Nose Blindness: Why Can’t You Smell Perfume On Your Body When Everyone Else Can?

When we are exposed to a smell constantly, like that of the perfume we are wearing, our nose gets used to the smell and stops noticing the smell. This is called nose blindness. Smelling something else might help you resmell your perfume. Basically when you first smell a scent, the smell receptors in your nose transmit a signal to the limbic system of your brain. There, how the smell is going to be perceived will be decided, which obviously affects how you are going to feel about the particular smell. However, as you continue to stay in the presence of that smell, your brain becomes used to the smell, and you gradually stop noticing that aroma. Since the human nose gets used to particular smells quickly (in a few breaths, according to Dalton), it becomes extremely important for perfume-sellers that the noses of their potential clients are cleared before they smell each different perfume. For this, there are a number of methods, often referred to as ‘nose-clearing techniques’, that help to clear the nose of any ‘residual smell’ that you acquired from another object. Smelling coffee beans, a swatch of wool, or even an unfragranced forearm, are some of the most common nose-clearing techniques.