"Smells like boy"

[world_rim_walke]

Is "boy" a distinctive scent? Is it good or bad? Under what circumstances? Is it specific to particular boys or a general scent?

Is there a "girl" scent?

Comments

[daintynymph]

The "boy" vs. "girl" scent that would actually apply to gender is I'm pretty sure subconscious. There's pheromones, but I think most people can't actually detect that as a scent. The scent that you associate with someone is usually specific to that person. It can vary based on the products they use on themselves and their clothes (soap, shampoo, laundry soap, body spray, cologne etc), what they eat, how active they are, and probably more. Because boys and girls typically use different deodorants and fragrance sprays, there are stereotypical scents that go for each gender, but there is a lot of variation in how people in general smell

[world_rim_walke]

I'm thinking that it's also associational. You like this person, and his or her scent reminds you of him or her, so you like how he or she smells.

Thank you.

[lerite]

There are some emotions and things that have smells, even aside from personal scents. Fear-sweat really does smell different from exercise-sweat, though I'm not so good at detecting that one.

In theory, there is a boy scent that girls can smell and boys can't, but no equivalent the other way.

I use boy deodorant and unisex (like, shared with two male housemates) everything else, but I still don't smell like a boy. I'm not terribly fond of the way I smell.

[world_rim_walke]

And exercise-sweat likely smells different from heat-sweat, or sick-sweat.

That's kind of unfortunate, that you don't like how you smell.

Thank you.

[world_rim_walke]

I kind of suspected that, given difference in activity, diet and genetics.

Thank you.

[reneekytokorpi]

For me, boy is the smell a guy has right after he showers that isn't the soap smell. Its a kind of musk that underlays all the other smells he may have, and is what makes it possible to instantly tell which black shirt is mine, and which is his.

Its renewable, and very soothing.

At least for me. :)

[world_rim_walke]

Suddenly I feel like smelling girls immediately after they shower to see if there's a common scent there, but I don't think they'd appreciate that.

Boy-scent, a renewable resource!

Thank you.

[imprismed_light]

Musk is a good description, but I also throw in things like particular laundry detergent used or deodorant - whatever gets caught in someone's clothes.

[world_rim_walke]

Dust, cat dander, mold...

Sorry, that was probably horribly un-sexy.

[jinglymushroom]

Everybody has their own different scents, and emotions have different scents and all, but yes, yes there is a boy scent. There have been psychology studies done on the topic, the one we discussed most in psychology that in general females are much better at catching the scent and identifying it. There's probably a girl scent, too, I'm pretty sure there is (no wait, I am positively sure there is), but maybe it's less discussed and therefore less widely known.
Good or bad? Depends on the person you're asking.
There is a general boy scent, but as mentioned, each person has a slightly different scent so there are also slightly different boy scents.

[world_rim_walke]

Perhaps the girl scent is unknown as girls are used to it and guys don't notice smells as much?

[jinglymushroom]

It's quite possible, I was thinking that, but then I know that I often get a wiff of a very female sent, and girls have exclaimed as they walk into enclosed areas with only females that it smells like such, so maybe they just don't want guys to know that they have a scent and keep it all secret...
*blink blink*...
Whaaaat?
...
...
...
Oh, oops. ;P

[world_rim_walke]

So it's more that guys are insensitive and don't notice? (^_^)