How fragrances evoke emotions and memories

Let yourself be taken back in time.

Go back in time.

Have you ever been in the middle of doing something and then stopped in your tracks because you suddenly smell a scent from your past? And all of a sudden you’re transported back and a sense of happy nostalgia drifts over you…? It might be something that reminds you of a certain person, place or moment in time.

Did you have a holiday where you can remember the salty sea breeze and feel the heady warmth of the sun when you smell sun lotion. Or maybe a certain scent reminds you of visiting a relative or friend who is a keen gardener and keeps a wealth of roses or lavender. Perhaps your wedding flowers were peonies and now everytime you see or smell them you’re filled with those happy memories. Or you love the musky warmth of a cosy crackling fire because winter is your favourite time of year, and the glowing embers make you overflow with joy.

Crackling, outdoor fireplace.

Our sense of smell is incredibly powerful as it’s capable of evoking many different emotions and memories. Plus scents are proven to affect your mood. When a smell triggers a memory it creates a vivid recollection and a particular image, which is a unique response, setting our sense of smell apart from our other senses. Smells are processed by the olfactory bulb, which starts inside the nose (where we have over 1000 different smell receptors), and runs along the bottom of the brain.

Freshly baked bread. Photo by Ivan J. Long

Our olfactory bulb has direct links to two areas of the brain that are strongly connected with both emotion and memory. Which means familiar scents are thought to be comforting whether that is clean cut grass, the pages of a brand new book or freshly baked bread being some of the most popular.

With winter just around the corner burning scented candles, or spritzing your house with a room spray, enables you to enjoy your comforting memories whilst remaining cosy indoors - even if the rain is pouring down outside! From the fresh but indulgent zesty citrus scent of Eau Verbena, reminiscent of a summer rain shower to the spicy aromatic cinnamon, orange and clove which encapsulates Christmas at any time of year, our luxury range of candle, room diffusers and room sprays scents are designed with a sense of nostalgia in mind. Do you have a favourite smell from your past?