Holiday traditions often come with a signature scent. Cinnamon in the kitchen. Orange peel on your fingers. The first batch of something you’ve been waiting all year to eat. Because smell is closely connected to memory, those familiar scents can bring back moments that make a season feel like yours.
Which might explain why a trip down the grocery store’s baking aisle can suddenly feel like October at your grandmother’s house.
TL;DR: Your favorite seasonal smell probably has a story attached to it. This fall, pay attention to the scents you look forward to, bring back a small ritual you love, and leave room for a new favorite.
Looking for a little mint and spice this season? Meet BoomBoom Spiced Mint.
Why do certain smells bring back holiday memories?
Ever caught a familiar scent and immediately thought of a very specific place?
Suddenly, you can picture the kitchen. You remember who always got there early, what was on the counter, and the cookie tray everyone was supposedly leaving alone.
There’s a reason scent can feel so closely tied to a memory. Research from Northwestern Medicine found particularly strong connections between the brain’s smell-processing areas and the hippocampus, a region involved in memory. That connection helps explain why an everyday smell can bring the past into focus. Read about the research.
The scent that does it for you might be completely different from someone else’s. Cinnamon could mean a family recipe. A peeled orange could remind you of the snack you ate on the drive to pick pumpkins.
Same season. Very different stories.
What does fall smell like to you?
Pumpkin spice gets plenty of attention. Fair enough. It has a very committed fan base.
But there’s a lot more to the season than one coffee order.
Maybe your version of fall is apples cooking on the stove. The tea you make when the evenings start getting darker. A favorite loaf of bread coming out of the oven. The spice tin you only reach for when you’re making that one recipe.
Or maybe October still means sunshine and sandals where you live, and your first real sign of fall is whatever’s happening in your kitchen.
Try finishing this sentence:
“It doesn’t feel like fall until I smell ______.”
Then ask someone else. You might get a recipe, a childhood story, or a surprisingly passionate speech about a particular bakery.
All excellent reasons to keep the conversation going.
How can you turn a favorite scent into a fall ritual?
Start with something you already enjoy. A seasonal ritual can be small enough to fit into an ordinary Tuesday.
Make the recipe you keep thinking about.
Ask for the apple crumble recipe. Bake the slightly uneven cookies. Let the kitchen smell good before anyone remembers to take a picture.
Give an everyday moment a seasonal detail.
Make your favorite spiced tea while you choose a movie. Peel an orange during your afternoon break. Put on the playlist you always return to this time of year.
Ask someone what scent reminds them of home.
Follow up with, “What does it make you remember?” That’s usually where the good story starts.
Repeat the part you like.
If tea and a movie make for a good Friday night, do it again. You’re allowed to have a tradition that requires very little planning.
Where does Spiced Mint fit into the season?
If your fall preferences include both mint and spice, we made something you’ll want to meet.
BoomBoom Spiced Mint is a limited-edition nasal stick with menthol and a blend that includes peppermint, cinnamon bark, clove, ginger, and nutmeg oils. It’s designed to provide a cooling, refreshing sensation, with a seasonal twist.
Think of it as one more little detail you can enjoy alongside your fall favorites. The playlist is queued. Your sweater has finally made it out of the drawer. Your mint has entered its spice era.
You can explore the scent and find the full ingredient list on the Spiced Mint product page.
What if you’re ready for a new tradition?
You can love the familiar recipe and still want to try something different this year.
Maybe you’re spending October in a new city. Maybe your friends are taking turns hosting dinner. Maybe you finally have a kitchen where more than one person can stand comfortably.
Choose a small thing you’d like to do again. Make breakfast before a weekend walk. Try a recipe with a friend. Find your fall tea.
You don’t have to know which details will become meaningful. Enjoying them now is a pretty good place to start.
And if you’re curious about adding a little mint and spice, take a look at Spiced Mint.
Now we want to know: What smell makes it officially fall for you?
