Do certain smells conjure up memories from past times for you? The smell of watercolor paint powder we used at school takes me back to my school days, the smell of cigar smoke reminds me of Christmas because it was the only time my father smoked them. A very evocative smell for me is the mixture of the of the shellac of 78 rpm records and beeswax, which was very strong in Elgar's music shop in Worcester, as they sold piano's and records. Sadly the shop demolished in the 1960's Many flowers bring memories, what are your favourite smells.
Lilacs and lily of the valley remind me of my husband because he loved those smells and always bought me perfumes that smelled like that.
I miss the smells of old-fashioned sports shops. You had the smell of leather from footballs, cricket balls and rugby balls, with a hint of linseed oil, dubbin and linament. Sadly, such shops are very hard to find these days, with most so-called sports shops selling trainers and other clothing as fashion accessories.
A favorite old uncle of mine lived in a shack west of town about 10 or so miles. It was on a creek near a small river. He had hunting dogs and a horse or two. He burned wood for cooking and heat. He always smelled like wood smoke, whisky, tobacco and sweat. Ane during huntine season, like gun oil. So, I guess those are my favorite smells.
There are certain smells that take me back to Japan…all pleasant. We lived in a little village (little at the time) called Hayama in an authentic Japanese house with floors of woven straw tatami mats and sliding rice paper doors. There was a clean smell I can't quite put my finger on but maybe it was the rice paper or the str. Where I live now, I went into a Japanese paper store and I could smell it. In Japan, I would walk in a store and maybe it was their paper fans that had a light perfume scent so maybe that added to it. We lived near the beach and little stores there had hanging wind "chimes" made of salty golden brown seaweed.