Smells and good (mental) health

[Millymollymandy]

Nobody ever sprayed perfume on people in Boots when I lived in England (or on visits since) It was only in the dept stores in London that that happened, and if you said 'No Thanks' they respected that!

No-one ever came near me in the dept stores in Geneva, probably cos I wasn't wearing a fur coat or designer clothes.

[Martin]

could be that the last time it happened to me was in the heart of costa geriatrica - "God's waiting room" - Eastbourne! - I was probably the youngest punter they'd seen in a month!

[Shirley]

I detest strong smells of any kind... if I go to Boots (doesn't happen more than once a year these days if I do) I have to find the entrance away from the perfumes... don't even get me started on Lush... you can smell that place from several blocks away.

I have insisted that David changes his deo to a natural one because any of the spray type ones literally make me feel sick.

Funny about the lillies LSP - I do like the smell of lillies but only for a passing whiff... if they were in my living room it would irritate me.

John Headstrong - geez that's disgraceful. She should have made an official complaint against the woman that sprayed the perfume.

Air fresheners.... I agree.. they do nothing to cover up the original smell... just make it worse.

I've just planted loads of lavender YAY.

[the.fee.fairy]

So...has anyone got any good natural air freshener recipes?
I've got this puppy who likes swimming..and he has to go through the hallway to get to the bathroom after he's been swimming, so there's always a faint whiff of wet dog in the air (if i made him bath in the garden, he'd have to go all the way through the house!!).

Mum insists on using one of those timered air freshener things, but i'm convinced its got Fee sensors - it only seems to go off when i'm standing under it! The thing stinks, its fake and chemical. The batteries keep disappearing too, but she's not got the hint yet!

So natural air freshners would be great (i tried incense, but she makes choking sounds...).

[Wombat]

What about one of those essential oil burners Fee? you put water in the top and then some essential oil on the water then set a tee light burning underneath.

Nev

[ina]

Just a few drops of essential oil on tissue or cloth would do as well ( not as romantic as with the candle, though ). In winter I often have orange and lemon peel on the radiators - saves on candles and oil, and has a similar effect!

[Jandra]

They also sell essential oil air freshener devices that you plug in the wall outlet. They use a tiny fan to disperse the essential oil. It uses electricity, but provides less fire hazard. Especially in a room which isn't constantly supervized or has pets roaming free in it.

If you go for the water reservoir with light under it, make sure to choose a design that works. I bought one where the water evaporates in 30 minutes, because the reservoir is so small and it's too close to the candle. It almost boils. That was a waste of money, so I thought I'd mention it.

You can also mix some essential oil with a bit of vodka and then disolve it in a spray bottle. Spray when you've got wet-dog-smell. That's what I use to freshen up the laundry while ironing. As it also freshens the air I suppose it would work for that purpose too.

Jandra

[the.fee.fairy]

That sounds like a good plan!

We've got oil burners elsewhere in the house, but because its a hallway, there's not someone there all the time.

When the heating gets turned on, i'll see if i can stuff a rag down the back of the radiator with fragrance oil or e/o on it.

Thanks for the tips guys!

[Annpan]

I used to (when I had heating in my house ) drip essential oil straight onto the radiator down the back where, if it discolours the finish, it won't matter. If I was your mum I'd get well peed off with rags stuffed down the back of the radiator - not to mention the fire hazard

[Martin]

there's a lot to be said for proper joss sticks - not the European-made nightmares full of synthetics, but the Indian ones particularly - "Nanka Pooja" is a name that springs to mind!

[Thomzo]

I've got one of those oil/water burner things. In the winter I just leave in on the radiator - no candle. It's just enough heat to gently evaporate the oil.

Zoe

[Clara]

Going back to the original question - smells do have a direct effect on emotions and many memories are associated with smell.

The Olfactory nerve is the only major nerve which goes direct to the brain, directly to the limbic system (or in old terms "rhinencaepahlon" - literally "nose brain"). Together with the hypothalamus, the limbic system initiates primitive and emotional drives - sex, thirst, hunger - and it evokes visceral and behavioural mechanisms such as rage, fear, sorrow, revulsion, physical affection and sexual attraction.

Way back, our sense of smell would have been essential to our survival, from the ability to unite mothers and their babies to the ability to detect safe food and water. IMHO it is also one of our most overlooked today - babies always seem to be taught about what they hear and what they see over what they can smell. Not so in my house!!!

Clara (clinical aromatherapist)

[fenwoman]

My better half was walking though a perfume dept the other day just for a short cut, a shop assisant said "would you like to try..." cath cut her off and said firmly "NO", she sprayed her anyway. Caths arm came up bright red in seconds, Cath really kicked off, made them get a wet towel and cleared the whole perfume dept.

a couple of lawsuits might make them stop doing it. I personally would consider it to be assault.
Besides, why is everyone obsessed with smells? Why do we and our homes have to smell of something? Why cannot we just smell clean, no perfume and why cannot we freshen our homes just by keeping it clean and opening the windows every day to air through?

[ina]

Well, this morning my house is smelling of freshly baked cake - and I must say, I love it! I'd bake cake and make "proper" coffee just for the smell of it... That's my kind of smell a house should have: good food - not perfume.

(Oh, and to explain why I was baking cake at 6 in the morning - Macmillan coffee morning at work today...)

[Merry]

Nice one Ina - hope it goes well!