Anne, 32, finally found her signature scent 10 months ago, Eau de Merveilles by Hermes, after years of searching for the perfect “my skin but better” scent. Head over heels with it she used it every morning, like a good luck charm to see her through her busy day, savoring the subtle yet elegant oranges & ocean-soaked-skin scent, going through a couple of bottles in the process.

Then a couple of months ago she couldn’t smell it anymore.

Dismayed at the stunted romance with herself she emailed me in panic asking for advice: “Why is this happening? People I ask say they can smell it, that it’s subtle but definitely there. What am I doing wrong? And can I reclaim the happiness it gave me at the start? Please help, perfume expert!”

 

Dear broken-hearted Anne and anyone in a similar situation, please know this not unusual, nor is it irremediable. But let’s take it from the top. 

 

The sense of smell is constantly stimulated, evolving to alert our primitive ancestors of eminent dangers in the form of rotten food, approaching predators, bush fire and emergencies of similar calibre. Nowadays it still informs our fragrance, our familiarity with immediate family, our pleasure in walking past bakeries and coffee shops, or savoring a fine Bordeaux, and supplying alert at potential gas leaks or burnt food. It’s only natural that we tend to forget about it outside of these situations. The nose is hard-wired to continue to pick up signals in order to notify us of any change in environmental circumstances that might jeopardize our comfort and safety.

So what happens when we pick up a bottle and spray is that initially our nose picks up the scent, our receptors sending a signal to our brain’s limbic system, and it registers as a “new smell”.

But after about 10 minutes or so the “new” becomes “old” i.e. deemed safe (since we’re not acting to eliminate it or distance ourselves from it) so our nose readjusts itself to pick up new signals. Imagine if that continues for weeks and months on end! The nose becomes desensitized to it.This is why so often people complain they can’t smell their perfume or why they don’t perceive their own body odor. 

 

Another factor is a widely used, natural occurring molecule, smelling of violets, ß-ionone . It’s added in several fragrances to boost the bouquet and to bond floral to woody notes seamlessly. But it also has the capacity to temporarily desensitize our nose receptors! According to one study* from 2013, this may even have genetic background, a mutation in the DNA sequence of the odorant receptor gene OR5A1 which twists the perception of this “note”.

 

But what can be done, apart from severing the bond and abandoning the fragrance in question altogether? 

First thing to do is give it a rest. Much like recapturing your home’s scent after a few weeks away, you can give yourself a break from your favorite fragrance, either by opting for something else or for none at all.  Another less drastic idea is to switch to an ancillary body product (body lotion, shower gel, oil etc) in the range of your fragrance or a different concentration. Since these are formulated slightly different from the one you regularly use there are chances you might be able to pick up the scent. Finally, there are helpful charts/guides online and in stores which may guide you to a very similar but slightly different fragrance that you might enjoy with no problems until you re-acquaint yourself with your old love. 

 

*Identification of Regions Associated with Variation in Sensitivity to Food- Related Odors in the Human Genome. Current Biology, 2013 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.07.031