Scent Memory: Of Children, Of Their Parents
She looked up from the table and asked, “What perfume are you wearing?” We were sitting in a restaurant deep in the French Quarter of New Orleans, doors swung wide, a humid breeze dragging its feet through the summer air. All I could think was, “I’m wearing sweat, good grief, what is she smelling?”
“Nantucket Briar by Crabtree & Evelyn. Why?”
She smiled and said, “Oh… I don’t know… it reminds me of my mom.”
I wanted to ask, “So, did you like your mom?” in hopes that I wasn’t reminding her of someone she wanted to throttle. The warmth in her eye suggested she liked her mother very much, though, and satisfied me in a way she couldn’t have imagined.
I chose Nantucket Briar as my signature scent precisely because I want my children to have a scent memory of me smelling just like this. Nantucket Briar is a crisp, green scent, laced with sharp lavender and what for all of the world smells like brittle bark or, I imagine, briars. It smells like browns and greens and light purple and white.
Though, according to Crabtree & Evelyn, Nantucket Briar smells like wild briar rose, bergamot, ambergris, spice and vanilla. Apparently there isn’t any lavender in it at all. I suppose “clean dirt, bark, and spikey flowering herbs” wouldn’t sell as well.
The scent memory I want my children to have of their mother is that of a woman with wild, windblown hair, softened by salt, as though she just walked from the beach through a bit of forest full of fairies and lavender. Clean but wiley. Unpredictable, yet theirs.
I put deliberate thought into my children’s scent memory of me. Granted, my ongoing battle with showers probably isn’t helping my cause, though Nantucket Briar does come in a body mist. You know I would know that.
Scent memory is real. Looking into the softened eyes of the woman across from me, I could see her go someplace else, someplace long ago, someplace warm and inviting with adoring embraces and eyes squinting from happiness. I learned later that she very much loved her mother, for many of the same reasons I hope my children love and remember me.
Of course I am crafting my children’s memories in subtle ways. I am a writer. I craft experiences.
Do you have a signature scent? Do you have several?
What do you think will lace your children’s scent memory of you and their childhood? What is your childhood scent memory?
Oh, Megan. I had forgotten. Thank you for reminding me and including me in this beautiful post. You made me cry. xoxo
My mom smelled like Beautiful. I think my kids will remember me smelling like Oil of Olay. Beautiful!
Jennifer, my mom smelled like Oil of Olay, too! My kids will remember me smelling like coffee and milk and on good days Lilly of the Valley. I love this.
I’m sending this to the husband as proof that I should buy that bottle of Chanel.
My mom smelled like Chanel. Oh Megan, thank you!
My scent memory is of my dad in Old Spice. I still buy a gift set of it every year at Christmas for my husband, even though he’s never opened any of the boxes. I could drop them off at Goodwill but it’s my dad. Have you ever sprayed someone else’s smell on a shirt and slept with it?
I love this. Both because it’s so beautifully said and because you’ve made me think about something I’ve never thought of before. My mom was Chanel No. 5. I think I might smell like hair gel, only because most days I am too rushed to put on perfume or body lotion in the morning. But I have me a big bottle of lemon eau de cologne, and now I’ll be remembering to apply some.
my mother wore Youth Dew for years.
i’m usually too disorganized to remember, but i love citrus-y scents.
Ya’ll. Magpie just reminded me about Demeter fragrance. I used to wear their Laundromat and Grass. Always wanted to try “Funeral Home.”
Now look what I found: Pure Soap!
http://www.demeterfragrance.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=1118
This is the perfect solution to both this post and my post about not taking enough showers. (which totally makes sense in context but sounds gross here)
Loving all of your comments, by the way. Loving.
My signature scent is one my husband can’t stand, unfortunately, b/c he says he thinks it makes me smell like a grandmother. It’s Penhaligon’s Elizabethan Rose lotion (I don’t like perfume, I prefer scented lotions)…I found a place nearby where they can make something very similar at a far cheaper price. But I rarely wear it because I know how hubs feels about it. To me, though? It’s fresh and light and lovely. It makes me feel feminine and soft and good. Maybe I should start wearing it more often. Husband be damned.
Love this post, Megan!
I never wear perfume, but I LOVED “Nantucket Briar” as a kid! I can still smell my mom’s perfume. And the smell of Pond’s will always remind my of my Nana. Beautiful, as always, Megan.
My mom loved Cloe. Her favorite scent in general was lavender and I still miss her every time I smell that. :)