Oh! Oh!
Christmas decorations!!
I don’t know about y’all, but my Christmas decorations smell like the ghosts of Christmas past… opening the box on December 1st, I inhale deeply… it’s like a mixture of dust and plastic and I don’t know what… I love the smell of Christmas decorations. I love Christmas. I love Christmas so much, that thinking of it brings tears to my eyes… sigh. Not long now until I’ll be unpacking my decorations to the sweet sounds of Bing…
This is a great post to de-lurkify myself.
Non Food:
Rain (especially in pine trees)
Melting snow
My friend Alma’s deodorant (Secret)
Patchouli
Leather
Skunk (yeah, I know)
Fresh cut grass
Marijuana (Ah yes!)
The bathroom cleaner they use at my job
Girls that have been sunning
Girls when they just wake up
yum yum yum!
Food:
Baking bread
Bubble Yum™ bubble gum (original flavor)
Apple or Pumpkin pie
Salmon!
Fresh basil
Vanilla
Bacon
Hot maple syrup
Now my mouth is watering…
-Fosfero
Man, and here I thought I was vaguely unique…
Leather - my favorite thing about cold weather is the smell of my leather jackets after they haven’t been worn in 8 months or so…
Homemade Bread Baking…
BACON FRYING! Yes!
and now for some that might not have been said before…
Anything cooking in soy sauce…
Scotch…the smell is almost as good as the taste…
My mother’s kitchen on any given holiday…
The smell of box sealing tape as it peels off the roll.
Wet sand.
Hay when you break the leaves.
Coffee beans, fresh ground. Better than actual coffee any day.
Baby powder on tots, but not the sneeze cloud that comes out of the squeezer.
Michele - I cannot walk into my son’s school without being taken back to when I myself was a mere lad of five. I remember that the musty rich smell of fallen leaves filled the air as my mom walked me to the door. Actually, I think she had to drag me the two blocks I had to travel that first day so long ago.
I remember the terror I had at entering this unknown place with it’s strange people and classrooms. There was the maze of hallways and the huge staircase that led upstairs to the library and the dreaded lair of the principal who wasn’t above strapping children for the smallest transgression or so I heard from my older brother and sister. Is it any wonder I was terrified out of my five year old wits?
Upon entering my classroom I remember the smell of chalkdust and paste, there was the smell of new paper, musty books, crayons, and scotch tape which I buy now simply because it smells so good. It is the smell of youth and wide eyed innocence.
My teacher was Mrs Edwards and she is the one who gave me a love for school. She was made of goodness and light and being with her made one forget the principal, a guy who turned out to be a pretty nice guy too. This is also when I stopped listening to my brothers tall tales.
Mrs Edwards introduced me to the most wondrous substance ever invented, plasticene. We would take a break in the morning and be given the opportunity to model whatever came to mind. I remember how the light filtered in through the blinds as we worked with the clay and more often than not, I made Viking ships and little baskets with apples which I gave to my teacher because it’s never too early to suck up to the teacher is it? I remember that the smell of the plasticene used to drive me to distraction, 11:30 could never come early enough so that I could get my hands on that great waxy smelling plasticene. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered there was no pasticene in the second grade.
I still have plasticene and the smell of it reminds me of a time long past when a scared little boy begged his mom to take him home and not to send him to school. The more you work it the better it smells and the more it smells the more it reminds me of that days long past and that kind lady who used to send us home at the end of the day with a hug and a kiss on the head. It was a simpler time when everything was new and every moment promised new adventure and new knowledge.
I can smell the leaves that have fallen as there’s a little breeze blowing in through the window. I am soon going to have to find a pile of them in the new future and let the kids jump in them.
When they’re older perhaps the smell of leaves will remind them of me. I wouldn’t mind that at all.
Oil of Olay & Jean Nate splash (dad’s mom)
She also had a shoebox she kept all her spices in - walking down the spice aisle of the supermarket brings that right back…
Shalimar, cigarettes & beer (mom’s mom) - no, she wasn’t the typical grandmother - but she did have the best laugh & a great quote: we were playing a board game & were bugging her to hurry up. She said: “Grandma’s not fast, she’s only half-fast”.
I miss them both…
I have this candle a friend gave me - cucumber/honeydew. It smells so good I’m afraid to burn it. I just sniff it every few days.
I make my own shower scrub, with essential oils of juniper and grapefruit. Yum yum yum. Fresh, sharp, woodsy, earthy all at once - nice and invigorating in the morning.
Mr. Seawitch wears just a little patchouli. When it’s been on a while, and combines with his natural smell… swoon
There’s a park near my house with a grove of eucalyptus trees. Walking there in the morning when the sun is just starting to warm the leaves; mmmmmm.
The first few raindrops hitting a hot sidewalk.
Pot roast about 15 minutes before it’s ready to eat. I stand in the kitchen and drool on myself.
Ever spent a few days at sea? I was on a sailboat for about a week; one foggy morning on the way home, as we got closer to land, and could smell the earth before we could see the coastline. One of those background smells you don’t miss until it’s gone, but the smell of landfall ahead is fabulous.
This probably going to date me a lot, but . . does anyone remember the mimeograph machine? It was before the copier and you rotated a drum like device, which printed paper with purple ink. There was one in my junior high school, around 25 or so years ago and the smell just drove me wild. Another non-traditional smell that I love is Lysol Disinfectant Spray in Crisp Linen. If I wasn’t so embarrassed, I could save so much money on perfume.
Mmmmm. Mimeograph papers!
There was nothing quite like getting those slightly damp mimeographed papers and smelllllliiiiing them.
I also love those giant markers that basically make you high when you sniff them–you know what I mean? I worked at a shipping business for a while and everytime we’d get stressed out we would whip the cap off that marker and take a whiff.
Also:
lemons
crayons
I’m going blank, here.
Someone already said books and that’s probably my favorite smell.
There’s also a building on the campus of UH that I love the smell of–sometimes I’ll just walk through the lobby for no good reason. I don’t know what it is…maybe old wood and floor wax.
heart,
dpf
There’s too many to list, but here’s the ones I can think of right now…
Food smells:
Bacon sizzling in the pan.
Smoked fish, even though I can’t bear the taste of it.
Anything done on the BBQ.
Fresh coffee.
Home-baked cakes and bread.
Root beer - hard to come by in the UK, unfortunately.
Non-food smells:
Cut grass.
Pub smell - smoke and stale beer. I love it!
Vacuum dust.
Old books.
Plasticine.
Kirby carpet shampoo - smells like a mixture of lavender and ammonia.
Laundry being washed and dried, especially the smell of the steam when I leave the washer lid up.
The outside air after a thunderstorm.
Leather - innocent reasons! 
Rubber - ditto!
One of my all-time favourites is cigar smoke. I’ve never mastered the art of smoking a cigar properly, but I’ve loved the smell for as long as I can remember. Even if I don’t always partake myself, those who wish to smoke a cigar in my presence are always strongly encouraged to do so.
Best of all is the smell of my partner. Either just out of the shower, or after a long day. Fresh sweat is a bonus. And I love the smell of his hair, which is probably due to the natural oils in it. Because we only get to see each other for one weekend each month, we usually wear a T-shirt each and do a swap before we part. Amazing how long it lingers, and it’s something I find really comforting when I’m back home.
I saw some weird old Japanese film noir, there’s a character in it that has a sexual fetish for the smell of cooking rice. I became curious how that scent could have any attraction of that type, so I started sniffing it when I made rice, and I think I can see the attraction.
ooooo, ooooo
I can’t believe I forgot the smell of Crayola Crayons. It has to be Crayola. Those knock-offs don’t smell right!
Gasoline
Dead skunks
Really, I mean it.
Christmas trees. In fact, I was just in a northern AZ city this weekend and I was frequently snapping off needles to smell the beautimous smell that is evergreen.
My freshly baked Gingersnaps
Ground Coffee. I think they should have Glade Plug-ins that smell exactly like ground coffee. Nothing sweet, just plain ground coffee.
The heavy scent of rain that is fast approaching
Purple roses (that is my favorite flower). They are so sweet smelling that I could sit there with one all day.
The crisp smell of Autumn
Boogers. That’s why I keep them up my nose.
What?
Oh, ok …
Bacon
Baby Powder
Fresh Baked Bread (used to live right behind the bread factory in Portland, ME)
Turkey in the oven at Thanksgiving
Orange - Tatsuma(sp?) Shampoo
Italian Sausages
Cedar
probably more that I can’t think of…
Everything and anything baking at Christmastime is great 
A woman.
Yes, there!
Also, (and someone alluded to this in a previous reply) elementary schools have a distinctive odor in their hallways. The smell of youth, perhaps? Maybe some of you will know what I mean.
Fresh paint.
Eucalyptus.
Quasi
I LOVE the smell of a racecar!
Racing fuel
Burning Racing rubber, I can’t get enough of it!
I also like:
street car burning rubber (yes there’s a difference between steet and race tires)
new car smell
popcorn in the microwave
freshly opened bag of doritos
the smell of a womens aroused vagina
Some pretty weird smells eh?
Comments? AIM: SpeedracerDC1
Horses. Best smell in the world. I like to rest my nose on the Wonder Pony’s side and inhale. (I am truly amazed at how many people here like the smell).
New vinyl notebooks. Similar to mimeograph.
Men.
Leather. Especially leather at room temperature. The WP’s tack is in an unheated room, but when I bring it home to clean it, the whole house smells good.
Clean babies.
My mom used to wear Arpege perfume. I don’t if it’s made anymore, but I can smell it in my mind 40 years later.
Books, specifically old books (but not musty ones). Hey, I’m a librarian, I can sniff all day long!
Melted butter.
Vanilla. Best food smell.
Frying bacon.
Lemon. Actually, just about any citrus.
Coffee that is brewing.
I also like “no smell.” Like the smell you get when something is clean–no smell, no lingering odors. Just clean.
My pet Himalayan-Persian Susie-Q!
Sometimes when we snuggle up together, she endures me burying my nose in her fur, and then takes her normal place at the bottom of my feet which is most appreciated in winter time.
I would also like to say that I agree with every single thing the previous poster wrote! I too like the smell of a horse, and when I was younger, I looked forward to riding and afterward rubbing down and grooming my Quarter Horse, Babe. I also never minded cleaning out the stall. Bet you didn’t either! Thanks for the reminder!
Quasi