Olfactory Overload From Sniffing Too Many Testers - Wake Up And Smell The Coffee !

[adamchur]

I hadn't even thought about this for about 20 years, but I took a whiff of the Torrefacto beans I'd just finished grinding ready for this morning's Moka Pot - and had a flashback !!

When I was smelling various different aftershaves/colognes at the fragrance section of a department store about 20 years ago, the girl behind the counter opened up a container of coffee beans and told me to take a good whiff before smelling any more aftershaves or colognes.

She said thatusing the coffee beans was an old perfumery trick - apparently if you try to test too many different aftershaves/colognes, you sense of smell gets overloaded and you hardly notice the difference between one fragrance or another.
It definitely worked for me and I eventually settled for a bottle of Ralph Lauren Safari

So next time you're in a department store or mall and you're unsure which aftershave or cologne to buy and your sense of smell gets overloaded from too many testers........
Go to the cafeteria, order a strong cup of coffee and take a good whiff before going back to sniffing the testers !!

 

[-EdG]

Right on. Did just that this past weekend while shopping fragrances. Every department store I went to did have coffee beans on hand for that purpose.

Also, when I'm narrowing down on something, I get a test spray on both paper and skin, then head out of the store away from all the other lingering scents in the air while I see how it develops.

 

[TexLaw]

The same thing can happen when judging beer. However, we don't want to sniff coffee beans because we don't want to desensitize to coffee aromas (as something similar could show up in a beer). We also do not want to have coffee around, as it's a powerful enough aroma to throw off one's evaluation of an aroma.

It looks and sounds a little weird, but we're often taught to sniff our own arms for a few moments to help reset the sniffer. It works!

 

[adamchur]

It looks and sounds a little weird, but we're often taught to sniff our own arms for a few moments to help reset the sniffer. It works!

You'd definitely get some funny looks if you sniffed your arms too close to the pits in a public place

But on 2nd thoughts - you'd be guaranteed to be able to find a place to sit on a bus or train

 

[Ad Astra]

Yes - Turin/Sanchez indicate something like this in their book: olfactory fatigue does set in after a few ...

I try to only wear/understand one thing a day; don't even want scented aftershave to confuse/influence when trying a cologne.


AA