Scents: Do You Have a Favorite?

A few weeks ago I posted about "20+ Things I Can't Live Without"  I've gotten so many great emails (and comments) about that post, I think they'll be a "Part II" coming up in the future.  At the end of that post I asked for your favorite "can't-live-without" products.  The comments were awesome!  I'm still going back periodically to reread them, trying out the fab ideas/products you mentioned, as well as those mentioned by the Bloggers who linked up for the impromptu linky party that day.

In the comments several folks mentioned a perfume called, Amazing Grace by Philosophy.   I've been searching for a new fragrance, having grown tired of the one I've been wearing for the last few years.  I wanted something with a light, fresh scent.  Since more than one person mentioned it, I knew I needed to check it out.

I found a store close by that carried Amazing Grace and it was love at first smell!  I also bought a bottle of Daisy by Marc Jacobs.  I've really enjoyed wearing both of these the last few weeks.  I often put them on just to wear around the house because they put me in a great mood. I've always heard scents can effect your mood, but I hadn't really thought about it that much until I purchased these two perfumes.

In doing a little research, I found an interesting article from Scientific American.  It states how we react to scents is often based on experiences we had in childhood.  We connect scents to those past experiences and memories.  Have you ever smelled something and you were instantly transported back to another place or time?  I definitely have.  I also do that with songs.  There are some songs I can't listen to without hearing the sounds of roller skates whirling along on wooden floors on a Friday night.  They are there in my memory, playing right along with the music.  Do you ever experience that?

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Did you know a scent we find pleasant here in the United States can carry a bad connotation in another country?  Wintergreen is considered a nice smelling scent in the US...we associate it with candy or gum.  But in Britain the smell of wintergreen is often associated with medicine and analgesics that were popular during WWII...not a time folks really wish to remember.  You can read more about that, HERE.

That same article states, "A number of studies have shown the odors people like make them feel good, whereas odors people dislike make them feel bad. These mood responses even effect folks physiologically."  They found that heart-rates and eye-blink rates that happen in response to scents a person likes or dislikes, coincide with the mood the person is experiencing.  Fascinating!

Aromatherapy, which is a practice that uses plant materials to create essential oil and aromatic compounds to alter a person's mind, mood and health, dates all the way back to the ancient Egyptians.  They used essentials oil in baths, massages and the embalming process.

Here a short list of some of the scents that are known for effecting ones mood:

• Lavender- soothing and relaxing; helps to relieve stress, depression, anxiety, and nervous disorders.

• Citrus scents- (grapefruit, lemon, orange, etc…) invigorating, uplifting and clean; eliminates anxiety and stress and can even help you concentrate

• Vanilla- sweet scent. warming and soothing; relaxing and comforting; it can spur thoughts of favorite foods and happy memories from childhood

• Cinnamon- Helps with exhaustion and fatigue; calms frazzled nerves; increases awareness.  

• Geranium- soothing and relaxing scent

• Jasmine- deep and relaxing

• Rose- Again relaxing...may even help to balance hormones

• Sandalwood- relaxing and calming ability; lifts depression; is often associated with meditation

• Lilac- is said to help decision making; improves memory

According to Dr. Solomon Snyder, a professor and director of the department of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, "the parts of the brain where you find the olfactory regions also regulate emotions."  Interesting, huh?

Dr. Gary E. Schwartz, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University, found certain scents produce changes in blood pressure and other physiological responses comparable to those achieved through meditation.  In studies, the smell of spiced apple, was very effective and brought down systolic blood pressure an average of three to five points.

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Pretty amazing how scents effect our mood, isn't it?  I know they definitely have an effect on mine.

Do you have any favorite scents...scents that immediately make you feel calmer or more relaxed?  Any favorite scents that energize you?   Please share your favorite perfume or if you don't have a favorite perfume, what's you favorite scented candle?