Perfume

Some people think it is funny that I own perfume. I get a little annoyed at their logic. Just because I have no sense of smell means I should not bother trying to smell pleasant? As if I should head for the woods and stop bathing. Instead, I shower, use soap, and clean my clothes on a regular basis. I do not do it just because I love the feeling of being clean (and believe me I do!), but because I want people to at least be able to withstand and hopefully even enjoy my scent. It sounds a little silly, but obviously–evolutionarily, regulating and manipulating your scent to attract others is not a novel idea. Just because I cannot enjoy the world of scent does not mean it is useless to manage my own scent.

The process I go through for finding a perfume is different and complex (making it similar to how I purchase shoes). I have gone into stores with walls of perfume and colognes without a clue as to what any one of them smells like. I remember in middle school enjoying the smell of Clinique Happy and being disgusted by CK One. In order to achieve variety, and not wear Clinique Happy for the rest of my life, I have to trust descriptions and even more so, I have to trust people. This becomes complicated because scent is subjective. Not everyone agrees as to what smells good, what smells bad, and what smells like a cheap trick. I have gone into Sephora and jokingly asked, “what kind of scent looks like it would match me?” I find that people, not just retail workers, are unable to describe scents; “It smells like… uhh……. good!” Thanks, buddy, not helpful! Sometimes it feels like pulling teeth when I try to get someone to conjure up a couple of adjectives to describe a smell. I have theorized that maybe there is too much pressure in advising someone in scent, that it is too personal and intimate of a topic, as if they were telling me who I should choose to marry. Another theory that is more realistic is that maybe they just take advantage of their ability to smell and do not bother thinking about a scent further than a binary thought of good or bad. My favorite theory is that maybe they know they have bad taste and do not want it to spread. Regardless as to why, it makes me want to send a memo out to the whole world! In the end, what has proved to be most effective for me is to research perfumes and then go into the store explaining my situation, explaining what I like/don’t like, and hope that the person helping me is knowledgeable.

The perfume I use currently is Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb. People always compliment on how good it smells, or how good I smell when I wear it. I have found a blog, Now Smell This, that reviews perfume. Here is their review of Flowerbomb. The next complication I have with perfume is how to gauge what is enough. I do not want to put on too much, but I definitely do not want to little. Usually, the people closest to me will let me know when I am wearing too much. In the end, it is quite an involved process from start to finish, making running into the woods not seem so bad of an idea after all.

Why does Meg have a Useless Sniffer??!??!

The science behind smell: The sense of smell arises from the stimulation of the olfactory receptors by activation from gas molecules that pass by the nose while breathing. The resulting electrical activity is transduced into the olfactory bulb which then transmits the electrical activity to other parts of the olfactory system and the rest of the central nervous system via the olfactory tract.

Damage to the olfactory system can cause anosmia, the loss of the ability to smell. There are quite a few conditions that can cause such damage to the olfactory system such as nasal polyps, cancer, inhalation of toxic fumes, or neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Some people are born without the sense of smell, this is termed congenital anosmia.

In my case, I suffered a severe brain injury. When I was 15 years old, I was hit by a car while riding on my bike. Although I don’t remember what happened, it was entirely my fault. I was not wearing a helmet and was crossing traffic illegally (not at an intersection). I landed on the windshield and fractured my skull. I was in intensive care for a few days, of which I don’t remember either. I stayed in the hospital for about a week or two after that (really is a blur to me). I did not realize I had lost my sense of smell for a month or two after the accident. It took me so long to realize I was missing the sense because I was too busy from getting a psychological evaluation on my mental processes regarding: structural brain condition, deficiencies caused by brain trauma such as pain, emotions, personality, strengths in cognitive and psychosocial skills, diagnostic understanding of the physiological, psychological, and cognitive impact of the injury, extent of the injury and prognosis for recovery, identifying barriers to assets for recovery, prognosis for return to school and sports, and other fun tedious tests! I was also on a good amount of codeine to control the pain.

When I did realize that something in life was missing, the procedure to diagNOSE was simple: “Can you smell this jar of cinnamon? No? You have Anosmia! Nothing we can do, goodbye!” No other testing was done. I have been led to believe that when my skull hit the windshield, my brain bounced around like a ping pong ball causing some part in the olfactory system to quit their job. Occasionally, I will experience phantom smells (phantosmia). The phantom smells are nothing I have ever smelled before though, so it is hard for me to describe; I am just happy they are pleasant smells.

In the end, the accident could have been a lot worse. My body was unharmed, except for a few slight unnoticeable scars around my elbows. I am grateful that the sense of smell is all I lost. I can still see, hear, feel, and taste. Also, these senses will soon compensate for the anosmia and I will become a super human. Yup, any day now.

Type for the Very First Time…

It’s up and running! I am hesitant in deciding what to write about in my first entry. These first few words are going to set the tone for the whole blog, so I feel there is a lot of pressure to at least sound mildly entertaining and interesting. Who am I kidding? I know it’s going to be “tots” awesome.

Originally, I had planned to use this site as a forum/website for people that live with anosmia (lack of olfaction; absence of ability to smell). I guess laziness has prevailed, because I have settled upon using it just as a platform to write about my own experiences in life. Or something.

(thank you JFQ!)