I am shopping for a deodorant, commonly I prefer the one with citrus scent because it gives a fresh appeal. It is common scene in lot of households to find a vase of roses in the common room. Interestingly people tend to like and eat foods that smell good to them. In fact smell was one of the ways our ancestors differentiated between edible and non edible food. This is one of reason why people dont like to have medicines because they have such synthetic smell . It is said smell is also used a parameter to evaluate potential mates. Smell can influence moods which is why lot of sauna have flowers and light perfumes to lighten the mood.
Smell.
My exploration of smell began the foul way. Meaning I wanted to know what makes a particular thing smell bad. For instance toilet or sewage or cabbage etc. I will leave that research to the end. Lets start with the good stuff.
The Best scents in my opinion are available from Nature. The sand, the rain, Jasmines, Lilies, Roses, Marble Stones , Grass, Scent of freshly bathed skin, trees, beach, Fruits, Vegetables, Leaves, Plants,Spices etc. Then there are man made ones like scent of curry chicken, genuine leather, Rice , Coffee , Whiskey, Petrol or polish( this might seem strange. It sort of has an enigmatic effect), Wood, Wine, Chocolate, Book etc. The List will vary from people to people. However The science is the same.
Most famous fragrant flowers in the world seem to be Roses, Jasmine,Champak,Tuberose,Malatilata,Lavender,Plumeria. The perfumes are generally extracted out of these flowers and processed.
Then there is Musk. I am not sure which scent is called Musk. It is said there is a gland in the Musk deer, which is taken out ,extracted and processed to produce this scent. There are few plant variations as well of this scent. I think the scent is more like the Oldspice deodorant. Musk is very popular too.
The Cosmetics, Perfumes and other scents use a variation combination of multiple scents to produce a formula. Usually lot of cosmetics smell like Melons, Pineapple, Apple, Musk,Roses,Sandal or Citrus. This is true for cosmetics all over the world.This is one of the reason why lot of women’s make up smell the same. One might debate this. In all honesty with few exceptions I think they are quite similar.
I tend to feel uncomfortable talking to people who smell strange. Whether it is the cigarettes or bad breath or body odor or the Durians or what ever. I think this is normal, The personal who smells bad, his/her nostrils are not alien to that, hence that familiarity masks his/her perception about it. For a new person it will seem different and uncomfortable. I am not saying everyone should use D&G perfumes or bath twice a day or use mouth fresheners or use mints. I think people should keep themselves clean at least from their personal hygiene perspective because lot of foul smells are due to uncleanliness. Still, there is something called as preference. Its gives me a headache when someone is wearing a strong perfume, I wish there was a way to numb that effect. One way is obviously familiarity. The more you get used to, the lesser its affects on you.
Smelling Salts. I remember when Theiry Henry got hit on his head during the World Cup match between France and Italy in the finals. He went off and the Physio seem to break some tablets near his nose. At that moment i did not understand what he was doing and why was it needed. It happens to be that he was breaking a tablet of smelling salts at the edge of Henry’s nose. Smelling salts release quick burst of ammonia which increases the absorption and availability of oxygen to the brain thereby making one more alert and conscious.
Wow. I want one now. Its like instant boost of concentration whenever you need. Body builders use smelling salts before lifting heavy weights. Bodybuilding is dangerous business. One small mistake while lifting weights can leave one paralyzed for life, hence the safety net of extra oxygen of smelling salts.
Light to Dark.
A good scent can make you feel light like a feather , floating in air as one continues to inhale it to the edge till the end of the breath. It can calm you , relive the stress, lower heart rate and put you in good mood.
Foul Smell on the other end can do the exact opposite. It will cause intense momentary disgust. Cause panic, makes you nauseous , clouds your judgement and thinking. Puts you on a overdrive.
One of the most potent agent that cause foul smell is Hydrogen Sulfide.
You see the foul smell in toilets,rotten eggs,sewage, even fart. I am sorry I cant think of a better way to put this. Hydrogen sulfide is dangerous gas. What that means is too much of fart can kill you. Jokes apart.
I found a neat trick to beat the foul smell of H2S, Fire. It could be a simple match stick or a lighter. I think lighting a match is a better way or if not the best way to beat the foul smell of H2S. Fire of the match stick converts H2S into sulfur dioxide and water vapor. No More H2S , No more foul smell. Lot of luxury hotels have candles in the bathroom for same reason.
Finals Words. Smell is one of the major sense. Animals are way more smarter working with smells than humans. A Shark can smell one drop of blood among a million drops of water from a distance of 0.4 Km. Albatross can smell fish from air. Grizzly Bear Can Smell You From 18 Miles Away.Dogs‘ sense of smell overpowers our own by orders of 10,000 plus( A trained Dog can Track People for miles, it can sniff drugs in a hidden gasoline tank and more)
I will continue to explore more on this subject. May be I will come up with more analytical article on this topic next time.
References:
http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-facts-sense-of-smell
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/dogs-sense-of-smell.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-fart-hydrogen-sulphide-gas-smells-go-away-200095
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/five-feats-smell
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