smellover

Smellover is a term used in discussions of olfactory perception to describe a phenomenon in which a scent or set of scents dominates perceptual experience, influencing attention, emotion, and memory to the point that other sensory cues are comparatively deemphasized. It is not a medical diagnosis, but a descriptive label employed in fields such as perfumery, scent branding, and human factors to discuss the overpowering impact of olfactory stimuli in a given context.

The mechanism involves the olfactory system's direct connections with limbic regions responsible for emotion and memory, along with higher-level multisensory integration in the brain. Intense, novel, or emotionally salient odors can trigger rapid affective responses and attentional capture, causing subsequent sensory information to be processed with reduced salience. Environmental factors such as ventilation, room size, and exposure duration, as well as individual differences in olfactory sensitivity, shape the likelihood and magnitude of a smellover.

Applications include scent branding, where a dominant fragrance is intended to shape consumer mood and recall; therapeutic settings where controlled scents are used to influence relaxation or alertness; and studies of odor masking and air-quality perception. In safety-critical environments, designers seek to prevent unintended smellovers that could obscure alerts or hazard cues. The term remains informal and lacks standardized criteria across disciplines.

See also: olfactory adaptation, scent branding, fragrance marketing, sensory marketing, anosmia, hyperosmia, olfactory fatigue.