The Best and Worst Smells in the World

Vanilla and peach-like aromas performed well in a cross-cultural smell study, while a compound associated with sweaty feet ranked poorly. Outside a study, your favourite smell might be coffee, bread baking or rain on dry ground. The question becomes more interesting when we separate shared preferences from personal ones.

What a Cross-Cultural Smell Study Found

A 2022 study in Current Biology asked people from nine communities to rank individual scent materials. The researchers found similarities across communities, alongside considerable differences between individuals.

Karolinska Institutet’s account of the research identifies vanilla as the most pleasant scent in the comparison, followed by ethyl butyrate, which has a peach-like smell. Isovaleric acid, associated with foot sweat and also found in foods, was the least pleasant to most participants.

These results make vanilla and fruity notes interesting starting points for perfume exploration. They also leave room for someone who dislikes sweet scents: a group preference does not have to match your own.

The Pleasant Side: Vanilla and Fruity Scents

A vanilla note can suggest an idea for your next sample, but look at what surrounds it. A vanilla cologne with dry woods offers a different comparison from a dessert-inspired perfume.

Likewise, “fruity” covers more than one impression. Our fruity perfume collection helps you compare the fruit character with floral, musky or woody companions. Ask whether you want something tart, juicy or sweet, then follow the scent beyond its opening.

The research used individual odour materials. A finished perfume gives you a combination to enjoy, with a balance that a favourite-note list cannot fully describe.

The Unpleasant Side: Sweat-Like and Rotting-Flesh Smells

Isovaleric acid is a useful example of an unpopular smell in that particular study. Its presence in both foods and foot sweat also shows why naming a compound is different from describing the whole smell of an object.

The corpse flower offers a more spectacular natural example. Kew’s scientists have studied odours across Amorphophallus species, the group that includes titan arum. They describe flowers that mimic decaying material to attract insect pollinators, with sulfur-containing compounds contributing to some of the foul smells.

Their research also found fruity, anise-like and even chocolate-like odours in other members of the group. A group famous for a stench turns out to contain quite a range of scent characters.

For titan arum, Kew notes that the strongest rotting smell is mainly produced during one evening. If you visit a flowering specimen, the stage of the bloom matters to what you experience.

Do People Everywhere Agree?

Research gives a more useful answer than either “everyone likes the same things” or “it is entirely personal.” The 2022 study found shared rankings and individual differences.

A 2024 study involving 582 people and 15 odour samples also found cross-cultural similarities, but its authors did not find full support for universal preferences. They emphasised the role of ecological and cultural experience.

For a scent lover, that is a reason to be curious about someone else’s favourite. Ask what they notice and what they associate with it. A smell you find ordinary may be the feature they enjoy most.

Turn an Everyday Favourite Into a Perfume Shortlist

Start with the quality you want to recreate. If you like coffee, is it the roasted edge or the sweetness of a milky drink? For rain, are you imagining damp soil, green leaves or cool air? A bread-like scent might interest you for its toasted or warm, doughy impression.

Use that description when reading perfume notes, then compare samples. Our fragrance-wheel guide and notes guide can help you put the experience into words. Your favourite smell becomes a specific question to explore, rather than a reason to buy any bottle that names it.