My nose is very important to me. I smell many things. But I also like the smell of strange things. I love the smell of my dad’s cabernet wine, and I can always describe the taste of it by just smell, yet I HATE the way it tastes. I like the smell of men’s collars. (I know this sounds dirty, but it isn’t). Especially if it belongs to a guy I like. I can’t really describe it, except the unique blend of aftershave and their own scent somehow. I like the occasional whiff of gasoline at the gas station (or petrol as some call it).
And the strangest smell I enjoy is skunk. Yes, I love that smell. I bet I wouldn’t if I were sprayed by it, but I haven’t been so I actually like it when there is a skunk slinking around somewhere. I just really like the smell of it.
Anyone else?
Merla
My very favorite smell in the whole world is the one that rain makes when it falls on warm asphault. I wish they could bottle that one.
Also, chalk me in as another weirdo who loves the smell of skunk - a summery, childhood kind of smell. Apart from that I like:
Sauteeing mushrooms
Oil paints
Wet dog
Clean sheets
Women’s hair
I’m a handspinner, and I like the smell of freshly-sheared wool. Heck, I like the smell of most ANY kind of wool. Even if I buy yarn, I always have to hold the skein to my nose and take a deep whiff.
Ah, wool…
Another skunk-smell-lover here, too.
Others:
Gasoline
Durian
Acetone
That smell that sometimes occurs when a battery-powered motor is overworked
Rubbing alcohol
Sawdust
Elmer’s glue
Diesel (I may be the only person who likes its smell)
The way the desert smells after a rain
Cut wood
Hemp rope
Hair
Horse barns
Damn. Most of mine are taken.
-Skunk
-Rain on hot asphault
-Sawdust
-Women’s hair
Use to like gasoline but it sort of went away - not repulsed by it though.
My weirdest one is raw sewerage that has gone anaerobic.
I grew up in a place where basements are not at all common. Grandma and Grandpa’s house in MA had one. I remember visiting them when I was 7 and being thrilled to finally see a basement. it smelled, as most basements do, of slight mildew. To this day I love the smell of it.
I also love the scent of a perfume called Youth Dew. It was a perfume that was HUGE in the 50-60’s. It was one of Estee Lauder’s first perfumes. It is everything a perfume isn’t now a days. It is very heavy (think lead) and smells rather like a bridge club get together. My mom would wear the tiniest dab when she and dad would go out. It was to her, a great luxury. Well, mom hasn’t worn it in oh… over 2 decades, but it still reminds me of her. I went to the estee lauder counter a few years ago and asked to buy some. The sales lady looked at me as if I asked for a jar of acid. I guess no one remotely my age wears it. I sure don’t, but I love to pull it out every now and then and think of mom and me being 5 years old.
I don’t think you need to worry about lots of people chiming in with, “Me, too!”, on that one.
The only ones I can think of, at the moment, are;
Books - I love the smell of books, though not if they’ve gotten mildewed
Ferrets - I love the way my little guys smell, when they aren’t overly stinky (which is most of the time).
And, apparently, skunk is not so unusual. I like it, too, when it’s fairly dilute. At full potency, though, it’s awful.
Vinyl - smells like summer, new pool floaties and barbie dolls
and rain on fresh asphalt smells like SixFlags.
And there is nothing on this planet like puppy breath.
Unusual … unusual … well let’s see. Add me to the people who like the smell of gasoline, although it’s so often mentioned I guess it’s not really unusual.
I also love the overall smell of horse barns, which is a nice way of saying the smell of horse poop. I think if you love horses, the smell just makes you happy. I enjoy it even when it would be overpowering for a non-horsey person.
Oh, and the smell of Off, or other bug-spray type stuff. Now they have all sorts of spray that has hardly any scent, or a even nice scent. But the old-fashioned, potent reek of Off is a happy memory of childhood summer.
Xylene
Fresh newsprint
Matches being lit
My computer
Ditto on basements! I would have never thought of that if you hadn’t mentioned it Bad News Baboon.
Also old comic books. The older the better, but the oldest I’ve ever managed to get my hands on were from the mid 60s or so, so I don’t know if I’d like Golden Age comics or not.
I love the smell of my freezer. Opening the door and taking a big inhale of the cold misty air.
Love gasoline too!
skunks here too. Also caves, leather and whiskey (single malt, of course). Some psychologist would have a field day with that.
Bactine spray for boo-boos.
Horse blankets.
My kitty kats’ breath.
Car exhaust. I don’t know why, but I love the smell of car exhaust, and yes, I know it’s dangerous to inhale.
Burnt electronics
Burnt hair
(And, no, I’m not a pyromaniac.)
The smell of instant mashed potatos. Anytime I catch that sweet fragrance I’m back, standing in line for lunch at high school. And that’s been 39 years.