Fragrance expert helps COVID survivors regain smell

COVID-19 long-haulers who lost their sense of smell are turning to New York City fragrance expert Sue Phillips for help.

This report produced by Yahaira Jacquez.

In a boutique on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, fragrance expert Sue Phillips takes clients on an aromatic journey... Phillips: "This is what's in here - pomegranate, strawberry, honeydew and berries." But these clients aren't looking for a perfume... They are COVID-19 long-haulers, who after contracting the virus lost their sense of smell.

And in the case of Josh Goldenberg, a professional golfer who traveled from Florida to meet Phillips, also his sense of taste.

"The food that my friends are eating or family is eating, you know, taste really good and I can't really enjoy it with them.

And, you know, that's part of the reason why I wanted to come here because if there is a chance that this helps me going forward, I one hundred percent want to take it." To start the process, Phillips sets up an array of fragrances on a table.

Starting with the lighter notes such as rose, lavender and mint.

If there is no response, more robust scents, such as spice and musk, are used.

"This one's intense....Is this the leather?" Her goal she says is to clear the brain fog.

"What's been happening is we're training people to, I like to say, smell with your brain.

It's almost like there's a vibration and a frequency that goes from the olfactory bulb to the limbic system, And then I can see their eyes light up and I can just almost see the frequency and I can see almost the fog lifting.

And then they can start to smell again.

And it's really amazing." The process can take up to an hour, but in most cases, there is a breakthrough.

Goldenberg: "So it's fruity or no?

A little bit?

Phillips: "A lot fruity.

Bravo, you did it." The long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain and body are still being researched.

But a Harvard University Professor who spoke to Reuters said Phillips may be on to something since some smells can trigger memories and emotions in the brain.

As for Phillips, she's just happy she can use her decades of experience to help those still struggling to stop and smell the roses.

"The fact that I've been able to help people regain and rediscover their sense of smell has been just so emotional."