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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What makes a smelly person

177 replies

pootlingalong5 · 10/07/2026 17:13

Bit of a random one. I’ve been out all day with dd at a NT place, in the woods, paddling in water etc. Didn’t bother showering before we went as I knew I’d be getting dirty and sweaty. Got home and knew I smelt a bit, probably not so someone walking past would notice me but I could tell I wasn’t fresh, as many of us probably are not in this weather.

I’ve had a bath and feel much better now but it made me wonder about people who really do smell. I encounter them a lot in shops and on buses and have been unfortunate enough to work with a few. That’s like a constant smell that you can detect a mile off and that lingers even when they leave the room. Would it be caused by them simply not washing for days on end? Or maybe I was one of them today and just didn’t realise.

OP posts:
Noodge · 16/07/2026 12:28

Zippedydoobaah · 14/07/2026 22:54

I read on here once that the Japanese (I think) feel that white westerners smell of sour milk and apparently there is some science behind it.

This is interesting. I haven't drank milk for over 20 years (vegan) and if someone consumes a lot of dairy I can smell it on them. I have a family member who loves milk, makes coffee with solely milk, drinks it as a beverage, uses a lot of dairy in her cooking and eats through cheese like she's eating an apple! Odd IMO but each to their own. It's not an overly unpleasant smell, but for me she has adefinite whiff about her that others apprarently cannot detect!

Tiggermad · 16/07/2026 12:32

If you shower everyday and clean clothes everyday then the smell shouldn’t really be noticeable to anyone in an outdoors setting.
Ive been a bit self conscious if I have been sweating in day a work environment.
I think you can tell the difference between sweat from heat in the day than people who just don’t shower or bathe regularly enough.

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