The human sense of smell is rather incredible. Out of all the senses, it is considered to be the most unique because of its ability to evoke deep feelings and emotions within us in just one, single inhale of a particular scent. With just that, we are immediately mentally transported back to the time and environment we first experienced that scent in. Even if you can no longer recall most of the details surrounding that time, a part of your mind is still latched onto something there, and chances are you’ll be scratching your head trying to figure out where those feelings of nostalgia are coming from.

I have experienced this many times, but the most drastic and even overwhelming example of my sense of smell conjuring up deep emotion within me is the scent of home. Regardless of how many years have passed since I moved out of my family’s house, or how many different places I have lived, even regardless of the fact that I have my own home now where I am enthusiastically content and where I wholeheartedly believe I belong, every single time I walk into my grandmother’s house, sit on her couch, have a cup of coffee at her kitchen table, or smell a shirt she is wearing, I am immediately overcome with feelings of what I can only describe as being homesick. This isn’t to say that I would be happy to still live with my family where I could let that scent wash over me until I suddenly realized I could no longer smell it. That isn’t the case. I have, however, asked my grandmother for the name of the brand of laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and fabric softener she uses, in a futile attempt to pinpoint what that unique scent of home is made up of, and to transport it into my home. It didn’t work. My clothes and house still smell like mine, and hers still smell like home. I did, however, come frighteningly close to that scent I love so much recently, in a bottle of Gain laundry detergent.

Gain has recently released several new scents, and because they know that each person’s sense of smell is unique and capable of inspiring their memory to do awesome things, they have a variety of scents sure to stimulate a certain happy memory of yours that you wouldn’t mind reliving when you put on a clean shirt. With scents like Apple Mango Tango, Sunflower & Sunshine, and Hawaiian Aloha, you just may have to sniff them all to find the scent perfect for you. That’s what I did before I chose to give the Icy Fresh Fizz scent a try.

When I was first picking out my ideal scent of Gain, I was sent a small booklet filled with scratch and sniff cards of each new Gain scent, and I noticed that most of them have particularly strong floral or fruity scents. The Icy Fresh Fizz, however, merely smells fresh, and like it is described, it does remind me of crisp, cool air; as if my clothes, towels, and linens had just been hanging out on the line on a perfect summer day. The scent is pleasant without bearing what is commonly referred to as overly feminine scents, which makes it ideal for washing the belongings of the whole family. After adding it to a load of laundry, the scent fills up the room without becoming overbearing, and it leaves your clothes smelling like they have just been washed that day, several days later.

Above any of its many attributes, however, Gain Icy Fresh Fizz comes remarkably close to the fresh, homey scent I breathe big gulps of whenever I go to my grandmother’s house. It’s missing something, I think it’s just the slightest hint of lavender that is missing, but it came so close that when I first smelled the test strip of this scent, I was downright astonished by it and immediately knew I had found my ideal Gain scent.

To learn more about Gain’s new line of scents and laundry products, visit ILoveGain.com, and don’t forget to stay updated on everything Gain by “liking” them on Facebook.

What’s your favorite scent memory?

I received a bottle of Gain Icy Fresh Fizz for review as part of a promotional program with One2One Network. No other compensation was received, and opinions are my own.