Creating Memories with Scent

We’ve all experienced it; you get a whiff of something beautiful, and you're taken away down memory lane in an instant.

Smell, memory and emotion are so intertwined that they are actually stored as one memory in the brain. The ability that smell has to trigger memory is called “the Proust effect” and is thought to be due to the proximity of the olfactory processing system and the memory hub in the brain. Wild, right?!

Scents play a big role in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. They can take us to paradise and back in a moment, or give us the sense of a warm hug from a loved one. They also have the power to strongly recall memories that might otherwise never be recalled.

If that’s not enough for you, smell is also the first sense that we develop as fetuses in the womb; it’s also the most developed sense we have as a child until the age of 10, when sight takes over. So most of our childhood memories are based or linked to some degree with scent. 

So, how do we harness this memory superpower that scents are capable of? At Canvas Candle Co, all of our candle scents mean something to us. Each team member has a slightly different memory triggered when we smell our signature scents.

But, the real magic happens when we are able to see our customers making memories with our scents (which we love, so please make our day by tagging us on Instagram)—for example, burning our candles at weddings or baby showers, first dates, and graduations. All of these events are monumental, and we are privileged to be part of that locked in memory in time. 

As we head back into ‘normal’ life with COVID-19 restrictions slowly lifting, the latter half of this year will be one to remember with lots of celebrations and reunifications with loved ones. Take a moment to think about what scents you would like to have associated with these upcoming beautiful memories in time.