I saw comic/meme thing labelled “why introverts love the rain” but it failed to mention petrichor - the scent produced by rainfall on vegetation. It’s one of my favorite scents in the world, and though there are candles and incense called “rain” none of them really compare.
I’m also a huge fan of the smell of roasting marshmallows over a campfire; it’s a very specific scent - caramelized burnt sugar, woodsmoke, soil, etc…
With that in mind, I thought I’d ask, what are your favorite smells; including any candle/incense/diffuser/essential oil/or body spray recommendations?
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It would be a Neil Gaiman episode of Doctor Who that introduced me to petrichor (which is def. a fantastic smell in the wild, not sure how I’d feel about it not meaning rain was imminent).
Vanilla/baked goods
Cocoa butter
Mint
Chai
Coffee shop in general (though I don’t drink it 
)
Fresh Christmas tree (candles don’t cut it)
Lilies and roses actually don’t smell that great in person to me, oddly enough. 
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I don’t drink coffee anymore, either! But there is a distinct “coffee shop” smell that is very inviting. I also still love the smell of coffee, but “coffee” smell and “coffee shop” smell are two distinctly different scents when I think about them.
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Woodsmoke.
Old books.
Lavender.
The moment a match is just blown out.
Evergreens.
Citrus.
Ginger.
Black tea.
Coffee.
Brown sugar and cinnamon.
@Ashburn, re: lilies and roses with no smell - that’s because the good majority of them are bred for looks and hardiness, and scent falls by the wayside in that process
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This isn’t really to what you’re asking for but it’s kinda relevant. So for me smell has played a big part in my life. Since I’m hypersensitive, thanks to my autism, so I couldn’t go in certain places like locker rooms or can’t go to really crowded areas as that just sets everything off. Also sometimes I can’t be around certain people because of how they smell (It sounds awful I know) because they have a very strong distinctive smell. I’m also able to tell who’s clothing is who’s based on the smell and I have like a set of smells that I know really well but I can never remember the origin of them. Others like books and woodsmoke I absolutely love and if I could I’d woodsmoke all my cloths so if there’s a woodsmoke candle or body spray let me know 
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Book smell… 
Or rather, well-kept book smell. I specify because I once got a volume of Sailor Moon out of the library that smelled like it was kept next to the stove during a fish fry. 
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Okay some old book smell is good but not that old book smell
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There’s a local book store I go to lots, and it has a coffee shop in it. As a result, the books not only smell like books, but a little like coffee shop too!
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Not a good smell at all, just very coincidental that I logged in to see this topic at the top of the latest page right as my brother’s fart wafted down the hall to my nose. Quite repulsive…
But I do like the smell of lemons. Or roasted pecans.
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That’s really neat! My sister has always been really sensitive to smells, and did an entire research project on “scent-memory” when she was in college because of it. She doesn’t do well in crowded spaces, either, and relates smells to textures and colors, so certain perfumes are “neon and scratchy” to her, where other smells are “pastel and soft”.
Edit: I started that story in order to say there are certain people she can’t stand because of their smell, also. I think it may be more common than people realize.
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Same here! Never knew that one of my favorite smells even had a specific name! I probably annoy people by telling them about petrichor all the time. I am waiting for the day I can use it when playing Scrabble!!
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Wildberry Incense is my personal go-to, I love their Carnival, Lilac, and Mountain Heather scents.
My unusual favorite is chlorine/bleach. No idea why but I love the smell, it feels clean. Otherwise I 100% agree with books, coffee, and woodsmoke for natural scents, or in candles/bath bombs I always gravitate back to lavender and coconut
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Pine needles, petrichor, and books (old or new) are probably my top three favorite smells, not necessarily in that order. Roses are also very nice. Old and new books have different smells but they both give me a similar feel.
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Erg. Personally I just can’t stand coconut scent. Love coconut in food (minus in alcohol…). But can’t stand the smell. I think it makes me think of sunscreen and sweat/b.o. build-up… 
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Freshly cut grass, soil, a chlorinated pool, firewood, a book store, pine, and rain too~♧
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Winter spices 
like anything you’d put in pie or apple cider, or even chai tea. That’s one of the main reasons I volunteer to be in charge of the Christmas baking every year. I always add a few more tsp than the recipes ask for, just so the whole house smells warm and festive.
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Hm… Favourite smells… Lavender (cause it was the first plant I could identify), sweet peas, coconut, shea butter, lilies, petrichor, Chirstmas trees, pine long fires (ie. burning last year’s xmas tree, lol), baked goods (especially sponge cake, xmas cake, and welsh cakes).
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Hekate, is your sister a synesthete? Those connections are fascinating.
Most of my favorite scents are reminiscent of the outdoors-- anything too flowery makes me sneeze, but I’m partial to earthy smells like rain, grass, trees, mud even. The smell of salt on the ocean. Oh, and coffee. Always coffee.
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She’s never been tested for it, but she claims to be, and it seems to sort of run in our family. My mom loves the snow-equivalent of petrichor - she can smell snow before it falls; I sometimes feel colors and textures based on people’s body language and tone of voice; my grandpa felt textures in music - Blue Grass/Appalachian music felt like fishing on a river to him.
It also may be that my family waxes poetic and it’s a linguistic trick more than an actual sensory stimulation, but it’s kind of cool, and especially makes reading a more vivid experience 
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Ooooo I love scents! I wear perfume most days, but can’t ever settle on one favorite enough to drop full-size-perfume-bottle money on something, so I get the “discovery packs” from brands (usually pretty cheap for ~10 sample sizes from a collection). Personally, I like to wear floral and citrus scents - I have a rose/wildflower/pear blend that I got made at a soap shop once, and I adore Atelier Cologne’s clementine and bergamot based products. There’s also this one hotel soap that I love the smell of dearly, but the scent isn’t labelled…it’s sort of a general soapy clean smell, but it’s quite distinct and unfortunately the scent isn’t labelled on the packaging.
Other than that, I love camp fire smells (bath and body work’s marshmallow fireside is a DREAM), ocean smells, old books, and coffee/chocolate smells. And assorted incense smells, but I made the mistake of getting an assortment of incense and keeping it too long in the same package, so all the sticks smell the same now - it’s a good smell, but I can’t distinguish what the original smells of each stick were…
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