Personal Scent

Not too long ago, I wrote about an unbathed homeless man who frequented the library I worked at in college. And I know I've made comments in passing about those who use unappealing colognes and perfumes. Today, I'll touch upon another type of odor, that of "personal scent".

Personal scent isn't the same thing as B.O.; it's a natural odor unique to that person that can be detectable even when the person is freshly bathed and perfectly clean. It is how a person smells when clean, but not using any type of scented product: colognes, lotions, deodorant, etc. And it's not always an unpleasant odor, though it can be. Nor can we detect the personal scents of everyone we meet -- some people are olfactorily "invisible" to us, where with others, their personal scents jump right out at us, either pleasantly or unpleasantly.

I remember as a kid that the members of my aunt's family all had a similar personal scent. It was obvious to me whenever I visited them, but it wasn't an unpleasant odor to me. It was just their "family smell".

A few years ago, I worked with this woman who had a personal scent that I found extremely repulsive. She wasn't dirty in any way, but her scent did not appeal to me at all. Her odor was quite strong, too, as I'd be able to smell it whenever I got within three feet of her. It was so that I avoided interacting with her as much as possible, even though she was a very nice person.

Quite a long time ago, Infamous J and I had discussed the personal scent phenomenon, as she also had noticed people's personal scents. She'd read something to the effect that when one encountered someone with an unpleasant scent, that it was a primal reaction that was triggered when we encountered someone whose DNA was too similar to our own; that it was a kind of primitive alarm against unsuitable mates. I've not read anything about it myself, but it's an interesting idea.

Thoughts?