It’s not like anyone will openly say that they’ve formed an opinion about you because your jacket smells weird, but that doesn’t mean they’re not doing it.
The smoke that came with you
It doesn’t matter that you might’ve washed your hands and chewed gum. People can probably still smell that you’ve smoked. Yes, cigarette smoke sticks to fabric extraordinarily well, and it hangs around on your hair, too, along with pretty much anything nearby.Â
People smell it and assume you’ve just had a cigarette, even if you were only standing beside someone who was smoking. But nobody’s going to bring it up. They’ll just keep their assumptions about your habits to themselves.
The fragrance cloud
There’s nothing wrong with perfume or cologne. The real issue comes with how much you use, as people should only be able to smell it when they’re fairly close to you. They shouldn’t be able to smell it five seconds before you approach them.
When that happens, people start wondering why you had to put on so much cologne or perfume, and whether you’re trying to hide something. There’s also the fact that strong fragrances can cause headaches, and that never feels good.Â
The shirt that never quite dried
Your clothes might look completely clean, and they probably are, although the smell says something else. Maybe you left the laundry sitting wet in the machine too long, or maybe it dried too slowly. The cause doesn’t matter. The smell of damp fabric does, and it’s not a good smell.
Damp fabric tends to hold onto bacteria that produce nasty smells. The person wearing it, however, may stop noticing the smell. You can guarantee that the person standing beside them in line hasn’t gotten used to it and has formed their own opinion.
The patchouli giveaway
Patchouli is one of those smells that sticks around for way too long. It has quite an earthy, heavy scent that makes it pretty recognizable, and it also has a reputation that isn’t the best. Yes, people have associated patchouli with hippies and countercultural movements for decades.
Anyone wearing it might genuinely like the smell, and that’s perfectly fine. But they should be aware that the people nearby have already formed an entire backstory for this person. It might not be fair, and it might not be right. Still, patchouli inspires opinions, so it definitely happens.
The locker-room flashback
Axe body spray usually gives men nearby a flashback to the middle-school hallway. The brand spent years marketing heavily to teenage and young adult men. It worked. Except, maybe it worked too well, as people immediately think of the locker room when they smell it as adults.
They assume that a guy wearing Axe is immature and hasn’t quite grown up yet. The fact he might be 37 and own a business isn’t important. They’ve already made their judgments about him, and these tend to stick around more than the scent.
The closet from another decade
Not everyone can remember the name for mothballs, but they’ll definitely be able to recognize the smell. You know the one, it’s a bit like old closets and stored blankets. Mothballs tend to work quite well at protecting stored fabric from moths. But that comes at a price.
They release chemicals with odors that get stuck to clothing. That’s why, if you wear a piece of clothing that’s been near mothballs, you’ll make people think that it’s been sitting untouched for years. It’s the same story even when the item of clothing is perfectly clean.
The freshly disinfected effect
The real issue with bleach is that it says quite a lot. It’s no problem when you have just a faint clean smell, but when you stink of hospital-grade cleaning product, that’s an issue. Bleach smell is often strong enough to linger on clothing.Â
Smelling strongly like bleach makes people wonder what you were cleaning. Funnily enough, it can actually make you seem dirtier because they start thinking your house must be a total mess. It smells like you had to aggressively clean it, after all.
The smell you stopped noticing
Every home has a special kind of scent, and most of us don’t even recognize it. It could be the smell of cooking or candles, maybe of carpets or old furniture. All of those smells mix together, and they hang around for so long that the homeowner stops recognizing them.
Your coats and sweaters will carry those indoor smells wherever you go. Other people might recognize the smell of your house long before they ever see it, although they probably won’t say anything. It’d be weird to tell someone, ‘Your coat smells like a hallway.’
The first conversation of the morning
Morning breath is a very normal smell. That doesn’t excuse it, though, and everyone around you will notice if you have it. It’s caused by bacteria in your mouth that release stinky smells while you’re sleeping, leaving you with that infamous stench in the morning.
It’s unfortunate, really, because people who smell it seem to think you didn’t brush your teeth very well, or that you skipped important oral hygiene. That’s not actually what happened. To make matters worse, you often can’t smell your own breath properly, so you have to rely on other people to let you know.
The lunch that stayed behind
Lunch might be over for you, yet it’s still very much happening for everybody else around you. Some foods have such a strong smell that they stick around long after. Garlic is usually the main one. Onions and coffee are culprits, too, and so is curry.
It’s not like you can always brush your teeth to get rid of the smell, anyway. Garlic smell comes back through your lungs after your body’s digested it. People probably won’t point it out to you, but watch their body language. A little head turn during a close conversation is pretty telling.
The furry passenger
Pet smells have a way of becoming part of your clothing. Just think about it. You might throw a coat over the chair where the cat sleeps, so now it smells like your feline. The dog might rub itself on your jeans, and now they stink of canine.Â
It’s not always recognizable when you live with these smells every day. Turns out, though, that somebody without pets can smell those scents almost immediately, and they’ll start guessing what animal you own before you’ve said a word about it.
The moment the shoes come off
Taking your shoes off at somebody else’s house can be a little risky sometimes. For one, your feet sweat a lot, and your shoes trap all that moisture in. The bacteria living on the skin start to build up and release smells that’ll get stuck in your footwear for a long time.
The thing is, it’s not something you’ll notice much while your shoes are on. It’s only when they come off that everyone catches a whiff, although most people are far too polite to mention it. They certainly smell it, however, and they’re not going to be happy about it.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
13 things people secretly judge about you (and never tell you)
People notice a lot more about other people than they’re willing to admit, and it’s usually during those little moments when you’re not really thinking about how you come across.
13 things people secretly judge about you (and never tell you)
