Did a scent ever jar your memory? It happened to me the other day.

When I was a teen I was going out with a girl who was my first true love, so I thought. She wore this perfume
that drove me nuts, I loved the smell of it, especially on her. I remember how I used to smell her perfume on
my clothes after I would "help" her babysit. ;)  Those two years we were together were two of the happiest
in my life. We broke up when she moved away; a year later she moved back but we never did get back together,
her choice not mine. We would spend nights together but she didn't want to be my steady girlfriend anymore.
6 months after she returned I met the girl I would marry, she moved again and I haven't seen her since. That was
26 years ago.

The redolent memory:

The other night while in the dialysis unit with my father, one of the nurses or female EMT's in the unit
was wearing that exact perfume. I soon as I caught the scent memories came flooding back. Again, I had
that smell with me all night and all I could think about was her and our time babysitting and, quite obvious, it
is still on my mind. 26 years later and I still remember the sweet smell of a past girlfriend.  ;D

Certain smells remind me of my childhood.  Some colognes remind me of old boyfriends.

Once I was having dinner at a neighbor's house and she had made a salad with Italian dressing (the kind that you make from a mix, years ago it came with a glass cruet).  As I started to eat I was instantly transported back to the late 70's and my friend Jill Ann's backyard.  Every time we ate over her house during the summer, the meal consisted of BBQ chicken, stove-top stuffing and a salad with the exact same dressing.  Good times!  :)

yes....certain colognes remind me of my ex's too.  Also, everytime I smell toasted bread with cheese, it reminds me of my grandma. She would always take bread, a piece of brick cheese, and tomato...and put them in the oven for a few minutes.

Some scents really gross me out too...they remind me of my horrible ex. :P

Actually, not too long ago, some guy had a very strong perfume. I was a bit taken aback from it and then I remembered why it struck me as to very familar. My ex-boyfriend wore the same kind. It doesn't bring back bad memories, just memories of indifference and confusion - lol.

Also, whenever I smell exhaust fumes, I think of driving through McDonalds as a little kid and smelling the fumes from other cars. For some reason, it actually makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, lol.  ;D

Just tonight as we were driving through this rural-ish neighborhood and someone had a mammoth bonfire going in their backyard (at first I was concerned as one would normally be if they see a 5-foot tall column of flame in a random yard.) But once I figured out it was someone burning branches or being a tad over-zealous with the lighter fluid, I recognized the smell of when we used to go camping as a youngster of about 9 or 10.  My favorite part would be the gathering around the campfire (who knew I would develop a fondness for wood smoke - a pyromaniac in training).  I let myself remember the joys of those campfire but then speedily snapped back to present day so that neither my husband nor I would be hurtling off the road, into the ditch bordering the road, at 30 miles an hour to our screaming death.  (OK maybe a slight exageration)


Another smell that brought back memories is Skin cologne.  As a teen (1983-1984), I did not have alot of money, so when mom would go to this one grocery store (and I was bored of walking around with her) I would go to the perfume counter and spray a "free" sample of Skin Musk cologne.  Then I would go play this only video game they had which was Cloak & Dagger until mom finished.  I always go back into this memory when I smell this cologne.  Weird, huh?

Yup.

Whenever I walk in to a music shop I think about when I was a kid and I'd go down to my Dad's music room or go and visit him at work, or the smell of my Grandfather's attic. They both worked on, built and played brass instruments and the oils have that familiar smell to them.

Actually, the sense of smell has the longest memory of any of the senses so it is not surprising that certain smells will trigger memories.

There is one that totally baffles me. There is a smell of certain lotions (can't think of any of them off hand right now) that triggers a vague memory. When I encounter it, I keep smelling it hoping it will come back to me but it never does. I know that memory is in there somewhere. What I should do is find a lotion that smells like that and let one of my sister's smell it and maybe she can remember what it reminds me of. (I did mention it to her a long time ago about it but we were-and still are-miles apart so it is difficult to just say, "here, smell this.") 



Cat

Actually, the sense of smell has the longest memory of any of the senses so it is not surprising that certain smells will trigger memories.

There is one that totally baffles me. There is a smell of certain lotions (can't think of any of them off hand right now) that triggers a vague memory. When I encounter it, I keep smelling it hoping it will come back to me but it never does. I know that memory is in there somewhere. What I should do is find a lotion that smells like that and let one of my sister's smell it and maybe she can remember what it reminds me of. (I did mention it to her a long time ago about it but we were-and still are-miles apart so it is difficult to just say, "here, smell this.") 



Cat


Was it perhaps something your mum used or a scent of a bath product you used as a child?
there's a certain peachy smell that reminds me of a Christmas present I made for my mum when I was about 9 years old.  Part of it was a peach soap.



Another smell is the smell of a particular ladies toilets at work.  The smell (cleaning product or something I guess) is the same as another toilets in a research place I used to visit.  It's only one particular set of toilets here and there.

Was it perhaps something your mum used or a scent of a bath product you used as a child?
there's a certain peachy smell that reminds me of a Christmas present I made for my mum when I was about 9 years old.  Part of it was a peach soap.






I don't think it was something that my mother used but maybe us kids-like you said, a bath product because everytime I smell it, I would find myself in the upstairs bathroom of our old house (in my mind, that is). It was something that was used in there but by whom? (There were 6 of us kids who used that bathroom-my parents didn't which is why I don't think it was something that my mother used.) Or what was it?



Cat

Actually, the sense of smell has the longest memory of any of the senses so it is not surprising that certain smells will trigger memories.

There is one that totally baffles me. There is a smell of certain lotions (can't think of any of them off hand right now) that triggers a vague memory. When I encounter it, I keep smelling it hoping it will come back to me but it never does. I know that memory is in there somewhere. What I should do is find a lotion that smells like that and let one of my sister's smell it and maybe she can remember what it reminds me of. (I did mention it to her a long time ago about it but we were-and still are-miles apart so it is difficult to just say, "here, smell this.") 



Cat


I bought a bottle of perfume a few years ago, it was Glow by JLo (it's not something I'd normally wear, too sweet for me but I bought it anyway).  Every time I smell it, I know I know the scent from somewhere.  It's very similar to something from my childhood, I think.  I dunno, it really drives me crazy because I know this fragrance but I can't place it.  It's right on the tip of my nose.  ;D ;D

I bought a bottle of perfume a few years ago, it was Glow by JLo (it's not something I'd normally wear, too sweet for me but I bought it anyway).  Every time I smell it, I know I know the scent from somewhere.  It's very similar to something from my childhood, I think.  I dunno, it really drives me crazy because I know this fragrance but I can't place it.  It's right on the tip of my nose.  ;D ;D



Exactly, that is what I'm talking about.



Cat

Actually, the sense of smell has the longest memory of any of the senses so it is not surprising that certain smells will trigger memories.

There is one that totally baffles me. There is a smell of certain lotions (can't think of any of them off hand right now) that triggers a vague memory. When I encounter it, I keep smelling it hoping it will come back to me but it never does. I know that memory is in there somewhere. What I should do is find a lotion that smells like that and let one of my sister's smell it and maybe she can remember what it reminds me of. (I did mention it to her a long time ago about it but we were-and still are-miles apart so it is difficult to just say, "here, smell this.") 



Cat


Whenever I smell Jergens lotion, I always remember playing with my Barbie and her bathtub, where you push this little pump button and it would make huge bubbles.  I think it either came with Jergens lotion or the Bubble bath that you used (probably Mr. Bubble) smelt like Jergens.

Another smell that brings memories back is when I wash my hands with Dial soap (the stuff that's usually that orange color). I remember my Dad's hands smelling like Dial soap because he was a surgical tech when I was growing up and they always had to wash their hands with that soap at the hospital.

Whenever I smell Jergens lotion, I always remember playing with my Barbie and her bathtub, where you push this little pump button and it would make huge bubbles.  I think it either came with Jergens lotion or the Bubble bath that you used (probably Mr. Bubble) smelt like Jergens.


I had one of those!! Those were SO neat. I use to be fascinated by it.

I have a few of those. One is an orange scent that always reminds me of Bayer Childrens Aspirin.  There's an Avon lotion that reminds me of going to Disney World when the kids were little. I had just bought it before we went and I put it on every morning in the hotel before we would go to the parks. I smelled like that lotion all week and now when I smell it, I'm back at Disney listening to the girls whine! Imagine whining at "The Happiest Place On Earth"  ;D

Two specific memories:

1. The scent of cooked Brussels Sprouts- I'm 4 years old, in Cleveland, Oh. in my grandparents' house.
My grandpa told me I was not to get up form the table, until those damned Sprouts were gone. I told him I couldn't eat them, and he threatened to strap me. I chewed one up, swallowed it....and it came right back up, all over his 'Caterpillar' cover-alls. He never tried that again.

2. Any song by Buckner & Garcia- I'm back in Phoenix, Az. I'm 5 or 6, and I'm back down at the huge Arcade in the Mall, about 15 minutes from my house. My favorite games included Crazy Climber, Tutank, Karate Champ, and Gorf.

man, this thread is making me feel all warm and fuzzy!! ;D

I don't think it was something that my mother used but maybe us kids-like you said, a bath product because everytime I smell it, I would find myself in the upstairs bathroom of our old house (in my mind, that is). It was something that was used in there but by whom? (There were 6 of us kids who used that bathroom-my parents didn't which is why I don't think it was something that my mother used.) Or what was it?



Cat
Maybe the "powder with the puff" stuff?  Or, maybe Mr. Bubble?  I can't smell either of those without thinking of spending the night at my grandma's because she'd always give me a bath with Mr. Bubble and cover me with the "powder with a puff" stuff after I was dry :)

My mom always bought "Safeguard" soap, so whenever I smell it I'm 5 years old and in the bathtub again.

I also love the smell of Lilacs.  My parents have one side of their yard bordered with Lilac bushes, and as a child I always knew that summer was coming when they started to bloom.  The smell still makes me feel like a little kid who can't wait for school to get out.  That heady feeling that you have 3 glorious months of freedom ahead of you.  Man, those were the days.

The smell of bacon cooking always reminds me of my Nan's house because she would always cook a full English breakfast for my parents when we stayed there. I always used to have a boiled egg.

The smell of coconut sun lotion reminds me of my backpacking trip round America.

The smell of corn being ripe and then the smell of it being harvested takes me right back to childhood.

The smell of coconut sun lotion reminds me of my backpacking trip round America.


The smell of any suntan lotion makes me...nauseous!  :-[

I have two scents that remind me of being down the shore as a kid.

Parking lots that are resurfaced use a sealant on the asphalt. It's the same sealant they used on
the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ.

The other isn't a pleasant odor but it still reminds me of childhood vacations. It's the smell that comes from
an airconditioner the first time you turn it on in the summer, especially if there is a smoker in the house. The
initial scent is very musty and all motel room airconditioners gad that smell.  :-X

This might sound weird, but whenever I drink Kool-Aid or some type of fruit drink, it leaves a stain on my upper lip, and all I smell is Kool-Aid for the next little while.  Whenever I smell that, It makes me think of the first time I ever went to New York State cause I had lots of Kool-Aid that day and that's all I smelled for that whole day lol

some mousse or hair products reminds me of summer in the 80s, and my bedroom.
some food smells remind me of my childhood home.
and some cars smell exactly like my first car.