The sense of smell is know for bringing back memories. My favorite smell is cinnamon, What is your favorite?

[debm55]

It reminds me of cookies and cakes.

[C_U_L8R]

1. Fresh cut grass

[debm55]

15. Yes, Thank you C_U_L8R. wonderful summer smell.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

2. Cinnamon/baking smells are a biggie

First thing I thought of, though, was petrichor—that earthy smell in the air when it’s about to rain.

[debm55]

17. OH, I agree. Such a unique smell. Love it, Thank you buzzycrumbhunger.

[ret5hd]

3. that smell that a forest has right after a nice rain.

earthy, dense, almost umami.

[debm55]

18. Thank you ret5hd. You are right it is almost unami.

[PikaBlue]

4. Suntan lotion and chlorine for memories.

[debm55]

19. Yes, the sunny days of summer by the water. thank you PikaBlue.

[anciano]

5. Holiday pine tree🎄

[debm55]

21. Oh yes the smell of pine trees.Wonderful smell. Thank you very much anciano

[evemac]

6. Pumpkin pie nt

[debm55]

22. YUMMY. the smell is wonderful. Thank you very much evemac.

[pandr32]

7. Bread baking.

It seems to waft out of the house!

[debm55]

23. Oh ya. Thank you very much pandr32. A wonderful smell.

[Shambala]

8. Grilled saba (mackerel)

My mom would grill mackerel and the whole house would smell. Absolutely loved it. When I'd leave work late when I worked in JTown the smell would be wafting outside my building and would remind me of mom's cooking.

[debm55]

24. Oh Shambala. that smell sounds so wonderful Thank you for sharing

[FalloutShelter]

9. Roses

My paternal Grandfather had a sizable rose garden. When the garden was in full bloom, the entire street smelled like roses.
Never forget it. We lived three doors down and I would come back from a visit with a bouquet every day.

[debm55]

25. What a beautiful smell and sweet memories to go with it. Thank you, FalloutShelter.

[moniss]

10. New mown hay on a summer evening. Also

being in the country when spring blossoms are out and the smell of the air from the blossoms and spring rain. My slow cooker.

[debm55]

46. Wonderful , simply wonderful moniss. Thank you for sharing with us. I like the smell of hay also.

[Raven123]

11. Pine Sol

I know it’s weird. My late mother was obsessive about cleaning the house ON SCHEDULE. When I would drive in for a weekend visit, arriving late Friday night, I could still smell the Pine Sol. I learned 99% of my cleaning habits from her, but not quite the obsessive timing.

Her self discipline was awe inspiring.

[malaise]

32. LOL

I only buy the lavender one now but my mother was an original PinSol queen.😀

[debm55]

50. thank you very Malaise for sharing with us. I think I would take the lavender over the Pine.

[debm55]

49. HAHAHAHAH. Thank you very much Raven123 for sharing with us. May her memories be a blessing to your heart.

[yellowdogintexas]

53. Not me. Serious headache inducer for me nt

[Dorothy V]

12. Coffee perking and bacon or sausage frying

I woke to those smells so many times as a child! The smells of breakfast and being snug under the quilts made me feel so loved and safe and happy!
Also roses. Mom always wore rose sachet.

[debm55]

69. Thank you very much Dorothy V. Those smells sound wonder, except for the coffee. Glad it brough good memories to you.

[Polly Hennessey]

13. If we are talking spices, I love the smell of curry and ginger.

I guess one childhood memory is mom baking gingerbread. Seems all my smells are food related, hummmmmmm!

[debm55]

72. thank you very much Polly Hennessey for your spices and your memories.

[WheelWalker]

14. Mown hay curing in the field.

[debm55]

68. Thank you very much WheelWalker. Hay has a very distinct. smell.

[Silent Type]

16. Mimeographed paper.

[debm55]

73. Thank you Silent Type. I was a teacher for 42 years. I know exactly what you are talking about

[Hassler]

20. Basil. Whenever I smell it I think fondly

Of my Italian grandmother who had me first try a leaf of it when I was 5.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

34. Mrs. Meyers makes a basil dish soap!

My fave!

[debm55]

74. Thank you very much, Hassler. May the memories of your grandmother be a blessing to you.

[applegrove]

26. Vanilla. Citrus. I had a grandmother who was deaf and

blind and disabled and bored out of her mind in a nursing home as she approached 100. Her mind was all still there. I found a plastic Christmas decoration that had cinnamon scent. I don't know if she still had a sense of smell but she played along and thanked me profusely.

I also ended up running through the streets of Paris at about 4am one night. You'd round a corner and be hit with a bakery smell. There seemed to be one on every block.

[debm55]

75. Thank you very much, applegrove. For a long time I wore perfume with hints of vanilla and/or citrus. Bakery smells are

wonderful.Thank you for sharing and let the memories of your grandmother be a blessing to you

[pdxflyboy]

27. I Love The Smell of Jet Fuel In The Morning.

It has been 6 years since my last whiff, regretfully.

[malthaussen]

71. Nope. They dumped that stuff in our local creek for years...

... I've drunk so much jet fuel over the years, it's amazing I have two brain cells left to rub together.

-- Mal

[debm55]

77. I agree with you Mal. I live near a Steel Mill , who knows what I have been drinking

[debm55]

76. HAHAHHHA. Thank you pdxflyboy.

[MustLoveBeagles]

28. Lavender

[debm55]

78. I love lavender too. thank you MustLoveBeagles. I tried to grow some years ago. I don't know if it was soil but it would

Take.

[malaise]

29. Fresh pine at Christmas

Haven’t had a tree in decades but always buy scraps from the vendors., make a wreath and put some is vases with flowers. My place must smell of fresh pine at Christmas - lovely memories - and I also love the cinnamon memories as well.😀

[debm55]

79. Thank you so much, malaise. We don't do real pine trees anymore. But I buy a wreath to get the pine smell.

[electric_blue68]

117. What a lovely idea to make a Christmas wreath!

You are crafty! 👍

I might have to try that. I'll get some red ribbon, and I have some fun gold yarn I can also use.

I think I might have brought branches to put in a vase, too, at times.

[malaise]

118. Much easier than you think

😀

[electric_blue68]

119. Interesting! While Not pines I once got these beautiful ?2 1/2 ft reddish bark branches, and I...

soaked them in the bathtub so I could bend them. I made a wreath that was about 3 ft in diameter. I think I added some thinnish ? red purple ribbon, and gold thread to it. So pretty!

[malaise]

121. Sounds lovely

Years ago I posted about teaching some of the female Christmas Tree vendors how to make the wreaths. They were curious about me buying scraps year after year. Last year two of the older ones told two of the young men to give me the scraps as a gift and told them I was the reason they now made wreaths - theirs are now better than mine. 😀

[electric_blue68]

122. That's a great story! Bringing creative inspiration.

[BOSSHOG]

30. Copper tone sun tan lotion

Summers of 62 and 63 when my Grandpa took me to Atlantic City to cavort in the ocean. I always got lathered up. It still has the same great smell. Always brings back my Grandpa who died before we got to go in the Summer of 64. At least he didn’t get to go through the stinky collapse of the Phillies that fall. That was an awful smell.

[debm55]

81. Thank you very much BOSSHOG. Love the smell of Coppertone. May the memories of your grandfather be a blessing to you.

[Climate Crusader]

31. Haven't smelled a thing since COVID.

Can't remember.

[debm55]

82. So sorry, Climate Crusader.

[The Blue Flower]

33. Moth balls

The smell takes my back to my Aunt Bess's house when I was little.

[MIButterfly]

37. Ha! I lived with my gramma for many years and she would

throw a handful of moth balls into my room from time to time and I had to search to find them so I could get rid of them!

My gramma did a lot of things that were, how should I say it? different.

[debm55]

83. hahahahhahh. thank you very much, MIButterfly. Though she was different, may the memories of your grandma be a blessing

to you.

[debm55]

84. Thank you very much, The Blue Flower.

[multigraincracker]

35. Photography dark room chemicals.

[debm55]

41. Thank you very much multigraincracker for sharing with us. It has a very distinct smell, somer would call it an odor. I

took a class in photography. When I read your post it brought me back to the time.

[electric_blue68]

120. Didn't like them much, but I loved printing up photos in our College Photo lab!

[MIButterfly]

36. Lilacs.

My gramma had lilac bushes in her backyard. We went in and out of her house through the side door and every time we did, the smell would come wafting over.

To this day, I Iove the smell of lilacs. Takes me back there every time.

[debm55]

40. I love the smell of lilac bushes, too. So sweet in the summer air Thank you MIbutterfly for sharing with us. You brought

memories of my wedding day standing in front of lilac bushes. with my husband, Rich.

[MIButterfly]

44. Oh, how wonderful that must have been at your wedding!

One of my bucket list wishes is to go up to Mackinac Island for their annual Lilac Festival. One of these days.....

[debm55]

85. Thant sounds wonderful. I was there on a tour. Loved it.

[Collimator]

104. Lilacs are important to me.

Not my personal favorite, but my mother loved the flowers. As a little girl, I would steal blossoms from my neighbor's bush to give to her. It made her happy and that, in turn, made me feel safe and loved.

As an adult, I know that it wasn't my responsibility to make my mother happy and solve her mental health challenges, but as I kid I instinctively knew that her moods were the key to any hope of household harmony.

So, I enjoy the sweet fragrance because there are positive memories associated with it, but the feelings are complicated.

The smell of my grandmother's house did not bring complicated feelings. I was always happy there. But the scent was complex. There was fresh Italian bread and grated parmesan cheese. I'm sure that garlic and olive oil were in there somewhere.

A couple of years after her death, I opened a bag of fabric scraps she gave me. (She was always sending along fabric scraps.) The scent of her house wafted out of the bag. Our family dog--who loved Grandma-- got so excited sniffing that bag.

[debm55]

106. Thank you very much, Collimator. I have been in your place too.Thank you sharing your story of the Lilacs. Mine was

Roses. It stopped the hurt temporarily.I stayed at my Baba's house too.We as children are NOT rewsponsible for our parents behavor. I am glad the Lilacs put a temporary stop to it.Bless your glandmother and may the memories of her bring a blessing to your heart and soul.

[drmeow]

38. As a child

I spent the first decade or so of my life in the middle east. There was a middle eastern restaurant and market close to the first house my husband and I bought. The first time I walked in the door I stopped dead - it smelled like my childhood, something I hadn't smelled for 20 or 30 years. Every time I used to walk into that store I would stop and take a deep breath. It smelled so good (and yummy) - spices and middle eastern cooking.

[debm55]

39. Thank you so much for sharing you memories with us. I agree Middle Eastern food smells wonderful. Thank you drmeow

[enid602]

42. Chestnuts

Chestnuts roasting on the streets of Buenos Aires in July.

[debm55]

43. Thank you very much enid602

[Upthevibe]

45. debm55..........

Great post!

I have several favorite smells but since we're in the summer season I'll go with coconut. It smells like the suntan lotion I used growing up.

We lived right by the beach (the Gulf Coast) and when I was a kid we were there at least one out of three weekends (weather permitting).

At night the adults would sit around a campfire drinking their cocktails and probably discussing current events. My mom and dad were very progressive (anti-Viet Nam War, marched in Civil Rights protests, etc.) as were their friends.

In the meantime............. OMG the fun all us kids had running all over the beach could never be articulated! We were baby boomers so every family had an average of four kids. Those are some wonderful childhood memories....

debm55, some of your posts cause me (an I'm sure others as well) to really reflect. I know they initially are fun/foot-loose carefree questions but to me, sometimes they're much more. Like this one. It brought up really great memories and consequently, I feel uplifted..........Thank you...

[debm55]

47. Wow, thank you very much,Upthevibe. As a a abused child, not all of my memories were happy ones. I try to think of the

good times I had, sadly not a lotY with my family , but with cousins, friends and by myself. It makes me very happy that you took the time to share with us and me your memories. They then become part of my shared memories. You make my heart sing with this post., I like to mix it up--serious and funny. I am glad I uplifted you, Upthevibe, Love. Debbie

[Upthevibe]

134. debm55........

I'm so sorry you suffered abuse during your childhood.

I had a lot of trauma at the age of 12 and afterwards but it wasn't abuse. My dad (who I absolutely loved with all of my heart and who was the best dad in the world) was killed in a car wreck.

I realize now that I was lucky to have him for the time I did.

[debm55]

135. I am so sorry for you my sweet Upthevibe. May memories of your dad be a blessing to you

[flvegan]

48. Dolce & Gabbana Red. Takes me back to the 90's, makes me wonder

what she's doing now.

Nah, that's sort of not true. We're still, you know, friends.

[debm55]

86. Thank you very much flvegan.

[SARose]

51. Fajitas

Ohhhh man! First you hear that sizzle, and then smell those peppers and onions! Finally, the smoke from grilled beef, chicken, or shrimp hits you!

Oh yeah!

What? You ordered that grilled chicken salad?

😂

[debm55]

102. Thank you very much SARose for the excellent description of the Fajitas, So wonderful. I like mine with shrimp

[LoisB]

52. Freshly turned dirt, sauteing onions, baking bread.

[debm55]

101. Thank you so much for sharing your favorite smells. All three are great.and unique

[3catwoman3]

54. So, so many.

- Fresh peaches and fresh oranges
- Lavender
- Lilacs
- The somewhat medicinal smell of geraniums when you cut them
- Garlic as it is being sauteed
- Miso soup from my 2 years living in Japan with the Air Force nurse corps
- The yeasty smell of bread baking
- One of my shampoos, NouNou by Davines, which has essence of tomato in it - it smells like a salad
- Iodine - my maternal grandparents were a nurse and a dentist, and in their big farm-style kitchen, there was a very tall, shallow triangular cupboard with many shelves, where first aid supplies were kept. It smelled like iodine.

[debm55]

99. Thank you so much for sharing with us all of your favorite smells and memories. 3catwoman3. I love them

[sestina]

55. The smell of

a campfire (memories of my husband),
the smell of freshly popped popcorn (memories of my dad),
the smell of horses (memories of county fairs when I walked through the horse barns)

[debm55]

98. Thank you very much, sestina. for your smells and memories..May the memories of your husband and your dad, bring

blessings to your heart.and soul.

[yellowdogintexas]

56. Dark fired tobacco barn smoke. Weird I know but bear with me:

Disclaimer: I hate tobacco, smoking, the whole shebang, even though practically everyone I knew growing up depended on it for income (most farmers there still do) However ...........

There is a variety of tobacco known as dark fired which is only grown in Western Kentucky and a little bit of Tennessee. When the tobacco is cut and spiked for hanging, it goes in a barn which is shut tight to keep out the light, but has vents across the top. Smouldering piles of sawdust made with aromatic wood are inside the dark barn (tended 24 hrs a day) Some of the woods used are cherry, peach, pecan, walnut, apple . When the barns are firing, the whole countryside smells divine, and because the smoke is so high in the air and is also rather wispy it isn't irritating.

If I travel to KY during curing season, that first smell lets me know I am home. I would buy a candle if it could duplicate tobacco barn!!

This tobacco is used for pipe and some chewing tobacco. If you go into a pipe shop the smell is very similar.

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/red-kentucky-tobacco-curing-barn-covered-with-smoke-in-autumn-gm2203967023-621468175

[debm55]

96. Thank you very much for your informative post. yellowdogintexas. The smell sounds wonderful.

[electric_blue68]

57. Visited The Southwest, where I ate chilli from time to time. Back in NYC I bought my first bottle of chilli powder.....

I was standing in the kitchen, facing the curtained window as I opened it.

The aroma hit my nose, and for a second I "saw" the scrubby, wide landscape, along with the carved weathered rocks of the high desert in front of me, before my kitchen reappeared around me! I was astonished, it was fleetlingly so vivid!

I would also "second" posters mentions of fresh cut grass, and Christmas pine trees. One speaks to me of sweet, green warmth, and flowers of Springtime, the other of Holiday glitter, and fun.

I'd also add chopped garlic sautéing in olive oil at home, or passing by restaurants. Yum.

[debm55]

94. Thank you so much for your wonderful post, electric_blue68. what an experience with the chilli and the SW. That is so

special. The cut grass. and the pine bring me memories too. Thank you for sharing.

[nuxvomica]

58. Lily of the Valley

It's a distinctive fragrance and my mom's favorite that she often wore going out. We even had a row of the little flowers growing along one side of the house. Reminds me of my mom and my childhood. Also lilac, as we had a huge bush growing in front of our house and some days the fragrance was overwhelming when you walked out the front door.

[debm55]

67. I used that as a fragance also. Loved it. We had a lilac bush too. Loved the smell. Thank you nuxvomica.

[catbyte]

59. I love the smell of onions frying in butter. In the spring, fresh violets.

For nostalgia, Old Spice. My dad used it on everything. If he had a sunburn, douse it in Old Spice, a cut, bring him the Old Spice, lol.

[debm55]

66. Thank you very much catbyte, Yes to onions frying in butter, and violets growing. I think at the time, Old Spice was

fragrance for men.

[Niagara]

60. Here's my crazy list...

Book pages
Peonies
Lilacs
Empty cigar box
Zippo lighters
New car smell
Coffee
Coconut sunscreen
Simple Green cleaner

[debm55]

61. Thank you very much I especially like the book smell, Lilacs and coconut suncreen Thank you very much my friend.

[AllaN01Bear]

62. the food smells of thanksgiving and christmas with family.

[debm55]

65. Thank you AllaN01Bear. Delightful.

[AllaN01Bear]

63. tobaco and coffee shopes . i dont smoke but love to go into a tobaco shop and inhale the smells.

same for coffee . i cantt stand coffee , but love to go into a coffee shop and sniff.

[debm55]

64. Thank you AllaN01Bear. I don't drink coffee.

Last edited Tue Jun 17, 2025, 11:44 AM - Edit history (1)

[malthaussen]

70. Napalm in the morning. Smells like victory.

Absent that, coffee brewing and bacon sizzling in the pan.

-- Mal

[debm55]

92. Thank you Mal, I'll pass on the coffee, But bacon in the pan is such a wonderful smell.

[Ocelot II]

80. Lilacs, lily of the valley, ground coffee.

When I go for walks this time of year I often smell basswood blossoms - there are a lot of basswood trees around here - which is a wonderful smell. Sometimes I get a whiff of balsam poplar, also known as balm-of-gilead, a tree that grows in the nearby bird sanctuary, which always gives me a blast from the past. There were a lot of these (still are) at my grandmother's place in Door County, WI, where we would spend a lot of our summers as kids. When I smell balm-of-gilead I always flash back to that place.

[debm55]

91. Thank you for your post, Ocelot II . The smell of the trees are wonderful experiences. Thank you for sharing.

[Aristus]

87. It's not my favorite smell, but it's the one that brings childhood memories back the most effectively and vividly.

Original formula Chap-Stik. It instantly takes me back to warm, sunny, carefree childhood days in Arizona. Every single time. Without fail. I suppose anyone watching me would think I was huffing Chap-Stik. And in a way, I suppose I am. Getting high off the nostalgia the smell triggers.

[debm55]

88. What a beautiful post of your memories. We only used Chap-Stick in the winter.in SW PA. Your post is funny. Thank you

for sharing with us.

[Ritabert]

89. Baking bread is the best

[debm55]

90. Sure is! Thank you very much, Ritabert.

[justaprogressive]

93. In the Northern Hemisphere

It's got to be Gardenias.

My mom (she had a serious green thumb) got her Gardenias
to bloom indoors!!!

That heady scent, combined with multiple lemon-scented Geraniums was our living room ambience...

[debm55]

95. Oh that is beautiful. thank you very much for sharing your lovely post with us. May the memories of your mom, forever be

a blessing to you

[justaprogressive]

97. Mom always liked me best

[debm55]

100. Oh you , Thank you justaprogressive.

[ultralite001]

103. Can't describe the smell, but it instantly takes me back...

To my childhood…

Rain or water on hot cement… Dad hosing off the back patio before rolling out his lawn chair to listen to the ball game on a summer weekend… Miss you, Dad…

[debm55]

105. Thank you very much ultralite for sharing your favorite smells and memories. May the memories of your dad bring

to your heart and soul

[purple_haze]

107. Hoppes #9

Grandpa (vet of WWI and WWII) used it to clean his deer rifle, and we would vacation back east when I was a kid right after deer season. So often times, while eating venison jerky, I would help him with his rifle cleaning and maintenance, and that solvent smell reminds me of a simpler time.

[debm55]

108. Thank you very much purple-haze for sharing your memories with us.

[jmowreader]

109. I don't think this is my favorite...

...but the old Air Force C-141's interior walls were covered with these gray blankets. They have an aroma unlike anything else I've smelled. It's not a bad smell, just distinctive.

At Seattle's Museum of Flight they have the very first Boeing 747 ever made. It's set up as it would be for flight testing. They've got all these big water barrels bolted to the floor and the only wall covering in the aircraft is the same gray blankets they used on the C-141. That same C-141 smell just...hit me.

So I get outside the plane and one of their docents wanted to know if I had any questions. "No...but you know how they say odors imprint on your brain and bring back memories when you smell them again? When I was in this aircraft it smells just like a C-141 so I started thinking of all the missions I went on in one of them."

[debm55]

123. Thank you very much jmowreader. for sharing with us.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

110. Old Spice. My dad used it after shaving

And the smell of fresh apple pie fresh out of the oven. MUM made the Best!

And REAL PINE at Christmas time. Happy smells, all of them.

[debm55]

115. Thank you very some_of_us_are_sane.. I too remember the Old Spice. freshly baked pies and the smell of real pine . Thank

for sharing with us.

[Mad_Dem_X]

111. Roses and freshly-cut grass

The latter brings me back to happy summer days of my childhood.

[debm55]

114. Thank you for sharing your favorite smells, Mad_Dem_X, Yes , the cut grass while barefoot is a great memory.

[Wicked Blue]

112. Pine needles in the hot sun

[debm55]

113. Thank you very much, Wicked Blue.

[electric_blue68]

116. Interesting...never really considered weather being a factor other than after a rainstorm. I do remember some pines....

these were around "4 - "5 inch long needled ones (so pretty), and this was in summer time walking from a parking lot to the beach.

I don't remember a smell, but I loved the way they looked. TY for the memory.

[av8rdave]

124. My grandfather's pipe

I don’t know what tobacco he smoked in it, but it smelled like a cake baking in the oven. Every time Bev bakes a cake…

[debm55]

125. Thank you very much, av8rdave. And may your grandfather's memories be a blessing to you.

[Basso8vb]

126. The faint smell of chlorine brings back memories of childhood summers at the community pool.

Not one of my favorite scents, but it definitely elicits some of my favorite memories.

They had a funny sign at the entrance that read:

Welcome to our "OOL"
Notice there's no "P" in it.
Please help keep it that way.

[debm55]

130. HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHH. Thank you that is so funny. Bassoo8vb. We had a "major" problem here in the community. Someone had

diarrhea. Pool is closed for a week while they dosed it with chlorine and chemicals. Yes chlorine is summer pool smell.

[Zackzzzz]

127. SweetHeart Soap

[debm55]

131. Thank you very much, Zackzzzz. I haven't smelled that in a long time. TY for sharing with us.

[Bmoboy]

128. Anise

My grandmother made anise cookies, complete with a wooden mold to shape them and leave an imprint of a flower on the tops.

[debm55]

133. Thank you Bmoboy for sharing. I love anise cookies the scent is out of this world.

[TommieMommy]

129. Vanilla is mine 😁

[debm55]

132. Thank you very much, TommieMommy. for sharing. I love the smell of vanilla.

[Prairie_Seagull]

136. Freshly cut alfalfa is a close second.

First however is the smell of the sea/sound. Smells alive to me.

[debm55]

139. Thank you very much, Prairie_Seagull

[TexasBushwhacker]

137. Petrichor

It's the smell of the air when summer rain hits the ground after a long dry spell. It's a combination of grass oils and a chemical released by bacteria in the soil.

[debm55]

140. That is interesting. Thank you very much for sharing with us, TexasBushwhacker.

[Emile]

138. Freshly popped Theater popcorn.

[debm55]

141. I agree. Thank you very much, Emile