Rational scents?

[DataPacRat]

The right colours can soothe; the right music can inspire; the right words can nudge actions. Why have I never tried using scent to help prime behaviour in any given way before?

 

While I'm still new to the whole idea of BPAL, and am wondering how to get around the shipping costs to Canada, I do have at least one goal in mind for a scent to try: one that inspires cool, collected, rational and abstract thought.

 

In visual terms, I'm looking for something along the lines of calm blue skies. In musical terms, Mozart or They Might Be Giants. In abstract terms, anything that's been used to store information: primarily paper-based books. In hermetic terms, elemental air, the sign of Libra, the planet Mercury, and the eighth sephirot of Hod.

 

After skimming this thread, a good initial candidate seems to be Dee. I'm not sure that Miskatonic U quite fits; I'm looking for the academic without the creepy/mildewy. A couple of others from there that seem likely are Aziriphale or The Buggre Alle This Bible. But books alone do not a rationalist make - if you know a good scent for Gandalf/Dumbledore/Raistlin wizardry, or 'old English botanist puttering about with his samples in a lab', or 'Unix geek with glasses and beard', or anything of the sort, I'd appreciate the suggestions.

[Mountaingrrl00]

The scent of lavender is associated with air, Mercury, and cool-headedness. You might want to try this one, which seems to fit "old English botanist" pretty well too:

 

Arcana - "The essence of magickal enigmas and long-forgotten esoteric mysteries. Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena."

 

Edited to add: Check the Sales/Swaps forums for fellow Canadians.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Mountaingrrl

[Bluestblood]

Gum Arabic is my go-to for grounded, rational thought. Unfortunately, Hunger Moon is the only scent I can think of that has it. I keep a stash around the house for burning.

 

Lotus, anise and celery are supposed to also be associated with clear thinking but I find all three distracting for different reasons

 

As far as GC scents go, I find The Coiled Serpent, Mad Hatter and Magus to be excellent thinking blends.

[tziporra]

I wore Black Lotus to play Magic the Gathering (I mean, okay, it was originally for the name) and found it to be the perfect cool, calm, rational, good decision type scent.

 

And then I ran out. Probably should hunt myself up another bottle, eh?

 

Tzi

 

Edit for double post. Blerg.

Edited March 16, 2014 by tziporra

[Almond Blossom]

You might want to explore the Twilight Alchemy Lab website.

 

Oh, and by the way, I absolutely adore BPAL's Mercury - the most beautiful lavender scent I've ever had the pleasure of sniffing, and combined with mint it is truly amazing. Too bad it was discontinued a long time ago, but if you stumble across it, it's really worth trying.

[rawgirl75]

"While I'm still new to the whole idea of BPAL, and am wondering how to get around the shipping costs to Canada,"

Don't buy within Canada (bottle shipping cost is expensive), unless it's imps only and the seller knows how to pack the package so that it fits through that little slot at the P.O. for cheap shipping.

Shipping from U.S. based sellers and some International countries is best. I usually get shipping prices between $4.50-$7.00.

 

 

I do have at least one goal in mind for a scent to try: one that inspires cool, collected, rational and abstract thought."

Dee is gorgeous. Definitely try it.

Scents with a touch of ozone or ether come to mind. You might like Lurid, Lightning, Smokestack (heck several of the Phoenix Steamworks section of scents could fit).

[fasn8me21]

Perhaps Lawful from the RPG section. It truly somehow smells...Lawful.

[Astarial]

I'm having a hard time coming up with a single scent that I think fits all the impressions you suggested - to me, "calm blue skies" and TMBG don't really equate, for example.

 

But let's see... For "old English botanist", I immediately thought of The Apothecary (tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig). That shares at least the tea note with Theodosius, the Legerdemain(Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean), which is currently discontinued but should (we hope!) be back this summer, and which I find reminds me of a very eloquent, collected, rational man.

 

For calm blue skies, I might suggest Water of Notre Dame (brings peace to the spirit, a sense of calm and fulfillment, and attracts the aid of beneficial spirits) - reviews mostly describe it as greener, rather than bluer, but it fits the calming description, and an increase in calmness can also increase one's ability to think straight.

 

I'll keep thinking for the others.

[DataPacRat]

I'm having a hard time coming up with a single scent that I think fits all the impressions you suggested - to me, "calm blue skies" and TMBG don't really equate, for example.

 

True enough - TMBG have a pretty broad range of albums by this point. I was particularly thinking of their 'Here Comes Science'/'the ABCs'/'the 123s' approach, such as the '

'.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions so far - I'm keeping a careful note of each one. I think my next step is to try posting in Wanted, and I expect I'll be referring to this thread when I do...

[ivyblossom]

The right colours can soothe; the right music can inspire; the right words can nudge actions. Why have I never tried using scent to help prime behaviour in any given way before?

 

While I'm still new to the whole idea of BPAL, and am wondering how to get around the shipping costs to Canada, I do have at least one goal in mind for a scent to try: one that inspires cool, collected, rational and abstract thought.

 

In visual terms, I'm looking for something along the lines of calm blue skies. In musical terms, Mozart or They Might Be Giants. In abstract terms, anything that's been used to store information: primarily paper-based books. In hermetic terms, elemental air, the sign of Libra, the planet Mercury, and the eighth sephirot of Hod.

 

After skimming this thread, a good initial candidate seems to be Dee. I'm not sure that Miskatonic U quite fits; I'm looking for the academic without the creepy/mildewy. A couple of others from there that seem likely are Aziriphale or The Buggre Alle This Bible. But books alone do not a rationalist make - if you know a good scent for Gandalf/Dumbledore/Raistlin wizardry, or 'old English botanist puttering about with his samples in a lab', or 'Unix geek with glasses and beard', or anything of the sort, I'd appreciate the suggestions.

 

I definitely use BPAL to remind myself of the attitude I need for the day. You can certainly open up what you think it means to smell like rational thought; physical media isn't necessarily very rational, after all. I find The Antikythera Mechanism to be the most academic and challenging of the smells I've got so far, and I wear it when I need to be sharp and take no prisoners. To stay academic but more quirky and approachable, and a little softer while still controlled and intelligent, I go for White Rabbit. It's a very proper clean tablecloth and a recently-filled cup of tea. Miskatonic U goes mostly to oak on me, not so much booze, so I wear it when I need to get a lot of writing done.

[MCS4096]

You might like U (umlaut, from the Mutter Museum), which is another bookish type scent, and doesnt have the same tendency to go to 'cologne' that some of the others mentioned do (in my experience at least). India Ink SN, though harder to find, might be up your alley-- the scent of hand written manuscripts

 

If you're interested in something with a science theme it's hard to beat Schrodinger's Cat... Although I dont find the scent particularly thought provoking itself.

 

No 93 Engine is an awesome steampunk blend that makes me feel creative and smell like I've been working in a mechanical laboratory. It's also very clean and bright, which can be energizing.

 

I also recommend checking out the TAL section. I'm a chemist and, to be honest, most of the time I like to wear blends that kind of take me away from the academic environment to give me some silliness and fun-- the times I've truly had to perform academically and focus, I generally dont wear a perfume blend, but apply a swipe of an appropriate TAL. When I gave my dissertation defense, for example, I went with Lionheart, a blend that has helped me several times to focus my intention beyond anxiety, and perform bravely in a room packed with rapid scientists.

[crimescenecleanup]

BPAL's Manhattan has always struck me as a clean, cool, airy, sophisticated, intellectual and well-read.

 

It is a GC that doesn't get nearly enough love.

Edited March 17, 2014 by crimescenecleanup

[khazakant]

I like Hymn to Pan for such business. Very crisp, clear-thinking, almost severe. For some reason it reminds me of the color ice blue.

[Valtiel]

Burning Book perhaps?

[keileya]

Nthing Number 93 Mechanism (which always smells like the very best kind of New Age shop to me; I referred to it as my High Priestess In Charge Of The World scent) and Dee (but only when well aged; fresh from lab it was very powdery and kind of gross on me, while aging it a bit turns it very scholarly and genteel).

 

For take-no-prisoners intellectual and heady scents, I'll also suggest Mage ("gurjum balsam, Sumatran dragon's blood resin, olibanum, galangal, oleo gum resin, and frankincense"). My wife, who's a forensic DNA analyst, calls Aelopile ("Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud") her testifying-in-court perfume, meanwhile; she says it makes her feel confident, put together, and expert. Faustus ("frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet") may also fit for 'academic and intellectual'. (Although it did turn gross-public-bathroom-soap on me after an hour, which I was really annoyed by! I was loving it on me and then ... auuugh get it away.)

 

For "old English botanist puttering around with samples in a lab", maybe Paris ("Lavender, softly underscored by lotus and spice"), Bensiabel ("Plum juice, lilac, leather, and a smattering of herbs"), or The Old Goblin ("A crown of hardened ice and polished fir-cones" but it's got a very white-floral background to the ice and frost). And, like rawgirl75, I think a lot of the Phoenix Steamworks line have a good chance of fitting the "Unix geek with glasses and beard", since they're all very steampunky and, hrm, mechanical. Definitely geeky, at least.

[Aviatrix]

You mentioned it yourself, but I would like to second Aziraphale. It's a very soft and refined, slightly bookish scent that doesn't overwhelm but rather envelops in a cloud of geek, so to speak.

 

Another library-ish scent is The Lurid Library, which is more incense than Aziraphale, though, so if you're not into incense-type scents, you might want to pass it up. But definitely bookish as well.

 

Also, as others have mentioned, the Steamworks collection is perfect for geekiness and engineering type scents!