I asked ChatGPT - it came back with this :-
A few likely explanations:
1. Partial smell loss (very common)
People can lose sensitivity to smell without realising it.
Common causes:
- recent cold or sinus infection
- allergies or blocked sinuses
- long-COVID smell changes
- hormonal shifts (this can happen in perimenopause)
- certain medications
Often it’s
not complete smell loss, just reduced sensitivity.
2. Olfactory fatigue from heavy perfume use
If someone sprays a lot or smells perfumes constantly (collectors, reviewers, etc.), their brain can temporarily “switch off” those scent signals.
So they smell
nothing, while other people around them still smell the perfume clearly.
3. Becoming anosmic to specific molecules
Some people suddenly stop detecting certain common perfume ingredients, especially:
- Ambroxan
- Iso E Super
- modern synthetic musks
If many of her perfumes contain these (which a lot of modern perfumes do), they can suddenly feel like they’ve “disappeared”.
4. COVID-related smell disruption
This is still surprisingly common. Even people who had COVID
months or years ago sometimes notice:
- perfumes smelling faint
- perfumes smelling different
- perfumes smelling like nothing