I smell that special someone

We know the feeling all too well: it’s a new season, the leaves on the trees are changing and you need a new scent to match the cozy vibe in the air.

You open the drawer or cabinet where you keep your fragrances to find half empty bottles that you never got around to finishing. You loved those scents. You forget why you stopped using them until you lean your head in to smell and you’re slapped in the face with the memory of last summer’s love or that crazy weekend in NYC that was 2 years ago.  

Did you know there is a scientific link between perfumes or other scents and emotions?

A typical person will smell up to about 10,000 different scents every day. Smelling sensors called cilia travel through the nasal passage, sending messages to the limbic system, the home of emotions and where memories are formed. This is why certain perfumes or smells can trigger an emotion or memory. Ever had that sensation of something smelling like your best friend’s house or your fifth grade locker? That’s why!

This same concept happens with the scents we wear. The scents we wear that still remind us of a different time?

Often when a big change in your life occurs, good or bad, some people change something about themselves…their hair, clothes, or even their signature scent. Something that seems so simple can go a long way in representing a new chapter in your life.

Breakups, new love, moving, or the start of the new school year could all warrant adding a new scent to the collection.

For me, freshman year smells like Burberry Her. It’s so easy to travel back in time when the scent hits my nostrils. Suddenly, I’m back in my dorm (that I prefer to refer to as my shoebox) getting ready for a frat party with no invite. I enjoy the smell. It reminds me of a simpler time and how different my life was compared to now.

I can travel back further to middle school with my vast collection of Bath & Body Works hand sanitizers. Which only improved a little when I got to high school with Victoria’s Secret Body Spray—anything that smelled like vanilla.

We all need a fresh start sometimes. A new perfume can be the perfect start to a new beginning.

Which perfumes remind you of a past time in your life, DM us @VALLEYmag to share!

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