Is Your Perfume Secretly Sabotaging Your Brainpower? The Shocking Truth Behind Fragrance-Induced Headaches Revealed!

Have you ever walked past someone wearing a strong perfume and instantly got the ick? Or maybe the fragrance your coworker adores gives you a pounding headache? Few things divide people like scent—the same fragrance that evokes warm, comforting memories in one person can trigger a wave of nausea in another.

But why? Is it biology? Your past experience? A personal preference? Or something deeper?

Spoiler alert: It’s all the above. When a particular scent makes you recoil, you’re not being dramatic. You’re just being…you.

The olfactory system, made up of the nose, olfactory bulb, and brain regions that process smell, is responsible for detecting odor molecules, and while “humans likely share a core set of common olfactory receptors, there is genetic variation in which of those receptors get expressed,” says Pamela Dalton, PhD, a cognitive psychologist and researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. “Some people may simply not be smelling the entire bouquet; their noses could be missing the balancing notes and only picking up the unpleasant ones.”

Meet the experts: Pamela Dalton, PhD is a cognitive psychologist and researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. Daryl Do is a senior perfumer at Delbia Do Fragrances. Zara Patel, MD, is a professor of otolaryngology and director of the Stanford Initiative to Cure Smell and Taste Loss at Stanford University. Anna Rosa Parker is the founder of botanical fragrance brand Herb & Root.

In other words, when you and your best friend sniff the same perfume, you may be experiencing two completely different things. “Some people, for example, can’t smell musk at all—they’re anosmic to it,” says Daryl Do, senior perfumer at Delbia Do Fragrances. “Meanwhile, others might find it overwhelming or cloying. It’s so individualized.”

But aside from biology, experts say our reactions to scent are also shaped by genetics, culture, the nervous system, and our emotional memory. So, we asked a cognitive psychologist, a physician, and perfumers to help decode why scent is so powerful—and so personal.

When scent strikes a nerve

Sometimes it’s not just about disliking an aroma. In certain cases, a particular waft can make a person physically ill. If that’s you, it’s not your imagination—and your olfactory system may not be to blame. The trigeminal nerve, part of the broader nervous system, detects pressure, temperature, and pain in the nasal cavity and face.

When a fragrance contains ingredients that stimulate this nerve (think menthol, bleach, or very strong synthetic aromas), it can cause that telltale stinging, tingling, headache-inducing response. “I’m one of those people,” says Zara Patel, MD, is a professor of otolaryngology and director of the Stanford Initiative to Cure Smell and Taste Loss at Stanford University. “If I get into an Uber with an air freshener or walk past someone wearing a strong cologne, I’m going to get a migraine.”

Did you know: Some fragrance notes are notoriously polarizing. According to our experts, the most common are patchouli, musk, oud, vintage florals like rose and jasmine, frankincense and myrrh, and linalool, an essential oil.

Why are some people more sensitive? Allergies, dryness, or inflammation in the nasal passages might be to blame. “It’s possible that a person’s particular anatomy allows airflow to hit the nerve in a more direct way than others,” Dr. Patel explains. The amount or concentration of a fragrance matters, too. “Almost every material that is a volatile chemical compound, meaning something that evaporates and is detectable by the human nose, can become a trigeminal stimulant at certain concentrations,” says Dr. Dalton.

Your brain remembers

While your nose and nerves explain the physical part of scent, your brain helps explain the emotional response—like why you hate musk or can’t smell patchouli without cringing. Scent is processed in the same part of the brain that governs memory and emotion, which is often why scent is so strongly tied to feelings of nostalgia—a well-studied phenomenon, says Dr. Dalton. “We have more evidence for prior memory associations influencing our fragrance likes and dislikes than we do for the biological reasons,” she says.

In other words, your brain decides whether a smell is “good” or “bad” based on what it reminds you of, not what it objectively smells like. For instance, Anna Rosa Parker, founder of botanical fragrance brand Herb & Root, says her brand’s Frankincense & Myrrh blend tends to split people into two camps: meditative calm or instant aversion. “I’ve always suspected it ties back to early experiences with religious rituals where frankincense was used,” she says. “For some, that feels comforting. For others, it triggers tension. ”

Patchouli is another loaded note. “It’s among the most complex botanicals we work with,” she says. “People who lived through the 1970s often have an immediate, visceral response—whether that’s nostalgia, disgust, or something in between.”

Culture shapes scent preference, too

Beyond biology and memory, scent preference is also shaped by where—and when—you grew up. “There are definitely patterns in fragrance preferences by demographic,” says Parker. “For example, Baby Boomers and Gen X women often gravitate toward soft floral scents like lily of the valley, which were iconic in the ’50s and ’60s. Millennials tend to favor gourmand notes like vanilla and tonka, which they associate with the body sprays and mists of their teen years.” We see you, Bath & Body Works Body Mists.

Geography plays a major role as well. “In the Middle East and South Asia, resinous notes like oud, sandalwood, and rose are deeply rooted in cultural tradition,” Parker continues. “In parts of South America, people often prefer fruity, juicy notes; they’re tied to sensory memories of home and family.”

Still, some scent preferences do transcend cultural lines. A 2022 study published in Current Biology looked at 10 different populations across the globe—including hunter-gatherer groups and urban dwellers—and found that people largely agreed on which scents were pleasant (like vanilla and fruity ethyl butyrate) and which were unpleasant (think sweaty or sulfuric compounds). The takeaway? Biology may create a universal baseline, even if individual preferences are colored by experience.

Make your nose happier

Even if fragrance is challenging for you, you may not turn your nose up at these crowd pleasers. “Certain odors that only activate the olfactory system—and not the trigeminal nerve—are almost universally thought of as winners,” says Dr. Patel. The most beloved? Vanilla. “Across all cultures, vanilla is seen as a safe and comforting scent.” Other generally safe bets include light florals like lily of the valley, citrus fruits, amber, and clean, soapy notes. “These all feel light, familiar, and safe,” adds Parker.