Smelly face on a windy day!

[epld]

Has anyone experienced this? When most people come in from being out in the wind, their faces have a distinct 'windy smell'. It's not a pleasant smell. Please tell me I'm not the only one that's noticed it?! What is this smell and is there a way to combat it?!

Re the smell it's sharp - maybe a bit metallic. A not unlike the hoped taste I have in my mouth just now actually as am unwell with a horrid cold/cough/throat thing

I hated it as a child too and my parents were hippys. Everything was natural or unscented. Closest thing to a chemical was the Ecover washing detergent

I love the smell of clothes and sheets dried outside, but there's another smell, of cold and weirdness that is truly unpleasant.

DP has come home smelling of it a few times lately. It's like bitter cold, metal, slightly greasy. Stale. Like a cold old penny. Or oil on a cold puddle. It makes me feel sick, like it coats the air and I choke on it.

I think of the smell of mist. Someone smelled it on me the other day and commented 'ooh you smell lovely and outdoorsy'.

The air smells differently according to humidity, temperature and obviously 'stuff' in it- hay dust, flowers, wood smoke...

My kids just smell like wet dogs when they have been outside

I don't like the smell of the air when it rains on a hot pavement in the summer but I do like cold fresh air

I am so glad you started this thread OP. I thought it was just me.
I first noticed it when I was pregnant when my husband came in from doing sport outside in the winter. It’s unpleasant, like metallic sweat.
I have since realised it isn’t sweat it’s just an outside cold smell.
We live in the countryside, only about 2 houses with a mile of us. Closest town is 12 miles away. I think the air is very pure here. We have lots of lichen everywhere which I thought is a sign of clean air? I don’t think it’s pollution.
Maybe it’s ozone?

I wonder what it is that makes some of us like certain smells and others don't.

Yes, it’s like this for me. It would really turn my stomach when I was pregnant.

I love the fresh air smell of clothes that have been dried outside. But the smell that comes from people after coming in from the wind is 100% sweat. I have to hold my breath, it's gross.

God, I love that smell on hair or cat fur when coming in from outdoors on a cold day. Can't imagine anyone not loving it so maybe I'm missing another, unpleasant one. Love coriander as well.

I thought you meant on a flatulent day

Me too!

Yes it’s ozone! I love it too. Really interesting to read that it smells awful to some people. We’re all different.

We've always said 'you smell of outside' 😅.

I've always thought of it as the smell of mud - it's what boys used to smell of after cold PE sessions. I still won't let washing stay out once the air gets cold because I don't like the smell!

There’s something about cats’ fur that smells absolutely lovely when they’ve been outside. One of my favourite smells ever!

I love that smell! My cat smells like that when he comes in at night, we call it the ‘smell of adventures’ in our house 😂

Ooh how weird! You posted that as I was typing 🥰

Clothes that have been dried outside always seemed to have a 'tinny' kind of smell to me. Maybe it was because we lived in a town? I didn't like the smell at all and it certainly wasn't a fresh smell.

Traffic pollution smells like that. I’m wondering if all the PPs who don’t like the “outdoor” smell live in urban areas near roads. The fresh smell of washing dried in a rural area is completely different and there’s no metallic tinge.

I’m only one person, but I live in a busy city centre and love the smell we’re discussing. It smells very different to pollution to me. Which I really do not like!

Agreed.
I live in the countryside.
It's not pollution.
It's the smell of cold

Yes to outdoor cold / fresh smell on people
Yes (and urgh) to school smell — only primary, IME

“What does ozone smell like?Have you ever heard the phrase “smells like rain?” Well, people who say they can smell a storm coming are correct. What they’re really smelling is ozone. In fact, the word ozone is derived from the Greek verb ozein, which means “smell.” This is particularly fitting given the strong aroma of this chemical compound.
Ozone has a distinctive smell that humans can detect even in small concentrations — as few as 10 parts per billion.
Here are some of the ways the smell of ozone is described:

• Metallic
• Like a burning wire
• Like chlorine
• A “clean” smell
• Sweet and pungent
• Like an electrical spark

Knowing what ozone smells like can help you detect whether there are high concentrations in the air. Because there are significant health risks associated with ozone exposure, the smell of ozone can alert you to take necessary precautions.”