Scent has different smell on different parts of body sprayed

I wasn't sure where to post this question, but it's driving me a little crazy. 

Question. Does a scent smell differently to you on different parts of your body?

For example, I spray a certain scent 2x on neck, 1 on chest, and 1 on each wrist.

If I stick my nose down my shirt, I love it and smells wonderful and get all sorts of notes. However, and I've noticed this for a few scents that just have just a touch of vanilla in the base, the wrists are overpowered by the vanilla. It's weird and slightly annoying.

I'm not sure if it is my wrists specifically react differently to certain scents. I have only noticed it with some things with vanilla as an official note listed on the pyramid. Otherwise, with scents without it, I am not noticing it.

Has anyone heard of this or is this common? Is there anything I can do differently other than not spray wrists?

Hi @Killsocket , I don't know if you wear a watch or something else made of steel or metal, but these kind of materials can affect the scent. Like the scent on your chest can be affected by your clothing (I also noticed that the material of my clothing matters sometimes: On acrylic materials my scent doesn't smell as good as on -say- cotton or linnen. 

Now this may sound weird, but I also think that men may sometimes profit from a hairy chest ( lol ) because perfume often smells good and may last longer on hair. 

I have never noticed that. However, I have noticed that a fragrance can change depending on the temperature. Try heating up a fragrance on your skin (wrist for example) by blowing warm (not smelly) breath on in and then immediately smell it when it is still warmed up. That way I have discovered that certain scents bloom in hotter weather. That being said, of course different parts of your body are hotter than others. Maybe that is a factor (and perhaps hormones)? 

Different parts of your body have different temperature, and they also may have a slightly different type of skin. My wrists are somewhat drier than my chest or neck area, for example. But I have no answer on what to do about it except "test perfumes on parts of your skin that you would usually wear them on".

Yes, this happens a lot for me... especially the difference in fragrance under the shirt versus on the wrists like you noticed. 

It's mainly heat, I think. Your chest is already warmer than your wrists, and then your shirt is trapping heat near your skin, which keeps both you and your fragrance warmer, while also keeping some of that fragrant air from vanishing into the wind... So the 'curve' of which molecules vanish at which times is different.

- Your skin pH levels vary on different areas of your body
- Sweat glands are all over the body but in different concentrations depending on the body part
- Body temp varies for different parts of the body (like others also pointed out here)

All of these factors can influence how a fragrance will smell, so yes - totally possible (and it happens for me too sometimes)! I think it's just a matter of trial and error, to see where you prefer spraying them.

I think aside from things like skin chemistry, hydration levels, and skin thickness, anosmia might also play a role. I’ve noticed that it’s much easier for me to analyze a fragrance when I just dab a little on my wrists. I can pick up more notes, more nuance; it’s all clearer that way.

But if I spray it all over, especially on my chest or hair, the scent becomes harder to dissect. One or two notes tend to dominate, and the rest seem to disappear. It’s almost like your nose goes blind to certain elements, and the whole fragrance ends up smelling more flat / one-dimensional.

If you work in an office like I do, your wrists rub against your desk and laptop when typing. That friction will rub off the top and mid fragrance notes. 

Hello, of course a scent smells different on different parts of your body. Why ? Simply because pH / sweat / body heat and bacteria are not the same everywhere. and also if you have hair. "The parts of the body that carry more smell are those where more soul is collected."