TWO THIRDS of UK adults would ditch a prospective partner because of the way they smell – a new survey by perfumedirect.com has revealed. And the pandemic is partly to blame.
According to experts the pandemic has left us ‘hypersensitive’ to the personal scents of those around us (a concept known as sumehara in Japanese culture).
- Almost half (45 per cent) of those questioned admitted that they had become more sensitive (and less tolerant) to smells around them because of social distancing and various lockdowns resulting in less exposure to other people for the first time in our lifetimes
- 65 per cent also claimed that they would ditch their first date because of their aroma
And it’s not just the obvious body odour issues that are turning Brits off potential partners.
Not being able to tolerate a person’s perfume or aftershave was ranked fifth (behind sweat, bad breath, smelly feet and cigarette smoke) in the top reasons why smell would stop someone going on a second date!
As such, one in ten have cut short a date in the past 12 months because they didn’t like a person’s scent.
When asked what puts people off a particular scent in a prospective partner, the most popular answer was because their mother, father, mother-in-law or teacher used to wear the same fragrance. Because it reminds them of an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend was the next top reason. Not liking the celebrity associated with the fragrance also came in the top five.
Scent-sational Smells
The survey by perfumedirect.com also revealed the scents that give us the most pleasure – and unsurprisingly it seems that more time spent at home over the past two years has left us longing for home comforts when it comes to our favourite smells. The top five included:
- Freshly baked bread
- Clothes straight off the washing line
- Freshly brewed coffee
- Cut grass
- Old books
Commenting on the findings, Jonny Webber from Perfumedirect.com said:
“The pandemic has sparked a huge step-change in the way that we buy, consume and appreciate scent and the fact that people have become hypersensitive to smells is not surprising.
“Our routines and the way we experienced the world changed in an instant and it’s no wonder that after being told to keep two metres away from each other and wear a face covering, being confronted by other people’s scents again has taken some getting used to. Not to mention the fact that we have become so accustomed to the comforting smells of home – taking us back to basics and a simpler way of life.
“When it comes to perfume and the pandemic, we have seen many people turn to fragrance as a pick me up and mood booster, as such sales have soared. But that’s not to say that the fragrances we choose are always going to resonate with a prospective partner.
“It seems that our increased hyper-awareness around smell could be impacting on the nation’s love lives, with many people unable to tolerate a fragrance that they don’t like. That said, the scent a person chooses to wear can say a lot about their personality so perhaps our noses have become even more attuned to seeking out our perfect partner that we may think!”
Additional Information from the survey
Fragrances with the most ‘sex appeal’
Whilst as a nation we have become more smell sensitive, the fragrances that Brits overwhelmingly voted to have the most sex appeal included:
For men:
- Dior Sauvage
- Creed Aventus
- Paco Rabanne Invictus
- Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme
- Hugo Boss Bottled
For women:
- Lancome Idole
- Chloe Nomade
- Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf
- YSL Black Opium
- Marc Jacobs Daisy
Fragrances voted the least attractive were:
- Old Spice
- Avon Crystal Aura
- Look by Vera Wang
- Lily Of The Valley by Yardley
- Santos de Cartier
Aphrodisiac scents according to experts
According to experts (source: heydoctor.com), women are attracted to aromas such as black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, grapefruit and ylang ylang.
Fragrances rich in these aphrodisiac qualities – and most to likely to attract women this Valentine’s Day – are Calvin Klein Eurphoria, Illicit by Jimmy Choo and Pure XS and 1 Million, both by Paco Rabanne.
Surprisingly, one of the top male aphrodisiac scents is doughnut! But fear not, Eau de Doughnut isn’t the only aroma with pulling power, other scents that arouse the male senses are lavender, vanilla, liquorice and pumpkin.
For a perfume or aftershave infused with male aphrodisiacs, try La Nuit Tresor by Lancome, Classique by Jean Paul Gaultier, Black Opium by YSL or Only The Brave Street by Diesel.
For a unisex scent, the warm, heady notes of bergamot prove to be alluring to both males and females, making Tom Ford’s unisex scent Portofino a hot pick for everyone this Valentine’s Day.
Use an online Fragrance Finder to take the guess work out of selecting a new scent. It asks you to fill in a few questions and then serves up a number of handpicked product matches based on those answers, making it really easy to narrow down your selection from the hundreds of products out there.
You can choose to be shown options that are similar to your favourite fragrance or something a little bit different. It’s also a great way to pick out a present for a friend or loved one – using their current favourite scent – or personality trait – as a starting point.”
https://www.perfumedirect.com/pages/fragrance-finder
