SMELLS YOU LOVE OR HATE

Smell. Just one small word can mean so many different things to so many different people; it can be the best thing or the worst. If we smell it can be a good thing or it can be bad, or it could just be that we are smelling something or someone else. But thinking about it, can someone really smell? Surely it’s not actually them that smells, but the scent they are wearing or the odour that their body is secreting? We should really be stating ‘that man’s body odour smells really badly’ or ‘your deodorant smells really good’, rather than ‘he or she smells’.

Smell should definitely be acknowledged so much more than it is.

When choosing a new apartment, why don’t we include ‘a pleasant smelling apartment block’ on our list of requirements? If we were shown around somewhere that smelt unpleasant we would definitely discount it without a second thought.

On food packaging, why is a description of the food’s aroma not included? It’s often the smell of something that results in us craving it or going nowhere near it in the first place.

When describing our ideal partner how often do we include the way that they smell on our list of priorities? It is often the scent that a loved one wore that most reminds us of that person long after they are gone.

Smell is like music. Just as every tune that you know will remind you (in most cases) of a memory – the place you were at when you first heard it, the person who first sung it to you, your first slow dance, your dad’s singing – every smell can also conjure up a picture in your mind. The smell of cut grass may remind us of spring. One whiff of bad smelling body odour, and we may think back to that teacher at school whose classes we dreaded. And perhaps we smile when we smell the aroma of a freshly cooked roast dinner, which always seems to remind us of home.

So now it’s your turn. What are your favourite smells and what are your least favourite? What is it about those smells that entice you to love or to hate them? What do each of those smells represent to you, what pictures do they conjure up in your mind? We look forward to hearing you thoughts - who ‘nose’ what they might be?!

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