Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Marking Territory

Let's talk about something much, much more fun.

Recently I gave my boy orders that once he has used up his current supplies, he is only to use scent-free deoderants, shower gels, aftershaves etc. My reasoning for this is that I'm rather like a dog - smell is extremely important to how I perceive the world.

And what do dogs do? That's right, they piss on things so that they're theirs. A dog can smell their own scent on something and know that it belongs to them.

Now, I'm not actually going to piss on the boy. Firstly, neither of us get particularly excited about watersports, secondly, I don't particularly like the smell of piss, and thirdly, it would be awkward sending him off into the world always smelling of piss.

But I'm still going to mark him with a scent. I'm either going to buy, or more likely I'm going to make, some kind of cologne/perfume. Then when I see him, I'm going to spray him with it. That way he'll smell good, and every time I smell his good-smelling-goodness, I will be reminded that he is mine, and he is wearing that scent for me.

The only hard part is actually picking a scent. I'm quite partial to things that smell like baking, or things that make me want to eat them, so I've been tossing up between vanilla or artificial strawberry. That way there's either delicious irony, or strawberry lollipops. Although it has been suggested to use both, which I might do, which may well end in the boy smelling like strawberry cupcakes.

I'll keep you updated. :)

6 comments:

  1. You might want to check out Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs. They do lots of custom scents, and you can use them to mix your own. Unfortunately, it seems that their website has become harder to navigate, so you might need to look around, but the Mad Tea Party section might be a good start.

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  2. The Olfactory sense is one that holds great power and fascination.

    The primary olfactory cortex is connected to several important areas of the brain including the amygdala and hippocampus. Places that integrate sensations into memory and formation of memories of emotional experience.

    The possibilities for adapting this knowledge are endless. Could such a technique be used not only to mark territory but specific activities?

    Communication without the auditory system seems often left to touch or sight.The ability to control the access and uptake of memory could be a powerful tool. As indicated in this entry this isn’t limited to one interaction but how all people involved could relate to an event.

    The smell may be universal but the emotions specific.

    Could this be a tool for training, behavioural modification or the ability to control our own emotional responses?

    Thinking aloud, something as simple as scenting rope could be an amazing way to find connection to a medium on your own terms.

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  3. @Sammael I'm more a fan of Demeter's perfumes, I adore their smells and the specificity of them. :)

    @Anonymous all of these are excellent thoughts, and having utilized many of them I can tell you that they are very powerful tools :) (Also, unrelatedly, the amygdala is my favourite part of the brain.)

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  4. idk if you're into essential oils, but there are some really lovely sweet-smelling ones you can get (i'm a huge jasmine fan!) and they're less chemically than perfumes...

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  5. @Nix I'm not a huge fan of most essential oils, they irritate my nostrils because I find them too strong (my superpower is my sense of smell, sadly). I may consider them, we'll see. I'm somewhat determined to have him smell like food :)

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