A Light in the Dark Blog: Scent-Memory-Emotion
As most of my customers know, I began my journey with scent many moons ago, as a child at the perfume counters of the world. My newest adventures in scent came about during the recent tough times of 2020-21.
My day job as a massage practitioner allowed me to see the daily stress and strain my clients were experiencing. They were desperate to connect to anything uplifting and positive. During this time I had also begun dabbling in candle making and a new idea was born.
I started wondering if I could create Original Scents from childhood that brought back happy and positive memories for my clients.
I had previously learned through massage therapy school about the link between scent, memory and emotions. How when we are in the womb, we begin our lifelong connections with smell.
It makes scent-s then why the number one characteristic in candle buying is Fragrance. We are sub-consciously looking for that scent that triggers something in us, something positive that we must experience again.
I found this thought to be accurate when reading The Scientific American study on scent and mood that concluded that 75% of all emotions generated daily are due to smell.
The concept of our linked scent-memory-emotion complex isn't something new and has been explored through scenting women's cigarettes to shopping environments to casinos.
I personally experienced this when I entered The Mirage Casino in Las Vegas and a waft of vanilla and coconutty tropicalness hit my senses and all of a sudden I felt relaxed, happy and didn't want to leave What was happening? I was just supposed to be passing through, but my emotions wanted me to stay. I got back to my hotel and started wondering if i was imaging things, but the scent lingered on my clothing and even today as I sit typing I can recall that scent and it has been years.
The Original Scents I create are some of my happiest childhood memories and now I am exploring my adult scent memories.
When asking my customers feedback on what they felt or remembered as they experienced my candles, the results have been quite moving.
One of my customers purchased my Snackies candle, because the butter and cola scent brought him back to dinner at his grandma's house.
Another customer commented: "You have no idea how much your candle helps when I'm feeling overwhelmed...these have so much more of an impact than you know."
So misson complete I guess.
Here's to new scents and bringing back happy memories.
Margot
I love that candles that Margot made me! I can feel the love as the scents fill my home. She puts so much time into finding the perfect blend of flavours <3 Thank you
Very much a light in the dark. I had a cousin in South Africa. MJ is from there too and created a marvellous guava scented one that I use at his memorial. We were so close that we could taste and smell what the other was eating and drinking, or remembering. It was so specific and accurate that I knew it was real. I just smelt the guava candle and suddenly there was the young boy he was raiding his mother’s guava jam. I miss him very much but he was a scamp.
Congrats Margot. I personally love fragrances and the way they make me feel. A huge part of my life and pleasures. Best of luck with this business. Stay safe and well