Neil Tandy Marissa Karen and Sue PhillipsWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit final yr, perfume skilled Sue Phillips noticed her enterprise dry up. She would usually spend her days creating scents for main firms like Tiffany & Co. and Lancôme, or in-person with prospects at her store in New York City.Phillips discovered to pivot, transferring her perfume occasions to Zoom, however within the final month she discovered a brand new means to assist, utilizing her abilities within the fragrance world to assist COVID-19 survivors who’re nonetheless lacking their sense of odor discover it once more.It all started after a good friend despatched Lyss Stern, a COVID-19 survivor, to Phillips’ store. Stern had misplaced her sense of odor in March 2020 and was struggling with out it greater than a yr and a half later.”I mentioned to her, ‘Look, I’m not a health care provider, and I’m not a chemist, however I do know the extraordinary powers of perfume,’ ” Phillips tells PEOPLE. She took Stern by a “perfume journey,” by three varieties of scents — prime notes, the lighter fragrances; medium notes, akin to florals and fruits; and deeper base notes like vanilla and woodsy scents. That final group did the trick.RELATED: Loss of Smell Occurs in 86 Percent of Mild COVID Cases, New Study Finds”She could not actually odor the highest notes, she could not actually determine the center notes, however then all of the sudden there was a flicker in her eye, and he or she mentioned, ‘I can odor one thing. I do not know what it’s, however I can odor one thing.’ “When Stern realized she may odor vanilla and amber scents, “she actually virtually began to weep,” Phillips says. “She may odor one thing for the primary time, so she received very emotional and I received very emotional.”Neil Tandy Sue PhillipsThe “breakthrough” second made the information in New York City, and Phillips quickly heard from one other girl in her mid-twenties, Marissa Karen, who additionally hadn’t smelled in additional than a yr. Phillips took Karen by the identical perfume journey, and in her case, the medium notes, a citrus scent, was what labored.Story continues”She texted me about three hours later and mentioned, ‘I can not consider what you simply did, for the primary time I’m smelling my candles, I’m smelling eating places, I’m smelling meals. I’ve not been ready to do that,’ ” Phillips says. “It was just like the fog had lifted and he or she may odor. It actually introduced them to tears.”RELATED: What It’s Really Like to Lose Your Sense of Taste and Smell, a Coronavirus SymptomPhillips says her telephone and electronic mail are actually “blowing up” with requests from COVID-19 survivors who hope that they, too, can lastly regain their sense of odor together with her assist. But for individuals who aren’t close by, she recommends getting fruits like lemons, limes and grapefruit and take a look at out their odor, first with their eyes opened after which with them closed.”What they’re doing is exercising their mind,” she says. “I need them to odor with their mind, as a result of our olfactory system, our sense of odor, is instantly related to the limbic system within the mind.”RELATED VIDEO: Tom Hanks Says He and Rita Wilson Had ‘Very Different Reactions’ to COVID-19: It ‘Was Odd’For Phillips, who spent the final yr being “actually vigilant” about staying shielded from COVID-19 out of worry of shedding her sense of odor, says she’s thrilled to give you the option to use her abilities to assist others.”When individuals cannot odor they usually cannot style, they can not take pleasure in their meals they usually don’t desire to socialize. The web result’s that individuals retract from society,” she says. “The incontrovertible fact that I’m ready to assist them rediscover their sense of odor and get again to having fun with issues is such a pleasure. I’m so blissful that I’ve been ready to assist individuals.”As details about the coronavirus pandemic quickly adjustments, PEOPLE is dedicated to offering the newest knowledge in our protection. Some of the data on this story might have modified after publication. For the most recent on COVID-19, readers are inspired to use on-line sources from CDC, WHO, and native public well being departments. To assist present docs and nurses on the entrance traces with life-saving medical sources, donate to Direct Relief right here.
