essential oils a number of years ago, for therapeutic purposes. Unfortunately my husband can't stand to smell anything, so they mostly go unused now except for in my office sometimes, not with a diffuser, but on a ceramic plate. For some reason I love the smell of rosemary EO, and I was fond of clementine. But generally, as others have said, things baking in the oven, vanilla, lemon rind, cinnamon rolls. In terms of "garden smells," I love roses and lilacs, hyacinths from a distance. I also love the smell of newly lain mulch, for some reason. Oh, I have a "thing" about pine trees, so I love walking in a pine forest.
ReplyDeleteLike Jenn, I am into leather -- and not in the way some of the more perverted of you might think. And also lemons and lilacs (I'm on Team Jenn here). Because I am comfortable in my masculinity, I used scented candles. Currently wafting through my work area is a delightful peach and rose scent. Some scents do not work for me, though. I love the smell of pine, but I turns out I am allergic to pine-scented candles, and eucalyptus is just too strong for me. I stick basically with fruit and floral scents, or a combination thereof. I long for the day when they come out with a candle that smells like the back of my late wife's neck when she has just come out of the shower.
ReplyDeleteAww, love the great way you model non-toxic masculinity, Jerry!
DeleteOkay, cannot top that Mothers' Day candle, Julia! Very scent-sensitive here, plus a bunch of rambunctious cats in the household, so no candle burning. But I'm with Rhys, love the smell of bread baking (or really, anything delicious in the oven/stovetop), campfire smoke, pines in warm sunshine, and lemon. I shop the TJMaxx aisle for fancy European lemon bath and hand soaps. Decades ago, a small vendor made wonderful herbal-scented tea candles (especially the rosemary one!), but those were only available for a short period of time. I've never found anything close to them.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother’s Day roses (red, I bought them for myself and thanked my son. He commented that I was such a good mother to take care of us all – especially me), they as usual have no scent. Beautiful but scentless as are most commercial roses now. They do have thorns.
ReplyDeleteScents that I don’t like – cinnamon and vanilla in candles. In food – maybe… The trouble is there is good stuff and icky, and the icky vanilla (read artificial) which seems to be used a lot in commercial food and especially dog snacks. It drives the dog crazy. That means he goes nuts, eyes spin and he will bite you. Obviously, something is not good in it.
Does anyone remember the soft scents of the late 60’s? There was a Love’s Lemon Fresh (my favourite) and another light floral one also made by Love. I would spritz the lemon one all the time – it was very non-cloying and fresh. It made me feel good. A far cry from the Patch that was used by so many.
Does anyone know if real perfume goes bad? In the clean-up was found several bottles of Joy, Chanel, and some other perfumes worn as signature scents by older relatives. I am thinking they need the dump tour?
Oh, and I really dislike the small of no-scent laundry soap. Most of them stink especially when the clothing is worn and the human body starts to warm up. As for favourite smell – ahhh, a good barn or manure smell – nirvana.
As for our house – 10 cats, 3 litter boxes, a dog and a husband – I use the open door policy and let the wind blow through. For cleaning – a bit of Dettol in the water – freshens up everything. Soap too of course. Also, sweet peas all summer.
Margo, according to writer friend who collects vintage perfume--and yes, there is a market for them--as long as the flask or bottle has been kept closed and sometimes out of sunlight, they should be good.
DeleteYou might have something valuable there! Check eBay.
Margo, if you don’t take Karen’s advice, be cautious when getting rid of perfumes/colognes. I have a bunch of old cologne I never wear. I found out you must take it to a hazardous waste disposal facility. Pouring them down the drain can contaminate waterways. — Pat S
DeletePat S., with all due respect, Margo lives in the country, on a farm. A lot more toxic items than perfume. Probably on a septic system, and well water. It is not California, where we have do not pollute the waterways on our suburban curbs.
DeleteSuburban precautions are ridiculous given the lack of controls on commercial businesses.
Anon, I live in Calif too and in our city we have strict regulations on disposing of toxic chemicals. I didnt know that about perfume (which i haven't bought in decades) but that is good to know. As an aside, did you know you have to dispose of paint in city toxic waste sites but to make it easy all paint stores (Sherwin Williams, etc) will allow you to drop off paint cans at their stores instead.
DeleteBath & Body has discontinued all of my favorite scented candles…Merlot, White Tea and Ginger. At this moment, I’m still burning Peeps and mahogany vanilla, but the supply is running low. Now the scent of my home is dusty construction (fortunately the equipment used is electric, so no l’eau de fuel). I started burning scented candles when scented body creams aggravated my eczema. Happy Monday! Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI was always somewhat scent sensitive, but it has intensified with age. So I no longer enjoy going into a candle shop or anywhere with lots of scents, especially artificial ones. I occasionally find my throat closing as I walk past a store in the mall. I find it a shame, because I DID used to enjoy scented candles. Now, I have one in my guest bathroom with a nifty electric lamp thing so it never actually burns, just warms up enough to release the scent. I try to remember to turn that on when we are having company -- perhaps it is the low heat, but I notice that seems to give off such a mild scent it really doesn't escape from that one room. And I remember around Christmas someone gave me a candle with a pine-y scent that I burned in the living room without discomfort -- but that is pretty much the only time of year I would want that, I think.
ReplyDeleteThe first game I play in an AirBnB is “where are all of the Glade plug-ins?” so I can move them outside for the duration of my stay. Otherwise I will wake up to a completely clogged head.
DeleteNot only do the air fresheners clog your brain but the miniscule air particles clog your heart and lungs as well.
DeleteI do love some of the natural outdoor scents--daphne in the spring, blooming jasmine, my honeysuckle in the backyard (soon!) and the smell of sunshine on pine needles. I do like some scented candles--mint and eucalyptus, holiday spice, and frankincense and myrrh, but don't usually buy them for myself. I have many stories about being bothered by strong perfumes, starting with 18 year-old me who was assigned to work the Estee Lauder counter at Meier & Frank during Christmas. I wore contacts at the time and the strong scents were very irritating to my eyes. I now use "free and clear" laundry soap, unscented deodorant, and try to stay away from anything highly perfumed. At 9-1-1, we eventually instituted a scent-free policy. One employee would have to go home if someone came in doused in cologne. He would lose his voice.
ReplyDeleteGillian, you are reminding me of why I give the fragrance section of department stores a wide berth. I detested getting random perfumes sprayed on me!
DeleteMy FIL had a lady friend the last few years of his life, who he insisted on having included in every family gathering. She was good for him, but she drowned herself in the most vile scent I have ever smelled, and it clung to every place sat, tormenting me. Nothing worked to get rid of it, either. And Febreeze (yuck) just made it worse.
Now I'm having flashbacks.
Karen, I despise the scent of Febreeze, too.
DeleteMe too about Febreeze. Yuck.
DeleteGillian B, Karen in Ohio and Debs, many years ago when I worked with the disabled community, I learned about the dangers of Febreeze from the environmentally ill group. I learned that Febreeze has poison that set off asthma and other breathing problems. One said their canary died after someone used Febreeze in the room. I stopped buying products that included Febreeze! It IS a toxic product.
DeleteA lot of the scents used commercially are developed by a company called Givaudan, which began in Grasse, France in the 1800's, where the "cradle of perfumery" is still located. It's a massive international company, with locations all over the world, including Cincinnati. Which is the home of, among other companies, Procter & Gamble, at one time a large user of product fragrances. Anyone who lived in the area 30 years ago or more remembers driving past on I-75, and smelling the various aromas of blending whiskey, soap from P&G's Ivorydale, and whatever scents being cooked up at Tastemakers which Givaudan bought in 1996 to make them the biggest flavors and fragrances company in the world. Our neighbor worked there for 20+ years.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown herbs and flowers specifically for their fragrances, and having made real potpourri, not the fake crap they sell in most places, I am particulary sensitive to fakey scents. Lavender, lilac, even lemon have to smell like the real thing, or I, er, turn up my nose. Yes, I am a fragrance snob.
By the way, not all candles are toxic, Judy. Soy candles are lovely, as long as they have cotton wicks, and not the ones with a wire inside. And they burn cleanly. Not as easy to find, though, unless at a good farmers market or natural products store. My local health food store used to sell them, until it changed owners.
I’m not a perfume person, so Grasse hasn’t been high on my list of places to visit when I’m in Nice, but this is a good reminder that I’d probably really enjoy the historical aspect of it.
DeleteI only use soy candles with cotton wicks. You can find them--they're just usually expensive. Fascinating about the history of perfume and the connection to Cincinatti, Karen!
DeleteThistle Farms sells lovely soy candles, and it supports a really good cause.
DeleteSixty Minutes just had a piece on Grasse. It is where Chanel no 5 was developed and is still partially made. They describe the whole process of how it is made. It is very labor intensive from the picking of thousands of flowers to the order of the steps involved. The flowers must be picked by hand because the petals are so delicate and each one must be perfect to provide the precise scent The number of petals required yield very little in terms of the final product.
DeleteScent is important to me, as in lotions and laundry products, although I am going to more scent free for most items in the laundry in hopes that my skin won't be so itchy. But the lavender pods from Clean People are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI no longer burn candles since the fires, and yes a burning wick does pit soot in the air, so keep it trimmed as short as possible. Sometimes I put a jar candle on my coffee warmer and enjoy the scent that way. I especially like the evergreen scents. I once gave a red candle to a friend and it had a very interesting wick, maybe some kind of wood. But it smelled divine even though I can't tell you what specific scent it was. Maybe some kind of berry?
All this smelly talk reminds me of when my 3 year old GD and I were in a store and there were a bunch of things with a very strong cinnamon odor. I asked her if she knew what the smell was and she promptly replied "dental floss!" I would like some cinnamon flavored dental floss but I never see it any more. Has it gone out of fashion? At least they don't have pumpkin flavor!
Karen, soy with cotton wicks are a better choice, but most people don't realize candles sold commercially use parafin wax - which is a toxic petroleum oil product, synthetic fragrances oils - which produce soot and VOC's which are highly toxic and affect air quality which we breath into our bodies. There is nothing safe about most commercial scented candles. I have a bag of real lavender seeds which fills the room with natural scent. And I cut and squeeze a lemon for the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI hope people will look up the topic on a Google search as you'll be better informed about the health dangers.
Yes, most people are unaware that parafin is made from oil, just as petroleum jelly is--which also used to be used for emergency and camping lighting. It isn't healthy for humans, despite SO many emolient creams being made from it. I once had persistent health problems that finally went away when a naturopath told me to stop using products that contained petroleum.
DeleteBreathing it is just as bad as smearing it on your skin and lips. Yes, lipstick.
I think I'm more of a seasonal scent person. My brain associates certain scents with the various seasons and that is very soothing to me. I smelled some honeysuckle the other day and it made me smile. Spring/Summer has arrived! For scents that span the seasons, I'm a great lover of all things bergamot (drinking Earl Grey tea as I type!) as well as lavender, vanilla and citrusy smells. Emeraude was a favorite cologne from my much earlier years - citrus & bergamot included in its fragrance make up. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteWho knew scented candles could. E so divisive haha! As much as I love various scents, I am trying to be more mindful of toxins in my house but I have gone to Sea Love candle shop in Freeport, Maine where we made our own candles from non-toxic wax and essential oils. They aren’t quite as scented as others, but are pretty good! They also sell the reed diffusers which are made from the same essential oils. If I had to pick just one, it would probably be pine or balsam… if you visit Freeport, check out this little shop! It’s cute, not overly smelly, and a fun little activity as you can blend your own scents or use the more straightforwardly.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I gotta know. Does the Lilac really smell like a lilac bush? They are my favorite of favorites scent. All I can find don’t really compliment the bush at all. I found one in Flagstaff at a little store that was perfect. Years ago. It’s no longer there and I don’t know who made the candle.
ReplyDeleteLemon is one of my favorite scents. Like Rhys and Hallie, I love the smell of baking bread. I love the smells of Christmas. I love the smell of Italian herbs, rosemary, sage and thyme. Most of my favorite smells are from baking and cooking.
ReplyDeleteRegarding perfume, I loved this perfume from the 1980s that Jane Seymour the actress would talk about in the television commercials. There also were print ads in teen magazines. They stopped selling that perfume while I was at university. In the mid 1990s when I was travelling to Denmark from Germany, I was surprised to find that perfume at the duty free shop and bought a bottle!
Le Jardin!
DeleteLisa in Long Beach, thank you! Yes, Le Jardin was the perfume. I always called it the Jane Seymour perfume, though.
DeleteMy daughter is allergic to most commercial scents so she has found that using the natural things such as sage, eucalyptus branches/leaves, rosemary and mint from the yard, and from Trader Joe's inexpensive flowers such as lavender, roses and they also make good potpourri scents, fresh citruses, etc.
ReplyDeleteI had some rose-scented perfume in college that I loved until my roommate said it smelled like Nair, which ruined it for me.
ReplyDeleteLike many above, I struggle with scented products. It has been almost impossible to find unscented laundry detergent in France. Even the sensitive ones contain fragrance. I finally found one that I can order from Big River there, so I’m not schlepping it from the US.
In Long Beach I live near the port and freeways, so it doesn’t smell great, but on my daily walk over the bridge I pass a couple of pines and on sunny days the smell is divine.
Lisa, I've discovered that it's harder to find unscented things like laundry detergent and deoderant in the UK, too.
DeleteI take my own if it's just for a short visit (to England). I was able to find a wonderful scent-free liquid detergent last time I was in Venice. It was well worth the cost of using just part of a bottle (over a month's time).
DeleteNo added scents for me!
ReplyDeleteI gag walking by a house where they've done the laundry and the street smells like dryer sheets.
And coffee shops? Ugh. The flavored coffees are the pits for me.
Haha Libby! I'm with you, except regarding scents, I do love coffee/espresso drinks!!
DeleteNo one has mentioned the scent of chocolate especially in baking.
ReplyDeleteI would rather go into a bakery with the aroma of freshly baked breads and pastries than in a candle shop.
My mother was always careful about lighting candles for religious purposes because of the potential of fire danger and would not keep anything lit unless someone was in the room while a candle was burning. There was fire on my street where a candle was lit and left on a porch. A wind came through and some material caught and burned. It spread, there was a lot of damage to the building and at least one fatality.
There are battery operated candles and ways of adding scents to them.
I am not allergic to floral scents in general, but I do find there are certain lilies and roses that have a sharp unpleasant odors and provoke sneezing.
I use an unscented laundry detergent, All has a variety of options.
I like lemon and use it since it is available in some cleaning products. I prefer bleach to smell like lemon rather than chlorine.
In nature I love these scents: fresh cut grass, pine, gardenias, honeysuckle, salt air, jasmine, mint, eucalyptus. I have some candles, all gifts, but I don't burn them. I don't wear perfume much. Still looking for the perfect one that lasts. Contenders include Jo Malone Earl Grey and Cucumber, and Fresh Water by Lili Bermuda. Very citrus smelling.
ReplyDeleteJo Malone (and Jo Loves, her later iteration) have been the only colognes I've worn for years. and I only like some of them. Earl Grey and Cucumber is one.
DeletePat D and Debs, I have seen Jo Malone shops at airports!
DeleteFresh Water has a smell? That's intriguing. I don't normally think of water as having a smell unless its our city drinking water which has a eau d chlorine smell.
ReplyDeleteFresh water has a lovely smell, but I've struggled with how to describe it in my writing.
DeleteFor candles, I vacillate between vanilla and baking-type scents, clean ones (like eucalyptus), and spicy - I had one I loved that was a tobacco and leather. Unfortunately, I bought it at Marshalls, so no going back to buy another.
ReplyDeleteFor lotions, I gravitate to sandalwood, bergamot, cinnamon and things in that family.
I stayed at a hotel once with sandalwood lotion that I loved. I extended that tiny bottle for a year by only using a little bit at a time for the smell, then Aveeno for actual moisturizing. Then one day I found a big bottle at Marshall’s and was so excited!
DeleteSweet pea and lilac are my favorite scents.
ReplyDeleteI really liked a perfume by Raphael called Replique. I don’t know if it still exists or even if the company is still around. I think I may have received it as a gift at one time.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I wore it I always received compliments about the scent. I never knew what the ingredients were, but I would get it if it were still around.
I think a lot of the traditional well known scents started getting competition from popular designers and actresses such as Elizabeth Taylor who appeared in the ads for her perfumes and that’s why many of them are no longer around. The cost of the manufacturing them may also be a factor.