Ladies like lavender for the happiest of aromas

FRESHLY laundered bedding, coffee, lavender and Indian restaurants are among a list of smells which make British women feel happy, according to research.

A study into the scents which evoke joy found men are more likely to find comfort in the smell of bacon, new cars, log fires and their mother’s Sunday roast.

Nine in 10 of 1,500 adults polled said certain aromas take them right back to key life moments that made them happy.

Also making the list of popular scents among women are newly washed hair, babies and chocolate, with men preferring the smell of a barbecue and freshly baked bread. Of those quizzed, 16 per cent said they love the whiff of whisky.

The survey by Sykes Holiday Cottages also found that 82 per cent of those polled believe fish and chips and ice cream smell better when on holiday.

Aroma expert Tim Jacob, emeritus professor at Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences, said: “A smell can take you back to a particular event or remind you of a particular person, and has unique access to the emotional centres of the brain which trigger not only memory but also the emotions associated with the memory.”