The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]


Falling In Love
June 12, 2007, 7:00 am
Filed under: Comment

Hello folks … I am doing a little project and was wondering if you could help me.

Basically, I am trying to find out what ‘love’ smells like.  Or more specifically … what ‘falling in love’ smells like.

I appreciate this is very ambiguous – but if there are any smell/s that specifically reflect that emotion to you, could you be so kind to tell me.

I guarantee no one will ever see/read/know what you have written and if you prefer to keep your thoughts private, you can email me them instead.

Thanks so much in advance … 

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By the way, the above visual is from the brilliant Singaporean blog, Stickgal.

Go check it out because apart from proving Singapore is not a creative wasteland … it reminds us how a picture – when done right – can truly say a thousand words!  


18 Comments so far
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Its not what love smells like but how love makes everyday smells so wonderful – grass, cotton. I should bill you for that one. Also check out Perfume by Patrick Suskind for the very last word on the sense of smell. Its an amazing book.

Comment by Charles Frith

Good shout on the book Charles. But I suspect Rob already got the DVD of the film – on the cheap like – if you know what I mean.

(Rob if you don’t have that book you really should get it)

Comment by Marcus

Thanks Charles … and yes, there is definitely a feeling you are more responsive to all that is around you [when falling in love] rather than any definitive scent – but grass and cotton are good ones, probably driven by activities and efforts made by people still in the phase of ‘impressing’.

And yes, the film/book is a corker – and no Marcus, I didn’t see it because movies here are ahem, available on the ‘cheap’.

[That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!]

Comment by Rob

I think falling in love smells like freshly-showered skin and baby powder. Comforting, simple, soothing. It’s not complicated or synthetic, like all the perfumes they sell in department stores (and especially Eau De Toilettes that I hate, with the alcohol smell – cold and clinical?. It reminds you of the all-encompassing love parents give to you (their kid)… though of course falling in love is somewhat different in the obvious sense.

Comment by theletterzee

Grass, the smell of sweat – basically, what Charles said (I would bill him for that one mate 😉 ).

Comment by Will

There’s alot of SWEAT being mentioned … but I am hoping you don’t all mean armpits after a 2 mile run.

[Though I have a feeling Charles does, ha!]

Comment by Rob

Love smells like the gentle bobbing action on a gear stick.. Oops wrong post. Sorry 😉

Comment by Charles Frith

That is gold … it’s made me chuckle like a madman.

Comment by Robert

Love is a perfume that you could smell on supermodels and it would still remind you of your lover!

Comment by Rob Mortimer

I had an email from someone who I think wants to be kept annon, and it was about the smell of shampoo being the scent of love – because you smell the hair when you are hugging.

I really like that – I mean I like them all – but there’s something about that which I find especially interesting.

Comment by Rob

When I try to imagine the smell of love I automatically think of bakery smells. Wholesome, natural, warm & cared for.

Falling in love is different. More intense, sweet & heady, like full on florals or berries and cherries and sticky, or the cloying sweetness of candyfloss and gummy sweets. I think I’m trying to put a sense of rush into the smell. I definitely don’t get lovely fresh things like cotton or grass.

The more I think about it, the more I dislike the smell of falling in love. Urgh!

Comment by helenltaylor

Actually, my comment above (same person, different login) is how I imagine falling in love when I’m not in that moment.

Your last comment made me think back more to an actual experience, and the smell I associate with it. Soap.

Comment by helen

It’s easy, the smell of love is the smell of the one you love. For me it is the smell of the perfume Paris from YSL. My wife used to have it when I met her, and since then I always smell when someone is wearing this particular perfume. Smells is something people always remember, even smells from early childhood.

Comment by henk ghesquiere

I’m not sure if this is a smell, but adrenaline. Kind of like the smell of fear or excitement. This might be what people are getting at with the sweat thing, too.

Comment by Vanessa from SLC

Oooooh I like this post – not just because it is helping me/us on an interesting project, but it has encouraged a bunch of new people to come and talk.

Hello Helen, Henk and Vanessa – thanks so much for your comments and I do hope this won’t be the last time you pop in and talk.

And while I can totally relate to where Henk is coming from [The woman I left England for, wore Amarige perfume, and while we split up bloody years ago, I can still tell when a woman wears it, though obviously the smell isn’t “love” anymore, just a memory] Helen’s comments seem to indicate more about who you are and your attitude towards ‘love’ than anything else, ha!

Hmmmmn, I think I’ve just singlehandidly scared you away – but in all seriousness, I’d love to know more about why you said what you said, because the next part of this experiment is look for ‘frames of reference’ and while the bread/bakery/warm makes sense, the other things are rather different and that’s the bit I find the most intriguing.

Now Vanessa, I totally get what you mean about the smell of ‘fear/adreneline’ … because whether you are in the early days of being someone or just going up and talking to them, your heart [at least for us weak-as-piss men] is pumping like a mad thing both interms of excitement and trepedation. However, what does fear and adreneline smell like … is there anything you associate with that, even if not directly? ie: ice makes me think of cleanliness etc etc

Hope you all pop back from time to time, if only to keep sanity on this blog, ha!

Comment by Robert

When I first met Sarah, I remember conciously trying to take in every part of her with my eyes, ears and nose. I wanted to try and memorize every curve on her face, remember the tone in her voice, the scent of her DNA and while I can’t describe what they are with words, I know what they are and to me, that’s when I knew I was falling in love.

Comment by Pete

Pete … the Mr Darcy of Adland!

Comment by Rob

Has Pete got a brother?

Comment by Jemma King




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