The Scent of Romance

I can't walk past a rose bush without smelling the blooms. It's only disappointing if it's one of those roses that's all about the flower and not the scent.

And I love the smell of salt spray at the beach. I can always conjure up romantic images for a beach setting, whether its quietly lapping waves or a thundering surf, surely there'll be a couple there falling into love.

Great question, Rachel.  Flowers -- whatever the favourite -- must be right up there.  And the signature scent for both man and woman...some of the most romantic and enticing ad's are for perfumes.  Myself, I love food related scents, although I've been trying to work out if that's romantic or more sensuous.  Love the smell of coffee, cinnamon, vanilla and loads of fruits.  Peach, mango, apples, sharper citruses.  So many nuances to the sense of smell, very powerful stuff.

Love that cover!

Bron

Great topic, Rachel. I've long been fascinated by the link between scents and memories. I found this just now on the internet:

When a smell enters the nasal cavity, it meets up with over 50,000,000 receptor neurons which are located in the upper part of the nose and nasal septum, and the receptors are specialized in such a way that certain react to certain smells.

These receptors then convert the presence of a smell into a message which is sent to the olfactory bulb (which is seen as part of the forebrain and its main sensory input) where the processing of the smell is started and is then passed onto other areas of the brain which control emotions, behavior as well as basic thought processes.

Some distant memories, for instance from childhood, can only be recalled by smell, and this fact underscores the importance and significance of smell for our mental life and well-being.

I'm not sure about the scent of romance (although Chanel's Allure pour Homme, gets mighty close.) Favourite scents...hmm, the smell of sunshine in the washing as I bring it in off the line. I'm not overkeen on highly scented washing powders and the more subtle they are, the more 'fresh air' scent I believe I can smell on the sheets as I bring them in. A friend of mine argued once that putting them in the dryer with a scented softener pad was just as good but I wouldn't be swayed. A favourite childhood memory/scent is waking on a Saturday morning, there'd be a faint remnant of Radox (bath salts) in the air as my mother left the bathroom after having a relaxing bath before heading to the kitchen to start baking. And then, of course, there'd be the delicious aromas of a cake or two in the oven. Oh and summer scents, the smell of freshly cut lawn grass, ripe tomatoes (even though I don't particularly like tomatoes) and strawberries. Love 'em all.

BTW, Rachel, have you ever seen the movie French Kiss? It's one of my favourite all time films and the scene where he gets her to smell certain aromas then taste the wine and tell him about it--just wonderful. There's such a passion in winemaking (and drinking ) I can't wait to read your book!

Love your cover! I'm a big fan of scent, especially when paired with wine (wish I had an reason for all my wine drinking..I don't think I can count it as research as a student teacher lol) I love fruity smells, like raspberries or peaches or coconuts (I just like to think of pina coladas). For romantic scents, I have this lotion from Bath&Body Works that is blackberry vanilla-sweet yet romantic I love the scent of vanilla for romance. And rain. Unless you live on a farm around fertilizing time, the scent of rain is so romantic to me.

I love the scent of coffee - though I'm only a decaf drinker - and various herbal teas. I find perfume can be strong for my delicate nose in huge doses so I really avoid the perfume counters at department stores which about knocks me over from over-smell. 

I love the smell of wine too - though I don't drink alot. Hmmm...smell really does hit you first doesn't it. Oh and my mum baking Greek sweets.

And I love scented candles and essential oils. I love the smell of the salty air at the beach, the rain, flowers.

I'm dusting after renovations ATM, so right now all I can smell is dust!  

I love scented candles but right now I'm hung up on a new air freshner by Febreze. It's called Moroccan Bazaar.One side is ginger the other side is nutmeg. It alternates releasing the fragrances. I could just hover over it to smell it. It makes me think of a spice market and how lovely the smells would be. You know that is one place I would love to go, a spice market.  When my birtday rolled around this year my youngest daughter bought me several of these. She knew I enjoyed them. I don't know where all they are available, but if you get the chance you should try it.

Linda Henderson

fresh mown grass, fresh coffee, citrus scents, roses, peonies.  The scent of roses speaks to me of romance because my husband always buys me roses for special occasions & sometimes for no reason at all!

I tend to prefer different scents depending on how I'm feeling. My favourite smell at the moment is apples (especially in Lush Cosmetics Christmas Bath Ballistic - So White). I also like vanilla, chocolate and berries.Oh, and the smell of fresh baking is always good.

Honestly, I can say that there is any scent that I associate with romance.

Being a Kiwi, I just have to ask where in NZ you set the winery in your books. I'm looking forward to reading those books now.

here is the website for those Yankee Candles. http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/retail.jsp U should check it and see if they ship internationally the candles smell awesome. If they don't I may have to go buy a clean cotton one and ship it to you. :)

I love all kinds of scents. Pie crust, home baked breads, chocolate chip cookies, lasagna, new mown grass, sandalwood, are the tip of the iceberg. Scent of romance? Aramis.

Scents bring back memories for me too. If i walk past someone in a store with my late mother's perfume (Amarige) i look for her still (coming up 9 years).

We live near an Arnotts biscuit factory and some days I think I put on weight just walking outside and breathing in.

As for romantic scents i think for me it's the perfume my hubby gave me a month after we started dating and i still wear. The scent of freshly lit candles and freshly opened wine are pretty romantic and I'm with nikki on the crackling fire...

Rachel, you know my love affair with scents. Can't do without them in my writing life. A good wine, an incense or candle ties me direct to a book, a loved one or friend. They give an immediate emotional trigger until the words pour out of me.

My favourite scent is either "Winter Forest" incense by L'Occitane, or anything coconut or peppermint. Uplifting, visual and strong, all of them. And lucky me! Our local garden store supplies Yankee candles - here in small-town Switzerland. I love the Desert Sands candle. Used that for The Sheikh's Destiny. Hmmm...must go back there before we move!

Melissa

Aramis has an older scent and a newer one--the scent of romance is the older one.