On a whim I picked up bottle of Vosene in a pound shop at the weekend (well it was only ... errr ... £1).
Using it today was like a trip back to my childhood - the power of a smell/scent to evoke memories is incredibly strong (as I know from my work with people with dementia).
It made me think about other scents/smells which 'take me back'. Possibly the strongest is Lavender Water - one whiff and I'm back in my Nan's "Best Parlour" (aka the dusty front sitting room).
Not really that far back but recently smelt something that took me back to the World Cup in 2006 Germany (Nope wasn't beer and sick) it was a deodorant of some kind, very bizarre almost like I was back in time.
When we were young I used to go with my Dad to fetch paraffin for the only heaters we had in the house (no Central heating back then) the smell will always be with me.