#ScentedStories - A Sardinian Wedding
#ScentedStories – A Sardinian Wedding

We live in an incredibly fragrant world. The sights and sounds we encounter every day are accompanied by a layer of smell that adds texture, colour and depth. Without this fragrant fourth dimension, our experiences of the planet would be less vivid, and certainly less enjoyable. I therefore, think it’s vital that we stop to smell the roses, as it were, and appreciate the joys that the smells around us, both pleasant and unpleasant (and occasionally revolting, gross and repugnant), bring. Even in our busiest moments, we should take stock of the wonderfully fragrant world we live in.

The Scented Stories series pays homage to this scented fourth dimension of that permeates every atom of our good, green Earth. So far on our olfactory odyssey, we’ve traversed the hash-soaked canal district of Amsterdam and traipsed (rather uncomfortably) over the chunky pebble beach of a quaint British seaside town. On both occasions, we have sniffed some intriguing odours and enjoyed the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright disgusting smells of life in interesting places. We have been beguiled, moved and disturbed, often in one sniff, and we’ve had a great time.

The fragrant quest continues and our latest Scented Story takes place on the Italian island of Sardina for a very special occasion. A few weeks ago my sister-in-law (Nigel’s lovely sister) and her equally lovely partner finally tied the knot, and they did so overlooking a wild ocean flirting violently with the rocky coast. The days leading up to the wedding, and of course, the big day itself, made for a once in a lifetime experience – one that was wonderfully fragrant, of course. There was food a plenty, even more wine, and most importantly, fun times with friends and family. Below is our story.

#ScentedStories - Amsterdam
#ScentedStories – Amsterdam

We live in an incredibly fragrant world. The sights and sounds we encounter every day are accompanied by a layer of smell that adds texture, colour and depth. Without this fragrant fourth dimension, our experiences of the planet would be less vivid, and certainly less enjoyable. I therefore, think it’s vital that we stop to smell the roses, as it were, and appreciate the joys that the smells around us, both pleasant and unpleasant (and occasionally revolting, gross and repugnant), bring. Even in our busiest moments, we should take stock of the wonderfully fragrant world we live in.

A few weeks back, I paid a nostalgic visit to the British seaside town of Aldeburgh with my family and to honour the sentimental, and smelly, significance of this particular place, I documented the sights and smells of the trip on my Instagram account, and then later collated them on this blog. A new series, ‘Scented Stories’, was born and over the coming months I intend to further explore this fragrant little place we call Earth with additional instalments that look at the specific scents of interesting places. I encourage you, dear readers, to share your experiences too.

For this latest instalment, I took a spontaneous mini-break to the land of clogs, legalised cannabis, Gouda cheese and trams, so many trams. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I am of course referring to the fascinating city of Amsterdam. So with my iPhone and passport packed, and my husband by my side, I took a short hop across the North Sea for a three day exploration of a picturesque, and laid-back city unlike any another. Below you will find my #ScentedStories snaps, including fragrant captions, as well as some standard holiday selfies, and glamour shots for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Around the World in 80 Sprays
Around the World in 80 Sprays

I’ve been away for a couple of days so there won’t be new posts from me this week, excluding my usual weekly column for Escentual. As you may have read, I have started to share ‘Scented Stories’ of the sights and smells of the places I visit on my Instagram page, and subsequently on my blog. These thoughts of scent and travel got me to thinking about what other cities may smell like, and specifically what perfumes can evoke different fragrant elements of these varied landscapes.

For my Escentual column this week I’ve taken an imaginary trip around the world to eight amazing cities, some I’ve personally visited and some I am yet to. To create a fragrant picture of each city I have selected ten fragrances that relate to the scented nuances of these places. Some are literal, capturing the smells one encounters when visiting these cities, and some are a little bit more abstract, evoking thoughts and feels from within my imagination. So, pack your passport and your sunblock, and click here, to go around the world in 80 sprays!

#ScentedStories
#ScentedStories

My favourite medium of Social Media is Instagram, so it will be no surprise that my Instagram account (you can follow me here, BTW) is filled with many, many pictures of my favourite things, specifically a variety of images related to perfume, food and my family. You can say a lot with a simple picture and I personally find it to be a fantastic way to represent the spirit, or essence of a fragrance by pairing it with a piece of art, or a carefully-selected background. I’m a bit in love with Instagram, if I’m being honest with you, whether I be using it to flirt with perfume photography or simply stroking my ego with a cheeky, but essential selfie…

One thing I’d like to start doing via my favourite medium is record some of my everyday scented experiences using photography and a smelly commentary. I’m calling the series ‘Scented Stories’, or ‘#ScentedStories’ for the social media savvy amongst us, and I’d like to invite you along with me to explore the smellier things in life. Photos and captions will initially be posted on my Instagram and then collated in a blog post here. But this isn’t just about me (not everything can be, I know…) and I’d like to hear/see your #ScentedStories too! So, tell me about the interesting smells you come across and share your photographs, comment away, and let’s traverse this wonderfully, and beautifully fragrant world together.

For my first Scented Story I have documented a recent trip to that most wonderful of places – the British seaside. When we were kids, my father would take my siblings and me to a small town in Suffolk called Aldeburgh. Unlike many seaside towns, Aldeburgh is quaint, laid back and fairly untourist-y, but it does have all of the things one expects from such a place, namely; a beach with painful pebbles (murder for the feet, let’s face it), plentiful ice cream, tacky gift shops and, most importantly, killer fish and chips. To rekindle fun times spent by the coast, we (as in my siblings, father, step-mother, husband and I) have started taking semi-regular trips back to Aldeburgh with my nephew and below the jump is just a small photo essay, complete with scented commentary, of this year’s trip. Enjoy!