Scents and Sensitivity

Can't stomach a whiff of perfume? You're not alone—but some fragrances are proven to be more appealing than others. Here's how to find your perfect match.

- Krista DeMaio

Have you ever walked past someone wearing a strong perfume and instantly gotten the ick? Or maybe the fragrance your coworker adores gives you a pounding headache.

Few things divide people like scent—the same fragrance that evokes warm, comforting memories in one person can trigger a wave of nausea in another.

But why? Is it biology? A past experience? Personal preference? Or something deeper?

Spoiler alert: It's all of the above. When a particular scent makes you recoil, you're not being dramatic. You're just being...you.

The olfactory system—made up of the nose, the olfactory bulb, and the brain regions that process smell—is responsible for detecting odor molecules, and while “humans likely share a core set of common olfactory receptors, there is genetic variation in which of those receptors get expressed,” says Pamela Dalton, PhD, a cognitive psychologist and researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. “Some people may simply not be smelling the entire bouquet; their noses could be missing the balancing notes and only picking up the unpleasant ones.”

In other words, when you and your best friend sniff the exact same perfume, you may be having two completely different experiences at the same time. “There are those who can’t smell musk, for example—they’re anosmic to it,” says Darryl Do, senior perfumer at Delbia Do. “Others, meanwhile, might find it overwhelming or cloying. It’s so individualized.”

Aside from basic biology and genetics, experts say our reactions to scent are also shaped by culture, the nervous system, and our emotional memory. We asked a cognitive psychologist, a physician, and perfumers for tips on making this scent science work for you (no more headaches!).

Striking a Nerve