CK1. Had some when I was a teenager, forgot about it for 20 years, now whenever I smell it I am instantly transported (sadly not literally) back to a more simple time before I completely fucked my life up.

Tomato plants. Pet fur. Orange blossom. Generic institution bathroom cleaner. Seaweed. My partner’s clean breath

Water. Whether it’s ocean water, creek water, water on trees in the woods, spring rain, summer rain, fall rain (they all have different scents), or the smell of rain from miles away mixed with ozone from summer storms, even lightly chlorinated pool water can smell good in the right circumstances.

That and my cats fur. He always either smells like clean laundry, even if he’s been nowhere near any laundry, or if it’s a windy day and he’s been sitting at the window he smells like fresh air.

There’s a soecific air freshener that my parents use at their house. They only use it during winter mainly so everytime I smell that, paired with the warm lighting of their lamps, and the quietness of the snow outside. It always gives me a sense of calm that I can’t explain.

fuel rich exhaust from an old truck with cigarette smoke.

if I’m lucky I’ll smell it once every few years and it sends me back to the handful of good memories I had with my father.

otherwise it’s fresh cut pine lumber from a construction site with early morning dew and dirt.

That sort of smell of decay when the fallen leaves from autumn get a little soggy from early winter rains. Gosh I could just shove it all up my nose

I couldn’t narrow it down to one. So far I have:

Freshly cut grass, freshly baked bread, a real christmas tree, pipe/cigar smoke, aviation fuel, sunscreen, candyfloss, fresh linen, the sea air, Indian food, corrainder, fresh coffee and the smell of a BBQ.

Skin after the swimming pool (gentle chlorine smell), flourine, curry, my wife’s hair, freshly baked bread, roast chicken, clothes that have been dried outside.

My dog smells absolutely fantastic. I could just sniff her all day.

I’ve never met another dog that smelled nice to me.

Petrichor.

Mountain air is pretty great.

Also a big fan of the smell of allspice. I remember as a child climbing on the kitchen counter to reach the spice cabinet so I could crack that jar and get a good whiff.

Campfire

My favorite smells are the few that nearly transport me back in time, maybe like some form of déjà vu but I can’t quite pinpoint what exactly those scents are. I’d never be able to recreate them intentionally. Two different soap scents bring me to two different familiar childhood places. Sometimes when I come back in through the back door I get a rather neutral smell but also very intense feeling like I’m suddenly at an old friend’s rental house from decades ago. There’s one smell that instantly brings me back to a childhood scratch n’ sniff book. As a side note, I find that nostalgic textures bring back strong memories too.

When I was a kid, my friends and I thought it was funny when an older woman mentioned to us that she loved the smell of crayons and that they brought her back to her childhood. Now I understand!

I went on a road trip through the mountains in central Colorado during the summer ~7ish years ago. I still don’t know what the smell actually was but every once in a while we would drive through certain parts of the mountains that had slightly sweet and clean/crisp smelling air. Never forgotten it.

The closest I can think to describe it would be something floral like freesia+ a woodsy Sequoia/evergreen combination.

Cat bellies and old books. Oh, and coffee.