The Olfactory: WHAT'S COMING OUT OF THE OLFACTORY?

The smell was so putrid, so eye-burningly awful that sometimes I thought I might actually suffocate.

I used to live next to a chemical refinery (I was a poor grad student, and it was a good deal). Once a month, billows of horrible, acrid smoke would waft from the factory towers. I have no idea what was coming out of there. All I know is that it STANK.

Even when I drove to other side of town to escape its reach, the smell lingered in my nose for days.

I used to imagine how wonderful it would be if, instead of assaulting unsuspecting citizens with nose-poison, the refinery emitted fragrant steam infused with lavender, clary sage, sandalwood, or rose oil. Aromatherapy for the masses.

Instead of scurrying to escape, people from miles around would flock to the refinery on the outskirts of town just to bask in its soothing aura.

That's when I realized just how important smell is to our quality of life. Not only does it affect your health (I cringe to think how many years that darn refinery might have taken off my life), but it affects your mood, your well-being, your comfort, and your ability to think and function with clarity and purpose.

THE OLFACTORY was inspired by that fanciful image of the aromatherapy factory.

(And the tagline was inspired by my love of bad puns. I can't help it.).

I truly believe that scent -- scents that make us feel happy, relaxed, nostalgic, healthy, cozy, sexy, or confident -- are important to living the GOOD LIFE. And my mission is to help fragrance enthusiasts, the scent-curious, and even the scent-challenged to be become skillful, savvy noses: to better understand the way our sense of smell works and the integral role it plays in our quality of life.

In line with this mission, THE OLFACTORY aims to:

Offer easy, fun scent and olfactory-related exercises, tips, guides, how-to's, and techniques in order to help you incorporate scent into your life in purposeful and meaningful ways.
Provide helpful, informative resources for educating and informing yourself on all things scent-related.
Offer unique events, services, workshops and entertainment focused on fragrance and olfactory education.
Help you find fragrances that make you feel like the most amazing version of yourself imaginable.