It may sound queer to many…but some scents do have mood-changing properties. At least for me, there are many such. There are times when I am hit by the blues and almost nothing works to cheer me up. Then suddenly this intoxicating aroma wafts by and I find myself smiling or at least snapping out of my sombre mood in an instant. Not all people will have the same sensitivity towards certain smells. I guess it's all a matter of personal choice at the end of the day :)
The one that tops my list is that of FRESHLY WET EARTH…the smell you get after the first rains have just drenched your courtyard. I absolutely love everything about the rains. The redolence it creates when it falls on the parched earth, the pitter-patter on the roof, the rain curtains formed by water flowing down from the slanted tile roofs :) …but it's the scent of wet earth that's the best of all. A harbinger of the coming monsoon months ahead :)
On a close second position is my addiction-since-birth, CHOCOLATE! I shudder to think of a life without chocolate :/ Chocolates were a childhood craze and the craze has persisted even till this day. Dark chocolates are my favourite. I have no other choice of flavour in anything…be it ice creams or milk shakes or cakes. It's chocolates all the way! :)
Okay, so we've all seen those snazzy advertisements about AXE DEODORANTS and like most people, I'd thought they were exaggerating it a bit too much. What were they claiming? That men would turn into walking-talking women magnets once they spray it on? Bah! But now, I beg to differ M' Lord! The well-marketed deodorant does indeed have some inexplicably attractive perfume/s that does play smartly on the female odour sensitivity. I love the tangy and musk laced ones best. The Axe Effect, indeed! :)
Ah! The smell of BOOKS!!!! How I love it! I remember I used to flip the pages of new textbooks between my fingers and bring my nose real close to it to take in the smell of novelty! Old and well read books have a different kind of aroma. They have this dusty smell that vouches much for their popularity and/or age. I don't know for sure how many times I would have fallen asleep with a book on my face :) Books are a simple bare necessity for me and their smell is one I love. Did I mention that a library is one of my favourite places to spend time in?
BREAD!! Who doesn't love the smell of a loaf of bread getting baked in a bakery? The bread term was a generalisation of all the smells associated with a bakery that includes baking cakes or cookies or bread or even making some of our very own Indian breads like rotis and chapattis. I love the smell of warm and fresh bread anytime. A dab of home-made butter and some thick raspberry jam and there! You're ready for the experience of sheer indulgence! :)
Thomas More once said "Plants that wake when others sleep. Timid jasmine buds that keep their fragrance to themselves all day, but when the sunlight dies away let the delicious secret out to every breeze that roams about." He couldn't have been more precise. JASMINE FLOWERS are, in my opinion, one of the most criminally intoxicating fragrances that ever existed. A whiff of this magical aroma and one is transported to another world altogether. It comes as no surprise that jasmine flowers have long been associated with marriage and courtship (and even with…umm, female ghosts :/ ).
I'd like to call it the fragrance of happiness. HENNA / MEHNDI. The ancient Asian tattooing method is an essential part of any auspicious occasion primarily in South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. Brides have henna nights in their honour when hands of the bride-to-be and of her family are adorned with intricate designs of henna. Henna is symbolic of happiness and the entire room is filled with its aroma. Being and avid henna enthusiast myself, I can't help but love the smell of it. I find myself smiling for no reason :)
SCENTED CANDLES are a relatively new addition to the romantic fragrances brigade. Until around ten years ago, it wasn't very commonplace to see scented candles except in high-end lifestyle shops. It was verily considered to be a high-class luxury. But today, you could just pick them off shelves in department stores. Most of them are aesthetically designed and add a whole new meaning to the good old 'candle-light dinner'. My personal favourite- Lavender! :) 
And last, but not the least, I can't help but love the smell of FRESH LAUNDRY, especially, if they've been rinsed with some fabric softener like Downy® or Comfort®. They smell just WOW! Sometimes I hold them up to my nose and breathe deeply. The fabric softeners come in such sweet fragrances too. And nothing beats the feeling of wearing a pair of sweet-smelling and freshly laundered pyjamas at bedtime :)
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