Eric Buterbaugh. Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images Scientific studies confirm that, of all the senses, smell offers the best recall. In Scent Memories , the Cut asks people about the scents they associate with different times in their lives. Next up is Los Angeles-based floral designer Eric Buterbaugh , whose clients include fashion houses like Valentino and Dior, celebrities like Madonna, and royal family members like Princess Beatrice . His latest project has been refreshing his floral-inspired line of fine fragrances, Eric Buterbaugh Los Angeles . Originally 14 scents, the lineup now includes 17 fragrances that Buterbaugh designed around what a fresh flower truly smells like. The Cut caught up with thim to talk candles, Christmas, and the best-smelling bar of soap. My first scent memory is: I think it’s a combination of Chanel No. 5 , which my mom wore at that time, mixed with the Johnson’s baby lotion that’s in the pink bottle. It sounds like such an awful combination [ laughs ]. Happiness smells like: Fresh-cut grass — lying in it with your eyes shut and with a cool breeze. I live in cities and run around a lot, and somewhere you’ll find a meditation thing and they want you to calm down somewhere and feel happy and whatever, and I’ve always connected that calm and happiness with cut grass. Love smells like: My partner, who wears my new perfume Gardenia Oud . He’s obsessed with it, so that is what it smells like. I happen to be in love at the moment! Friendship smells like: Hamburgers and french fries. I feel like with a friend, you can just get down on some hamburgers and fries and it’s cozy. Shake Shack is my hamburger of the moment. I love them. I’m from Oklahoma, so it just smells […]