We're bored. We've napped and we've eaten salmon, we've watched the birds... please make us un-bored ~ let us smell some stuff. I'm thinking that Mercurie nearly aced the quiz as he said distinctive which is close to most recognized. Close enough.
The answer to yesterday's Quiz de Chedwick was this: in several blind smell tests (one was done at Yale University) Coffee was overwhelmingly the most recognized smell among large groups of Americans that were tested. Peanut butter, Ivory Soap, cigarette butts, and the other items shown were also among the most recognizable-- test subjects recognized these scents while failing to recognize most unprocessed scents found in nature, like lavender for example. These studies will have to be updated as new generations may not have the ability to recognize scents that were common for baby boomers.
In a blind floral study, participants who claimed to be very familiar with garden flowers, and several women who named fresh lavender as their favorite smell were not able to recognize a stalk of fresh lavender, even when several slightly different types of freshly picked lavender were presented to them. Most of the women said it smelled terrible, others said it was slightly unpleasant. So much for fresh lavender being their favorite. More likely they were thinking of lilacs or a muted lavender moisturizer. Overwhelming praise for lavender until the real thing was presented to them.
Most lavender perfumes are muted by the many other notes that go into a perfume.
Penhaligon's Lavandula is the truest lavender I know in a perfume or bath oil (besides the actual essential oil or absolute.)
Another question for you~ how many different notes does the average perfume have?
Yet another question ~ who has a good recipe for lavender roast chicken, lavender lemonade, or a lavender dessert item?
