SCENT MEMORY
In 2023, nothing smells as good as nostalgia – whether you lived through the time you’re yearning for or not
PHOTOGRAPHY by LAUREN BAMFORD
STYLING by POPPY BUNTZ
WORDS by LISA PATULNY
Of the five senses, smell has the closest thing
to the full power of the past. Smell really is
transporting. Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting
are just not as powerful as smelling if you want your whole
being to go back for a second to something ... It’s a neat
way to reminisce.
So said Andy Warhol – and the artist would know. Over
his lifetime, he was committed to collecting perfumes,
switching up his fragrance every few months and
cataloguing the scents by era. In effect, he was creating an
olfactory time capsule – one he regularly used to revisit his
own past.
Scent memory and nostalgia have a storied history. Since
Marcel Proust wrote about the sudden rush of feelings he
experienced upon biting into a tea-soaked madeleine in
1913, we’ve been pondering the mystery of the olfactory
bulb and its effect on our emotions. Everyone has had their
own Proustian moment, where the smell of something
familiar has triggered a flood of memories. The scent
of your grandmother’s favourite hand cream, a whiff
of chlorine from your local pool, the aroma of cinema popcorn – fragrance has a unique ability to unlock
hidden
memories. And in these deeply nostalgic times, it’s more
powerful and potent than even your digital camera or
dumbphone.
Right now, we’re not only longing for a simpler time
though; we’re yearning for things we haven’t actually lived
through. Take the slew of perfumes crafted to evoke the
’60s counterculture protests (a surprisingly popular point
of inspiration in niche perfumery). These stirring blends
of patchouli oil, spice and weed smoke conjure up what we
imagine the era to have smelled like. A fusion of nostalgia
and fantasy, they allow us to immerse ourselves in a past
we can only envision in our dreams.
Can you drop into a 1920s speakeasy? Until a bored
billionaire manages to come up with a time machine, no.
But breathe in a perfume that recalls booze, freshly snipped
cigars, spilled coffee and polished chrome bar stools, and
you can get pretty close. Unlike, say, a novel or a movie,
scent can transport you to a specific time and place in
stereoscopic detail – even if you’ve never been there.
’90s club kids
Step into the intoxicating world of the NYC dance club. The scent is androgynous and strangely seductive, and the air is thick with sweat and Stoli. Infused with bitter notes that add a touch of intrigue, these modern fragrances will transport you to the dance floor, while the hints of coffee, tea and tobacco nod to the morning after, when euphoric nights stretched into dawn.
Try: BYREDO Mixed Emotions EDP (a woody scent with notes of maté and sweet cassis), from $226, TOM FORD Bitter Peach EDP (which has a heart of rum-infused davana oil reminiscent of the era’s spiced rum cocktails), from $360, ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE
Y2K WeHo
LA at the turn of the millennium smelt like glitz and glam. Like lychee, champagne and berries. Like the candy-pink hue of your Juicy Couture tracksuit. There’s coffee and vanilla too (Starbucks, of course), plus ‘blonde’ notes that defined the chunky high- lights of early aughts hair.
Try: OUAI Melrose Place EDP (was there ever a name more fitting for a scent with hints of lychee, bergamot, cedarwood and white musk?), $108 (50ml), YSL Black Opium Le Parfum (with notes of vanilla, coffee and white florals), from $132, HERMÈS Un Jardin à Cythère EDT (the perfect blend of citrusy and woody – a bit like Paris and Nicole), from $95
’60s counterculture
All peace, love and liberation, these captivating scents evoke the subversive spirit of the 1960s. A kaleidoscope of earthy sweetness (patchouli, vanilla, hemp and, ahem, herbs), they’ll take you on a jour- ney back to a time when psychedelia reigned and The Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
Try: MALIN+GOETZ Cannabis EDP (a spicy yet floral scent with sandalwood, magnolia and black pepper), from $154, 19-69 Higher Peace EDP (mid notes of hemp and fresh hay and top notes of bergamot and cardamom), $299 (100ml), JUSBOX 14 Hour Dream EDP (with saffron, patchouli, cedarwood, sandalwood and ginger: all the decade’s faves), $279 (78ml)
’20s speakeasy
Opulent, rich and a little rebellious, a contemporary crop of fragrances serve up the essence of the extrav- agant jazz age. Notes of liquor, fizz and smoke recall not only the illegally mixed cocktails, but the clan- destine clubs themselves. Spice and warm woods pay homage to the fashionable perfumes of the day.
Try: LE LABO Thé Noir 29 EDP (a rich concoction with aromas of black tea, fruity fig, vetiver and musk), from $369, MANCERA Tonka Cola EDP (smells like the tinkle of a jazz piano thanks to Sicilian lemon, fizzy cola and warm vanilla), $279 (120ml), GIORGIO ARMANI Armani Privé Magenta Tanzanite EDP (with notes of tobacco, spicy cinna- mon, coffee and myrrh), $430 (100ml)
’80s mall life
What did a suburban shopping centre smell like during the greed decade? Money. Sweet and a little strange. You’d swing by to pick up new clothes, hairspray (Elnett, always) and big, bold flowers. Synthetic notes Paradisone and Ambroxan recall new plastic and the woody pine of freshly mopped floors. Spritz to relive the glory days of the food court.
Try: COMMES DES GARÇONS Concrete EDP (evokes a shiny new multistorey parking lot with its unique combination of cumin, carda- mom, rose and musk), $240 (80ml), LA PERLA Invisible Touch EDP (powdery, heady florals meet rosewood, benzoin and Ambroxan), $499 (120ml), DIOR J’adore L’Or EDP (with the quintessential florals of the decade: orange blossom, jasmine and rose), $295 (50ml)
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