[01.19] - Be Scentsible

I used to think my best friend was crazy. We’d be somewhere and she’d start sniffing the air, then announce “Something smell like Mark.” Well, her boyfriend wasn’t usually around (under the Sports Centre bleachers, lingering around the foil aisle), but something in the air made her think of him.

Only recently have I come to appreciate the power of scent. The more I value this particular sense, the more discerning I become about what aromas I want wafting past my nostrils—and I don’t just mean B.O.

Nearly everything has a scent. Peas soup; freshly poured asphalt; tamarind; a humid day. Even more common (sadly) are things with no need for a fragrance, but whadda ya know, the scent fairy got to ’em and went buck wild.

I think the madness began with scratch-and-sniff stickers (a questionable concept at best). It spread to baby wipes. Tree-shaped car ornaments. Now, you can barely pick up a pack of plastic forks without finding they’re supposed to smell like Iowa daisies.

Amazing smells are everywhere, if you look for—or, I suppose, sniff for—them. Sweet mango sap. Peeled orange. And, if you catch the air right, the surprise smell of sea. Of course, to notice these things, you actually have to make space amongst all the olfactory clutter, and attune your senses to scents more subtle than, say, bleach.

1. Clear out the synthetically fragranced cosmetics.

80% of readers will now have left the computer. For the hangers-on, yes. This means waving bye-bye to just about any mainstream soap, powder, lotion, scrub, dab, daub, mask, gel, wax, cream, spritz, spray, or perfume you can find in a standard drug store, supermarket, or bath and body shop. Check the ingredient list. If it says ‘perfume’ or ‘parfum’ or ‘fragrance’ on there anywhere, then yes, I’m talking about that. Tuck it in a closet, give it to someone you dislike, save it for after you’ve tried this experiment, whatever.

2. Household Goods

Air fresheners, sprays, dish and laundry detergent are as heavily perfumed as personal products, if not more. I never realized how strongly scented most laundry soap is until I began using scent-free brands. If I visit family or friends and do laundry there, I find it hard to wear my clothes because the smell of standard detergents is so strong in the fabric afterwards. Have I given myself an allergy? No. I do think I’ve become more sensitive to scents, and the quality of such. And that’s not a bad thing.

3. Switch to the alternatives that abound

Maybe ‘abound’ is the wrong word to use for any sort of sustainable choice in Nassau, but yes, options do exist. Find a health food store and see what options they offer. At the very least, try a fragrance-free lotion rather than the one that claims to smell like cherries and almonds.

But won’t the world smell bad if tiny plug-in zombies aren’t cranking out puffs of cherry blossom at 15, 30, or 45 minute increments?

Probably not. There are thousands of authentic scents to choose from. You could wash your hair in rosemary-infused shampoo, scent your room with cedarwood, or surround yourself with anything from champa and vetiver to myrrh and oakmoss.

So, I know Nassau isn’t exactly brimming over with aromatherapy stores and essential oils. If you know someone who has a US address, get something shipped to you. North America is packed with aromatherapy suppliers, so quality essential oils aren’t utterly accessible. Worst case scenario, do just what we’ve done for decades with Pampers, toilet paper, and cereal: stock up when ya go stateside.
And take heart, you could easy slip couple tiny oil bottles in ya bag without the Airport Babylon holding it up triumphantly and asking “where da receipt for this? You claimin exemption?”


-ja**ly