How's your sense of smell?

[stickygirl]

Yes, yes, we know one of the symptoms of coronavirus is a temporary loss in the sense of smell, or reportedly, smelling only kerosene. This is more about the normal everyday sense of smell.

It occurred to me today that it's been a while, months, since I smelled people because of all this distancing and masks. Of course some human smells are unpleasant, some masked by deodorant and perfume, but the everyday ones are currently missing. I can smell if someone has eaten garlic, which is easy, but also if it was a meat dish. I smell people's urine even after they've flushed if there's a queue and you step into the stall to discover the warmth of their bottom touching yours.

So how is yours? What do you notice: it doesn't have to be good or bad, just things that were part of your day that might be missing now. Wet your nose and snuffle down.

 

[spacekowboy]

The size of this nose I should have been a sommolier.

 

[adrina]

I have a pretty sensitive sniffer. Strong smells are especially irksome to me - especially artificial smells like perfume or chemicals. Bad body odor is easier for me to tolerate than an equally strong bad perfume. I am also not a fan of candles, incense or potpourri. I use unscented clothes detergent and can only do citrus scented hand dish soaps. I use the pods for the dishwasher, but can't stand to touch or smell them - I have no idea how some people thought they could eat them.

I love the smell of cut grass, fresh sea air and the forest. Someone in the neighborhood is running a smoker - that smelled really good. Oddly I also like the smell of dirt, soil.

I am very curious about the corpse plant. They have one in Seattle but I never went. I wonder what my nose would make of that.

 

[InternationalFunboy]

Hi stickygirl. I smell people casually, but I also smell people more intimately - and I don't mean their swimsuit areas - I think my simian DNA uses all of this to determine a lot about a person.
Before the covfefe, I was near people all day picking up their smelly universal greetings. Now I'm idle, and in quarantine, which has lead to a lot of rounds of "find the smell" around Casa Divertido. I'm certain it's due to olfactory downtime. I make some tacos, or warm up a pot of gumbo, and then the house smells like cozy manifested real.

I wonder if a person were to move past me at tremendous speed, if their smells might be subject to doppler effect, causing me to misjudge their character subconsciously?

 

[rockcasbah]

Yes, you need a shower.

Yes, yes, we know one of the symptoms of coronavirus is a temporary loss in the sense of smell, or reportedly, smelling only kerosene. This is more about the normal everyday sense of smell.

It occurred to me today that it's been a while, months, since I smelled people because of all this distancing and masks. Of course some human smells are unpleasant, some masked by deodorant and perfume, but the everyday ones are currently missing. I can smell if someone has eaten garlic, which is easy, but also if it was a meat dish. I smell people's urine even after they've flushed if there's a queue and you step into the stall to discover the warmth of their bottom touching yours.

So how is yours? What do you notice: it doesn't have to be good or bad, just things that were part of your day that might be missing now. Wet your nose and snuffle down.

 

[InternationalFunboy]

...I love the smell of cut grass, fresh sea air and the forest. Someone in the neighborhood is running a smoker - that smelled really good. Oddly I also like the smell of dirt, soil...

My Jeep smells like earth. I love it. It would be a crime to displace that natural, calming, aroma with gross manufactured smells. I'd plant a tree in it if I could. Drive around like some Keeblerian wackadoo, always in the shade.

 

[islandman]

Happy to report that my schnozz is fully functional.

I've been smelling BS on zoom calls all day.

 

[butters]

i have a pretty sharp sense of smell but NICE natural smells beat synths any day. i hate it when H has fueled any of the vehicles as i can smell it on him. when i fuel up the mower, i have to hold my breath or take little sips of air through my mouth

 

[silver gurl]

The smell of Diesel tractor trailer truck exhaust. It also starts up an asthma attack.

Stateside: Walmart’s that have a Subway in them. Or basically any Subway

 

[juttjaw]

My sense of smell is pretty advanced. I can taste most of which I smell. (that was an odd sentance..) anyway, it can be awful or beautiful.

 

[oneblueye]

hey ...

My sense of smell is pretty advanced. I can taste most of which I smell. (that was an odd sentance..) anyway, it can be awful or beautiful.

that sentence to me, wasn't at all "odd"... mainly because I'm the same way.

the 2 main things I detest more than anything else in an olfactory way:

1. rotten pork
2. dirty cops

 

[stickygirl]

I have a pretty sensitive sniffer. Strong smells are especially irksome to me - especially artificial smells like perfume or chemicals. ~ snip ~
I am very curious about the corpse plant. They have one in Seattle but I never went. I wonder what my nose would make of that.

Tell me more about the corpse plant - is that rotting flesh one that attracts flies?

Woah - yes, I'd forgotten chemical perfumes in a tin and old ladies with ... whatever that perfume is, which to me is like sniffing battery acid, no not acid - it's more like spiky air, little daggers up inside your head where you can't scratch or soothe. I stopped using those washing powders too and conditioner gives me a rash. Fabreze fabric conditioner for a household that smells of dog, teens and unvacuumed carpets.

Do you have Lynx body spray for Men ( ie teenagers boys ) where you are? They may as well call the brand Insecurity and market this one as I Wanked this Morning and didn't Wash my Hands. Enough to make any woman gag... as if picking up crunchy socks and crusty handkerchiefs weren't bad enough

Hi stickygirl. I smell people casually, but I also smell people more intimately - and I don't mean their swimsuit areas ~snip~ causing me to misjudge their character subconsciously?

*sniggers* "swimsuit area" how very quaint

That's the shame of the distancing. I'm fascinated by the cloud of aromas that billow is people's wake in the street... only occasionally attractive.

I'll assume you've read Perfume by Patrick Suskind? A perfumerer who struggles to capture the essence of young woman in his perfume, resorting to distilling their bodies in wax to capture it. At one point he's driven mad by the smells around him and hides in a mountain cave surrounded by nothing more than the smell of granite.

Ask me about my friend who claims he can tell where a woman is in her cycle by her scent.

Yes, you need a shower.

Offering to join me or mock me? I can't tell which but suspect the latter.

The smell of Diesel tractor trailer truck exhaust. It also starts up an asthma attack.

Stateside: Walmart’s that have a Subway in them. Or basically any Subway

A friend at school was terribly allergic to summer scents and would have asthma attacks. She used to carry a paper bag to blow into because she hated the inhaler things.

Subway/underground trains, like the one in London. There's an encyclopaedia of smells, but burnt carbon is the overriding one ... it is the signature smell of London.

I'm going to suggest the smell of rain on the ground, particularly after a dry spell. Science has apparently named this petrichor caused by a compound called geosmin. I prefer to call it the smell of rain after a dry spell.

 

[InternationalFunboy]

*sniggers* "swimsuit area" how very quaint

That's the shame of the distancing. I'm fascinated by the cloud of aromas that billow is people's wake in the street... only occasionally attractive.

I'll assume you've read Perfume by Patrick Suskind? A perfumerer who struggles to capture the essence of young woman in his perfume, resorting to distilling their bodies in wax to capture it. At one point he's driven mad by the smells around him and hides in a mountain cave surrounded by nothing more than the smell of granite.

Ask me about my friend who claims he can tell where a woman is in her cycle by her scent.

Thank you, I prefer to undercook, or overcook, my vulgarity. Middle of the road offense is hardly offense worth making at all.
I have not read Perfume, but I may seek it out. I've been meaning to get my hands on a nice proper bound book.

I think your friend may have quite a talent, I can't determine this even with people I penetrate regularly.

 

[stickygirl]

Thank you, I prefer to undercook, or overcook, my vulgarity. Middle of the road offense is hardly offense worth making at all.
I have not read Perfume, but I may seek it out. I've been meaning to get my hands on a nice proper bound book.

I think your friend may have quite a talent, I can't determine this even with people I penetrate regularly.

I haven't seen him in a while but he was a hoot at parties. I was surprised he didn't get a slap in the face, but I think people were so genuinely amazed they forget to be offended. He would whisper to the sniffed and not broadcast the info.

Perfume is a must read. The film is good too.

My sense of smell is pretty advanced. I can taste most of which I smell. (that was an odd sentance..) anyway, it can be awful or beautiful.

Reminds me of a line from the Matrix, when Agent Smith is interrogating Morpheus
"I can taste your smell, I'm disgusted by it. I'm saturated by it..."

I think there are some smells you can taste and vice versa.

 

[LLCox]

I know that when I smell White Shoulders perfume it makes my tongue hard.

 

[Saint Peter]

*sniff sniff*

 

[Jada59]

I can smell things that others can't. I do like most perfumes, but can't stand the chemical smell of some cleaners, pumpkin spice anything, candles that smell like food, or cheap body sprays.

 

[Lydia_Deetz]

I work up close with people and find that I don't miss being able to smell them as I did before. I have a pretty sensitive sense of smell but I have noticed that masks have dulled some people's natural scents. I love natural scents and hate synthetic smells from candles, body sprays, etc, so I don't miss those blasting up my nostrils as I walk into a shop.

 

[jomar]

Due to an injury my sense of smell is mostly bad and inconsistent. Thank goodness I can still smell bacon, though!

 

[stickygirl]

~I do like most perfumes, but can't stand the chemical smell of some cleaners, pumpkin spice anything, candles that smell like food, or cheap body sprays.

~Strong smells are especially irksome to me - especially artificial smells like perfume or chemicals. ~ I am also not a fan of candles, incense or potpourri. I use unscented clothes detergent and can only do citrus scented hand dish soaps. ~

~I love natural scents and hate synthetic smells from candles, body sprays, etc, so I don't miss those blasting up my nostrils as I walk into a shop.

Fourth'd. So who is buying that crap and keeping them in business? I have an aunt with a toxic house of smells and she prolly buys up the stock the rest of us don't.

 

[Lydia_Deetz]

Due to an injury my sense of smell is mostly bad and inconsistent. Thank goodness I can still smell bacon, though!

Mmmmm bacon. That is one of the best smells

 

[Lydia_Deetz]

Fourth'd. So who is buying that crap and keeping them in business? I have an aunt with a toxic house of smells and she prolly buys up the stock the rest of us don't.

I have a sister that has a Scentsy warmer in every room of her house, it's so gross. Every room smells different and it's an instant migraine for me.

 

[Saint Peter]

I like warmed eucalyptus oil.


Don't be hating.

 

[HisArpy]

I can smell things that others can't. I do like most perfumes, but can't stand the chemical smell of some cleaners, pumpkin spice anything, candles that smell like food, or cheap body sprays.

Lemon Pledge.

The rest are just stinky but Lemon Pledge can literally make me barf.

 

[Aglaopheme]

I’m guessing my sense of smell is fairly average.

We have Ax Body Spray here that the teens use. I would like to be able to not smell that, thank you very much.

Subway is a chain of sandwich shops. I could also do with losing the sense of smell for heavily processed meats.

Soy candles and soy melts are worlds ahead of older candles that could literally knock you out with their thick wall of pungency.

I like perfumes, colognes and the natural scents of people. Dirt, grass, rain after a dry spell are all aces.

Over all, there are way more smells that bring me joy than the other way around. The best is when a certain unexpected smells flood you with great memories, be them if people or places.