The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!
A while ago, Eva (aka lauranalanthalasa) suggested on the forum that we ask about people’s favourite scents for our monthly writing prompts. Scent can be really powerful and nostalgic, so that definitely made me curious!
I’d say my favourite scents are vanilla and old books, which aren’t quite so different as they sound! Books are made up of paper, which is made of wood pulp; that contains a lot of cellulose and lignin, which are tough components of the original wood. They can last a long time, but they do break down partially—and it turns out that lignin is closely related to vanillin, a compound which gives vanilla its scent and flavour.
I don’t know about anyone else, but some books smell better than others (I have one in front of me right now that smells delicious, though it’s quite new!) so I don’t think lignin breaking down into vanillin-like particles is the the whole story, but it does neatly make sense of things!
How about you? What’s your favourite scent? You can write about it on your postcards this month if you’re stuck for what to write, but you can also answer us in the comments on this post!
80 comments so far
The fragrance of sunshine！(o′┏▽┓｀o)
The smell of fresh and wet grass after the rain
I love the scent of lylacs 🪻
a fragrant rose
warm puppies 🐕🥰
Ambergris!!
Viola odorata
I love the smell of tatami mats. It’s made of igusa grass. Also love the smell of freshly brewed coffee and also rice when it’s cooking.
I like the smell of gasoline.
I love the scent of green tea flavoured with quince and ginger.
And the scent of freshley mown grass always puts a smile on my face.
Smell of fresh/crisp bed linens and pillowcases.
I love Sandalwood and Ganja. 😁
I love the scent of some perfumes (my favourite is Chanel No. 5 "L'EAU"), freshly baked cookies from the oven, vanilla, and fragrant roses.
FRESHLY BAKED BREAD 🥖
The scent of sagebrush, Artemesia, after rain.
Love the scent of rosemary and thyme
The scent of the desert after rainfall.
Oh that's an interesting subject! Thanks!
Scents are secret gateways to memory. Just as our eyes capture the glow of a sunset or a loved one’s smile, and our ears hold onto cherished voices and familiar melodies, our sense of smell can vividly awaken the past. A single aroma is enough: freshly baked bread, a sizzling sauté, meat roasting over fire, the salty breeze by the sea, or rain-soaked grass.
For me, food-related scents are among the most powerful—especially when shared with friends. Yet, there is one fragrance that stands above all: the scent of a loved one’s skin, able to stir deep emotions and bring back memories time cannot erase.
I love the scent of frangipani and jasmine
I like the taste of mint candy.
My favorite scents are cedar trees, coffee, & garlic sauteing in olive oil! (Not all at the same time, though, haha)
I like the smell of citrus 🍊
Birches after rain!
I adore the smell of lilacs and Angel's trumpet... ❤️ Happy postcrossing to all of you!
It’s high Spring where I live New Jersey, USA. As I drive in the countryside I can smell so many flowers in the air. It’s intoxicating! Love it.
I adore the fresh, natural aroma of flowers, trees and fruits.
So many aromas trigger endorphins for me:
Roses
Lilacs
Lavender
Rosemary plants
Basil, especially Thai basil
Fresh baked bread
Old books
Baby powder
Cinnamon
Fir trees
Fallen leaves in autumn
Wood smoke
The ocean
Yes, I always like to smell my books. And a lot of smells bring back memories, as one dear postcrosser already wrote. So for me it s a lot of foodsmells and nature.
I would say rain & snow, curry, pasta cooking, fresh fruit
Fresh air walking in redwood forest
The scent of my boyfriend's perfume when I first met him (Swiss Arabian by Shaghaf Oud)
And nature after rain
English Leather, the cologne my first boyfriend wore. And lemons.
Fresh baked bread, sandalwood, and green apples
I absolutely love vanilla and lavender
Nothing but nothing beats an old fashioned English Rose. My favourite Rose scent is Indian Summer, which also looks beautiful and is a true Apricot colour ! Carolina Herrera eau de Toilette for men comes a close second. 😅
Cinnamon 🥰
Currently it's cardamom.
I take seeds out of the pods and smash them in mortal with pestle. And the fragrance is there, I ad some in my coffee.
Scent of rain
Champorado (sticky rice-chocolate porridge)
Roses
Petrichor! "The earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil", and for me particularly when it falls on hot asphalt in the summer. <3
I love the scent of linden trees - I also associate it with coming home cause they were always in bloom in my hometown when I was coming back each summer.
Another, weirder scent, that I really love is the smell of the asphalt after the rain on a hot summer day - I actually often write about this one in my postcards.
I love the scent of the Earth after a warm rain, just thinking about it makes me smile and breathe a little deeper.
As a child, I was often at my grandma's house. She often cooked noodle soup with fresh parsley. When I smell the fresh parsley today, it immediately brings back memories of grandma. Do you also know such a familiar feeling from your childhood?
There are a few favourite scents. When I am in a supermarket I always tear a piece of ginger and smell it 🤭 I love that scent.
And fresh cut grass! Is another one. 🥰
I like the smell of lemongrass, peony-scented wax, roses, chocolate, and Mainstay garden rain candle.
I noticed a lot of people like the smell of food, especially fresh bread, and several people mentioned flowers. I agree.
I love the scent of rosemary and freshly cut lemon! 🍋 And, even if it’s not the best scent in the world, oil paint. My father used to be a painter, so it always reminds me of my childhood.
So difficult to answer as there are plenty of pleasant smells on worls.
For a sample I will pick the smell of old fireplaces. They immediate remind me of delicious food.
Some books when you open them for the first time.
Freshly baked whaffles. 🧇
My dog when she is greeting me in the morning still warm from the night‘s sleep.
Mangoes when really ripe.
Oranges.
Strawberry jam when bubbling in the pot. Jam in general when in the making.
😊
I have a lot of favorite scents, and some of them remind me of a certain time, such as the original Gucci Rush perfume and Alfred Sung perfume. I also love the smell of coffee (though I can't drink it because I am allergic!).
And I love the scent of frangipani flowers, too!
Lately I'm in love vanilla as a perfume !But smells of rain and the smell of the man I love are my favorites.
I like smell of Japanese cypress and raspberries.
I love the smell of elderflowers. It immediately brings me back to our year in France, where we took care of the home and animals of our friends. We lived with the seasons, were outside a lot, lived on a very tight budget so we made almost everything ourselves.
Our neighbour taught me how to make elderflower soda, which became my favorite drink. I also experimented with baking bread, the smell of fresh baked bread that you made yourself was always very rewarding. I remember the first bread was as hard as a stone. But I did got the hang of it and after some failures I learned to bake the perfect bread. We were also taking care of 4 hens there and every morning one of my kids would pick the eggs. 1 egg meant we would bake cookies together, 4 pancakes or an apple pie (also one of my favorite smells) and 5 was a quiche Lorraine. When the kids came in with fresh eggs, it was like they found a treasure!!
We also made jams from the blackberries we picked. And there was no central heating system, so I started a fire early in the morning to warm up the house before the kids woke up. Also a smell that makes me feel at home.
My youngest daughter was a baby back then and I carried her in a sling, her head close to my heart and we would go walk the dog for about 1,5 hours through the forest. The smell of the forest grounds also brings back that memory.
I love the wood and the alien parfum😍
I have noticed that there is a big difference between different people and their ability to feel the smells. I often travel with a person whose passion is plants and flowers and she knows so much about them and she also notices the scents so easily. I love the fresh air after the rain and fortunately fresh air is no rarity in my country :)
II like the smell of beeches and oaks forests here , best after raining.
And the smell of new , fresh bread in the bakerys here too
the scent of passion fruit blossom and lime leaves
It's a close call between fresh-cut grass and fresh hay that's been turned once.
I love the smell of warm bread! I also love the smell of lemons.
After four sinus surgeries and Covid, I no longer have a sense of smell. By memory, my favorite odor would be that of the ocean.
My favorite scent is cinnamon. It reminds me of the holidays and delicious desserts!
Maj to mój najlepszy miesiąc, bo moich urodzin. Uwielbiam wtedy zapach konwalii i białych frezji. Te zapachy wprowadzają w blogi i majestatyczny nastrój;)
Coffee, cinnamon, carnations, and the smell of the earth after rain.
I have a few favorite scents. In the spring and summer, I love how the air is filled with the smells of lilacs, apple blossoms, and other plants. I also really enjoy the smell of books, whether they’re new and freshly printed or old ones that have been around for a while.
Love the scent of Pine air or Forest air!
always so fresh & clean
I love the scent of Jasmine. My home region is known for jasmine cultivation and every summer evening, we’re drenched in the sweet smell of jasmine flower when they bloom :)
I love the smell of a bonfire the most, but also the smell of vanilla and fresh baked cookies or bread.
I love the scent of postcrossing cards I receive or I send. Every card carries through it's words the scent of your feelings. When receiver reads it, the smile on his face indicates that scent has reached to the destination the soul . This scent becomes pemenent and is carried by the soul to the almighty . This scent is called 'Invisible Relation'.
2 Words; Lavender and Leather....mmmmm....
Bakeries (baked goods/vanilla), smell of the air after a good heavy rain, newborn babies, pine trees and my mom's homecooking!
Oh too many! Fresh cut grass, lavender, rosemary, basil, garlic, vanilla, lemons, oranges, dark chocolate,home made bread/cakes, newly printed books and publications, fresh laundry, freshly chopped wood and some pencil shavings take me back to my childhood.
Hyacinth flowers! Cinnamon!
People have listed so many wonderful scents. My favorites are orange, lemon, and vanilla. Also, the scent of my cat's neck, a little like cinnamon. One must bury one's nose in his fur to smell it.
So, so many. But at the top of the list of favorite scents for me, is a newly cut fresh lemon. 🍋 Amazing!
I can be summend by the scent of freshly fried onions. :-)
My true favorites aren't necessarily the best scent. It is more about the memory that the smell evokes. I love the honey smell of beeswax, the woody smell of a carpentry shop, the "cottony" smell of the local fabric store, the smell of linseed oil, and the oddly comforting smell of tempra paint.
I love the scent of roses 🌹
The smell of a freshly-baked home cake
Autumn, bonfires, lily of the valley, and I love the way horses smell. I've noticed that I like the way some smell more than others (like people!)
Ich liebe den Duft vom weißen Salbei.
I really like the way lilies smell!
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