It All Makes Scents...

The smell of your skin lingers on me now
You're probably on your flight back to your home town
I need some shelter of my own protection, baby
To be with myself and center
Clarity, peace, serenity

Someone passed by me today at the Neptune Festival wearing Eternity for Men.  I smelled it and recognized it instantly.  There is something about that scent that immediately puts me on notice.  A male friend used to wear it in college and that's how I first discovered it.  I don't know if it is a specific "note" in the cologne or what, but it totally puts my senses on high alert when I smell it.

Confession time:  I love love love the scent of a man.  

I know what you are thinking -- that opens all sorts of doors.  So, let me correct and clarify.  I love the scent of a crisp, clean man.  I don't care if it is deodorant, soap, shampoo, aftershave, fabric softener or just the smell of freshly pressed cotton, I love it.

There's a guy at work who delivers paper to the copiers and I look forward to his visits because he always smells so good.  I'm sure I've made him uncomfortable a couple of times because I've cornered him and told him that I like the smell of his aftershave.  Now, before you think I'm stalking some poor man at work, he's probably old enough to be my dad or uncle and absolutely loves the attention.  He's also happily married.

I like citrusy scents.  I don't like the heavy over-powering spicy stuff.  I like the stuff that smells "clean".  Subtle.  It invites you to get closer. I love when you are standing next to a guy and you can just smell the aftershave (or whatever) and want more, but know you can't have it.

I've blogged twice about my introduction into the pheromone oil that was allegedly supposed to drive men wild.  I IM'd a male friend about my experiment and my disappointment that hoards of men did not chase me down the street like in the movie Love Potion # 9 and he made a very astute comment that people are attracted to different scents.  I couldn't agree more.  I just hoped that the added bonus of the pheromone would help identify which males in this universe were attracted to my scent.  Apparently, none. 

Scent is a potent thing.  It's no wonder that Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candle are two of the highest selling companies in the USA.  I can't walk by BBW without buying something.  Right now, as I type this, I'm fresh from the shower, where I used their Orange Ginger body wash.  Then, I slathered on some of their "sleep" aromatherapy lotion which has lavender and chamomile.  Tomorrow, when I get ready for work, I'll spritz on some of their White Citrus body spray.  Earlier tonight, I burned my Island Spa candle from Yankee Candle.

For myself, I do not enjoy heavy floral scents.  Because of my allergies, I have a hard time finding perfumes and body sprays that do not put me in a funk.  I've noticed that many of the florals drive me crazy.  Freesia seems to be the only floral scent that I can tolerate.  And lavender.  For myself, I am also drawn to citrus based scents.

As I type this, I'm more aware of the scents around me.  Abby is curled up on the back of my chair, giving me sleepy eyes.  She has some stinky breath.  I tease her all the time about her stinky breath.  Some mornings, she wakes me up because she'll get right in my face and start licking my ears and nostrils and I'll smell her stinky breath.  But, I love her.  She doesn't stink otherwise.  I can smell the remnants of the pasta I made for dinner and the Island Spa candle I blew out about 30 minutes ago.  I can also smell the apple cinnamon airwick outlet warmer in the hallway.  The scent of my shower is lingering in the air, too.  My robe smells like Gain fabric softener and my skin smells like lavender.

There are so many scents that I enjoy:

Baby powder

Freshly cut grass

Oranges

Lemons

Cantaloupe

Berries

Gain laundry detergent

Downy fabric softener

Peaches

Pizza (oregano)

Rain hitting the dirt on a spring day

Hot chocolate

Apple pie

Cotton candy

Movie theater popcorn

Fresh baked bread

Cedar chips

Hot charcoal in a grill

Wood burning fireplaces

Krispy Kreme donuts

Bleach

Murphy's Oil Soap

Pledge

Dawn dish liquid

Mint of any sort

Eucalyptus

Vick's Vapo Rub

Icy Hot
Pine
Lumber (as in at Home Depot)
Spray paint
Nail polish remover
French milled soap
Ocean air
New Car
Candle wax
L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom lotion
Eternity (women and men)
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ahhh, I'm sitting here conjuring up all sorts of happy memories about each of the above scents. 

I remember reading an article once, in COSMO or GLAMOUR, that said that most men like scents like vanilla and cookies.  I think there were a few men who also said they liked popcorn and cinnamon scents.

Go figure.  We spend hundreds of dollars on good stuff and all we really have to do is dab some vanilla behind our ears and bake some cookies.  

Hmmmm....   Maybe I should sign up for a cooking class after all.  One making desserts.

"What's that delightful smell?" he asks.

"Oh, you mean the vanilla cinnamon sugar cookies I just baked for you?"  I ask coyly and then invite him in for a movie marathon and freshly popped popcorn.

I wonder if the lotion the guy in Silence of the Lambs used was vanilla scented?