by Alice Bizarre

Sex and pleasure have always been things in which we experiment with especially when it comes to playing with our senses, whether that is taking one away (using blindfolds etc.) or amping it up (wax play etc.). Whatever you are into; hearing your partner moan, tasting them, feeling their skin on yours, costumes, watching porn together or even feeling the whip on impact, people often forget the importance of the sense of smell and how it affects us a lot more than we realise! Simple elements such as good oral hygiene, a familiar perfume or cologne can add to the enjoyment of the overall experience. These little things are often expected in a partner but when do these familiar smells become something that turns you on?

Olfactophilia (otherwise known as osmolagania or Osphresiophillia) is the arousal and carnal desire of smells. Often these are biological such as pubic areas and sweat. Many who use smell emotionally desire a pleasant or comforting smell, whereas those who fetishize scents crave more potent odours, even smells deemed nasty and smutty. Sigmund Freud referred to pleasure cause by odour as Osphresiolagnia.

Many underestimate the power of scent even when we see it used everywhere such as how we are (quite aggressively) marketed sprays as a way to attract someone and get laid, we see scent used to manipulate people (even resulting in a mass orgy at one point) in Patrick Suskind’s novel” Perfume” and have you ever noticed how often sweat is used in love spells?

Odour perception is different for everyone and for this fetish, the usual focus of interest lies in bodily scents such as sweat, body odour, the musk after sex, the smell of ejaculation, of a vagina and even menstruation (the scent of semen and vaginal smells are unique from person to person!). The interest in biological smells can almost be considered perverted or even taboo. Things that are perfectly natural during sex such as sweating some may see as ‘gross’ not to mention the cultural and social notions which led many to believe vaginas with a strong smell are ‘unclean’ which is a load of bollocks and not the reality of how PH levels work (in fact cleaning too much the most common cause of bacterial vaginosis). When smelly underwear of course is nothing to be ashamed of, there are still social pressures to have genitals smelling like someone dragged you through a florist. The idea of bodily smells equating to being “unclean” may emphasis one’s enjoyment towards the more deviant side of fetish as many Olfactiphilia people get off somewhat on the “shame” element of smells they enjoy.
For example, Panty sniffing has classically been seen as a perverse thing to do when in fact, it is very common! If you were to be turned on by your partner being ‘wet’ before intercourse, this one element (seeing/smelling a little wet stain on the underwear when exploring) can grow and be emphasised therefore a person who enjoys strong smelling used underwear, to them, would be associating it with a partner being at the absolute height of pleasure. The market for used underwear is huge with websites such as Panty Deal recording large increases in buyers AND sellers of used underwear during lockdown.

The arousal of smells also falls within other categories of fetishes and paraphilias. A sweaty smell can be an emphasis in foot and shoe fetishists, smell can be an important element of those with a smoking fetish, and even more specifically those who are sexually aroused by flowers and farting.

The psychological element of scent arousal is often due to association; one may have a taste for an obscure smell due to having a sexual experience around it. For example, if you commonly masturbated in the bathroom growing up and it always smelt like lavender body wash, then the lavender association can follow into adulthood and be a stimulus for pleasure.

Biologically speaking, smell and sex link in the olfactory lobe! This is the area of the brain which we experience smell that is also part of the limbic system which is where sexual thoughts are found; in the emotional brain. The arousal of a person’s physical scent is a very primal and animalistic idea (and this often falls into primal play too) which can also be traced down to pheromones.  Pheromones are a chemical scent that attract animals when mating and are a way to communicate. As humans, we do not actually possess the organ to process this but some argue we subconsciously acknowledge them with potential partners. Meaning you may enjoy your partners natural scent but that bottle of spray pheromone perfume you spent £30 on will probably have no effect on total strangers!

Sex is a whole experience and our sense of smell shouldn’t be our last thought within that. There is a whole level of intimacy scent can bring us so whether you are someone who gets off sniffing armpits, someone who enjoys the smell when performing oral sex or someone who simply enjoys lighting patchouli candles to set a mood; embrace every element and every sense for that ultimate climax.

Alice Bizarre is a pro SFX makeup artist, specialising in horror looks. She also performs horror burlesque, and has been a well know face on the scene for a few years! You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook