Why can’t I smell my perfume?

When you start using a new perfume its scent follows you everywhere and you often find yourself smelling it. But suddenly you stop feeling it.

The question is, why can’t I smell my perfume? It is very common and most of us have wondered it at some point, and the answer has nothing to do with your nose or the intensity of your perfume.

In these difficult times living with the pandemic and Covid-19 we’ve naturalized that one of the possible symptoms and effects of the virus is the loss of smell. But there’s nothing to be alarmed of, not smelling your own perfume it’s, usually, our brains reflex.

Smell sense is still a mystery in some ways and can be tricky sometimes. That’s why when you stop smelling your fragrance you start wearing more quantity, hoping to smell it again. You even ask people; do you smell my perfume? Normally the answer is yes, so… where’s the problem? Most probably it’s just your nose has grown used to the scent.

It’s precisely this smell particularity what’s related to its primitive function as a danger warning, just like it happens in the wildlife. That’s why our brain assumes a smell is our own when we sense it regularly, as a way of surviving. The same way happens with our home scent, we assimilate it to be able to detect when something is different and avoid possible dangers. That’s why we can easily smell smoke or rotten food.

For all those reasons we tend to get used to our fragrance when we wear it often, even when there are unpleasant smells or a lot of information around us like in streets or the underground. Our brain gives us the impression that scents have disappeared when odor molecules are still present, through a mechanism that filters necessary information.

When do you stop sensing you own smell?

It’s difficult to determine and depends on each person and the quantity of perfume he/she uses. A nice way to come to terms with your nose and start smelling that fragrance you love again is to rest a bit.

Start using different perfumes, have fun, investigate, practice layering with perfumes. You’ll be able to smell your fragrance again.

Basics of Perfumery

Why can’t I smell my perfume?

When you start using a new perfume its scent follows you everywhere and you often find yourself smelling it. But suddenly you stop feeling it.

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