2. Language Lab Summer Session (2025)

Welcome to our 2nd session in olfactory expression.

Welcome to the 2nd week of our Language Lab Summer Sessions!

Today we’re focusing on another primal smell - the smell that’s commonly called “musky” for its animal-like properties. In perfumery, we often call it “animalic”. Think the smell of skin, sweat, and pet fur.

We humans are incredibly drawn to musky smells; they’ve long been associated with warmth, intimacy, and sensuality. Their sometimes slightly dirty scent evokes feelings of closeness, nostalgia, vulnerability, even safety, making it both familiar and mysterious, and deeply compelling.

We love the smell of a newborn baby: a mix of skin chemistry, vernix (the waxy coating present at birth), and subtle body odors. It's a very comforting smell that signals safety, love, calm, and protection, making it almost irresistible to parents and non-parents alike.

We love the smell of our pets. A dog's fur smell is a complex mix of natural oils, bacteria and yeast, and the scent produced by their anal glands. The moisture on their fur, whether from rain, swimming, or a bath, can release musky volatile compounds, which many love to bury their nose in.

And who can resist the smell of a well-worn shirt from a loved one. Whether it’s a child gone off to college, a partner on a trip, or a loved one recently passed, the lingering musky scent on the fabric is a complex blend of body odor, clothing fabric, and added products like perfume and laundry detergent.

Fun Fact:
You have your own unique odor print!
Your odor print is your body’s unique scent signature, shaped by your own distinctive set of genes (unless you have an identical twin), including for your immune system. The specific set of genes (about 50) that are the genotype for your immune system are called MHC genes, and they determine your unique immune system and also your unique odor print. It turns out that your odor print is as unique as your fingerprint. You smell like you, and only you. How cool is that?!

So, let’s explore the intimate world of “musky” this week. Here’s what I want you to do…