Most ladies and gents who regularly wear perfume have an all-time favourite fragrance, one which reflects their personality and presence. It’s their signature scent that captures their very essence and makes them feel special. Without this favourite fragrance, they don’t feel well-dressed or complete. There’s a feeling that something’s amiss or lacking; it’s the smell of their signature perfume.
It’s downright alarming if you suddenly realise that you’re unable to smell the very perfume that you’ve happily worn for ages. What has happened? Have the manufacturers changed their formulation without letting their loyal customers know? Am I being cheated? Why can’t I smell my perfume anymore? It cannot be a nasal or olfactory problem, because I’m able to smell other things perfectly well. Moreover, my sense of taste, my palate, is unchanged.
In fact, this “can’t smell my perfume anymore” phenomenon is nothing new. It has a lot to do with your nose and your sense of smell. Ask yourself when last you changed your perfume, or when and how often you’ve worn one or more different scents. We’re not psychic, but we’ll bet that you’ve stuck to one perfume, your favourite, for a considerable length of time.
Olfactory Habituation or Adaptation
Over time, the human body may become habituated to almost any substance or behaviour; whatever it is, this element becomes the norm. The nose breaths in air containing scent molecules, which are deposited in the rear of the nose and throat. Here, the receptors communicate the smell to the brain, where it is deciphered and evaluated. After evaluating the molecular content of two breaths, the brain readies itself to decipher new smells.
The smell of a familiar perfume no longer has the same effect on you or your sense of smell. In addition to adapting to a specific scent, the olfactory sense may become confused. This is why your Papillon distributor provides you with a small container of fresh coffee beans to smell during a testing session of a variety of scents. The beans rebalance or recalibrate the olfactory function, cancelling the olfactory confusion.
Variety – the Simple Solution
To return to your perfume smelling dilemma, which is fortunately reversible. Your habituated nose simply needs different olfactory stimuli, regular exposure to new fragrances, ideally several. You don’t need to abandon your signature scent. You merely need to vary your perfumes regularly.
Costly, imported perfumes with which to provide a variety of fragrances are prohibitively expensive nowadays. Papillon’s top-quality perfumes were created to enable South Africans to purchase world-class, long-lasting fragrances at exceptionally affordable prices. With Papillon perfumes in your possession, you can afford to keep every favourite perfume smelling sensational forever.