How COVID-19 taught me to love every little smell

We tend to take our sense of smell for granted. Most of those who have it probably never grasped the idea of losing it. Then, the pandemic hit. And losing your sense of smell became a relatively common symptom of COVID-19. Some people even remain anosmic after the acute phase of infection. Imagine, as a perfume lover, as a chef or as a human being in general, who grew up smelling everything and with unique olfactory memories, realizing you've lost your ability to smell. Maybe forever. Scary, isn't it?

When I was infected, the fear of becoming anosmic took over me. I looked at science for answers. Maybe I could do something to prevent anosmia. Or, if it struck me, maybe there was something I could do to get it back. I've found several studies on anosmia, including on something called olfactory training. 

Olfactory training is a procedure that many rhinologists compare to physical therapy for the nose. Individuals are instructed to sniff a sequence of four essential oils, deeply inhaling each one for 15 seconds while concentrating on their memory of the corresponding smell. They repeat the procedure twice a day over the course of months (source). 

"Sounds like something I could try", I thought. But I was isolating at home, with no access to essential oils. I had friends who offered to bring food and drugs but I didn't want to abuse their kindness by asking them to find me four very specific essential oils, the most commonly used in olfactory training: rose, eucalyptus, lemon and clove. 

So I worked with what I had. While I still had my sense of smell, I'd wear comforting skin scents, my favorite calming perfumes. And I would smell everything I could every day: my food, the spray nozzle of a perfume, fresh laundry... 

On the 4th day, when I woke up, I sniffed my freshly brewed coffee and NOTHING. It was as if coffee smell didn't exist. So I brought out the heavy artillery. The smells I had at home that I used to react the strongest to: powdered garlic and two failed perfume blind buys. 

As a fan of gourmand, I was sure I would love Fancy by Jessica Simpson. Everyone was raving about fruit and caramel and how delicious it smelled. Not to me, unfortunately. All I could get was a nauseating floral bouquet. It even gave me a headache. And it felt so strong. But now, I smelled nothing.

Another failed blind buy that became part of my olfactory training was Rihanna's Reb'l Fleur. The promise of peach, coconut and vanilla sounded so appealing before I bought it. But when it arrived, all I could smell, stealing the spotlight from any other note, was a strong, dirty patchouli. 

Several times a day I would try to smell these three items. It had been about 5 days since I became anosmic when suddenly, pressing my nose against my wrist, oversprayed with Fancy, I could smell something. It was very muted. But all the notes were there. On a normal day, this perfume used to be like a song that was playing too loud. But with the volume turned down I could start to appreciate it, I could finally smell different notes besides the flowers. Faint, but they were there. The caramel for sure. A bit of pear. A bit of almond. Dancing with the flower notes. Thanks to this, I'm no longer afraid of floral perfumes.

With Reb'l Fleur I started smelling the patchouli, but very faint. And I was so happy for smelling something, anything, that I became grateful for patchouli. As the days went by and the other notes started to emerge to my nose, I began to enjoy how the delicate sweet fruits and flowers were balanced by the patchouli. Thanks to this, I no longer avoid trying perfumes that contain patchouli. 

Here's something odd: the garlic was the hardest one to detect and I could only start smelling it once I got a lot better. If I were a vampire, I'd be invincible. 

Today I've recovered my sense of smell and I've widened my perfume horizons. Now I enjoy some flowers in perfumes, I love the depth the patchouli can add to some scents and my mind is more open to smell everything around me. 

If you're reading this and have COVID-19, I wish you get well soon. And I hope reading my experience helps you in any way.