Last updated on March 12th, 2022 at 01:39 pm
Many of us know the science. Of all the senses, the sense of smell is the most effective at stimulating memories. The science behind it is pretty simple. When you smell something, the sensation starts at your nose and then travels to the amygdala and the hippocampus, until it ultimately arrives at your thalamus. The amygdala creates emotions and the hippocampus is where your memories are stored. That means that every scent you smell passes through the memory and emotion parts of the brain first before you actually smell it.
This isn’t science class, but it’s interesting to understand why a certain smell can instantly “bring you back”. It might be the smell of bacon cooking that reminds you of watching cartoons on a Saturday morning, or you pass a stranger on the street and wonder why all of a sudden you’re thinking about your ex-boyfriend. It’s really quite the phenomenon.
This is a tale of two scents…one that brought back a memory and one that intentionally created one.
Dianne’s Story
This is, sort of, what I would call, a “chain memory”. Just recently I came across a pair of vintage scented writing pens while mindlessly searching the Internet for ideas for our blog. The pens were a set — one was Chanel No. 5 and the other Arpège. Arpège.
My mom used to wear Arpège when I was growing up. That’s when the first memory came rushing back. While I of course couldn’t smell it, just the name brought me back. The pens were an “Add to Cart”, even though I knew that the scent would be long gone by now. When the pens arrived, I knew I had to take one more step – I had to find Arpège perfume!
The Hunt for a Memory
Did Arpège perfume even still exist? I was happy to find out that the perfume is still available today. Long considered one of the world’s most classic scents, it was created by Lanvin in 1927.
On to my Christmas list it went and I was more than a little excited when I opened it. I have to admit that I waited to be alone to open and spray it. I wasn’t sure how it would make me feel – sad because my mom is no longer here, or happy, visualizing her in her heyday. It was the latter, but here was the surprise. A set of glass beads and earrings suddenly popped into my head. The scent had given me another memory. I suddenly had this vision of my mom in the 1960’s, young, dressed up and ready to go. The smell was like a hug – it enveloped me and made me smile.
As mentioned, Arpège is considered a classic scent, and the type that I am typically drawn to. I’m not sure if that happened based on my own taste or because of the memories it invokes — either way, it has quickly become one of my favorites. Containing over 60 floral essences, it is described as the “fragrance of 1000 flowers”. I’ve listed a few more of my favorites below. There’s even one that Jen and I discovered while shopping together, that we both wear today. It’s both one of our favorite perfumes.
My Favorite Perfumes
Of course, on a list of our favorite perfumes, I have to start with Arpège by Lanvin.
Allure by Chanel. Described as a “warm floral”, Allure is a floral fragrance that combines vanilla, mandarin and May rose. May rose is used in several of Chanel’s fragrances, including Chanel No. 5, which helps to give Chanel perfumes their unique scent.
My Burberry by Burberry. My Burberry is also a floral fragrance but much lighter than Chanel No. 5 or Arpége. “Capturing the scent of a London garden in Springtime.” is how Burberry describes it.
Sea Lily by Laubahn Perfumes. If you haven’t heard of Laubahn Perfumes, you need to check them out. Sea Lily is a light fragrance where “flowers meet ocean.” If you want to dream about the day you are back on the beach, spray on “Sea Lily”. P.S. Insider Tip – check out their scent infused face masks – they are amazing.
Wood, Sage & Sea Salt by Jo Malone. If you see a pattern here, you’re not crazy. I love both floral and fresh water type fragrances. Just by it’s name, you can tell what type of scent it is. This is my “go-to” everyday fragrance. This is the fragrance Jen and I discovered together – she’ll tell you more below.
Jen’s Story
I love perfume. It’s always the last thing I put on before I consider myself ready for the day. And one of the fun parts for me is making the choice of what I want to smell like that day. When I was still going into the office, Eme would “help” me pick out my perfume for the day. I’d put a couple under her nose, and then she would pick which one I’d wear. And I’d always take her advice!
My mom used to wear perfume when she and my dad would have a night out, and I couldn’t even tell you what it was. But somehow I can still remember how it smells. And still to this day when I catch the scent occasionally, it makes me think of grandma and grandpa coming over to hang out with us while mom and dad went out.
When Mike and I were getting married, we thought it would be fun to pick out a new perfume and cologne to wear on our wedding day. We went to Sephora and smelled our way through the store until we each found a scent we liked.
Our Wedding Scents
I landed on J’adore by Dior. I’m positive people wear this scent every day, but to me it felt like it was for something special. It has fruity notes to it, but isn’t too sweet. And also smells warm at the same time. It made me think of feeling feminine and pretty, which is what I wanted on my wedding day. I save this perfume for more special occasions, like going to other people’s weddings, on our anniversary or the occasional date night!
Mike ended up getting Sauvage, also by Dior. Pure coincidence we both got Dior fragrances. Mike isn’t a huge cologne guy, but he does wear this occasionally when we go out (when we could go out), and it always reminds me of our wedding day. I also end up thinking about Johnny Depp who was the face of the campaign at the time. Not sure why that memory stuck around though.
Since I love perfume, and I don’t wear J’adore on a daily basis, here are some of my favorite perfumes and the memories behind them!
My Favorite Perfumes
Jo Malone – I’m fully aware of how expensive these are. Some I’ve bought during the Sephora sale, some I’ve gotten as gifts, and some I’ve bought the mini sizes.
I had heard the Wood Sage and Sea Salt scent was amazing, and I remember smelling it for the first time when Aunt Dianne and I were at the mall going shopping before my wedding. I knew I was going to end up buying it at some point, and ended up buying even more Jo Malone fragrances!
Chloé Eau de Parfum – I can picture this pretty bottle with the little bow sitting on top of my dresser in our old house. I had a dresser and a desk in the spare room because I needed somewhere to keep all my things.
Ralph Lauren Romance – My mom bought this for me when I was in high school… but why did I need perfume? Couldn’t tell you. And it wasn’t because I thought I was cool. Because I knew I definitely wasn’t.
Ouai North Bondi – I’m a big fan of Jen Atkin and when she came out with her hair line Ouai, I bought the shampoo and conditioner, and was blown away by how good they smelled. I remember thinking I would wear that scent as a perfume. I guess enough people felt the same way because they came out with two scents, and North Bondi went right on my birthday list.
Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’IMPERATRICE – I remember going to Ulta while working on my Christmas list one year because I wanted to find a new perfume. There used to be D & G perfumes with different numbers, and there was an ad in my (most likely) Cosmo magazine.
My favorite perfumes right now are the Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume, and discovery set. I’d heard great things about it, and when it was available as a sample at Sephora I was all over it. It’s the BEST. It’s woody and earthy, and feels gender neutral. I spritzed it one day before putting on my coat, and it’s still lingering weeks later. And I love it.
The fragrance notes on the Sephora website reads:
“This minimalist, fresh, and clean fragrance is hypoallergenic and ideal for those who don’t normally wear perfume. It is composed of a single note, called cetalox, which is usually used in perfumery as a base note. Here it plays the lead role for a fragrance that will easily satisfy the most difficult tastes, and particularly those preferring discretion over complexity.”
“This time, I have created a perfume out of this one ingredient. A perfume that won’t be one, in the conventional sense of the word.”—Romano Ricci, Brand Founder and Perfumer
I just ordered the Mini Discovery Set, so I can’t wait to dig into all the different fragrances!
Do you have memories tied to a certain scent? Do you share some of our favorite perfumes? We’d love to hear from you below!
And if you’re looking for more beauty posts, be sure to check our beauty section that you can visit HERE.
