Recommended Reading: The Forgotten Sense by Jonas Olofsson

Interview with scientist Jonas Olofsson, author of The Forgotten Sense

There are many things one can say about The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell—and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose by Jonas Olofsson. Exemplary is the first word that comes to mind as books written by academics don't always resonate with the public; no matter how remotely curious readers are about a particular subject, or how devoted the author is to sharing the latest information about a subject they deeply care about that resonates with others. 

Olofsson cares about the sense of smell and how smell loss has and continues to have an effect on patients who didn't find the support they needed when COVID-19 anosmia took hold in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. It's why he wrote the book, but there's more. Smell loss isn't new, but the number of people suffering from anosmia (whether they've recovered or not) is more widely acknowledged due to the pandemic and ensuing variants. It's a silver lining.

This silver lining is entwined with the fact that Olofsson has interest and compassion in amounts that exceed the boundaries of his native Sweden. This is reflected in the book's contents and the informed, conversational tone of the book, which draws the reader in like a good friend. The author bridges research (psychology, neurology and other disciplines) while bringing the reader up to date with regard to what is known about the sense of smell as it relates to health, quality of life and society.

I purchased The Forgotten Sense shortly after it was released in January 2025 (and plan on reading it again after I finish Sun City by Tove Jansson). The reason for the re-read is that books like The Forgotten Sense are rare when it comes to non-fiction books about the sense of smell, and that's as good a reason as any to recommend it on Glass Petal Smoke. Attendees at Smell & Tell: Get Inside Your Olfactory Mind will learn more about The Forgotten Sense at the Ann Arbor District Library on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, where I'll also introduce an analog smelling device called the Smell Rolodex. Ah, smell life...

Notes & Curiosities:

I discovered the video that accompanies this post after finishing The Forgotten Sense. It's a great way to get acquainted with the author, his research and the book. To learn more about Jonas Olofsson's research, visit Google Scholar and the website for the Sensory Cognition Interactive Laboratory, where Olofsson is Principal Investigator.

Are you a non-scientist that wants to master reading articles in scientific journals? The best way to engage with journal articles is to use naiveté as fuel for critical thinking. "How to Make Sense of a Scientific Journal Article" is an interactive tool that lists the components of a science journal article and explains their function/purpose. Simply click on each component (Overview/Abstract and Main Sections, Methods, Results, Discussion/Conclusion, and References) and scroll down to read the contents and learn more. This resource is part of the Know the Science initiative. 

Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau
via Encyclopedia Britannica

An informal, but effective approach to reading articles in scientific journals is a little something I cooked up called Clouseau It!, an homage to Peter Sellers in his role as Inspector Clouseau in Pink Panther films. Apply the following seven steps once you're comfortable reading articles in scientific journals:

Step 1: Investigate the Paper 

Step 2: Interrogate the Study

Step 3: Treat the Paper Like a Suspect

Step 4: Question the Method Used by Researchers 

Step 5: Confirm the Motives Based on Funding 

            (Conflict of Interest)

Step 6: Evaluate the Outcome in Relationship to the 

            Conclusion

Step 7: Look out for Cato Fong

Falco Riot and Octyl Fora Go Missing

Falco Riot, creator of Octyl Fora perfume, described the effect of his fragrant creation with a stale, twentieth century trope, “with Octyl Fora you're transformed into a living philter.” 

When questioned about the ingredients used in the AI-generated fragrance, Riot exhaled an aloof sigh, detaching himself from the question with another query in an attempt to appear avant-garde.

 “We're all made of memory and metaphor, wouldn't you say?” 

Eight months later, everyone who attended the Octyl Fora fragrance launch went missing, including Riot. Ten drums containing Octyl Fora concentrate, stored in an obscure warehouse district in the city, also disappeared. 

The team responsible for collecting evidence cracked the numeric code on the warehouse door. The numbers spelled “it smells" using an A1Z26 cipher. 9*20*19*13*5*12*12*19.

They should have known better. The code wasn’t a barrier; it was an invitation. 

Investigators examined surfaces in the empty, temperature-controlled room where drums of fragrance concentrate were stored. Handheld sensors analyzed walls, floors, cabinets and doors. 

Each device lost power after four attempts to read a surface. None of them detected an unusual compound before they stopped working. 

Clary Otafo, who'd worked with the team for 10 years, looked at his colleagues and rolled his eyes. 

“Emperor's new clothes, eh?” 

His eyes kept rolling. A low hiss escaped between his teeth. He fell to the floor and stopped breathing. A translucent vapor rose up from the floor and outlined his body like a chalk mark.

Ray Focolt, the youngest member of the team, closed the warehouse door as his colleagues fled ahead of him. The knob was ice-cold and stuck to his palm before the latch bolt released, and he could relax his grip. 

By the time he got into his car, Focolt barely remembered moving one foot in front of the other to get there. That’s when he noticed a strange feeling in his right hand, the same hand that closed the warehouse door. 

The skin of his palm was slightly raised in a quarter-shaped circle at the center. In the middle of the circle there was a line drawing of a nose. An angled slash ran through it. 

Focolt blinked a few times and looked at his palm in disbelief. 

The car seat next to him sank in the center. The impression was punctuated by a decompressing squeak of leather. Focolt was too busy looking at his hand to notice.

The image on his palm faded into itself and shimmered as it disappeared. He was about to start the car when he sensed someone breathing next to him.

“I know you can’t smell, Ray.” 

“What the hell?!” 

The radio turned on. Digital numbers veered left of the dial and stopped at the sound of John Lennon’s voice: 

 

We're playing those mind games together,

Pushing the barrier, planting seed. 

Playing the mind guerrilla,

Catching the mantra "peace on earth".

We all been playing those mind games forever, 

Some kind of Druid dude, lifting the veil. 

Doing the mind guerrilla, 

Some call it magic, the search for the grail. 

The radio went silent at “grail” as the passenger side door opened with a slow deliberate creak.

“Until we meet again, Ray. I have a little something to tell you.” 

Focolt shut the door, turned on the ignition, and sped off. He never got ticketed for running four red lights in a row on his way home. He didn’t get much sleep that night either.

Notes & Curiosities:

Artificial intelligence and perfumery were explored in a 2014 post titled "The Unstoppered Bottle of Perfume". "Falco Riot and Octyl Fora Go Missing" is infused with a 2024 ethos and hints of science fiction. The story is an intentional fragment. I'm formulating a scent to go along with it for a future Smell & Tell program at the Ann Arbor District Library. 

There are non-fictive elements in "Falco Riot and Octyl Fora Go Missing," one of which is the use of handheld sensors. They exist in real life and are rapidly improving. Portable spectroscopy allows samples to be taken in the field versus the lab. Curious? Get all the nerdy details here.

The Time for Nose-on Learning is Now

Imagine starting a class by saying "If you have a compromised sense of smell as a result of COVID-19 there's hope. The smelling exercises taught at Smell & Tell are related to olfactory calisthenics used to recover the sense of smell." 

Talking about smell loss isn't off limits if smelling exercises are integral to your presentation. It's a teachable moment even if no one in the virtual classroom has or had anosmia. It's one of many takeaways I experienced using Zoom for Smell & Tell in the first half of 2021.

The time for nose-on learning is now in spite of the pandemic. Curious? Listen in as I talk about how smell enhances experiential education, cultural awareness, and my favorite scentscapes in Ann Arbor, Michigan (some of which will make you very hungry). 

Note:

You can read the editorial that accompanies the Listen in Michigan podcast here. Special thanks to editor Deborah Holdship at the University of Michigan for nose-on news coverage at Michigan Today. 

COVID-19 & Smell Loss: The Case for Critical Thinking

Sniffing out the truth regarding smell loss requires critical thinking.

When we skim the surface of a news story we risk indifference to the facts. Goldman Sachs allegedly believes that a post-peak reduction in "loss of smell" inquiries on Google Search is "a positive sign for the pandemic" (language embedded in CNBC's hyperlink to the news story). Is this a fact, opinion or clickbait? You need to be a critical thinking ninja to figure it out.

Smell loss and the return of the sense of smell is not a linear process independent of COVID-19 infection. Dr. Eric Holbrook's description in the Harvard Health Blog clarifies this in a pre-COVID-19 perspective of the world as it relates to smell loss:

In some cases, the loss of smell is complete (anosmia), while in other cases there is only a partial loss (hyposmia). In many instances where smell loss occurs, remaining smells are distorted. The distortions are either experienced as odors smelling dramatically different from what was remembered (parosmia) or smelling an odor that isn’t present (phantosmia).                                                      —"Smell Disorders: When Your Sense of Smell Goes Astray," (December 12, 2018)

The first disconnect in "Goldman Says Fewer ‘Loss of Smell’ Google Queries Suggest Better COVID Outlook" is the image used in the article. The caption reads, “A woman wearing a face mask smells flower blossoms.” Let’s put a pandemic perspective on the image because what the caption says and what appears in the picture are slightly different.

A woman wearing a non-medical protective face mask has drawn her mask below her nostrils so she can smell cherry blossoms. The woman will have to touch her face a second time to pull the mask over her nose so it can protect her (assuming it wasn't contaminated the first time she moved it below her nostrils).

Critical thinking begins when we question our perceptions.

Were there other people who smelled the same cherry blossoms before her? Will there be others afterwards? What does that means regarding potential virus transfer? Was the image taken during the pandemic? If it was, where was the photographer? The image that accompanies the article doesn't follow COVID-19 protocol. Strike one.

The picture gets your attention for the wrong reason. It riffs on the desire for post-pandemic normality. This may fuel irrational forecasts on lifting quarantines before science says it's the right time because of the way the picture looks. Strike two.

Let’s revisit the prediction of an organization asserting an opinion that isn't based on the relationship between COVID-19 and smell loss in a controlled study (e.g. the use of Google Trends). It's important to note that CNBC emphasizes this opinion more than Jon Hatzius of Goldman Sachs does when you watch the video embedded in the article.

Goldman Sachs is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Is their intention to report news or promote data that encourages investor confidence because it supports their business model? This is the kind of question a critical thinking ninja asks (a recent article on Poynter calls it "growing a third nostril" to sniff out the truth).

Wake up and smell the facts, including opinions masquerading as facts.

Goldman Sachs used one phrase (loss of smell) to generate an outcome on Google Trends. Anyone can use this tool, which provides results based on the country in which a query is made. Anosmia, hyposmia, parosmia and phantosmia aren’t included in the analysis and there are additional words and phrases that can be used to gather results regarding smell loss.

Smell training, which supports patients with smell loss, isn't even investigated and it's an approach supported by scientific research that helps patients with smell loss (lemon, rose, clove and eucalyptus essential oil are commonly used, which is informed by research). That's not a surprise because most of the population knows little about smell and taste disorders and what it's like for patients.

The article referenced in this post appears on CNBC, which is a news source specializing in financial markets. The deduction made by Goldman Sachs doesn’t include expert opinions from scientists as well and multiple points of view. There's nothing “fair and balanced" about it. Strike three (you can S-M-E-L-L it).

Critical thinking is important. It applies to opinions you agree and disagree with when chasing down facts to create an informed opinion. If you believe that people who don't think the way you do are ignorant, check yourself because the ultimate in ignorance is the inability to respectfully weigh facts and opinions. It's how you lie to yourself and others because of what you want to believe. There's another word for this and it's denial. Denial is also a stage of grief and grief is a collective experience during a pandemic like COVID-19.

These are difficult and highly emotional times for everyone. It's tempting to create divisiveness based on personal opinion or that of your pack, but searching for truth and call out misleading statements in your own head helps manage the effects of the pandemic on physical and mental health—your own and that of family, friends and your community. There will be PTSD echo effects when the pandemic is under control and when a cure for COVID-19 is found. The time to build better habits that support clear thinking and common humanity is now.

Smell the May roses at a distance with gratitude and a face mask.

Think before, during after interacting with media. Most importantly, think before you speak (or in the case of the CNBC article, publish a story). Practice being a critical thinking ninja on a daily basis. If you're one of the lucky ones who survive the first cycle of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, you might smell the roses in May. Just remember to catch the scent of roses in the breeze and keep your protective face mask on as required.

Notes:
Some people who contract COVID-19 and become anosmic say they can't taste (ageusia). They may be misarticulating their symptoms without knowing it. I've come across this in off-the-record interviews with people who've had mild symptoms of COVID-19 that presented with smell loss. I am continuing to investigate this.

Smell + Taste = Flavor and we often refer to flavor as taste (e.g. "that tastes delicious"). Taste is sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (savory) as well as trigeminal sensations for temperature, texture and spiciness.

If we want to understand patients who lose their sense of smell and/or taste because of COVID-19 we have to go below the surface of what they're saying and ask clarifying questions. This is a doctor's job, but it's also a scientist's job and it's why medical professionals and scientists need to be included in articles that reference medical conditions.

Smell & Tell: Olfactory Writing Workshops

The neon sign at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches in Ann Arbor, Michigan invites quizzical stares and laughter, but it gets to the point. Nothing seduces appetite like the aroma of food. It doesn't matter if you aren't hungry. The monkey mind will hone in on the smell of food until it finds the source. That is why appetite is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Though she realized her fragrant calling in Berkeley, California, perfumer Mandy Aftel attended the University of Michigan and has roots in Ann Arbor. The city has the flavor of Europe, the intellectual horsepower of an Ivy League community and an honest Midwestern spirit that is reflected in hyperactive volunteering and a boundless local food movement as intense as California's (the state of Michigan is the second most agriculturally diverse state in the country). A pattern was forming in my mind as I connected the dots. The idea of olfactory writing workshops began to gestate. It was obvious that Ann Arbor was hip to smell.

Having read the olfactory signs I decided to conduct two "Smell and Tell Olfactory Workshops". One was designed for students at 826Michigan. The other was created for adults who frequent events at the Ann Arbor District Library. Selling the concept of smell is not an easy task, but when you are in a curious college community the barriers are nearly non-existent because those who choose to live here are, for the most part, on a lifelong learning path. When librarian Erin Helmrich* related anosmia stories in our first conversation I knew Ann Arbor wasn't your average college town. Loss of the sense of smell is an invisible disability that is rarely acknowledged.

Both "Smell and Tell" workshops involved smelling a variety of raw materials and writing about the sensations that the aromas evoked. Attendees utilized "smell mapping" as a way to access words that described their experience (a technique I developed to help people translate feelings and memories evoked by the sense of smell into words and phrases). What transpired was unique for each individual as the sense of smell is autobiographical and therefore not subject to judgement regarding what is right or wrong.

Angeline smelled orange, lemon, vanilla, cinnamon, peppermint, and lavender on perfume blotters before selecting an aroma for the writing exercise at the 826Michigan Smell and Tell. What she had to say about lemon is a lesson in olfactory objectivity, something adults have a hard embracing as the years shape likes, dislikes and memories associated with personal preferences. Angeline's favorite smells are lavender, candy and flowers. Her least favorite smells are lemons, paint and wet dog. Interestingly enough, Angeline chose to write about her least favorite fragrance which makes this ten-year-old girl a terrific fragrance evaluator!

The Smell and Tell at the Ann Arbor District Library drew an interesting crowd that included University of Michigan medical researchers, students, artisans, food lovers and some of Glass Petal Smoke's followers on Twitter. From the dais I could see that Sharon was entranced by the raw materials smelled in class, especially Tahitian Vanilla and Rice Paddy Herb (the later was especially true for every member of the workshop as it is a dynamic, multifaceted and synesthesia-invoking scent).

Sharon's eyes were closed for a long time as she smelled a fragrant blotter and she appeared to have been catapulted between a waking state and a dream state. When she opened her eyes her lips parted in a smile. This illustrated story is what she created at the Ann Arbor District Library Smell and Tell. It includes the memory of a chemist who worked as a type of evaluator for a flavor and fragrance company in New Jersey (right click on the picture and save it to read all of the details).

Two more Smell and Tell Workshops are scheduled for the fall of 2012. "Sacred Scents and Aphrodisiacs" will take place at the Ann Arbor District Library on Tuesday, October 30th at 6:30pm. Children at 826MIchigan will experience the thrill of retronasal olfaction when the flavor of bubblegum is dissected in class. The date for this workshop is pending, but Glass Petal Smoke will let you in on a secret; a famous flavorist at Givaudan designed the aromas for this 826Michigan Smell and Tell (she was featured on CBS and in The New Yorker).

Notes:
Glass Petal Smoke is working with Erin Helmrich and the podcasting team at The Ann Arbor District Library to produce programs on the subject of taste and smell. Information will be posted on Glass Petal Smoke and the blog's Twitter page once the schedule is in place.

Kudos to Givaudan who supplied perfumer Yann Vasnier's Le Flacon (a perfume inspired by Baudelaire) and have always supported my educational initiatives. I never asked permission to print the formula for the fragrance in 2008 because it was a radical move to go open source with it; so my gratitude is immense as it won a FiFi nomination and Givaudan embraced it with open arms. Kate Greene, you are truly a gem!

Special thanks go out to Dream Air (Christophe Laudamiel and Christoph Hornetz) and their supplier Firmenich for providing the scents for the Ann Arbor District Library Smell and Tell. Msr. Laudamiel always answers my perfume history/chemistry questions in beautiful detail and I am most thankful for our professional friendship.

Additional thanks to Laurie Harrsen of the McCormick Corporation who supplied the flavor extracts used at the 826Michigan Smell and Tell. Your flavors led to the students requesting a more "food-oriented" class which I plan on delivering in the fall. Rhodia pencils were supplied by Karen Doherty of Exaclair and turned the experience of writing into a multisensory adventure. Copies of The Name of this Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch were generous donated by Lisa Moraleda at Little Brown Books for Young Readers, for which the children were most grateful.

Olfactory curriculum helps children connect their feelings to their thoughts, and teaches them to trust the invisible and seek out story in smell. When a child learns how to make something tangible out of an abstract sense like smell they become "makers" of things. Makers of things learn to develop intuition and are less likely to be passive in life and learning. This is the diamond in olfactory curriculum and was the catalyst for the creation of the Smell and Tell workshop for 8-10 year olds that premiered at 826Michigan in Ann Arbor on June 6, 2012. It is also something that resonated with Maria Montessori‘s approach to sensorial education.

826Michigan is one of eight satellite tutoring centers connected to 826National. The centers are designed to help children develop expository writing skills. 826National was founded by award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari (they started the first chapter,  826Valencia in San Francisco). Each outpost offers free tutoring which is camouflaged by a storefront with a particular theme. The storefront takes the stigma out of receiving tutoring and generates revenue that goes back into overhead expenses. Glass Petal Smoke recommends visiting the various online storefronts for holiday shopping as proceeds are directed to a terrific cause.

Laura Rose Vlahovich was born without a sense of smell, a condition known as congenital anosmia. She is a talented artist and designed the graphic of the aromas used in the children's Smell and Tell at 826Michigan. Check out Thrift Score, Ms. Vlahovich's Esty shop, for cleverly curated vintage housewares and home decor.

Mandy Aftel single-handedly catapulted the artisan perfumery trend with her book, Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume. Aftel is currently working on her second book. Some of her food-grade essential oils (in the pantries of many famous chefs) are available at William Sonoma. The full line of "Chef's Essences" is available at the Aftelier Perfumes website. Mixologists are not strangers to these delightful ingredients, as evidenced in a recent New York Times article.

Rice Paddy Herb is available at Enfleurage. It is a "bucket list" aroma that should be experienced more than once in a lifetime. It evaporates in a brilliant flash of freshness that is sunny, verdant, ozonic and earthy; like standing on a dew-dappled grassy mountain under a blue sky on a perfect summer day. Rice Paddy Herb possesses an addictive cuminesque element minus the funk that reminds cumin haters of body odor. It smells fresh in both senses of the word which is, perhaps, its subconscious power.

Jimmy John's apparel offerings include men's boxer shorts with their "Free Smells" tagline. Smellculturists may infer/gift as they wish. [This product is no longer offered.]

The "Olfactory" graphic was designed by Jennifer Orkin Lewis and is used with permission. Rights revert back to the artist.

Photos of student work and associated images used with permission. Rights revert back to the image holders.

Eau Pear Tingle: A Perfume Inspired by Anosmia

Why would someone who can’t smell want to experience fragrance? In the digital galaxy known as the worldwide web, one voice came through. It was louder than the voices of Whoville, but just as singular in a world that takes the sense of smell for granted. Jennifer Boyer was born without a sense of smell, but it didn't stop her from making a case for fragrance in the lives of anosmics:

"...Aromatherapy products exist because specific scents help you relax, perk up, concentrate, banish mild pain and nausea, etc. It is believed that certain scents can help qualm anxiety and sadness. It’s not fair that an anosmic misses out on the healing properties and mood stabilizers that scents can bring."--The Simian Line: Anosmia

Ms. Boyer’s words are haunting for anyone who appreciates their sense of smell. I found myself growing restless every time I thought about her desire to experience the effects of pleasant aromas in spite of her olfactory impediment. Jennifer Boyer was born without a sense of smell, a type of sensory disorder that is known as congenital anosmia. Despite never smelling a thing in her life Ms. Boyer craved the feelings that are ignited by scent. Would her words evaporate into the digital ether or could a perfume be created that would allow her and other anosmics to experience the emotion of scent, or at least come close?

After beginning a campaign on anosmia awareness sparked by my friend Kathleen Cochran's Parkinson's condition I carefully analyzed the role that trigeminal nerve (v) plays in smell and taste. The trigeminal nerve allows one to feel sensations of texture, temperature and spiciness in the mouth. The same nerve makes a person wince at the odor of ammonia, bleach and other olfactory irritants because the trigeminal nerve has a protective function in humans as well as a pleasurable one. Anosmics can’t detect flavor because aromatic molecules don’t have a chance to mingle with taste receptors for sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami on the tongue, a process known as retronasal olfaction. When smell is absent so is flavor, but taste and trigeminal sensations remain, (the later is a saving grace when it comes to an enjoying food when you have anosmia). This fact is mysterious to most of the population; whether they can smell or not.

The ability to detect the coolness of mint, the heat of cayenne, and the tingling of carbonation is due to impulses carried by the trigeminal nerve. These sensations are capable of inspiring emotion and memory with the same intensity that the sense of smell provides. It’s why supermarket aisles are filled with more flavors of toothpaste, chewing gum and hot sauce than a person could consume in one lifetime. Trigeminal stimulants work through the nose to create similar sensations that are experienced via the mouth. (This is what happens when you use a mentholated chest rub to relieve congestion and inhale the cooling aromatic vapors for relief.) The challenge in creating a perfume that triggers a trigeminal sensation is both chemical and aesthetic. The end result cannot smell medicinal or create too much of a sensation. It has to register emotionally as “perfume” to those who can smell and as a pleasurable “sensation” to anosmics.

In order to be a catalyst for something that has never been done before one must take risks. Social media allows one to tap into groups with similar interests and because conversation occurs in real time, this form of communicating with olfactory enthusiasts is ideal for product ideation. I laid a breadcrumb trail on Twitter, sharing what I learned about trigeminal nerve (v) with Glass Petal Smoke followers. When the level of engagement was at its peak I presented a fragrance brief targeting independent perfumers who follow Glass Petal Smoke on Twitter. Intuition and fearlessness are critical components of creativity; so is luck. Twitter offers the right dose of serendipity to tap into these qualities and that is critical to something as counter-intuitive as a "trigeminal eau".

The fragrance brief was an olfactory conundrum for many as knowledge of the trigeminal link between taste and smell requires a deeper understanding of the science of smell. Kedra Hart of Opus Oils responded immediately; her mother acquired anosmia after hitting her head in an ice skating accident when Kedra was a teenager. Ms. Hart had already been tinkering with peppermint as a trigeminal stimulant when she created “Cool Mist”, a peppermint-based fragrance designed with two functions in mind; to alleviate the symptoms of hot flashes and as a "post-workout" refresher. The fragrance was created for her mother, who could sense the peppermint, so the idea of making a "true perfume" for her mother was compelling. Ms. Hart set out to create a “trigeminal eau” immediately. Her creative process was infused with love, something poetically reflected in her last name.

Eau Pear Tingle took two months to complete. Various iterations were shared with Ms. Hart's anosmic mother until the desired effect was achieved. The final modification arrived at my doorstep on August 30th. Ms. Hart included other fragrances she formulated for her Hollywood boutique and I chose to smell them first in order to get a sense of her style and manage my expectations for the decanting of Eau Pear Tingle. The fragrance inspired a palpable sensation that was well-balanced, sophisticated and highly wearable. It's hard to express in words what it feels like when someone has translated a fragrance brief into a finished product that exceeds expectations, especially when the result is connected to a loving relationship between a mother and a daughter.

Eau Pear Tingle is as much about "sensation" as it is about the unique ability that perfume has to express periods of time. The fragrance starts out with a modern mouthwatering juicy twist that is redolent of green pear, pineapple and a hint of coconut. This is followed by the trigeminal effect of camphor, mint and black pepper that has a delightful side effect; it steadies the breath with a mild cooling sensation complemented by the essence of fir and wood shavings. The perfume dries down to an addictive classic base that is rich in sandalwood and musk. When you wear Eau Pear Tingle you journey from the present into the future and repose in the past. The fact that someone who has anosmia is able to sense this fragrance is truly an innovation in the art of perfumery. It is also cause for the industry to consider anosmia as a source of inspiration for scent creation targeting connoisseurs as well as the 65+ demographic that is regularly snubbed by the industry; whether they have age related smell loss or not.

Dr. Leslie Vosshall of The Rockefeller University is a neurogenetics researcher who specializes in olfactory studies at The Vosshall Lab. With Ms. Hart's permission I shared Eau Pear Tingle with her as an aesthetic evaluation from a scientist would indicate if the formula was on track. Dr. Vosshall is fond of fine fragrance and has a marvelous sense of smell. This is what she had to say about Eau Pear Tingle, “…[It] is a heady mix of a gazillion things—pear/pineapple/coconut predominate at the start. On the waning side it starts to really smell elegant in a way that I am unable to articulate. I wish I could experience it from the point of view of an anosmic to see how they feel about it. Fascinating.”

After reading Dr. Vosshall’s response my mind returned to Jennifer Boyer’s wish. I began communicating with Ms. Boyer on Facebook and asked her if she would like to be introduced her to Opus Oil's Kedra Hart, who was happy to provide her with samples of Eau Pear Tingle. If Ms. Boyer's aromatic wish came true that would bring the creation of Eau Pear Tingle full circle. Jennifer's response and the reference she made to a stimulating raw material was more than coincidental; it reflected the role that destiny plays when serendipity is engaged by forces greater than ourselves. This is what she had to say,  “I would love [to try] that perfume! I thought about wearing peppermint essential oil as a kind of makeshift perfume, just because the trigeminal stimulation is so delightful, but I wasn't sure if it would end up as a perfume disaster! (I thought it might not mix well with my body chemistry, or would make me smell too much like candy.)" 

Opus Oils' Eau Pear Tingle and Cool Mist fragrances were sent to Ms. Boyer immediately. Glass Petal Smoke is happy to report that she is able to sense the trigeminal effect in both fragrances and had this to say about Eau Pear Tingle, "I can feel it in my nose and it feels the same way mint does when I breathe it in." Other anosmics have expressed interest in Eau Pear Tingle and will be sampling the scent to see how it affects their unique sensory makeup. The fragrance is a wonderful tool for bridging the gap between those who can smell and those who can't, encouraging meaningful conversation and putting a face on a sensory disorder that deserves more attention than it gets. Rumor has it that Ms. Hart is already working on a masculine version of the scent, inspired by woods. Talk about putting the "cool" in fine fragrance...

Notes:
It is not uncommon for people who have anosmia, acquired or congenital, to wear perfume. An interesting query from an acquired anosmic appeared in The Daily Mail this month. The response of the beauty editors included a statement about anosmia at the article's end that is misleading. Not all acquired anosmics regain their sense of smell. That doesn't diminish an anosmic's desire to wear an attractive scent, but it does require that the anosmic experience positive feelings from others who smell their perfume. The anosmic must rely on friends and family members for an honest evaluation of the perfumes they choose to wear.

The statistics on those affected by anosmia (2-3% at last count) do not reflect today's population, especially the baby boomer segment and those with degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. A social movement has begun on Facebook that marks February 23, 2012 as National Anosmia Awareness Day. It is a day to remember the value of your sense of smell and those who do not share that sensory capacity. You can participate in this event by logging into Facebook and clicking here.

Photos of Eau Pear Tingle, Kedra Hart and Jennifer Boyer were provided by both women. Rights revert back to the owners.

Photo of Dr. Leslie Vosshall from The Rockefeller University website. Rights revert back to the owner.

Glass Petal Smoke does not have a commercial interest in Opus Oils "Eau Pear Tingle".

Anosmia Matters: Whether You Can Smell Or Not

Imagine you are in a foreign country. Perhaps you've visited this place as a child and have a vague recollection of the journey. Maybe it’s the first time you visited and you don’t know the language or customs. You are a stranger in a strange land, hoping that the rules of immersion will hold true and that by being forced to adapt you will eventually develop the skills needed so you can feel like less of an outsider. It never happens.

What you’ve just read parallels the experience of the anosmic in the smell world. People with anosmia inhabit the same terrain as those who have a functional sense of smell, but are not able to physically relate to the experience of smelling. Though the acquired anosmic and congenital anosmic may differ when it comes to feelings of loss caused by the absence of the sense of smell, both may experience feelings of being an outsider when in truth they are misunderstood by the general and medical population. A blind person and a deaf person are easier to diagnose on sight versus a person who can’t smell. It’s ironic that a prejudice of sight has caused science to turn a blind eye towards funding anosmia research, though some of this is beginning to change due to advances in neurogenetics and the association of anosmia with early onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Many who are born with a sense of smell, who lose this sense due to disease, physical injury or the aging process, pine for its return and struggle to integrate the absence of smell with their identity. Acquired anosmics commonly struggle with anxiety and depression because they are in a state of grief due to their loss. The struggle is compounded by the fact that smells are hard to describe and once the sense is gone, developing an olfactory vocabulary is quite difficult. Imagine losing a person you loved dearly and not being able to revisit your memories of them because suddenly the reference points for those memories are no longer accessible, no matter how hard you try to find them. The experience of the acquired anosmic can be painfully frustrating and isolating.

Smells are processed in the limbic system, the emotional part of the brain that is tied to memory. This makes smells difficult to describe. When you smell something your brain tells you if you’ve smelled the aroma before, if it indicates danger, will provide you with memories of past experiences associated with that aroma, and will simultaneously imprint new data within the context of your present smelling experience. It happens in a flash. The more conscious you are of this process the easier it becomes to develop an olfactory vocabulary, something many struggle with for fear of being ridiculed for their choice of words. In truth, there are no wrong descriptions when it comes to smell; your unique life experience serves as a guidepost. The rest requires a good thesaurus and a look at a few flavor wheels for reference. If you chose to share smell experiences with friends your enjoyment will grow exponentially. The act of sharing sensory impressions of any kind creates memorable social bonds.

Both congenital and acquired anosmics are incapable of experiencing "flavor", as taste and smell work together to produce the sensation of flavor. Imagine the taste of a casserole with only sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami receptors as your translators (pinch your nose while eating and you will get the picture). There is a little known fact among those who can and cannot smell. The sensation of texture, temperature and spiciness is connected to the trigeminal nerve. These “sensation” based experiences are capable of producing pleasurable emotions and foods that stimulate the trigeminal nerve are often quite enjoyable for anosmics and their smelling brethren.This is why there are so many flavors of toothpaste, gum and hot sauce on the market; each product is, in a sense, trying to get on your nerve. Some examples of trigeminal taste stimulants are mint, cayenne pepper and Sichuan pepper.

In the past few months I have been permitted to participate in anosmic communities on Facebook and have had conversations with anosmics on Twitter. I did not withhold my smelling abilities and made many interesting acquaintances, sharing meals with some of the people that I met. I learned to appreciate taste and trigeminal sensations even more because of this. Glass Petal Smoke has always been a trusted source of inspiration and learning when it comes to smell and taste. As we get closer to Thanksgiving I hope you will take the posts you’ve read on anosmia to heart; especially this one.

It's important to remember that everyone will lose some of their ability to smell as they age. We’re living longer now so it would be in the best interest of all to understand anosmia and get to know those who are living with it. Don’t rely on your eyes to lead you. Seek anosmics out by using social media and get in the conversation. Practice gratefulness and become an advocate for those who lack the sense that brings you to the pages of Glass Petal Smoke in the first place. You will appreciate your sense of smell more and might even make a few  friends along the way.

Notes & Resources:
Anosmia in early onset Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease often manifests as  loss of appetite. The connection to smell is often overlooked and doctors often run tests related to what they suspect is causing weight loss. If you have an elderly relative make sure to keep this in mind if loss of appetite becomes symptomatic. More often than not even the patients themselves don't know that their sense of smell is affected. They simply feel that food doesn't taste good anymore.

The following posts on anosmia appeared in Glass Petal Smoke this year:

National Sense of Smell Day

The Sense of Smell: Using it or Losing it (with podcast)

Portrait of Congenital Anosmia: The Teenage Years

Perfumery's Future: IFRA Fall 2011 Presentation
Eau Pear Tingle: A Perfume Inspired by Anosmia

Anosmics of the World Unite and Congenital Anosmia are Facebook pages filled with interesting conversations written by and for those with anosmia. If you are an olfie (one with functioning olfactory skills) out yourself and find out what it is like to live without a sense of smell. You'll need to be a Facebook subscriber to participate. The Senseless Life, by librarian Helen Azar, is another anosmia page on Facebook. It focuses on Ms. Azar's journey to regain her sense of smell (which is possible, to an extent, if the acquired anosmia is not caused by a head injury which severs the olfactory nerves).

The Simian Line: Anosmia, a website created by Jennifer Boyer (a congenital anosmic), is rich with content and resources, and is written from the perspective of someone born without a sense of smell. If you are struggling with anosmia or want to know more about what it is like to live with this sensory deficit, pay her site a visit. 

The Anosmia group on Yahoo is a great place for anosmics to find support in a peer-to-peer environment.  You'll need a Yahoo alias to join the group which was established in 1999. [Yahoo Groups are no longer supported on the platform effective 2019. This information is here to illustrate how early the group formed.]

Navigating Taste and Smell Disorders by Dr. Ronald DeVere and Marjorie Calvert is a must-read for those with smell and taste disorders, the medical community and the general population interested in how taste and smell function. The book pulls no punches and is written with compassion as Dr. Ronald DeVere, a neurologist, is an anosmic who runs a taste and smell clinic in Austin, Texas. (P.S. Navigating Taste and Smell Disorders includes recipes!)

Jana Svoboda LCSW is a therapist who is living with acquired anosmia. Her compassion, candor and perspective are truly moving. You can find posts related to anosmia by searching the term "anosmia" on Door Number Two, her blog. 

Illustration of anosmia is from Enfermidades. All rights revert back to the owner.

Glass Petal Smoke conducted the first fragrance brief on Twitter with a focus on creating a trigeminal perfume that could be sensed by people with anosmia. The result of this collaboration will post in December. Kedra Hart of Opus Oils is the creatrix and designed the perfume for her mother who acquired anosmia after sustaining a head injury.

This post is dedicated to Kathleen Cochran, a dear friend who has taught me more about life than anyone I know. Kathleen, I salute you and your tenacity as you live with Parkinson’s disease every day knowing that one day, you might lose the sense you love the most; your sense of smell.

The Sense of Smell: Using it or Losing it

A Glass Petal Smoke first! A radio interview on WVOX and related podcast. The official summary:

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner interviews Michelle Krell Kydd and Kathleen Cochran about the sense of smell. The loss of the sense of smell (known as anosmia) is getting a lot of attention in the press. Doctors now recognize that there is a connection between anosmia and degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The common cold can also be responsible for the loss of the sense of smell.

The show's guests share their experience and expertise, offering insights into a sense that is often taken for granted. Ms. Kydd is a marketing/communications specialist and trained nose. She is also the editor of Glass Petal Smoke, a blog about flavor and fragrance. Ms. Cochran is a writer and educational consultant who has Parkinson's disease.

Note:
Blossom Umbrella painting by Erte.

National Sense of Smell Day: A Time to Reflect

Today is National Sense of Smell Day. It was established in 1993 by The Sense of Smell Institute, the educational arm of The Fragrance Foundation. Though efforts on the part of both nonprofit institutions to promote National Sense of Smell Day have dwindled, interest in the subject of olfaction has grown. A large part of this is due to the link between flavor and fragrance which makes the sense of smell more tangible. Say the word “smell” and noses turn away. Say the word “aroma” and suddenly you have everyone’s attention. There’s another reason why the sense of smell is beginning to resonate in the culture; people are losing it.

Anosmia is the loss of the sense of smell. It collaborates with tongue cancer as a protagonist In Grant Achatz’ memoir “A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat.” Anosmia visits writer Molly Birnbaum who was preparing for classes at The Culinary Institute of America when she was injured in an automobile accident that affected her sense of smell. “Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way” tells the story of Birnbaum’s encounter with anosmia and her efforts to regain her sense of smell (which included an immersion in the perfume arts). Gardener Bonnie Blodgett used Zicam® Nasal Gel and soon found herself with a case of anosmia, (the product was removed from store shelves after a warning issued by the FDA in 2009). Ms. Blodgett shares her odyssey in “Remembering Smell: A Memoir of Losing – and Discovering – the Primal Sense.”

Anosmia is linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and is thought to be an early indicator of both degenerative diseases. This fact pushes anosmia into the spotlight. Still, there is something taboo about the sense of smell. Let’s face it, everything that falls under our nose isn't pleasant. Imagine if you never had a sense of smell. Would you feel like you lost anything? In an upcoming post  Glass Petal Smoke will interview a woman who was born with anosmia. What you find out will change the way you think about the sense of smell. 

Further Reading/Notes:

Anosmia from the point of view of The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward. The musician talks about his bout of temporary anosmia, caused by sinus problems. From the Wimbledon Clinic.

Anosmia on Wikipedia (includes a list of causes).

National Sense of Smell Day is celebrated on the last Saturday of April every calendar year.  

Photo of researcher Florence Negre smelling snapdragons in the Purdue greenhouse by Tom Campbell of Purdue Agricultural Communications.