Our very sense of home is grounded in scent. When giving a recent talk, Amelia Clark, President of Old Sun Community College, noted that after many years away from her birth place of Alberta when she finally returned it was the smell of the soil being turned over in the fields that let her told her she was home. In the years that I have been living here I barely noticed it; my coming home sensory parallel would be the sharp, salty smell of the Atlantic Ocean.

Scent can unlock memories, bring us pleasure and produce a physical reaction. I avoid the candle area of most stores because their cheap synthetic smells make me nauseous. I have a client who rediscovered her long neglected passion for riding. Not only is her connection with the horses part of the relaxation process; the stress starts to roll away when she enters the barn with all its equine related smells. So too can the aroma of a simmering pasta sauce, roast chicken or baking cookies evoke feelings of comfort and feeling sheltered from the outside world.

Living in a city you develop an awareness of the layers of smells beyond the vehicle fumes; wet city streets, a favourite coffee house, the ethnic areas with their markets and restaurants and as that exquisitely dressed woman walks by the lingering scent of her equally exquisite perfume.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding perfume but properly worn it can be an enhancement of our personality. Recently I leaned in to hug a friend before the meeting; I caught a whiff of her lovely perfume. Unlike many women she knew how to wear perfume well, as you don’t smell it until you were in her boundaries. In the same way we associate the classic bouquet of Diorissimo or Shalimar with the moms and aunts who wore them. I also find it very attractive when a man has finished off his grooming with a distinctive aftershave.

This summer don't just experience life with with your eyes; breathe in the tang of the lemonade, smells carried on the warm breeze blowing through your bedroom window ....... take time to smell the lavender.

Postscript

We will be back in September – Happy Summer, everyone!

Interesting follow-up articles - In Marie Claire Finding the Perfect Perfume by Martha McCully

When we think of lavendar fields we tend to think France not Colorado