Journey of the Senses

Our seldom-regarded sense of smell is such a useful tool for us on a daily basis.

Today, I’m grateful for my sense of smell. To that end, I’ve written a short article with a sniffing exercise. I’d be very interested to hear what your sense of this topic is. 

Allow a half hour for this exercise. Make a mental note of how you’re feeling.

We’re going on a scent journey through your own kitchen cupboards. You don’t need to have essential oils in order to enjoy the aromas around you. 

Gather up your ingredients: coffee, cocoa, vanilla, nuts, any extracts you may have ie: almond, coconut, lemon, and lime; or the lemon and lime squeeze bottles from your refrigerator. Add any fruits you have on hand plus butter.

Sniff one at a time then jot down any ideas or memories that come to you. Hold two of them together and do the same.

How are you feeling now? Are you inspired by any of these scents? Do you have some fresh seashells or driftwood that you’ve recently brought in from the beach? How does that blend with the aroma of the other ingredients that you’re smelling when you add it to the mix? Add some flowers from your garden or vegetables or twigs from the surrounding forest. In what way do these items transform the blend of smells?

This is all that natural perfumery seeks to do… blend the aromas of the natural world into something that someone would want to wear that evokes emotion and memories. 

From this exercise, you can see how closely perfuming and cooking are related. When I cook, I do approach it as an olfactory journey. As a matter of fact, dining is truly a journey of the senses – the aroma, the sizzle, the colours, the crunch, the taste, how the food is plated (seeing), and the textures presented (touching). 

When we walk in the door at night, the first thing we notice is the smell of our home. Does the dog need a bath, or does the trash need to go out? Has some housework happened (cleaning smells)? What’s cooking for supper? Is my partner in an amorous mood (perfume or aftershave)? 

I’m writing this article as I am acutely aware of scent and in my daily round, I find all kinds of people who are not. There is such a cacophony of scent around us so I suppose some have gone ‘nose blind’ as a way to duck out of the bombardment. But, there are times when this seldom-regarded sense can give us such joy, peace, and feelings of fulfillment. Take a sniff of your environment and see how it affects your mood.

I’d be very interested to hear what your sense of this topic is.

Love Lyn