Great advice!  We should all take moments to relax and appreciate the simple pleasures and beauty of life.  And, this metaphorical reminder underscores the importance of the sense of smell.  Though smell sure has some contrasting definitions.  The positives?  Aroma, fragrance, scent, bouquet, perfume.  The nose-holding negatives?  Stench, stink, rank, putrefaction, funk, malodor.  Think bakeries versus dumpsters. 

You literally want to hold your nose when eating out, sitting in the movies or on an airplane, when someone nearby is reeking of perfume or aftershave—the classic good smell gone bad.  And then there’s… flatulence, which is more likely to happen on the plane ride because of the lower pressure that makes our ears pop and our body’s gasses expand.  Perhaps reconsider your preboarding food choices.

There is much written about how many senses we have, but sense of smell is definitely an important one.  It was the first sense to emerge.  Researchers say it’s some 1.5 billion years old, when complex life forms began to appear and earth may have smelled like rotten eggs due to hydrogen sulfide belched by microbes.  Want to survive, eat, and mate?   Learn to smell—foe, food, and friend.  Interestingly, smell is strongest at night.  So, certain fragrances can contribute to better sleep.  Fresh sheets???  A winner.

Smell is extremely important when it comes to attraction between two people. Body odor, produced by the genes that make up our immune system, influences our perceptions of others.  Some scientists think kissing evolved from sniffing and tasting the other person to test if they really are a match.  So, we base selection of our mate based on smell?  Yup!  Pretty much!  Wonder why smell hasn’t been noted in divorce proceedings?  The grounds for “no-fault” divorces should include loss of…the smell!

We are entertained by the personality traits indicated by a person’s favorite scents.  If you are drawn to fruity scents, you are likely to have a positive outlook and be spontaneous.  A preference for floral scents suggests you are confident, ambitious, and a high achiever.  People who are drawn to pine and fir scents are reportedly visionaries, thinkers and intellectuals.  Lovers of earthy scents like ginger and fennel are loyal, honest, easy-going, and adventurous.  If you like the smell of herbs, you are well-mannered, empathetic, and generous.  If the smell of exotic spices turns you on, you may appear introverted but are self-assured with a zealous appreciation of life.   But, can you be a mix and how does this mesh with sun signs?

Smell is also closely linked with memory.  Smells can bring back both positive and negative memories of loved ones, special events…or throwing up in church.  Cinnamon might remind you of a particular Christmas.  The smell of apple pie could tap memories of dinners with your grandparents when you were a kid.

The perfume industry has long developed fragrances that convey a vast array of emotions and feelings.  Perfumes can act like time machines.  Cotton Candy de Dua is a fragrance that really smells like…no surprise…cotton candy, which reminds us of those wonderful summers we spent as kids walking the boardwalk at the New Jersey shore.  Bottom line, we’d rather eat it than wear it!

Losing your sense of smell is a bummer.  Really affects your mood and even quality of life.  And, some bad news.  As we age our sense of smell can fade as those olfactory nerves degenerate.  On no!  Gone will be that sentimental pathway to memories.  Oh, but there’s an upside—Benjamin Franklin’s old adage that is still popular today: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.”  Guess loss of smell could make the relatives’ weeklong visit much more fun!

So, our Wrinkled Wisdom for today?  Smell the roses; smell the coffee.  Whatever makes you happy.  Remember: the nose knows, literally.  So, keep it clean, literally.  Choose your perfume or aftershave carefully and use it judiciously.  Shoot for the memory of an elephant and their sense of smell.  Those trunks are modified noses and, not surprisingly, incredibly powerful.   And, finally, as J. Paul Getty said: “Money is like manure.  You have to spread it around or it smells.”  So, be generous.