The Power of Scent

How Memories Live in Fragrance

There are moments when a scent catches us by surprise. The faint trace of perfume. Fresh rain on warm pavement. Something simmering in the kitchen. And before we know it, we’re not standing in the present anymore; we’re transported back inside a memory.

Scientists have a name for this: the Proust phenomenon. But long before it was studied, we already knew scent carried us to different times and spaces. It slips past words and reaches the deepest parts of us to memory, emotion, connection. One scent can open a door we thought was closed, taking us to a place that still lives inside us.

More Than Memory
Scent doesn’t just remind us of the past. It shapes how we feel in the present. The right fragrance can soften the edges of a hard day, wrap a room in calm. It can make a house feel like home, or turn an ordinary evening into something that feels special.

Scent is atmosphere. Scent is energy. It’s the unseen current that moves through a room, setting the tone before a word is spoken. Scent can soothe, uplift, ground, or inspire. It’s energy that reminds us we’re not only creating a space, we’re shaping how we want to feel inside it.

How I Create
This is why at Black Culture Candles, every fragrance begins with a memory or an experience. Not a trend. Not a season. But, with a moment that can transport us somewhere beyond the present.

I start with the soul of a memory; the freshness of a breeze from an open window on a Saturday morning. The quiet strength of love freely given. The laughter that lingers after a night of gathering with friends. Then I translate those feelings into fragrance by layering it the way memories are layered. A bright opening. A heart that stays with you. A grounded base that holds it all together.

Culture in Every Layer
My scents are rooted in cultural memory, and that gives them a depth you can feel. They rise out of lived experiences: the memory of a grandmother’s hands in the soil, the warmth of Sunday dinners that stretched long with storytelling, the small rituals of care and traditions passed down through generations.

These are more than personal memories. They’re part of the collective memory of Black culture; touchstones that show how we gather, how we create joy, how we connect. To translate them into scent is to honor memory made tangible. Each candle is a vessel for story and universal connection.

Why My Process is Different
When you light one of my candles, you’re not just filling the air with scent. You’re opening a door to a scent journey through memory, joy, culture and connection.

That’s what makes this process different. It isn’t about inventing a scent. It’s about capturing the feeling behind a moment and preserving it, so you can return to it whenever you need to.

— Lori

Take the Scent Journey Quiz and discover which candle carries your story.