I’m going to have a series on some of my favorite things (in the hopes that Detective reads them and gets me some good stuff for my birthday. Which is in 9 days. Seriously, if any of you know him, please remind him.) Though they be of interest to anyone. If that is the case, I apologize in advance. Just wait a couple of days and something better will get posted. Hopefully.
I’d asked my FB peeps yesterday about what their favorite scents/smells were. I love reading them, even the marijuana one. (that made me chuckle) and seeing why we like what we like. I love getting to know little things about people. And Facebook/Twitter/this blog, allow for some virtual people watching. I do love to people watch.
Anyway, here’s a list of some of my favorites with an explanation if there is one:
Dreft baby laundry detergent - reminds me of when my shorties were babies
Lily of the Valley - there was a large patch of them outside my grandmother’s house
Puppy breath - I’d forgotten about this one, but a FB friend listed it
Jasmine - reminds me of vacations in South Carolina
Drakkar Noir - takes me back to my first boyfriend in middle school (don’t hate)
Old Spice - reminds me of my grandfather
Pine - Christmas
Pumpkin candles - Halloween
Pipe tobacco - makes me think I’m sitting around with Poirot and Morse and Marple and Jury and Holmes solving crimes
Method Baby bath and lotion
Laundry fresh out of the dryer
A roll of film - used to like this one, but now I’m digital
Cotton or clean scented candles - not sure what the smell actually is, but me likey
Almost every Trapp candle there is - made here in KC, they are divine
Incense - I’m a reformed hippie. Maybe
Magnolias
Rain - smells clean to me
Ocean/beach - reminds me of Southern California which I miss a great deal
Peonies - my favorite flower, they were the centerpieces at my wedding
Campfire - but only at the time it is burning, I dislike the smell the next day
Coconut - reminds me of sunscreen and summertime
A new book - so much hope and promise
Sharpies - I have a thing for office supplies
Babies - there is something so sweet about their scent
The Detective’s Beer Can Chicken - makes my mouth water just thinking about it
Sawdust - makes me think there is some grand project happening
Fireworks - reminds me of big celebrations in my childhood
Beer - duh
Stadiums - smells like beer and hot dogs and good times
Perfumes - I’m always smelling something on others that smells really great
Least favorite:
Skunk - especially when I run over a dead one in the van and it stinks up the garage as well
Perfume - I cannot seem to find one that smells good on me consistently
Poopy diapers - so over diapers
Cat urine - blech
Laundry left in the washing machine too long, especially if it gets put in the dryer - ugh
Old, musty smell - like closed up houses, or after a place has flooded
Indoor pools - not too bad unless the chlorine level is really high
Body odor - come on, just shower!
A really old book - just smells dirty to me though I love used books
Cigarette smoke - as a reformed smoker, this one kills me
Old folks’ homes - smells of sadness, depression, desperation, melancholy
Hospitals - sterile, antiseptic
Sheep/cows/pigs/goats/etc - hence the photo above, I do not love strong animal smells, the monkey house at the zoo is almost unbearable
Port-a-potties - will only use under dire circumstances, they make me gag
Is this of interest to you, dear readers? Do you feel you get a little insight into what makes me tick? Are you on pins and needles for the next segment: tastes?
So what are some of your favorite and least favorite?
Lol! Drakkar Noir - reminds me of a high school boyfriend which is why I can’t stand it.
I love the beach,lilacs, clean sheets and anything pumpkin spice. Strangely, I love the smell of my 3 year old’s morning breath when I wake up and find her next to me.
“Cigarette smoke – as a reformed smoker, this one kills me”
I’m a reformed smoker too! I used to actually like the smell of cigarette smoke. (I know, weird. But I was probably smoking vicariously through them.) But now, I can’t stand it. I hate even the faint smell of it.
“Port-a-potties – will only use under dire circumstances, they make me gag”
Unless my bladder’s about to burst, I will not use them. And when I do, I hold my breath for as long as I can. Or breathe inside my shirt. Plus I pour lots of alcohol on the seat!
Favorites-
A delicious meal, only while it is cooking. After I eat, I want the evidence gone.
Clean candles
Clean laundry. I live in apartments and I love when my neighbors run their dryer and I can smell it when I go outside.
Ice cream shops. Nuff said.
Tanning salons. I don’t tan but an old friend worked at one and I loved the smell.
Gasoline. I have no idea why.
Nail salons. I take a deep breath when I walk in for my fill appt every two weeks.
My son’s breath. It has always had this amazing sweet smell. He’s three so I know my breath smelling days are limited.
409 cleaner. Makes my bathroom smell amazing and clean.
Every single aveeno product.
Freshly painted rooms.
The weird cold smells in the winter.
The smells of spring.
Viva la juicy perfume
Coach poppy perfume
Givenchy Play cologne…reminds me of my husband
The countless Scentsy bars I have collected. Cocoa clementine is my current fave
Cucumbers
Bacon!
Least favorites
Rain
Grass
Burning oil from passing cars
My husband when he gets home from work. He builds leatherman tools and stinks of metal.
Money. Ickkk
Urine
Feces
Public bathrooms that use air fresheners that end up smelling like poop and perfume
B.o.
Fish
Dirty laundry
Fireworks
My sons pull up when he has an accident
My sons potty when he poops and doesn’t tell us.
Sponges!
Lilys
Chlorine (indoor pool smell) is one of my favorite smells.. I was a swimmer from tiny-dom through high school, and it brings back all sorts of good memories. Also, love the smell of Johnson and Johnson Lavender baby lotion… smells like sleep.
library books, gasoline, and attics… I know attics are weird, but they have such a strange stale but historic scent to them!!
Fresh lime. Basil. When you pluck the suckers off a tomato vine, the smell on your fingers is DIVINE!!!!! To sink my nose in my Susan’s hair. Heaven!
I would sooner smell a 30-day-old dead rat than a skunk, anytime. Old ashtrays, and cheap bars early in the morning - yuck city!
Weirdly enough, although I like many of the things listed here, 2 of my favorites are dirt (yes, DIRT) & the smell of a garage: the oil, grease, gasoline, exhaust, etc. Both are very calming to me for some reason.
Yup - nothing wrong with fresh dirt…fresh mowed grass…burning leaves in the fall…where do you end this???
Happy birthday, early! My FBBday is today, my real one passed at some point recently. It is hilarious (not to mention prudent) to keep your FB birthday separate from the real one … it really shows you who knows you for sure and who FB knows you … both are good, btw.
I hope you get to check a couple of things off your list and that your husband is more talented than mine (he’s a detective, he should be able to detect need, right?!). Don’t get me wrong, I am glad for mine with all flaws. He suits me perfectly as I too am perfectly flawed.
ps. you want another baby!?!
Likes: The hand soap at the dentist’s office. I’ve never been afraid of the dentist and that smell makes me think “clean and sterile.”
The way people smell when they’ve just come from the beach. It’s different than the smell at the beach.
The combination of fresh cut grass and rain. Reminds me of childhood summers. In FL it rains randomly everyday in the summer it may only be 5 mins, but it rains and it always smells like fresh cut grass.
Dislikes: Exhaust fumes from junkie cars and trucks. I wish FL would bring back annual vehicle inspections.
Most perfumes on me. I’ve only found 3 that actually smell “true”/good on me.
I used to like the smell of gas, now it makes me sick and poor. :(
Hope you have a Happy Birthday!! :)
You named the bad ones.
Good ones:
coal smoke (if I smelled this everyday, I probably wouldn’t like it so much)
mimeograph paper (some of you may be too young to remember this)
fresh cut grass
I’m with you on the sharpie smell! People in my office think I’m so weird because of that (well, that’s not the ONLY reason). I love the smell of coffee and anything sweet baking in the oven. Random, but I love the smell of my dogs ears…it’s weird, I know. I still love the smell of a new book - even though I have a kindle now. And I too love the smell of dreft detergent and the “baby” smell is the best (I’m a new mom)!
What I can’t stand: body odor or the smell of clothes that have been left in the washer too long and someone dried them anyway. Yuck! The smell of boiled eggs…nasty. Or when a formula fed baby burps in your face. Cigar/Cigarette smoke.
I enjoy your blog!
JAsmine, reminds me of summers at the lake
Charcoal grills. yum. I know it causes cancer, don’t judge.
Puppy breath. Gross and good all at once.
Sheets fresh off of the line. I refuse to have sex on them and muss them up. At least not right away.
My granny’s cold cream. Merle Norman, I am sure.
Favorites - new baby; jasmine in full bloom; fresh, outside-dried sheets; frankinsense, ylang ylang, and lemon essential oil blend; homemade chai tea simmering on the stove; being outside amongst eucalyptus trees on a warm night, especially in the forest; my son AFTER his bath; my house after a spring clean; the beach, any time of year; wintergreen (reminds me of my Papa).
Dislikes - Old, full ashtray; old piss (like, MEN’S TOILETS); new plastic; new cars; laundry powder; synthetic fragrances; smelly feet; bad breath; dog poo; mould.
I love the smell of wet earth after a rainfall/rainshowers. or the smell of pavement after a rainshower.
OMG! The worst smell of all: aside from dirty diapers and a really strong skunk, and sulphuric acid is…that gawdawful musk scent that was so popular in the early 70s. I am sorry people, it smelled like, work with me here, a female person who had not bathed for a WHOLE month if you get my drift. It just made me sick to my stomach. Pachouli oil is a strong second. GAD! Next on my list is Romano and Parmesan cheeses. To me they smell like someone just threw up.
And then the usual, smoke et al. But those are the absolute worse. When I first smelled the musk oil I wanted to ask why a person had not bathed…just rotten. Still is.
Best smells? Apple cider with cinnamon and cloves simmering on the stove, Old Spice (even without Isaiah Mustafa), clean laundry, Molly Poo after a trip to the groomers, a shower with Bliss Blood Orange shower gel, Chanel #5, Jo Malone almost anything.
Gasoline, real car exhaust from something pre-catalytic converter, horse manure (as long as it’s fresh), honest sweat (by itself), old spice (YAY!), the perfume Opium after I’ve had it on for a couple of hours, and lilac bushes in full bloom.
Love this -
one of my least favorite smells is coffee -specifically Dunkin Donut’s. I hate when I go into a Dunkin Donuts and then my coat smells like old coffee all day -
I also hate the smell of cigarettes - unless it’s when I am pregnant than for some horrible reason they smell good to me.
Favourite smells: Coffee (although I don’t drink it, my parents do and I woke up to the smell every morning of my childhood), gasoline (don’t worry, I don’t inhale too deeply), pop corn, Kentucky Fried Chicken, any kind of homecooked food, fast food (why is McDonald’s so disgusting but smells so good?), freshly baked cookies, the air after it rains, winter.
Unfavourite smells: poopy diapers, vomit. Although being a Mom I’m pretty desensitized to those.
I like this. I like observing people it’s fun. Moving on to my tastes my favorite taste….hm…..let me think….well it’s not exactly my favorite but the taste of a chocolate covered cookie dipped into hot coffee. and my least favorite would be the taste of fish, they are just horrible, and I hate their smell to it makes me wanna vomit….. have a great day!
I love the smell of a used bookstore - when I go to the Dusty Bookshelf in Lawrence, I feel at home (I’m going there tomorrow - can’t wait!)
I also love the smell of my babies’ hair. Yes, they are 3.5 and 5yo now, they are STILL babies. Sniff.