This may seem weird, but a lot of people can smell changes in hormone levels, but never realize that’s what it is. I can tell where my wife is in her menstrual cycle by smell. And I’m not making a misogynist joke, I mean it seriously, and it’s there on her neck, her face, her arms, everywhere.

I can even pick up my own shifts, which aren’t as big for a cis man compared to cis women.

So I’m not surprised you would detect a change after it hit a threshold for you. Nor that it took you a bit to connect it to yourself, and it being an attractive scent just makes sense to me.

It helps, like was already said by another commenter, that as you go through the process of changing your body, at least a small part of overall stress is going to change, which very much impacts whether one’s personal scent is pleasant or not. It isn’t just stress, any strong emotional state can shift how we smell; but stress causes a more acrid, almost chemical scent for a lot of people, and that’s detected as unpleasant usually.

It’s cool as hell tbh.

Makes sense. We are all basically nose blind to our own stink. Change the chem and blind the blinder.

One of the hard realities of my physical disability comes from still cycling. The chronic stress from pain shifted my scent significantly. When I change drop bar tape OMG it is terrible. It was even super corrosive over the first few years. Basically drop bar tape on a bike evaporates a ton of sweat and concentrates the salts and the worst part of your own scent.

For the longest time I thought the scent was only due to diet, but have since learned it is far more complicated, as even with a perfect diet I am still toxic AF. I attribute it to the never ending stress from high levels of constant pain.

So… if it suddenly seems more pleasant, maybe it is not just the HRT. Being in a better place physically and mentally has a substantial impact on scent and health overall. Just be the best you.

I remember when I started, it was honestly intoxicating. It gave such a mix of euphoria and eroticism from having a body that didn’t gross me out. I genuinely liked being a lil stinky for a while. It also didn’t help that I sweat less, so I can go longer before it becomes bad. That’s when I made this meme:

very true

Can’t say i have the same experiance (probably because my nose is a lil fucked) but I had something else happen that made me strangely happy.

So i was leaning against/cuddling with a friend of mine and my arm was pretty close to her face. Don’t ask why but she gave my arm a little lick and said that I kinda taste like blood. And yeah, I tried myself and I do taste like blood somehow (we both really like the taste).