Olfactory Fatique (Nose Blindness)

Making Sense of Nose Blindness: Why Your Perfume May Seem to Wear Off so Fast*

Have you ever sprayed on your favorite perfume and just loved that intoxicating smell, only to find in just a few short minutes that it apparently seemed to have vanished? You are not alone. This is not necessarily indicative of the quality regarding the perfume but rather a process known as *nose blindness* or *olfactive fatigue*.

What is Nose Blindness?

This is the event where this fine-tuned act of smell of your nose goes numb when it gets exposed to an odour over some period of time. More precisely, your brain tunes out the familiar smells to make room for the detection of new and probably important scents. It is an instinctive adjustment to protect us from a sort of sensory overload.

Common Examples of Nose Blindness
Therefore, nose blindness comes in various forms depending on the everyday situation.

Dog and Cat Owners: Smells of their animals are simply not there anymore for them, just like the smell of dogs and cats is something that homeowners become desensitized to. But these odors are usually instantly recognizable to guests.
Frequent Cookers: Smells of pungent spices may not linger in your kitchen, but as you use them in regular cooking, you may grow accustomed to their aroma. And if you do, so will your guests.

Smell Blindness and Perfume Wearers
For a lover of perfumes, nose blindness is the condition wherein, after some time since its application, you are not able to smell your perfume. Some weird examples are: Daily Perfume Routine-when the same perfume is used every day, you would find that within minutes of applications you have become insensitive to its odour, while people around you can smell it loud and clear.
Over-application: As one cannot smell their perfume after some time, nose blindness may tempt one to continue applying it all over the day. This mostly leads to an application of way too much of the scent and may be too strong for the people surrounding you.

How not to become accustomed with nose's perfumes

Following are a few tips that will enable you to cope with and consequently avoid nose blindness.

1. Rotate Your Scents: Switch to other different fragrances each day with the intention of keeping your nose sensitive to each different smell.

2. Odorless Periods: Keep the nose away from pungent smells for the same reason of rest in keeping it sharp. 3. Seek Second Opinion: Ask your near and dear ones about the longevity of your perfume rather than trusting your judgment.

4. Hydrate Ample Water: As a dehydrated person cannot smell well, he should drink ample amounts of water to keep his smell sense pretty strong. CONCLUSION This is just a daily natural phenomenon that could so well define how one would think of their perfume as fading really fast. Understanding this, and thereby how to work your way around it, means you can still use your favorite fragrances without giving it another thought or even telling yourself that such fragrances just don't last. Next time you are so convinced that this smell of your perfume has vanished, remember: it just might be that your nose is screening it out. Most likely, others around you can enjoy that beautiful fragrance you wear.