NOSE

Why do ‘vagina-scented’ candles sell out so fast?

Perfumer Frank Bloem and scent historian Caro Verbeek were asked about the remarkable succes of a scented candle issued by Gwyneth Paltrow. The supposedly 'vagina-scented' item was sold out immediately. Is this a an act of emancipation or rather heightening existing taboos on female body odours? And how were body ...
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Wine expertise and imagination for the color, smell and taste of wine

(English follows Dutch) Fantasiewijn en wijnexperts Een fruitige, frisse wijn barstensvol tropische aroma's van rijpe limoen, ananas en passievrucht. Komt er een beeld boven? Is de geur en de smaak voor te stellen van zo’n wijn? Wijnkenners praten anders over wijn dan leken, dat is wel duidelijk. Maar NOSE leden ...
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An interview on COVID-19 related smell loss and olfactory art with Josely Carvalho

Through emails and a Zoom-meeting with an ocean between us and isolated in our homes, I [Caro Verbeek, Red.] interviewed olfactory artist Josely Carvalho on her work and recent experiences with Covid-19. What happens when an award winning olfactory artist – and of course ‘simply’ a human being – loses ...
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Reuk/smaakverlies bij corona in het nieuws

(Dutch only) Afgelopen week was er veel media aandacht voor onderzoek naar mogelijk reuk- en smaakverlies bij corona. NOSE leden Sanne Boesveldt en Monique Smeets waren te zien bij EditieNL: https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/editienl/artikel/5106041/coronavirus-verliezen-geur-smaak-ruiken-onderzoek Ook Hart van Nederland had een item over het wereldwijd onderzoek van het Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR, waar ook ...
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“There are 3 things that smell of fish” and more smelly songs

"Songs that smell” is a Spotify playlist created by Garmt Dijksterhuis, the members of NOSE and some of our music and/or olfactory interested friends. The list is publicly available and currently contains some 25 songs, ranging from Stinkfoot, via Some Skunk Funk, Smells like Nirvana and That Smell to Espresso ...
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Tour this special olfactory apothecary cabinet at the Rijksmuseum

Now that we cannot visit museums physically we can at least take a look behind the scenes. At the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) an 18th century apothecary cabinet still houses seeds, wood and resins in secret drawers and were once used as medicines. Surprisingly, the contents are still fragrant. Caro Verbeek and ...
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Coronosmia initiatives/Coronosmie initiatieven

Please scroll down for ENGLISH Verschillende leden van NOSE zijn betrokken bij wereldwijde initatieven om de link tussen COVID-19 en anosmie (het verliezen van je reukvermogen) en/of dysgeusie (het verliezen van je vermogen om te proeven). Monique Smeets is betrokken bij het eerste initiatief, de SmellTracker app van het Weissman ...
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Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) on the suspected link between COVID-19 and anosmia

Recent anecdotal reports suggests that perhaps one of the earliest signs of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV19 or more commonly known as Corona Virus, are a strongly diminished sense of smell and taste, or anosmia and dysgeusia. Many COVID-19 patients report either some or complete loss of their sense of smell, ...
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Highlights from the inaugural NOSE scientific meeting

Despite the long and illustrious history of olfaction research in the Netherlands (e.g., Hendrik
Zwaardemaker from Utrecht University invented the olfactometer in 1888), there has never been a
dedicated national platform for olfactory researchers and allied parties to meet and exchange the
latest research perspectives. On November 15th the inaugural NOSE scientific meeting was held at
Utrecht University. The meeting included speakers from a range of disciplines (from medicine to art
history), and highlighted the breadth of olfactory research present today in the Netherlands. We
present some highlights of the events for those budding odour enthusiasts who were unable to
attend, and for those enthusiastic attendees who would like to relive the day.

Sanne Boesveldt (Wageningen University) discussed how olfactory cues can affect appetite and
eating behaviour, raising questions about when odours can be effective cues for food, and whether
they could be manipulated to increase healthy food behaviour. Peter de Jong (University of
Groningen) introduced how odour can be used in psychopathology and explained how disgust odours
can affect sexual behaviour. Garmt Dijksterhuis (Wageningen University) strongly argued olfactory
transmission is an unlikely possibility, highlighting differences between olfaction and vision and
sound. Andrea Evers (Leiden University) raised the question of whether odours can be useful in
placebo research and provided evidence that odours can condition physiological responses. Rob
Holland (Radboud University) again highlighted the relationship between disgust and odour, showing
that disgusting pictures can lower olfactory threshold, implying we become more attuned to odour
when we’re in a state of disgust. Asifa Majid (Radboud University) added a cross-cultural perspective,
showing that although vision language dominates across languages, in some cultures elaborate odour
lexicons exist. With an interactive odour presentation, Caro Verbeek (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
explored historical smells and taught us how to “look at art with an olfactory gaze”. Wilbert Boek
(Hospital Gelderse Vallei) discussed odour from the perspective of an ENT doctor, and emphasised
the effect anosmia can have on one’s daily life, and how the medical profession should be more
aware of its importance. The meeting ended with Monique Smeets (Utrecht University), describing
her work on the role of odour in social signalling, for example, the odour of fearful sweat can lead to
fear expressions, and the odour of happy sweat can lead to happy expressions.
After this fascinating first meeting, we look forward to hearing from new members, and to further
olfactory events in the near future.

Laura Speed