Scent of a staycation

They say travel broadens the mind but in lieu of totting up airmiles this half term how about opening up your olfactory horizons instead? After 18 months largely starved of sunnier climes and exotic scents, it’s all about making the most of what good ol’ Blighty has to offer while creating some scent memories along the way. Fragrances can instantly connect us with foreign climes or even imagined adventures as our most nostalgic holiday memories are almost always interwoven with specific smells. 

‘The scents of your vacation location become incorporated into the memories of your holiday so that when you smell those scents again, you relive those times,’ explains Rachel Herz, author, neuroscientist and world expert in the psychological science of scent. ‘When scents elicit memory those memories are more emotional, visceral and evocative because the sense of smell is uniquely linked to the areas of the brain that process emotion and memories.‘

As a result Rachel suggests that you can deliberately connect scent to your holiday by purposely wearing/using a fragrance while you are away in order to create scent memories that can be tapped into whenever you want to re-live those special times.

Rachel explains that while there are are no particular ‘notes’ as such that universally conjure up holidays, there are certain smells that we associate with sunny days in warmer climes, such as fresh cut grass, watermelon, flowers, aquatic scents, suntan lotion and BBQ aromas. She suggests thinking about which of these is most evocative for you and incorporating it into your perfume choice. Take flight with Parle Moi de Parfum’s Mile High / 38, for example, which is a fruity floral chypre inspired by the idea of jetting off to far flung destinations and features tonka bean from Venezuela, immortelle from Corsica and patchouli from Indonesia.

Keeping with the theme of high-altitude adventure, Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s unisex Aqua Celestia Forte is a fruity floral courtesy of tart blackcurrant and bergamot muddled with creamy mimosa and jasmine and is described as ‘offering a bright flight towards the horizon’.

For those who prefer their feet on the ground, Gucci’s Flora Gorgeous Gardenia Eau De Parfum conjures a joy-filled fantasy land centered around white gardenia blended with cheerful pear blossom and a touch of brown sugar to impart a delicate sweetness.

And for a burst of positivity by way of the South of France, Floral Street’s Sunflower Pop is a sun-soaked ode to the timeless beauty of nature, combining amber plumb blossom and mandarin for an olfactory masterpiece worthy of Mr Van Gogh himself.

For those of us faced with a decidedly somber forecast while grappling with eau de wet dog on the A1, why not try using scent to impart some joie de vivre to the experience? ‘If we have a special scent that reminds us of being on vacation, smelling that scent when we’re stressed will transport us out of our negative headspace and make us feel calm and happy,’ says Rachel. ‘This is why I recommend that people deliberately create special scent-vacation associations. Then when you need it, you know that you have the scent on hand.’

The fragrances you choose don’t necessarily need to be exotic either – it’s all about about enhancing experiences with joyful, comforting scents that make us feel warm and fuzzy. The olfactory equivalent of rose-tinted glasses if you will – allowing us to eke out as much merriment from our surroundings as possible.

In need of some scentspiration? Nothing says quintessential sunny British holidays quite like the whiff of sun-baked pear. Succulent and sweet with its distinctive, almost floral kick, it perfectly represents nature’s comfort food. Tuck into the sensuous freshness of just-ripe pears mingled with cool, bright freesias of Jo Malone’s best-selling English Pear & Freesia Cologne inspired by orchards awash with golden sunshine.

Or, for a playful, refreshing take on the ambrosial treat, Juliette Has A Gun’s Pear Inc is a fruity musk that perfumer Romano Ricci describes as ‘a mischievious perfume that instantly makes you smile, like the promise of a beautiful summer.’ Create sweet memories wherever your holiday takes you with Hermes’ Twilly Eau Ginger, a lively take on the original whose fresh, powdery, floral scent has been heightened by ramping up the candied ginger accord.

And to warm up even the dampest of autumn nights, Tom Ford’s Ombre Leather Parfum is an intoxicating take on the original where the luxurious leather scent has been intensified while the addition of violet leaf absolute orpur alongside fruity floral facets intertwined with a plume of green tobacco to up the addictive pull of the double concentration of the orris heart. Bognor never felt so balmy.

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