Reasons why you shouldn't put on that extra spritz

I have a very sensitive nose. I can typically smell things before other people. If I’m walking near a bakery with the smell of fresh bread wafting out. I generally smell it about 5 minutes before the people I am with. My sister is the same way. Her husband is always accusing her of making scents up, until his nose catches up to her acute sense of smell (with a 5 minute delay). I am often assaulted by the scents of others, and have very strong perceptions of each little scent (partially why stinky NYC in the summer time is so awful for me). Sometimes I put a little lip gloss on under my nose just so I don’t have to smell what is around me.

And yet, once I spritz on my perfume for the day (Dior Pure Poison, or Stella McCartney Rose Absolute depending on my mood), after about 10 minutes or so, I can’t smell it anymore unless I pointedly sniff the area where I just sprayed. Sometimes I have to ask someone else to sniff me to see if I actually put it on, since it has become such a part of my routine that I do it completely unconsciously. I’ll occasionally get whiffs of it throughout the day if a strong breeze blows up, or I toss my hair the right way, but for the most part I disappears once it is on my skin.

Why can I smell other scents so strongly, and not the one that I have picked out, love, and spend quite a pretty penny on to wear daily? Well, I did a little googling this morning and here’s what I found out.

Your body has a natural defense mechanism in which your scent receptors stop signaling the brain after they have been exposed to the same sensation for a prolonged period of time. It’s a way of helping you function more acutely by ignoring stimulus that do not change so you can take in the changing environment around you. You other senses do the same thing. Think about it. Your nose takes up a significant part of your face, and your field of vision, but you don’t see it unless you make a point of looking directly at it. It’s your eyes blocking out a constant stimulus so they can look around and take in everything else.

Now stop staring at your nose already.