Two Army veterans. One familiar smell.
We Started With a Memory.
What started as a joke between the two of us became a way to share the smells, stories, and little moments that make us feel like ourselves again.
Veteran-owned · Built togetherHow it started
It began with Crazy Chicken.
We’re husband and wife, and we’re both Army veterans. During the COVID shutdown, we were on our way to Georgia when one of us suddenly smelled Crazy Chicken—a restaurant we remembered from South Korea. The restaurant was nowhere nearby, but for a moment, that smell felt completely real.
It brought back a flood of funny memories, and before long we were laughing about all the smells from Army life that could do the same thing. That was the beginning of Light Em Up.
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Why familiar matters
A scent can hold a whole story.
As veterans, we know that familiar smells can carry more than a memory. We’ve talked with other veterans who reach for a familiar scent during difficult moments with PTSD or anxiety, including while doing the hard work of treatment. Sometimes having something recognizable to focus on can be one small part of finding your footing again.
We know a fragrance can’t fix everything, and we would never pretend it can. But we also know the “right” comforting smell is different for every person. Lavender may be calming for someone else; for one of us, it’s the smell of a campfire that helps bring us back. If one of our scents sparks a good memory, starts a conversation, or gives someone a familiar point to focus on, then it has done something meaningful.