Smells That You Like and Others Don't
 

I was thinking about this on my walk this morning as we passed a tree that others avoid--but the smell takes me back to my childhood. I like the smell of mimosa flowers but I think I'm alone.

I also like the fish and tar smells at the beach (same reason). How about y'all?

I'm the same way. I like the smell when I'm at the pump, but if gas gets on my hand or I take a gas can home, I hate that smell. It's weird.

Marigolds aren't considered the prettiest-smelling flower, but I like their scent, probably because it reminds me of the garden at my grandmother's house, where I spent a lot of time as a kid.

You're not alone in mimosa liking, though. I love the peachy scent and the weird fuzzy blossoms.

Ohhh, yes on all these! I'd forgotten about marigolds from my aunt's garden plus then there were my mother's tomato plants...tomato plants STINK but they also bring back fond memories.

horses/barns :) I've been riding since I was a toddler, and I don't get to ride when I'm away at school, so when I come back to my barn it's like "ahhhh...home!"

I actually like the smell of skunk -- if it's not too close or concentrated, that is. But if it's just enough that you can say "hmmm, a skunk's been around here somewhere," I kind of like it. There's something very woodsy about it.

I agree with MysticCat! I too like the smell of skunk!

Bus fumes. They'll be forever tied to marching band, drum corps and any other activity like that for me. It's very comforting.

There are two places in downtown OKC pretty close to each other which smell amazing. There's a bread bakery, and just a couple of blocks away, a coffee roasting facility.

I don't know what other people think of it, but I absolutely love the plasticky smell of a newly opened vinyl shower curtain, because it reminds me of my first apartment. It's the smell of freedom.

^^^ Like. Same reason. :)

I like that plasticky smell, too, because it reminds me of opening new toys as a kid! :)

I'm the same as HannahXO, I love the smell of horses, horse manure, etc. Nothing smells better than a horse that's been out to pasture overnight, and comes back in the next morning with dew on its coat.

I also love the smell of my softball glove. Smells like leather, sweat, dirt, hard work and youth. :-)

I know a girl who loves the smell of a freshly opened can of tennis balls.

Freshly-opened tennis balls, yes. I routinely stuff my nose in a can as soon as I open them.

I kinda like the dead fish smell on lakes. (Also found around the water treatment plant just south of Bolling AFB in DC... reminds me of home.) My husband LOVES the smell of skunk, but I don't get that one.

iLaughed :cool:

Here's another one: sulfur, especially in the water near the ocean. Childhood memories again! Now when the paper mill west of here really gets going, that's too much sulfur. :(

The smell of the first light off a cigarette. I don't smoke, but my boyfriend and best friend do. It strongly reminds me of them.

I ride horses as well and I love the combination of leather, hay, and manure! My friends think I'm nuts.

I also like the smell of a freshly opened pack of cigarettes - before they're lit. I don't smoke, but my dad still does and it reminds me of when I was a little girl and he still smoked in the house - I still love the scent of tobacco on his hands.

And maybe the fact that I'm a graphic artist is why I inhale the hot-off-the-presses printed literature that gets delivered from our vendors. I sniff paper! And I love the smell of an old book.

That sounds like heaven to me! I love the smell of freshly roasted coffee.

I clicked on the thread to say this!

I also like a subtle hint of skunk. Just smells like the country to me, like clean outdoors.

A freshly cleaned horse barn smells great to me. Piles of manure, no, but the combination of hay, horses, and tack is pleasant and reminiscent of childhood summers.
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MissShenanigans cam

For you skunk lovers, may I interest you in this?! Please notice the bottom right bean...

http://www.jellybelly.com/fun_stuff/...vor_guide.aspx

Oh yikes...I think I'm a thread-killer!!!

^^ there's some weird innuendo here, in my head, and i cant place it. But co-sign on gasoline smell.

ALL OF THESE. I knew GC was my brothers and sisters from other mothers and misters.

A smell that I LOVED as a kid was those copy sheets that looked kinda purple-ish... not exactly carbon copies, but they had this alcohol-type smell that filled me with glee. Probably why I like the smell of rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover. And printer toner when the printer is warm.

ETA: Ditto copies! There's a scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High where they all smell the exam the teacher gives out... my entire 4th grade, yo.

Also, the inside of a Band-Aid tin container, new pencils/Crayola crayons (linked to that vinyl/new pencilcase smell).

The smell of hardware supplies takes me back to my childhood, as my grandfather owned a mom-and-pop type hardware store, before Home Depot/Lowes moved in. I can go to either of those stores (or be on a cronstruction site) and just be in LOVE with the smell in the air. Wood, metal, paint...yes.

That was mimeograph fluid! When the teachers passed out test papers, the kids would all press their faces to them and sniff! I thought it smelled like Borden's Liquid Glue.

I love vanilla, apple, and sweet pea!

My favorite "weird smells" are gasoline, doctor's offices, tea-tree oil, Home Depot/Lowe's, PetSmart, and dirt.

I was just talking yesterday about the smell of dead animal. I like its heavy, woodsy scent when it's not too strong and I'm passing through some woods in my car. It reminds me of home...but also, there's something in the odor that makes me hungry for meat. Throwback to some sort of early human instinct?

I also like skunk, gasoline at a distance, and dog breath.

On a weird note, I have a really sensitive nose and I am strongly affected by odors I don't like. I can smell milk going bad without opening the fridge. If I smell an odor that's offensive to me, I completely lose my appetite and can't focus on anything but the smell.

I win!

Nothing weird about that. Hardware stores smell awesome.

I love the smell in (most) Indian/Asian food shops, all of the spices smell so good.

I also really love vinegar, and use it in a lot of recipes, but boiling/cooking vinegar can smell really weird, and I know a lot of people hate it. Don't care, I love it anyway.

I have to go the other way on this. I used to live in Cedar Rapids, known pejoratively as the city of 5 smells. It is not a bed of roses, trust me. But the WORST smell for me was the Cap'n Crunch factory. For most people it was the one saving grace of that whole city and it just grossed me out. I swear I could tell when they were making crunch berries and that was even worse.

I believe it -- crunch berries smell awful.

Magic Markers—the kind with the metal cylinder that elementary-school teachers in the '70s used to teach penmanship.

@CeCe Newbie, I read your list and the first thing I thought of was that I have seen dirt perfume.

http://www.demeterfragrance.com/

I haven't smelled the dirt one, but I remember smelling both the bonfire and the leather ones, and they're pretty spot-on. In the gin&tonic one, I swear you can even smell the fizz in it.

They have a lot of sweet scents, but some weird ones: black pepper, condensed milk, crayon, fiery curry, glue, mildew (?!), sawdust, and waffles.

I love the smell of hair bleach and hair colour. Mmm!

Is your super sensitive nose the kind where your sense of smell is so strong you can taste smells and it makes you ill? I have hyper senses (all five, to the point I can get overloaded and have anxiety with too much stimulation. I took medicine for fibromyaligia to try and "numb" me but it had an unfortunate blood pressure side effect.

I couldn't think of anything until you mentioned vinegar. That is something I like to smell and eat and I guess a lot of people wouldn't like it. Thanks for helping me join in the thread ;)

I like the smell of nail salons that do the permanent acrylics. I don't know how else to describe it. We have one in our mall and it's tucked back in a corner but I still always find myself walking near it just because of that.

On the flip side, I HATE the smell of vanilla. It really makes me feel sick just being near someone wearing vanilla body spray.

LMFAO

i like the smell of sulfur 8 hair oil. :o

Most definitely...but I thought it was completely normal to taste smells. Isn't it??

Sure it is... if you're a reptile. ;)

Ew, who likes the smell of mildew? There's a guy in my office who stinks up his office with that awful smell every damn day.