By Anton Constantinou
Life is full of strange aromas, and I don’t mean funky-smelling fragrances. From pungent bathroom products, to faecal-smelling flowers, peculiar scents are everywhere these days, a number of them pleasing to the nose.
Like many fragrance enthusiasts, I love an odd smell, particularly a synthetic one. So I thought I’d run you through a couple of my favourite strange scents that aren’t perfumes. In no particular order, here are 10 weird aromas that I love the smell of.
Swimming pool water
Top of my list is a scent that takes me right back to childhood: swimming pool water. That intoxicating combo of chlorine, sweat, piss and god knows what else. Whether it’s the chemicals in it, or the body odours, swimming pool water is an addictive smell that I'll forever associate with summer holidays as a kid.
Toilet cleaner
If there’s one thing I love the smell of, it’s toilet cleaner. Cif, Harpic, Domestos - you name it, I like them all. It might be bitter, it might be toxic, but something about the smell of toilet cleaner really gets me going. A lot of fragrances apparently use similar aroma chemicals to cleaning products, so maybe it’s that.
Urinal cakes
Fuck knows why they call them cakes, but those small disinfectant blocks they stick in urinals sure smell good! Not that I’ve smelt any up close. Many say the great men’s YSL fragrance, Kouros, smells like urinal cakes and I definitely agree. Maybe Korous started life as a urinal cake. I guess we’ll never know.
Petrol
A lot of people love the smell of petrol and I can totally see why. Petrol is intoxicating - literally. A difficult scent to pin down, petrol has this sweet,’chemical’’ smell that hits you right in the nose and has your brain doing somersaults. No wonder Dior’s Fahrenheit was so popular - it smells just like the ‘real thing’.
Newly painted walls
Newly painted walls have this strong, ‘solventy’ smell that I really enjoy and can’t get enough of. Maybe it’s their association with ‘starting afresh’ I like, but newly painted walls have this ‘reset’ aroma that I find really grounding and relaxing. Best of all, the smell of them kicks around for ages.
Shoe polish
A strong contender for my favourite (non-perfume) smell, shoe polish has this thick, oily aroma that’s unmistakable and totally addictive. Maybe it’s the turpentine in it, but the smell of shoe polish makes me properly ‘high’. To think cobblers have to work around this stuff all day. Tragic.
New trainers
Ahhh, the smell of fresh kicks. Anyone who’s ever owned a new pair of trainers will know what I’m on about here. That combination of rubber, glue, finishing spray and everything else they put in them, makes new trainers one of the best smells going and definitely one of the most unique.
Old furniture
When you’ve grown up around antiques, as I have, you develop an affection for these things. Translation: I love the smell of old, musty wood, and the smell of antique shops for that matter. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s a grandness to the smell of old furniture that I find really satisfying.
A blown-out match
The smell of a match can bring to mind lots of things, but a blown-out match smells of one thing and one thing only: birthday parties. Or, to be more precise, candles on a birthday cake. And who doesn’t love a good birthday! As scent associations go, this is easily one of the most potent for me.
Inflatables
Maybe I’m a little too hung up on childhood, but the smell of blow-up toys, balloons and other such inflatables is a seriously captivating one for me. At a guess, I’d say it’s the rubber in inflatables that makes them smell good, but it might just be a nostalgia thing. Who knows!
So, there you have it. My 10 favourite weird aromas. Did anything on my list take you by surprise? What are your favourite weird aromas? Leave a comment below and keep the discussion going.
Comments