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This list of scents
is something I’ve been meaning to do forever, because the sense of smell is uniquely connected to memories and to emotion. A scent in a story can flip a little switch in a reader’s brain, immediately triggering a mood. That’s why when I edit other people’s books, I often encourage them to include smells.
I especially encourage writers of Christmas stories to include beloved, nostalgic holiday scents. That’s why I already did this list of Christmas scents! Most of those scents will be in the mix here, too!
An odor or scent can be used in all kinds of ways in writing:
It can cause a strong positive response, such as joy or contentment.
It can cause a strong negative response, such as fear or disgust.
It can tell you about a character (whether it’s their scent, or the scent of their home or car.)
It can be a clue in a mystery.
It can be a reason for attraction in a romance.
And it can make a scene more immersive, so readers feel like they’re in the story!
Here’s my list of scents A – Z…
My apologies in advance for some disgusting smell juxtapositions that result in the A – Z order!
It’s not a complete list, of course. For instance, I didn’t try to list every food and every plant there is. I focused on the more common ones, from a U.S. standpoint. It’s a big list, though.
There are a few nostalgic smells on here that are almost extinct, so you might not be personally familiar with them. Some of these scents come in a lot of different varieties!
You’ll have to let me know if I left off something important…or if one of these smells is your favorite! If there’s a scent on here that most people don’t mind and you can’t stand, I’d love to hear about that, too.
aftershave
algae
almonds
This scent was famously invoked in the opening line of Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I don’t actually like his stories, but I like the prose.
ammonia
apples
asphalt (a.k.a. blacktop), fresh
babies (especially the top of a baby’s head)
baby powder
bacon
bad breath / halitosis
ballpoint pen ink
bananas
Band-Aids
Barbicide
This blue fluid is a classic disinfectant used in many barber shops.
basil
basketball, especially new
beer
birthday cake
birthday candles, just blown out
bleach
blood (regular blood, period blood)
body odors
books, old
bread, fresh-baked
burned match
burning leaves
buttercream frosting
calamine lotion
cannabis
cardamom
carnations
car exhaust (also diesel exhaust, like from buses)
In my romcom novel Her Time Traveling Duke, my hero from 1818 is confused by this smell when he finds himself in modern-day Chicago.
car interior, new
carpet (new carpet; dirty carpet)
cat litter box
cedar, cedar chests
celery
charcoal briquettes / charcoal grill
chewing gum / bubble gum
chocolates
cigar smoke
cigarette smoke
cilantro
cinnamon
cinnamon rolls (some Americans will be familiar with the smell of Cinnabon at the mall)
citronella
clay
clover
cloves
coconut
coffee
cookies
crayons
creosote bushes, in the desert
cucumbers
curry
decomposing dead body, animal or human
deodorant
dill
dirt
dirty diapers
dog (could be unwashed, could be wet)
dog’s paws (they often smell like corn chips)
donuts
dusty light bulb
dryer sheets, like Bounce
dryer vents
dumpster / garbage
Durian fruit (famous for smelling horrible…I’ve never smelled it!)
eucalyptus
excrement (human, dog, horse dung, manure, etc.)
fallen leaves (dry, wet)
figs
fireworks, burned
frankincense
French fries
fried chicken
garlic
gasoline
glue
grapefruit
graphite (pencil lead)
grass, freshly mowed
hand sanitizer (smells like ethyl alcohol; may have a garbagey or tequila-like note)
hay
hair (freshly washed, oily, burned)
hairspray
honeysuckle
incense
infection, from a wound
jasmine
Kool-Aid
lava (can include the smell of sulfur)
lavender
laundry detergent
laundry, fresh or dirty
leather
lemon
lemon-scented furniture polish
lighter fluid
lilacs
This is definitely one of my favorites on this list of scents! When I was growing up, the neighbor’s lilac bush bloomed right under my bedroom window.
lilies
lime
linseed oil
Lysol
magnolias
markers (Sharpies; whiteboard markers; scented markers such as Mr. Sketch)
mascara
mayonnaise
mildew
mimeographed handouts/worksheets (nostalgic smell…but paper from a copy machine smells good, too)
mineral spirits
mint
Miracle-Gro
mothballs
musk
musty basement (mold and/or mildew)
nail polish
nail polish remover / acetone
natural gas/gas leak
new clothes, especially in a department store
I’m sure horrible chemicals are responsible for this smell, but I still love it.
Noxema / cold cream
onions
oranges/orange juice
orange blossoms
oregano
ozone (the smell of a storm coming)
PVC vinyl (new shower curtain/shower curtain liner, inflatable beach ball, etc.)
paint (finger paints, oil paint, house paint, spray paint)
pancakes with maple syrup
paper towels, wet: the brown ones that used to be in some schools and libraries (nostalgic smell)
patchouli
peaches
peanut butter
pears
peonies
perfume and cologne (huge range of scents, of course)
perm solution for hair
petrichor: the smell when it rains after a dry spell
pie (lots of different kinds)
pine trees
Pine-Sol floor cleaner
pineapple
pizza
Play-Doh
popcorn
pumpkin spice lattes
rice, cooked
rosemary
rotten food (eggs, fish, meat, potatoes…)
rotting wood
rubber cement
rubbing alcohol
roses
saddle soap
sage
sandalwood
sawdust (also, lumber…they smell the same, right?)
school paste (this might be a nostalgic one only?)
Scotch tape
scented candles (almost endless varieties here)
the sea / sea spray
shampoo
shaving cream
shoes (new leather shoes, new sneakers, stinky sneakers)
shoe polish
soap
skunk
This smell also plays a role in my romcom Her Time Traveling Duke. Nobody gets sprayed, though!
spoiled milk
steak
strawberries
sweat (can also be a clean smell)
sweet grass
swimming pools with chlorine
suntan lotion
tar
tea
tea tree oil
tennis balls in a just-opened can
Thanksgiving turkey
tires, especially new
tomatoes/tomato vines
tuna salad
unwashed socks
unwashed underwear
urine
vanilla
varnish
VHS video cases (nostalgic scent)
Vicks VapoRub
vinegar
vintage vinyl records (I think part of this smell is mildew)
vomit
WD-40
waffle cone
wallpaper paste
watermelon
whiskey
Windex / glass cleaner
wine
winter air on someone’s coat/hair/skin when they’ve just come inside
I don’t know how this is a smell, but it is.
wood smoke
wood wax
wool (including wet winter coats)
yeast
ylang-ylang
People spend a lot of time online. They can see and hear content on a screen, but they can’t smell it. The same goes for tactile sensations and tastes. So when you evoke these neglected senses in writing, it feels all the more real!
I hope you enjoyed the list of scents! I had a lot of fun brainstorming them. If you want an easy writing prompt to get your creative juices flowing, pick a smell at random and write a little about it. 🙂
If you could use more writing inspiration…
check out my book Master Lists for Writers! (If you’re a writer and you’re on TikTok, you might’ve seen this before.) It has all kinds of lists for facial expressions, body language, gestures, physical appearance, emotions, and much more.
Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!
I love your lists! They get me unstuck often and keep me from the bad habit if over using my defaults. I just bought the paperback to keep at my writing station too.
I so love your lists!
This reminded me of a lesson I learned about how the right scent and phrasing can set the mood for an entire piece:
My ex, though not my favorite person, was a talented author. She once wrote a short piece about love lost. Upon first reading, I found it sweet, by not special and certainly not memorable. After my critique, she re-edited, but had difficulty expressing the vital role she wanted the scent of roses to play. Eventually, she hit upon a phrase demonstrating the husband’s devotion and habit of bringing fresh flowers to his bride. While he had lived, “rosiness” filled their home.
I might forget the details of that story which I read 30 years ago, but I will never forget the warmth that word rekindles every time I think of it.
Hi, Mitchell! Wow, that is such a great example of scent transforming a story. (And I’m impressed that even if you and your ex had serious differences, you could still appreciate her writing. I don’t think most people are that mature!) Thank you for posting!
Hi Fred! Ahh, that is so good to hear! Thank you. I’m honored to have my book at your writing station. 🙂 Hope everything is going well with you!
Thank you. I have thought about this for the reasons you mention and considered compiling such a list a daunting task.
You’re welcome, Keith! Thanks for commenting! I’m glad it seems useful. 🙂
When I was little, about 8 or 9 years old, my grandmother took me outside, once in a warm mid-summer afternoon when the hot day turned into evening and dark clouds blocked the sun. The air was like lead, no breeze (yet), nothing, nature took a break and was just waiting… My grandmother ordered me to ‘sniff’ the air, and I did. Then she said: “See, that’s how rain smells.” It didn’t take long, and it started raining.
In the wintertime, one day, it was cold, but surprisingly got a tiny bit warmer, the sky turned a tad ‘yellowish’, she ordered me to put on my jacket and took me outside. She asked me to look around, then told me to ‘sniff’ the air, and I did. And again she said. “That’s how snow smells.” A few hours later big snowflakes fell.
It’s a true story, and until this day I never forgot how rain and snow smell. They have their own smell, and even though some people look at me sometimes like I lost my marbles, when I say: “It’s going to rain (or snow) soon.” They learn how to trust me, because I’ve never been wrong. I can literally smell it.
Oh, it’s so true! I love it that your grandmother was teaching you how to be in tune with nature. 🙂 I can smell those, too! I have always lived in the Midwest, and last July, Mr. Donovan and I were sitting in the living room reading books (what can I say; we’re exciting) with the windows open. All the sudden I looked up and said, “There’s going to be a tornado.” He said everything was fine, but an hour later, we were in the basement because the sirens were going off. The tornados didn’t come too close to us, but there were a bunch in our county. I think it must’ve been the smell and the air pressure!
It is not Christmas. it is Yuletide. where in the Bible say Christmas
Hi, welcome to the blog! I hope you find my other lists for writers helpful, too. 🙂 You’re right; it doesn’t say Christmas in the Bible. I use “Christmas” because that’s what most people use, but I think Yuletide is a lovely word.
Brynn, You are a wonder!!!! Every single suggestion you have listed is beyond value for writers, and most particularly new writers. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve noticed writers who could have improved their writing, if they had only added an occasional expression, etc in their work.
Aww, thank you! You are too kind! I really appreciate it. Yes, when I edit other people’s books, I often say things like, “Can we get their facial expression or their body language right here?” 🙂 Thanks for reading, and for commenting!
Ty 👍
Don’t know how to leave a comment but you left out the ocean…not the same as sea spray or the beach, different again…good list though
Hi Camilla! Welcome to the blog! I hope you enjoy my other resources for writers, too. Hmm, I’ll change it to “the sea/sea spray” then! I have clusters of related smells on other lines, so I think that will make sense. Thanks for the suggestion!
🙂 Thank you for reading!
Fantastic list.
🙂 Thank you, friend! Hope your week is treating you right!
Fun list! (especially the vintage scents). Suggested additions: Bug spray, Burnt skin, Cantalope (or under watermelon, I guess), Cleanser, Cumin, Fish, Formaldehyde, Gun powder, Hospital (antiseptic), Lake, Resin, Toothpaste, Thyme, and (a broad one, but) Zoo (also farm)
Isabelle! I am going to add some of these. They’re great. Thank you so much! 🙂