Smells that remind you of your past

[Finchomatic]

Every so often I will smell hockey arena french fries lingering in the air (no idea who in my neighborhood has deep fryer action going on)

All I can think of was when I was in junior high and going to the local arena to play drop in hockey and curling on the weekends and eating large amount of french fries with friends while there.
To me this was a happy time in my life.

 

[Marceline]

Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea lotion.

I used to use it a lot when I was younger, and I have a very fond memory of introducing it to my cousin. She had absolutely loved it, which was unusual for her to be into something so “girly”, because she was very much a tomboy. Sometime during that same trip (we didn’t live in the same state, so I’d usually go to visit for a few weeks during summer vacation or during holidays) she got a pet bird and named her Sweet Pea.

My cousin passed away a long time ago, but still to this day I can’t smell that scent without thinking of her and becoming nostalgic.

 

[Smoothie]

- the Topps chewing gum that used to come with every pack of baseball cards. I had a lot of fun trading sports cards with friends as a kid. The scent of that petrified stick of plain bubblegum in each pack of cards is like the unofficial scent of my youth.

- the general scent of fresh cut grass reminds me of my old hometown. I grew up in a very rural area with a lot of lawns and open fields. As an adult, I moved to a very developed urban area. I kind of miss the smell of open fields, lawns, and nature in general.

 

[Lilly_____]

I have a Dior lipstick that smells exactly like my grandmother. She was a fancy lady indeed, extremely classy, pretty and would curse all the time lol. She was the strongest person I knew and my favourite person in the world. Sometimes I open up that lipstick and it feels like she's close.

 

[AmberCutie]

Night blooming jasmin flowers remind me of my mom's mom. She had them all over her entryway wall and gate. I still want to plant some near my front door to enjoy the sweet smell



Cucumber Melon scent from Bath and Body Works reminds me of my senior yr of HS when I was the coach for junior varsity cheerleaders, they got me a basket full of that scent just before graduation.

Victoria's Secret: Halo reminds me of Jawbs, as it's a perfume I was into in the earlier days of our relationship. I still have a bottle even though I think it's discontinued!

 

[sponkel]

the smell pages from an old paperback novel. I can't describe it, but it just reminds me of my dad who had hundreds of paperback novels at the house. I grew up without internet, and that library helped a lot.

grass or concrete after a summer rain. always makes me nostalgic. I'd remember different things at different times, but it always sends me back.

 

[rockin_rod]

When I was a kid, my dad grew raspberries in a strip of garden against the side of our house.
In summer, my sister and I used to race outside after school every day to check them and see if any had ripened.
Even now, the smell of fresh raspberries takes me back to those balmy summer evenings and the excitement of finding them ready to pick, and eating as many as you took back into the kitchen.

 

[yummybrownfox]

Syrup reminds me of being at my grandparents’ house, and my grandmom having pancakes, sausage links, bacon, and Mrs. Buttersworth syrup sitting out on the kitchen table in the morning. She is still with us, and I plan to go to PA soon to see her for Mothers Day.

Cup ‘O Noodles/ramen noodles reminds me of being a kid, and my little sister and I calling it “Oodles of Noodles.” My other grandmom (R.I.P.), who would often mispronounce words, used to call them “Hoodles of Noodles.” Lol. That’s pretty cute and funny, thinking back on it now. That side of the family (my mom’s side) always visits her grave on Mothers Day, and gather around to sing songs and remember her, including songs she’d always sing in church.

 

[Vixxen81]

I occasionally get a whiff of pureed pea baby food. No idea why or where it comes from, it's the first scent I remember from daycare.

My dad wore Brut aftershave so whenever I get a sniff of that I'm instantly five years old again.

Stetson, which no one seems to wear anymore, was the scent of choice for my first boyfriend ever.

 

[Smoothie]

Stetson, which no one seems to wear anymore, was the scent of choice for my first boyfriend ever.

Stetson had some memorably corny commercials back in the day. I remember one of the jingles vividly. “Easyyyyy for youuu…”

As for Brut, I feel incomplete if I say it without adding “…by Fabergé”

 

[inertvolcano]

Certain food smells remind me of my grandma, like a beef roast in the oven. She was an amazing cook and her house always smelled like something delicious.

 

[rockin_rod]

Bonfires in Autumn/Fall, when I was a kid growing up in the UK.
As soon as the leaves began to fall, seems everyone in the neighbourhood used to rake and burn in their backyards.
And that led nicely into the Hallowe'en season, and then Bonfire Night (5th November IIRC).
ETA:
Not sure if that is well-known outside of the UK, but it celebrates foiling the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Parliament, driven by Guy Fawkes. It involves big bonfires, fireworks, baked potatoes cooked in the fire and so on.

Guy Fawkes Night - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ozzie_]

Bonfires in Autumn/Fall, when I was a kid growing up in the UK.
As soon as the leaves began to fall, seems everyone in the neighbourhood used to rake and burn in their backyards.
And that led nicely into the Hallowe'en season, and then Bonfire Night (5th November IIRC).
ETA:
Not sure if that is well-known outside of the UK, but it celebrates foiling the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Parliament, driven by Guy Fawkes. It involves big bonfires, fireworks, baked potatoes cooked in the fire and so on.

Guy Fawkes Night - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Remember, Remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

 

[rockin_rod]

Thought of another: sherry. Smelling that in the house usually meant a mad old aunt had come to visit.
And if the smell coincided with Old English Lavendar talcum powder, I knew exactly which mad old aunt it was.

 

[MarieElise]

Fart. Reminds me that everyone on the Scottish side of my family has sensitive stomachs

 

[ElGato]

For a time when I was a little kid, my grandparents lived near a bakery. I would visit in the summer.
Whenever I smell the scent of baking bread, it takes me right back to my childhood decades ago and that house

 

[rockin_rod]

For a time when I was a little kid, my grandparents lived near a bakery. I would visit in the summer.
Whenever I smell the scent of baking bread, it takes me right back to my childhood decades ago and that house

Fresh-baked bread really is one of the best smells ever IMO. That and coffee beans roasting.

 

[Vixxen81]

My father wanted to name me Fannie Annie Rebecca Todd so he could call me FART. Instead, he somehow picked a more unusual name where I'm the only person on earth with my birth name. When you google it, it comes up with a bunch of ridiculous pictures that aren't me but when I asked him why he named me that he was like "so if you ever become famous you don't have to change your name."He clearly had no idea how show business works. LOL

 

[rockin_rod]

My father wanted to name me Fannie Annie Rebecca Todd so he could call me FART. Instead, he somehow picked a more unusual name where I'm the only person on earth with my birth name. When you google it, it comes up with a bunch of ridiculous pictures that aren't me but when I asked him why he named me that he was like "so if you ever become famous you don't have to change your name."He clearly had no idea how show business works. LOL

I know this is going off on a tangent, but on names, I went to school with a kid called Wayne King. How he made it through all the high school jokes, I'll never know. But I'd bet he changed his legal name as soon as he could.

 

[rockin_rod]

I caught a mere passing whiff of it from a passer by in the supermarket. It took me back immediately to when my friend wore it, and made me feel quite amorous

Ha! This reminded me of an anecdote that my Mom used to enjoy telling. During their honeymoon vacation, M&D were walking down a street sightseeing, and all of a sudden, Dad just turned and ran after a young woman who had walked past. Mom said she just stood there in dismay as my Dad caught up and had a brief but very animated conversation with her. The other woman was very pretty and Mom was feeling very unhappy about his actions, and nearly bailed. Dad ran back to Mom and steered her towards a nearby department store, and straight up to the perfume counter. Turned out he had caught a whiff of the other woman's perfume and really liked how it smelled, and wanted to get some for Mom, so he ran after a complete stranger to stop her and ask what her perfume was called.
Mom said she found that quite romantic after all, but for a few moments she was really wondering what was going on, seeing Dad chase after another girl on their honeymoon

 

[Dan Epstein]

My “Toy Boy” perfume by Maschio. It has the smell of the trees in Cali, Colombia. Reminds me of awesome people, and friends. The other smell is the ozone smell of pine trees releasing a scent after the 1st rain in the fall, takes me back to being a kid In Jerusalem.

 

[Wuggie]

Some really sweet, strawberry like perfume, reminds me of my first girlfriend whenever I walk past someone that uses it, it's REALLY strong and have no clue which one it actually is.. funny how it still sticks almost 20 years later