In-scent-sitive

Brahm's just getting over some sort of weird flu/strep throat-like sickness.  The other day when I got home from work I showered (because flying makes me feel grimy) and put on a brand of body lotion that I've been using for a few months now.  Then I went over to Brahm's for supper.

When I got there, he asked if I was wearing a new perfume or something, which I wasn't, and we figured this mystery smell might be from the Rub A535 his roommate had recently put on.  Halfway through supper he said "No, that's not Rub A535.  It must be what you're wearing.  It is so strong" which I thought was weird because I'd been using it for a few months and he'd never noticed.  But maybe it was because I was wearing shorts that day, and had just applied it before coming over.  I personally couldn't smell it unless I put my leg right up to my nose, but also maybe his cold was making him more sensitive to smells.

The next day I used the lotion again, thinking it would be okay because I was planning to wear pants that day, and also wouldn't see Brahm for 10+ hours after applying the lotion - surely by then the smell would have worn off, or be masked by my pants and long sleeves.

But that evening when Brahm came over before we went house hunting, he immediately noticed.  "You're wearing that lotion again."   I was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved sweater.  I pulled up my sleeve and put my arm right up to my nose and sniffed as hard as I could.  I couldn't smell anything.

It will be interesting to see if this new sensitivity to smells is permanent, or just a temporary side effect of Brahm's cold.  His mom is quite sensitive to smells and he said he has had a feeling he was developing the same sensitivity, but it's bizarre that it just suddenly showed up like that.

I told him we can do an experiment (me wearing the lotion and him seeing if he can smell it) when he's healthy again, but it looks like I may have to stop using perfumed lotions.  Which is fine by me - I wasn't the biggest fan of that scent anyway but for me the smell wears off after half an hour anyway, but if it's got some ingredient that irritates scent-sitive people I'm happy to donate the bottle to someone who it won't bother.