'A sensory superpower is both a blessing and a curse'

The quote is from a May 23 New York Times story in which Harry Slatkin (above), founder of the New York fragrance maker Slatkin & Company, told Times reporter Christopher Elliott why having an exquisitely tuned nose can make for some very unpleasant, at times even physically sickening, moments.

Here's the article.

I have a nose for scents.

It's something I've developed after years in the fragrance industry. I can sniff out a compound in a perfume that most other people couldn't detect.

But there is a catch: I can't turn it off.

My sensitive nose is in the permanent "on" position — even when I travel.

We all know what it's like to be downwind from the lady at the opera who slathered too much tuberose on herself before the performance.

You feel as if you're going to pass out.

Welcome to my world.

My defense is a long scarf and a bottle of Black Fig and Absinthe, a licorice-hinted fragrance that I created.

I spray the scarf and cover myself with it while I'm on a plane or in a cab.

The scarf can lead to some misunderstandings, though.

In December, I flew to London to attend Elton John's wedding.

I had hired a car to shuttle me around London, but once I took a seat and closed the door, I caught a whiff of the driver's cheap cherry-scented car deodorizer and knew I had two options: either hang my head out the window or wear the scarf.

I opted for the scarf, and it worked.

But when I got out of the car at Claridge's Hotel, which was being staked out by paparazzi, I suddenly found myself surrounded by flashbulbs.

When the scarf came off, you could see the disappointment in the photographers' faces.

The perfumed garment doesn't always work.

On a train from Paris to London, I had the misfortune of sitting in the smoking section.

Cigarette smoke penetrates the scarf easily, leaving me with only one antidote — my Black Fig.

The woman I sat next to sucked down one unfiltered cigarette after another, enveloping us in a plume of noxious smoke.

I whipped out the bottle and aimed at the space between us, hoping to neutralize the cloud of carcinogens.

But I ended up spritzing her. In the eyes.

Within seconds, the war of smells had turned into a full-blown international incident.

The woman, who spoke only French, cursed angrily at me.

A conductor arrived on the scene to mediate.

I apologized repeatedly in English and my very bad French, but she didn't seem to understand. (The strategy worked, though, and for a while, my chain-smoking seatmate stopped lighting up)

There are other smells that the scarf can't protect me from.

Gardenia, a heavy floral perfume, is one of them.

One time, a client asked me to drive a shipment of more than 100 gardenia-scented candles to her house in the Hamptons.

Even though I drove there from New York with all of the windows down, the strong, heady odor of the candles overpowered me.

I spent the next two days in bed recovering from my nausea.

Since then, I haven't been able to come near anything that smells like gardenia.

I've found that my scented scarf helps with more than the smells I encounter while I'm traveling.

Whenever I check into a hotel, I get the "What are you wearing?" question — a reference to the scent.

I take out a few samples of Black Fig, and distribute them to the cluster of hotel workers who usually gather around me.

The employees show their gratitude by upgrading me to a better room.

The last time I visited China, my suite at the InterContinental Hong Kong had a magical view of the harbor, thanks to my scent.

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Tell you what: I had the crack research team hot on the trail of Slatkin and Company's Black Fig and Absinthe fragrance within a New York minute of finishing the story.

If it's good enough for Harry Slatkin it's good enough for me.

The scent is characterized as "A deep, woodsy blend of Absinthe and Black Fig infused with Black Currant, West Indian Patchouli, and exotic Kashmir woods with a hint of Black Licorice."

A 3.4 oz. spray bottle of the Eau de Parfum is $60.

But perhaps mademoiselle prefers a more inexpensive introduction to this redoubtable scent.

No problema: also available are shampoo ($24), hair conditioner ($24), bubble soak ($24), foaming body wash ($24) and hand cream ($22).

I went with the body wash.