Thoughts on scent...
Scent is the most powerful trigger to memories, it is what draws us to some people and not to others, it causes both pain and pleasure, sickness and healing.
For me, it can trigger a migraine, leave me retching from the sheer strength of it, or can soothe the tightest tension in my body. It all depends on what that scent is, how strong it is, and what else is going on.
There are even scents that we cannot smell, or do not realize we are smelling, but which still affect us. Like pheromones.
Entire lives can make perfect sense in the presence of a single scent - or the memory of one. - Missoulian article on scent and perfumes. (Slightly overdone in the prose department, but the facts are interesting.)
For much of my life, my senses have veered into overdrive occasionally- light, sounds, smells, even fabrics can leave me in discomfort or even pain. It's a mild form of hyperesthesia, and the doctor I spoke with is unsure if it helps to trigger my migraines or if my predisposition to migraines caused it. My mom told me that when I was little, when I got tired, my clothes would start to "hurt," so I really don't know which came first. It explains why I'm so ticklish, too. *grin*
Migraines have made me aware of scents. I know that too many scents at once will trigger one. I know that some perfumes, especially the ones that are super-sweet or have pheromones added, will trigger one. I also know that a single, soothing scent, like chamomile, mint, or ginger will help to ease the tension if a migraine hits and I use the scent sparingly. For someone like me, working in a store with perfume testers can be torture. Our society as a whole is obsessed with perfumes and fragrances. It drives me nuts. Even the magazines at the checkout of the grocery store reek now.
The question about those aromatic advertisements that perfume companies are having stitched into magazines these days is this: under the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, is smelling up the place a constitutionally protected form of expression? - Calvin Trillin
I'm not sure what brought on these musings today, but I can't stop thinking about scent. I went to a website that carries a line of perfume called Demeter Fragrance, and their list of available fragrances is astounding. I love the idea of Ocean, Rain, Thunderstorm, Paperback (which I've actually smelled), and Honeysuckle. Some of the scents sound like they'd be simple, which is good for me, and some bring back memories just through the name. I am intrigued.