Have you ever caught a whiff of something and been instantly transported — no plane ticket or time machine required? Maybe it’s a hint of lilac and suddenly you’re in your childhood backyard. Or it’s a dash of cinnamon and you’re back in your grandmother’s kitchen.
For me, it happens every time I catch the faintest trace of orange blossom. In an instant, I’m holding my daughter at bathtime, washing her with her sweet-smelling Earth Mama soap.
It’s not just nostalgia — it’s neuroscience. And it’s one of the reasons scent plays such a powerful role in the candles and sprays we craft here at MINOT.
The Link Between Scent, Memory, and Emotion
Scent is the only one of our senses with a direct line to the brain’s emotional center. While your other senses have to go through the thalamus first, smells get to bypass that step and instead go through the olfactory bulb, which then sends the sensory information directly to its next-door neighbors: the amygdala and hippocampus, aka the parts of the brain responsible for emotion and memory.
That’s why smells can be so emotionally potent and live on in your memory for decades. Of course all of our senses come with emotions and memories attached — just ask your most-played throwback song or your mom’s spaghetti recipe — but studies have found that smell-based memories are the most emotional and often go back the furthest in time.
It explains why something as ordinary as deodorant (my husband’s — musky with a bright twist of lime) can feel like a hug, or why I’m thrown back into the early 2000s when I smell Giorgio Armani’s Acqua di Gio, the signature scent of a high school boyfriend who thought three spritzes were the bare minimum.
At MINOT, when we develop scents for our candles and sprays, it’s these deeply personal and sensory details we aim to capture. We start with nature and build from there, layering notes in ways that evoke emotion, memory, and place.
Finding the Perfect Scent for You
Research has found that odor-evoked memories aren’t just more emotionally vivid and memorable: They can actually have a measurable effect on your body. One study found that people who smelled scents associated with positive personal memories were more likely to breathe slower and deeper than when they smelled control scents. Another study found that “odor-evoked autobiographic memories” were linked to reduced markers of inflammation in the brain.
So while choosing something like a candle might seem like a small decision, the scent you choose has the potential to do something powerful: ground you, calm you, and maybe even heal you a little.
Because the best scent isn’t just the one you like. It’s the one you feel.
Why This Matters
Incorporating scent into your home isn't just about ambiance — it's about grounding yourself in the present and honoring the past. It’s about lighting a candle and remembering who you were in that first apartment, that summer spent at the beach, that moment of stillness with your baby in your arms.
Let scent stir something in you. Browse our Signature Collection and find the scent that takes you somewhere meaningful.