Old People Smell - YouLookFab Forum

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Old People Smell

Joy

Veteran

Just when one thinks they know all the humbling and embarrassing things that happen as one ages, along comes the indignity of Old People Smell.
You know what I'm talking about. Not nursing home smell but your granny's house ( or your granny), not wanting to get hugged by the great aunties or have to sit next to Grandpa.
Recent studies have shown ( I can't seem to copy a link but just Google "Old People Smell") that it starts at 40 and there's not much that can be done. It seems that a good 40th birthday gift is scented candles and a decade's supply of air freshener. The article I read says that it's just a byproduct of body breakdown and hygiene, home cleanliness, pets, regular fresh laundry, etc. don't help.
Now, I'm there! In the trenches, determined to fight OPS. I need your suggestions.
I remember older women of my life that seemed to adopt a signature smell...rose, gardenia, baby powder, lavender, BenGay. The old men reeked of Vicks Vapor Rub or Old Spice. What have been successful smells with the oldsters in your life? Should I invest in clean smelling products, strew the lavender and rose petals? What works short of taking up smoking?

General

55 replies

Latest reply was from Michelle

Anonymous

Oh my god! No-one told me about this and I'm now over 50!! I've been smelling "old" for 10 years and may not have known this? I have to go lie down. This is too much. Wait, I need to spray myself and the house with something first. Joy, this is terrible news.

jackiec

Veteran

LOL, Joy!!! OPS indeed! Lavender reminds me of my grandma, I think she had a lot of lavender scented soaps in her apartment. There definitely is a particular smell and I believe I am familiar with it. In fact, I quite often smell it depending on who I'm sitting behind in church....

Ok no real solutions here. But I'm laughing out loud, and off to double check my OPS and make sure it's not too bad. Maybe an extra spritz of Young Person Smell on my way out the door

Diana

Veteran

The thing I associate most strongly with "old lady" smell is the combination of musky floral perfume (often rose) with a slight smell of ... poop, to be frank. So I'd caution against using perfumes and scents to cover up underlying issues. You strike me as someone who keeps very good hygiene so I don't think you should worry!

Incidentally, there was a particular fragrance (not going to name it in case I offend anyone) that was very popular among young women when I was in college that always reminded me of "old lady smell."

ETA: I think "clean", fresh smells like lavender or citrus are the best bet, personally.

Anonymous

40? That seems quite premature. And not just because I'm 43.

rachylou

Veteran

What? Are you telling me my cells are just sitting there rotting in my body? I thought the body got rid of stuff like that. What is exfoliation all about then? Lol.

My grandparents' houses never smelled. I think it's because on my mom's side, they were big city apartment dwellers. All the rooms got lived in because their place wasn't so big; you know, the air kept circulating in all the rooms. On my dad's side, I think it's because they had tall airy rooms, the doors and windows were always open, and lots of people coming and going.

No stale air basically.

I think you should get some foul Chinese medicinal herbs and boil them. Those gardenias and lavenders don't do it, but nothing is stronger than those foul medicinal herbs. And at least I do associate them with "clean" and "healthy." Weird, but not old.

Echo

Veteran

Yikes. The odd thing is that since I reached 40, it seems my skin smells more skin-like, if that makes any sense. I used to wash bras and shapewear every three to four wears (unless I was exercising, of course), and I am often washing them after each wear now because while they don't smell like body odor or sweat, they smell like SOMETHING that I don't like.

OMG - I have OPS! I want to scrub both myself and my home with bleach now.

Windchime

Veteran

Young People's Smell--I just about spit out my drink, Jackiec!

Hmmm...my aging (in their 80's) parents definitely have (had in mom's case) a certain smell, but in their case it's their home and car that have a noticeable musty smell. I notice when I spend time in their house that my clothing picks up the same odor. I remember the same kind of smell in my grandparents' home and car. My grandpa lost his sense of smell as he became older; I'm sure that didn't help matters.

I've already resolved to continue opening the windows in my home on a regular basis as I age. And I hope DS and close friends will let me know if I or my house develop OPS down the road!

Meredith

Veteran

Well this thread title certainly screams "click me!" This article might offer some hope, apparently according to a scientific study OP smell is different, but not necessarily offensive.

http://www.scientificamerican......son-smell/

Joy

Veteran

Regular airing is a great solution. Unfortunately I live in a climate that is either very cold or very hot most of the year. The few weeks in spring and fall when windows should be thrown open is heavy seasonal allergy time and keeping away from pollen means closing things up. Maybe we need to move back to Southern California with wonderful weather year round and far from ragweed and Kansas tree pollens

DonnaF

Veteran

My 90 year old mom's house has a tendency to smell musty and moldy, esp. after she had massive rain leaks about 15 years ago. She also sometimes gets a really bad case of Old People Breath. I think it is from a combo of reduced saliva and lack of flossing which enables bacteria to flourish in her mouth. Several months back, she had a week or more of food covered dishes soaking in water for who knows how long, and it pretty much smelled like Old People Halitosis.

karymk

Veteran

Joy, Oh no! Can one smell OPS on oneself?

To me, old people smell is that of creamed corn!!! Seriously. My grandmothers had cream corn breath, my husband's grandmother too. Kind of sickly sweet carbs. I remember when I was a kid we used to visit my great grandma in the senior care place, it smelled like creamed corn. Over Christmas we had a visit from Grandpa from Norway and sure enough, at 78, he smells like creamed corn!!! So I did go out and get him some Old Spice. I wonder if it has to do with dentures or dental care?

This laugh was my meds of the day, so thanks!

Linda

Oh gosh! Me too, I'm 60 now and you mean to tell me I've smelt or, er, smelled, for decades already?? Ugh. Maybe I WILL have to start pouring on the perfume. Hehe, kidding.

I agree that some of this is the home -- our STUFF gets older as well as our bodies, and I remember my Mom's place, even though she had no pets, cleaned carefully, and so on, had a particular "home" kind of odor, not an incense aroma and not any Glade smell or anything. I wonder if this huge market in freshening indoor air, will have any impact on the odors of homes? Or whether people with heightened sensitivity and allergies, will be more, or less, prone to detect and object?

Funny, I recall my Dad's mother's apartment, in Brockton, MA, having a characteristic smell too, but I do not recall it as offensive. She is also the relative I recall as having a signature perfume scent (Lanvin's Arpege) and my only relative who wore a lot of nail polish (clear). She had worked in retail, before she married my granddad.

I can, vaguely, remember not wanting to be hugged or kissed by elderly relatives, but I think some of it was their weight or body shape, or other characteristics than smell.

I suppose it stands to reason, though, that with hormonal changes, and possibly with health status too, aging probably doesn't lead to skin that smells like newborn baby skin does!!

shiny

Veteran

The article I read says that it's just a byproduct of body breakdown and hygiene, home cleanliness, pets, regular fresh laundry, etc. don't help.

Scent -- whether we pick up on it or not -- is how we humans determine one's fertility and acceptability as a potential sexual or long-term partner for purposes of child-rearing. So it makes perfect sense that as we age our scent changes. I believe I read the same study and it said that young people are particularly adept at picking up OPS -- they associate with their grandparents. Note these are the same young college students that participated in the armpit sweat studies in which it was shown that women in fertile part of their cycles thought sweaty male armpit odor was attractive, and when not fertile were utterly repulsed.

The good news is that when you are older your sense of smell is way less acute, so everyone smells just fine!

I remember older women of my life that seemed to adopt a signature smell...rose, gardenia, baby powder, lavender, BenGay.

Roses remind me of my childhood (my parents grew roses in our backyard). Gardenia reminds me of junior prom (my date brought me a gardenia corsage). Baby powder reminds me of my kids when they were babies. Lavender reminds me of sleepless nights when I adopted a lavender scented pillow because it was supposed to help insomnia. Ben Gay reminds me of sports injuries!

The old men reeked of Vicks Vapor Rub or Old Spice.

Vicks reminds me of being sick as a child. Old Spice -- oh! LOVE that scent! Reminds me of my father.

What have been successful smells with the oldsters in your life?

You mean my parents, grandparents, or my hubby (who's just 2 years older than me)?

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

http://gizmodo.com/science-con.....1472502978

Another article. This one made me feel much better about having OPS!

According to this article OPS and MAS (middle age smell) are different, and change with gender. And to those who think YPS (young person smell) is necessarily always better, I beg to differ. Sniff a somewhat hyperactive 10 year old at the end of a long day … hair and body, not so nice smelling! There's also a newborn smell which some people really love. But I always felt that smelled like breast milk and a bit of vomit…

I have noticed different smells coming from my dogs as they age. A puppy smells great and doesn't have halitosis. My 8 year old dogs need those expensive parsley-infused chew bones on a regular basis ($1 a piece even at Trader Joes).

shiny

Veteran

YES, Coco!!!

Ever chaperone a middle school dance??

Phew!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

This is absolutely killing me. Honestly -- best thread award for the month!!!

I need to go read all the links. But in the meantime, to piggyback on Denise's thread, my daughter and I are convinced that our cat has a smell. She thinks he smells like cooked rice. I think he smells like Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, but not as strongly as our old Siamese, who was a seal point. Max is a chocolate point and his smell is a little bit lighter, like his colouring.

Also, my MIL's "old people smell" was mothballs. Ugh. Horrible horrible horrible.

Echo

Veteran

Oy, I have chaperoned middle school dances and the smell is atrocious! I always chalked it up to lack of hygiene and deodorant. But Coco is absolutely right that there is a characteristic smell for all ages and groups of humans. Infants have a certain odor, and my children always smelled mildly like wet dogs when they came in from playing outdoors when they were young.

But I do think that the characteristic smell of the homes of the elderly is due to the smell of the humans living in it and not simply aging furniture and stuff. Even with old furniture, the home of young people does NOT have that smell. Anyway, I think probably the key at any age is to not allow your personal odor to become too strong. Regular washing of the body and clothing, regular cleaning and airing out of the home, etc. all help make any smells milder and less noticeable.

Vicki

(website)

Veteran

Joy, you are right about this, and I hope I never offend. But, it is a fact as the article above and the one here explains.

Yes, I've noticed a "whiff" at certain times when shopping behind certain people and I just thought it was that they hadn't bathed, but your topic may explain the real reason.

I laughed when Angie said she almost spilled her tea out of her mouth when she read your comments in the blog.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

HILARIOUS.

Actually. Denise makes an excellent point. There is definitely a newborn smell and pre-teen smell that isn't so fab - at least, not to me - and Denise described that smell perfectly. I guess we all smell a particular way at different times of our lives.

You are probably less aware of how you smell as you get older because as Jennifer says, your sense of smell is far less acute. And that's why in my experience, older people cannot smell that their apartment is musty, or that the rubbish bin needs a wash, or that their clothes don't smell fresh anymore. It's not that easy to bathe daily anymore, and the list goes on.

Best bet is to ask someone younger whether you smell okay (since they have a better sense of smell). I will need to find someone to do that for us because we don't have kids who will tell us how it is. I will also be buying up Kenzo Flower at an alarming rate so that I can bathe in the stuff when I'm 80.

Joy, I'm pretty sure you are very sweet smelling. xo

Joy

Veteran

There must be people who like the smell of creamed corn.
I do believe that there is more to OPS than slightly unclean body, clothing or home. I can think of one example, a great older lady who bathed often twice a day and kept herself, her clothing and her small home immaculate, yet she still had the smell. She washed her clothing every night because of a very small closet, including her towels and loungewear, so no piles of dirty laundry. She always asked for White Shoulders scent for gifts and used it.

Joy

Veteran

Angie, we must have cross posted :). I love the image of you at 80 bathing in Kenzo Flower.
I am concerned myself because of double jeopardy. Diabetics are also said to have an unpleasant smell. It is probably somewhat sweet because of all that sugar in our blood. That plus OPS and I'm doomed. Maybe bathing in vinegar and baking soda will counteract it

Anonymous

OMG. I'm 53, and my DDs already remind me (every chance they get) that I'm old. Please spare me the indignity of asking them if I smell okay!

Seriously, I know the smell of which you speak. I think it's a combination of things, including being too old to bathe, brush teeth, etc. on a regular basis and clean house properly (including airing it out).

MsMaven

Veteran

I think this is a myth. People of any age with poor hygiene can smell bad or funny. My parents lived into their 90s and never had this smell. I wonder if the idea didn't arise in an earlier time when so many older people didn't believe in deodorant, frequent baths, or doctors.

As I said on Angie's post on scents, as I get older I am more sensitive to scents. I have a friend who has several cats and I can hardly bear to be in her house at times. I have two indoor cats, and believe me, the instant I smell them I will toss the litter and clean the carpets.

If the drought doesn't stop soon, I expect people will start complaining about the "California scent."

Now excuse me so I can go spray myself down with Chanel No. 5.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Joy, the fact that you are HYPER self aware of OPS means that you'll smell fab your whole life.

Joy

Veteran

Thank you, Angie. I hope. My sense of smell is still very keen. I'm going to stock up on Flower with you just to be sure.
Ms Maven, I'm sure that all those things contribute to the problem and we each have our personal smell.

Anonymous

I remember the smell that hippies made back in the '70s because they didn't bathe. That was one thing about the '70s I hated. You could smell them combing from a mile away.

catgirl

Veteran

Ack, hilarious! To me OPS is the combined smell of hospitals and thrift stores! My grandmother, however, always wore a clean sparkling white cotton sari and smelled like freshly line-dried linens and comfort.

I love the smell of puppies and newborns. Kona smells like fresh popcorn. My 11 year old smells like a gym - boy sweat and sneakers. The other day he cheerfully said to me, "Mom, I smell like taquitos!" Er, yuck. Thankfully he is the most adorable kid ever.

Lavender, patchouli, musk and vanilla (candles or perfume, not the food) all make me severely queasy. Cinnamon calms me. Citrus scents are my favorite perfumes. Onions and garlic frying is the smell of heaven in my mind.

Sorry, got off on a little tangent there!

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

This thread is a killer!
I have a theory about this and going to live by it even if it is wrong
I think that keeping your body fairly active wards this "old" smell away. Of course you need to shower after you have been active at any age
I think it stands to reason because regular exercise helps your body to stay younger than you biological age. So I am going to continue hiking, lifting weights and dancing until I am a 100 years old!
Suz, I have to go and smell my kitties now!

Elly

Veteran

My grandparents all smelled fabulous and my parents do too!

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