Yankee Candle is having an incredible sale right now. Up to 75% off on some items, six for $60 on
large candles, and 50% off on assorted accessories.
My all time favorite scent!
No, I am not a paid spokesperson. Yes, I do enjoy both candle and bargains.
Yankee has always been my go-to for candles, but I’ve grown
a particular fondness for Mick Kitteredge and his line of Kringle Candles. Fascinating story there that we’ll circle
back to in a future post.
Mick Kitteredge III
Why all the candle talk?
There have been numerous studies on how smells are heavily
tied to emotions and memories. The
emotional piece shouldn’t come as any surprise.
People have been using incense, oils, and candles for meditation and
relaxation for centuries. But
memory? That is something they continue
to research.
That feeling of déjà vu you experience when walking into a place
you have never been? Sadly, it isn’t
some past life or psychic event. Most
often, there’s a particular smell in the air.
It may be so subtle you aren’t even aware of it. In your head, it’s triggering a memory, but on
subconscious level. Since you aren’t
actively processing it, déjà vu kicks in.
A quick read from a Scientific American article can be found here, but
any Google search of “smell” and “memory” will have you off and running.
Usually, the smell is far more pronounced, which is why the déjà
vu phenomena is so rare. The scent of
suntan lotion may take you back to particular summer. Or the heavy aroma of Thanksgiving dinner
being prepared returning you to that last dinner at Grandma’s before she
passed.
The links between smell, memory, and emotion are incredibly
powerful. When writing, I use candles
almost every session. Where some have
cellars filled with assorted wines, I have cabinets of candles. If I’m working on a woodland scene, I may
have a pine scent burning. Exploring a
creepy attic? Let me dig out something
with cedar. Scouring a cemetery at night?
Yes, I have a candle for that, too.
The scents reach into the deep recesses of my mind. It allows me to feel as though I am in the
scene, which allows for far greater depth and realism. Think Sherlock Holmes and his use of cocaine. Only this habit is far less dangerous!
Love at First Sight
It isn’t all about the smell, it’s also about the
packaging. The thought that goes into
the label designs isn’t all that different from the effort that goes into
designing a book cover. Whether
wandering between the shelves of your favorite local bookstore or viewing the
walls at Yankee, something needs to inspire you to crack open the cover and read
the opening line or open a jar lid to get the cold scent.
"Autumn Lodge"
pulled me in. The wooly throw draped
over the chair, the book on the table, the wooden birdhouse in the background,
the checkers on the table. I could
picture a fire in the fireplace out of view.
It made me want to spend an afternoon there.
"Christmas Eve" with
Santa in his sleigh. The reindeer and snow
covered rooftops. Seeing it, I wouldn’t
know what it smells like, but I get an idea in my head of what I think it would.
"Archives" from
Kringle Candle. A leather bound volume
of Shakespeare on the label. I can
almost smell the yellowing pages before lifting the lid. I picture myself being in an old library.
"Season of Peace" I
find to be particularly stirring. It
reminds me of a morning after a heavy lake effect snowfall back home. The sun would be shining bright and if you
stepped outside the blanket of snow deadened any sound.
"Christmas Tree" with
the father and son pulling their fresh cut tree along while the mother looks
on. The snow on the ground, their bulky
coats. I can smell the winter air mixed
with the pine.
Cliffsnotes on those labels – they all invoke some sort of
emotion from within. NEVER underestimate the power of good
book cover and its ability to draw a reader in.
Let me know your thoughts on incorporating scents into your writing in the comments section below.
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