Anosmia / Notes and aroma chems you can't smell

Perfumery fascinates me for many reasons but one of the things that most fascinates me is how every person experiences smell differently -- or in some cases, cant' experience the smell at all.

Through some trial and error I've learned that Javanol is something I'm borderline anosmic to. I can smell it on the first inhale but then my nose seems immune to it unless I remove it from around me for 10 or 15 minutes. Then the process repeats itself. It's a pity, too, because I absolutely love the way that first inhalation smells.

ISO E-super is another. I only ever catch fleeting bits of the smell. The way I've described it is it's as if I'm only able to smell it using the olfactory equivalent of peripheral vision.

So I'm curious if and how others experience this sort of thing.

I find it fascinating too! Thank you for this thread.

I personally cannot smell the cetalox in JHAG NAP. Nothing at all, it smells like weak chlorine left on skin after swimming, if anything. 

I'm only sometimes aware of Iso e Super, when I've worn Molecule 01 I can smell it about 1/4 of the time. I go anosmic easily to it. 

Glossier You smells...gross to me. I just dislike it, but I *can* smell it. 

I can smell BR540 well though, and love it actually (I realize it's overplayed, but I still enjoy it). I do believe some people don't smell it accurately. 

I LOVE Molecule 04, and apparently javanol is something I'm sensitive to. I found it to be quite potent and unrelenting in the best way...so, the opposite of your experience. 

That's all that comes to mind right now

Thanks @Shadows444! 

Personally cetalox in large amounts gives me a low-grade headache. I can almost feel it "tapping" on my sinuses if I inhale.

And I'm envious of your experience of javanol! I wish it were that way for me because I love what I can smell of it!

Oh gosh, I'm sorry, that's really unfortunate.

I kind of suspect that most people don't get to have it all, if that makes sense. Usually there's at least something we struggle to smell. My condolences also on javanol, it is beautiful.

My husband can't smell Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum or anything along these lines well, he literally says - "I don't know what I'm supposed to be smelling. It smells like canned air."

I have tried in vain to find a tea fragrance that I can smell tea in, and I have so far been anosmic to the accord or aroma chemical in all of them. It is frustrating because I love the scent of tea in life! And Iso E Super is hit or miss, sometimes I smell sawdust, sometimes nothing. Molecule 01 is sawdust for me, but certain fragrances with big doses of Iso E Super disappear for me completely like Mabelle Orama’s Lunar Dust

For me there is one fragrance that I can smell for like two inhales then it is gone completely.

La Rouge Baroque

Smells like sugar water for just a glimpse.

I'm still curious about what it is about Volutes Eau de Toilette that overwhelms my nose/I'm anosmic to. I can't really smell it on me past the first 5 minutes, but yesterday's t-shirt smells delicious. Definitely has that iso e super-peripheral vision-effect, but im not convinced that's it. Tam Dao I can smell just fine and afaik that's relatively heavy on the iso e.

Very frustrating, as it's a scent profile that's right up my alley.

@MorganleFay , have you tried the EDP Volutes Eau de Parfum ? I think the toilette has been discontinued anyway.

I absolutely loved the EDT of Tam Dao Eau de Toilette, but I couldn't detect it after an hour anymore. I got the EDP version and it's working out really well. I had a similar problem with Philosykos, but the weird thing is that I used to be able to detect the EDT all day long. Either my nose changed or the formula has, but I switched to the EDP with that and seem to be fine.

climabro @MorganleFay , have you tried the EDP Volutes Eau de Parfum ? I think the toilette has been discontinued anyway.

I absolutely loved the EDT of Tam Dao Eau de Toilette, but I couldn't detect it after an hour anymore. I got the EDP version and it's working out really well. I had a similar problem with Philosykos, but the weird thing is that I used to be able to detect the EDT all day long. Either my nose changed or the formula has, but I switched to the EDP with that and seem to be fine.

Huh. I did get a sample of the edt not too long ago at an official store, so it would be surprising if it were discontinued. Both my Tam Dao and Philosykos are *old* old though; they're in the square bottles and they date from 2005ish. Would be interesting to get samples of the current versions of TD and Phylosokos to see how they compare.