A PECAN pie PERFUME?! WHERE NOSTALGIA AND CULTURE COLLIDE.
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Image sourced from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12170/southern-pecan-pie-i/
I can count on both hands, feet, and probably yours how many times I have asked for more pecan pie fragrances in the fragrance space. Not because I want to be annoying or I think pecan pie is the best dessert but because I seek to feel connected to community and culture.
My family, on my mothers side, is from the south. There are southern dishes and traditions that have a shared understanding culturally when I am amongst my fellow black americans and some of my latinx and caribbean folks. When I say things like pecan pie, sweet potato pie, cornbread, okra, black eyed peas, iced tea, coffee, red rice, and so much more there is a wave of nostalgia and usually happy and positive memories two or more people can have in the room without growing up in the same family. The same also applies for pumpkin pie but it doesn’t feel the same. You can see my review of two pecan pie fragrances here on Instagram.
That is what having a fragrance that holds nostalgia is like for me. There are scents that are simply cultural. Take Oud as an example. Those who love Oud are, and I am going to make some major assumptions here, people who have had the pleasure of growing up in a household full of food and spaces filled with spices, aromatics and scents. In my mind, if you grew up in an environment where everything was meant to be proper, clean, and flat the softer soaper, linen, “clean scents” are what feels nostalgic.
This is about cultural upbringings. You can be of any racial background and have a myriad of experiences. This is going to come down to the household you grew up in, the neighborhood you lived in, and also access.
Access to more “luxurious” smells think your hotel lobby vanillas and powdery floral scents will be more appealing because its familiarity or you may like it because you’ve made an association to it and luxury. Most people, whether they have had proximity to it, want luxury in some shape or fashion. Again, making assumptions but as someone who grew up on the internet and I have a way of being overly observant I don’t think I am too far off.
Now let’s get into my pecan pie. Pecan pie fills, in my mind, some key important things. Its nutty which earthier nutty scents feel grounded. In a world that feels everso chaotic constantly having something that immediately makes your shoulders drop and jaw clench a little less is important. Sweet. I love sweet fragrances. I want to break it down to two possible reasonings for me.
Possible reason #1 sweet smelling, gourmand fragrances, release dopamine or seratonin. Its been a while since i sat in a biology class but one or both of those are released. Let’s just say happy hormones. If the nuttiness of the fragrance releases tension and anxiety than the sweetness increases these “happy hormones” leading to a wave of increased happiness even if its short lived. Wouldnt you want to easily be able to spray away your anxiety and increase your happiness in an instant? Pecans are becoming what lavender is to most people.
I also find lavender to be either very delicate or very harsh.
Another possible reason, and I can’t wait for their to be more scientific research on this is the increase of spending money on gourmands while on GLP-1 or any weight loss drug. I am by no means saying you are going to want gourmands because you are on a weightloss/ diabetic medication. What I am saying is, taking myself as a personal anecdote is the social expectation that happens when you are on a weight loss journey is to constrict.
Constrict how much you eat, right you are to constrict how much you consume. Imagine an endless source of something that hits your dopamine receptors that is “affordable” and doesn’t affect your physical progress. Also think about the shame society teaches us about our bodies when it comes to weight gain. Fragrances are easier, and an increased usage or addiction to them, are easy to hide.We have fragrance in almost every single thing we own and no one has to tell us to “put it down”. Its in our soaps, hair products, FOOD, travels, offices, homes, and there is dedicated online communities of people who will encourage you to buy buy buy and spend more.
Imagine that times 1000x when every day there is a new perfume release. Just perfume alone not including candles, diffusers, hair products, make up, skin care, and so much more.
To love something is also to be critical of its flaws. I love fragrance but I also see how it can and does harm people around me.
We can have our enjoyment and our pieces of nostalgia but we need to know why. We need to critically examine our desire to spend and WHY we desire to spend on these items.
My desire for pecan pie fragrance is cultural, its addiction, its memory, its fleeting, and its also grounding and it makes me happy.
I want to also add one last thought as I close this out. Fragrance, the internet, social media, and food is my way to connect with a family and culture that I am not physically able to always be close to. I decided to move away from home and from the family I know and love. Many of you have. Many people have moved abroad for various reasons. I do hope to some day too. That means I desire, and will continue to desire things that feel like “home”. Black southern culture and black culture is not all about the things I discussed earlier but the association I have with it is associated with my love of southern food cuisine and the fragrances inspired by it.
I am also happy to let you know a perfumer, Bryson Ammons of Alloy Studio, just recently launched a sweet potato pie fragrance, named Luster and another perfume inspired by black art and culture. So for me, that means the journey continues for me to incorporate nostalgic scents into my collection that simply feel like “home”. I welcome you to do the same, within your budget, and I will include links to some things that I have found nostalgic that you can add to your collection. Happy shopping and I thank you for being here.