Top Ten… Favorite Scents

I’ve been a long-time fan of Shay at Mix and Match Mama, and she started a Top 3, Bottom 3 blog post series a few months ago that I thought was super fun.  I always love reading random posts such as these the most (day in the life, random facts, coffee chats, etc.) and I think y’all do, too, based on the feedback I receive, so I thought it would be fun to start a new series similar to Shay’s. 

Instead of a Top 3, Bottom 3, I’m going to do a Top Ten list of favorites.  Do y’all remember when David Letterman used to do his Top Ten lists on his show?  That’s what I’m going for here.  ;o)

To kick it off, I’m going to share my Top Ten favorite scents.  Once I started brainstorming for this post, I realized that most of these scents that I chose are rooted in nostalgia.  But I guess that shouldn’t surprise any of you who know me well, as I’ve always been a very sentimental person. 

Okay, let’s go!

 

10. Hotels in Vegas – Okay, I know this is a weird one, but hear me out.  Brian and I used to go to Las Vegas every single year before we had kids… for almost a decade.  We frequented all of the hotels there, and each one had its own unique scent, all of which were impossible to pinpoint.  I couldn’t ever tell you what on earth it was that each place smelled like specifically, but just trust me when I say that they all smelled divine.  Tropicana was my favorite.  If I could bottle that scent and spray it in my house, I would in a heartbeat.  I haven’t been to Vegas in years, but I do wonder every now and then if Tropicana still smells the same inside.  (And for some reason, thinking about this also just reminded me that one of my childhood friends had the best-smelling house.  I have no clue what they used in there, but it was the most unique, distinct scent (part of which was laundry detergent, I think), and I would totally bottle that, too, if I could.  It probably deserves a spot in this post, but since I’ve already decided on my top 10, it can just have honorable mention.)

9.  New car – Yep, I know this is cliché, but there’s a reason why it’s a cliché… it’s just so good, y’all!  Unfortunately, my new car smell has worn off now in my Telluride, but I sure did enjoy it for the few months that it lasted.  I actually just took it to be serviced this past week, and they put a new filter in it because my air vents weren’t smelling great, so my air conditioning now smells like a dentist office.  I like that, too.  It smells nice and clean.

 

8.  Clean laundry – Ohhhh, y’all, clean laundry is truly the best!  I love smelling it when it first comes out of the dryer, I love smelling it when I hug someone (one of my uncles always smells like clean laundry and it’s the best thing!), and I also love smelling it wafting through the neighborhood when I go on my evening walks and runs.  Somebody on the main street that runs parallel to my street has the best smelling laundry ever and I really wish I could figure out which house it is so I could knock on their door and ask them what they use.

 

7.  Various old Bath & Body Works lotions and sprays – I don’t use these anymore, but there are several scents from there that bring back such sweet memories from my past!  Cucumber Melon and Pearberry will forever remind me of high school and prom, and Sweet Pea will always remind me of dating Brian.  Vanilla Bean and Winter Candy Apple will always remind me of the holidays, and I will also forever love Blackberry & Basil and Champagne Toast. 

 

6.  Various old lip glosses and Chapsticks – I have always been the Chapstick queen, so there are tons of different lip products that I have loved throughout the years.  First up, is Lip Smackers Watermelon Chapstick.  I got this for Christmas in, probably, 1989-ish when I was seven, and it was pretty much the best thing ever.  They still make this, and every single time I smell it, I’m immediately transported to my parents’ house on Christmas morning.  Next up, is Kissing Potion strawberry lip gloss… y’all, I’m throwing it waaaay back to the early 90’s with this one, but oh my word, does anybody remember this stuff?!  It was my absolute favorite when I was probably nine or ten, and I can still smell it in my head even though it’s probably been 30 years since I’ve actually smelled it.  It was seriously the best smelling lip gloss of all time!  I also loved the scent of the Bath & Body Works Cherry Vanilla lip balm that came in a little glass pot… I used that in my early teens, and it was the best.  I can still smell that in my head even though it’s been decades since I’ve smelled it in real life.  (And now that I think about it, sticking my fingers in a pot of lip balm was really, really gross.  And I think my friends and I all shared it to make things even worse.  Haha.)  Finally, my most favorite of all – Bath & Body Works Sugar Plum Fairy lip balm that came in a purple tube.  I wore that for my first year working at the movie theater and that was one of my favorite years of my whole life, so that scent always takes me right back to my first holiday season working at the movie theater.  I actually still have that original tube from the 90’s… I have no idea why I held onto it for this long, but it still smells so good!  And clearly, this category is all about nostalgia! 

 

5.  Movie theater popcorn – I actually have a love/hate relationship with this scent.  When I first started working at the movie theater, I hated popcorn, but I quickly learned to love it since I had unlimited access to it for snacks.  Eventually, I started hating it again because I went home smelling like it every day.  My hair, my clothes, my car, and my bedroom pretty much always smelled like popcorn from the years of 1998-2001 while I worked there.  Lol.  But now, every single time I walk into a movie theater and smell that popcorn, it brings back the best memories of working there, so I love it.

 

4.  Peppermint – Peppermint has been one of my favorite scents since I was a kid, and now that I’m so big into essential oils, I love it even more.  What’s not to like about peppermint?!  It smells fresh, it’s invigorating, it helps wake me up and feel energized, and it helps tremendously with nausea and fatigue.  Plus, it always reminds me of Christmas.  Give me all the peppermint oil, candy canes, gum, ice cream, and other peppermint products!!

 

3.  Cinnamon – Cinnamon has also always been one of my favorite scents my whole life.  It smells like Christmas, and it reminds me of every single past Christmas Eve of my life.  Christmas Eve has always been my favorite day of the entire year, so any reminder of that is always a good reminder.  Cinnamon is just the ultimate at invoking coziness and warmth, and it can’t be beaten. 

 

2.  Good cologne or aftershave mixed with a guy’s natural scent – I have always been a HUGE sucker for cologne, and a good-smelling guy has always been one of my favorite things ever.  It always smells better on the guy than in the bottle, too, and I’m assuming that’s because of pheromones??  Who knows!  But whatever it is, man, I love cologne or aftershave on a guy.  There are so many that I’ve loved in the past including Cool Water (LOL – y’all remember that one?  I used to wear the women’s version in high school sometimes.) and Very Sexy for Men from Victoria’s Secret.  I also love whatever my Daddy wears – I have no idea what it is, but every time he hugs me, he always smells so good!  I will never not love cologne on a guy, and it will always be my #2 favorite scent of all-time. 

 

And that brings us to #1 which is…

 

1. A newborn baby’s breath or the top of their little head – Y’all.  If this isn’t the best thing you’ve ever smelled in your whole life, then you’re wrong.  There is absolutely nothing like the scent of a newborn baby’s breath… it is truly the sweetest, most pure thing in the whole world.  When Jacob and Olivia were babies, I would literally put my nose by their little mouths and inhale.  I’m aware that sounds really strange, but my goodness, there is nothing like the scent of your precious newborn baby’s breath.  And the tops of their little heads are just as good… especially right after they’ve been freshly bathed and shampooed.  Oh man, I miss those things more than anything in this whole world.

 

BRB, time to go have one more baby!!

KIDDING.  SO kidding, y’all.  That ship has sailed.

I just know that there are some things that I have probably forgotten in this post, but these are the first things that came to mind when I initially started brainstorming. 

And now I have to know, what are some of your favorite scents?!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!