What does he/she smell like?

My suggestion is that you think about your characters. What is their setting/background? Are they wealthy, fashionable, conservative, offbeat, Bohemian, clean cut, outdoorsy? What are their occupations and hobbies? Some characters would wear cologne or perfume; whether they'd choose something musky or light, citrus or floral might say something about them. Others might not bother. Maybe one would just smell soap or shampoo. I write historical romances; sometimes my characters will have just gotten off a horse and that scent would linger (not unpleasant to people who are into horses). Someone who bakes might have a lingering scent of vanilla or spices. Whatever you choose can tell something about your characters.

I hope this helps!

Elena, I was just going to write (more or less) the same thing!

Yep, I write historical fiction/historical romance, and so I tend to find that the smells of horses, hay, saddle soap and leather tend to come into play. And no, horses don't smell bad. :)

Most romance novels use smell of characters as a strong element of character description.

For me, my men always smell clean, masculine, faintly of aftershave or woodsmoke or anything else I find attractive. My women smell like sunshine, flowers, fresh air, etc. Yeah, not really smells, but gives you the idea anyway.

My ex-boyfriend smelled all the time like a combination of AXE (but not TOO much, it was nice) and clean laundry.
Not nessicarily the sexiest smell around, but I like it and it's very comforting. Masculine, and safe, you know?

lol, my characters deffinitely don't smell sexy, but here are their smells anyway:
Him: smells like hard work-aka sweat, dirt, and oil
Her: smells like vanilla shampoo, church inscence, and sage

MMC ~ sandalwood mixed with slightly damp top soil (that seriously smells good)
MFC ~ I'm not really sure. She works with herbs and oils a lot to make things for healing. I can't put my finger on it, I have to go take a trip to smell different oils to get my finger on it.

My characters usually smell like the shampoo or shower gel they use, just like my current boyfriend. He smells like Axe, Elvive shampoo and just a little bit of manly sweat. X3

My first ex smelled a little bit like smoke and grease, which was not always too pleasant... (it was his parents' fault though)
My second ex smelled like leather. O____o I loved the smell, until he broke up...

My boyfriend says I always smell like my shampoo too - Herbal Essences 'wild roses', or something like that. He loves it. :D

My MC lives on a farm (modern day) and she has or had a pony until I killed it off the other day (God dosen't that sound just awful? I cryed as I wrote it though) and there are other horses too, and chickens(but I don't think they'd smell too good). I had been saying she smelled like flowers, not really a good discription that's why I asked for help.

My Male lead is from a wealthy family so he can aford a real expensive collone or aftersave. Hmm does anyone wear aftershave anymore?

Thanks you all,
Lady Jan~

T^T I haven't gotten to the point in my novel where my characters are able to smell each other, but I already know what I want them to smell like xD

MMC- Spicy, a little musky with some pine thrown in (the guy loves forests)
FMC- Mostly like her body wash, Ocean Breezes, but with some horse scent and sweat (lives on a ranch)

...Ok, screw chronological order! This makes me want to go write a gushy, gooey love filled scene <3 *goes off to write the first kiss scene*

I quite like the smell of oil and car parts- must be from years of living with guys who like rebuilding old (broken) cars. The combination of Castrol and sweat (hard working sweat, not 'haven't washed for a week' sweat, thank you so much) is a great one in my opinion.

That said neither of my main characters smell that good- they're touring at the moment, and showers are in short supply. Tori probably smells of wet wipes, and Spencer just smells like whatever blokes smell like after a week of leaping around a stage and not changing his jeans : / I'm taking pity on them and letting them have a wash in a few hundred words

Manon smells like camphor and new paper/books.

I haven't decided about Eleazar yet, seeing as he is a ghost. I think I'll ask on the forum in a new thread, actually....

My unobtainable Russian woman smells like Onions, tea and roses and her hands are always cool.

Uh, I dunno if this'll help, 'cause my romance is about wolfs. Anyway, uh, he smells like wet, minty pine, if that helps.

Wonderful topic! Wow, I hadn’t thought about this so here goes.

Hero: A cop who has his laundry sent out because he lives is a tiny apartment smells of starch, freshly laundered shirts, Irish Spring soap, and Old Spice aftershave

Heroine: A Psychic witch who spells earthy from gardening, and spices from cooking and baking.

I actually haven't really thought about what my FMC smells like, it's written from her point of view and I guess I just haven't really gotten to her smelling herself. lol. Though, reading this thread makes me want to figure something distinctive out for her.

My MMC smells like a citric woodsy cologne(Dolce & Gabbana, Light Blue), sweat and wintergreen gum.

He always wear the same cologne, and chews wintergreen gum religiously. They work out a lot together, so the so the sweaty bit isn't actually a constant thing, but when I brought up the way he smelled earlier on in my writing it all certainly fit. :)

Let's see...Kieger smells like leather 99.328999% of the time, seeing as he works in a leathering shop, but he also smells like the forest he lives in. Liamh's skin has a musky scent, I think more like vanilla and lavender...

This is a great question and I'd totally forgotten about including the sense of smell between the two MCs. Hmmm. Very interesting. What will their signature odors be?

Joyce S

I love this! I hadn't thought about what my characters smell like, but I love it and it's something I'm going to include.

My main character doesn't smell nice. In fact, he smells like dirt. Not warm, comforting dirt. Just dirt. Smelly, moldy, yucky, manure dirt (he gardens. a lot).

Let's see ... he's a farmer so if he's been working he smells a little liek diesel fuel and-or hay (not bad) If he's cleaned up for supper, orange-scented hand cleaner (takes off grease, oil adn fuel) and if he's cleaned up for a date or church, slaudnry soap, hampoo and aftershave.

She runs a horse stable so she smells a little like hay and since her house has a fire place, slightly of woodsmoke at timeor fresh bread since she likes to bake. If she's dressed up she'd smell like floral, vanilla or coconut shampoo and maybe a little of cologne. Floral.

IHistoric seems easier at times -- wood smoke, horse sweat, coffee ...

Ann

Now this is weird... I was just thinking about this!

I just wrote a scene where she has come to identify the smell of cloves with him, because he keeps everything scented with dried cloves and clove oil. Everything, his bed, his curtains, his carpets, his cloths, his bath water.... I have no idea why he does it either, it's some kind of weird obsession he has or something. Anyways, now whenever she smells cloves she thinks of him.

oh... and for me personaly, a smell that I realy like on a guy, is the smell of "burnt motot oil" which comes from riding on a motorcycle. And I love the smell of old cars from the 50's - 60's which have a distinct scent, which newer cars just do not have. Am I weird?

Me, I put hena in my hair and wear sandlewood oil and ... huh... clove oil (must be where I got the idea for my MC), plus I live on a poultry farm, and love the smell of hay and freshly bathed roosters (I raise show birds, they take showers in the house, to keep their feather soft, fluffy, and bug free)

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FMC's stepbrother - Coolwater cologne
FMC's VERY unrequited love interest - Aspen cologne
FMC's boyfriend - Old Spice: Pure Sport deodorant(lol it smells so good!)

FMC's female BFF - Tommy Hilfiger perfume
FMC - Coconut Lime body spray

I've never really thought about that until now. o.o; Maybe it's about time to brainstorm on this matter! XD

Lesse....

MMC: Smells like a rainy day. A kind of earthy, wet kind of smell, but in the good way. With a hint of cigarette smoke. (MFC always tells him to quit. >_>)

MFC: Smells like her shampoo and the like. I don't know enough about smells to know what she would use, though.

I haven't figured out my MMC's scent yet but here's what I came up with for my MFC : Lavender and vanilla

I don't have my characters smell like something (have never written a romance yet, and my characters don't come that close together or aren't really paying attention to smells when they do) but I think most people just smell like a combination of their sweat and the deodorant they use. Sometimes other smells would be there too, like cigarettes or horses. My boyfriend smells like a combination of his deodorant (axe I think, but not like that matters), cigarettes, and his own smell, which would be his sweat I think. And by people smelling of sweat I don't mean they get really swetty or something - it's just the smell that's always there, but it's your sweat that smells like that. And it doesn't have to smell bad either, because the bacteries in sweat make it smell bad.

well, something that is a comfort to you. Like for me the smell of a nice cup of tea with calming honey, or the smell of the air before the oncoming lightning storm, or even the smell of fried fish! It doesn't have to be "smexy" it could be anything that is familiar to you: or it could be a smell that is unfamiliar but intrigues you. Like the harsh smell of espresso with out the fixings, the smell of oil and rust

:)

My main character female wears very little scent, but takes lots of lavender and sandalwood bubble baths and slathers on the lavender baby oil and lotion. My main male character is a surgeon so he's usually fresh, clean smelling and wears a rare and expensive aftershave that entices and excites the female character. He has a thing for scents and is always inhaling something she's wearing or has worn; even requests she leave her underwear so he can excite himself when she's not around. She also has a thing for a freshly washed and shaved man and whenever he spends the night, she pounces on him as soon as he steps out of her bathroom. But since both of them smoke, the scents are somewhat muted by the tobacco however, the subtle hints are always there for them.....