Most humans perceive a given odor similarly. But the genes for the molecular machinery that humans use to detect scents are about 30 percent different in any two people, says neuroscientist Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. This variation means that nearly every person’s sense of smell is subtly different.
— Read more at Sense of smell is strictly personal, study suggests at ScienceNews.
And this would clearly explain why hajuusuri got “headshop, oily patch” from Fiele’s Pogostomon while I got sweet and nuanced cocoa patchouli…..
Well, maybe. Seems unlikely that genes will turn out to be the only factor in the differences in how we perceive fragrance — surely experience and preferences matter too, right? And we know our preferences change with experience 🙂
I still think its remarkable that two experienced perfumistas would have such different experiences of a single scent. One found a scent to be quite a primitive and simplistic interpretation of a particular note, and the other found it subtle and intriguing. I think this is a case in which it makes sense to say that something more fundamental than preference and experience is involved. (But I agree that all factors would have some influence…)
So many factors. Fragrances DO smell at least somewhat different on different people. People are literally not always smelling the same thing when they think they are — some of us are using “real” bottles, some have decants, some have carded samples, some have hand decanted samples. Scents are reformulated constantly, and not always stored properly. So…
And was going to add: age!!! Which does dull your sense of smell.
And by experience, I literally meant experience smelling, in other words, practice.
LOL! I think SicilianM got headshop but it brought back pleasant memories for her. I’m not giving up yet as I think the heat may have contributed to my perception.
I’d bet the differences show up more for some odors than for others – don’t there seem to be some scents that people disagree wildly on while others are more unanimous?
I don’t know if that’s true or not. Is it?
Well I feel like, for example, pretty much everyone is like “Bois Des Iles smells great!” whereas with Calyx it’s half love and half euuccchhh. I’m thinking maybe Calyx falls in that 30%, while the eels are in the genetically-similar 70%. Etc.
This explains a lot, like that moment when you think someone or something nearby smells fabulous, but nobody else knows what you’re talking about. 😀
Ha, then there’s that!