Whenever junior Joanne Perez searches for a new bottle of perfume, she requires her friends’ assistance. Without another’s nose, Perez has no idea what smells good or bad. Without another’s opinion, she is virtually hopeless and perfume-less.

Perez suffers from a permanent case of anosmia, meaning she has no sense of smell.

Perez first learned of her smell-blindness after she was able to speak, and her mother asked her to smell something. Of course, Perez was baffled by the request.

“I had no idea what she was talking about,” she said.

Perez was taken to a doctor where she was administered several tests requiring her to smell various objects, and was eventually diagnosed with anosmia.

According to the Anosmia Foundation, there are two possible causes for being born without a sense of smell. One belief is that the olfactory nerves, which are essential in the smell process, are unable to develop due to complications during a fetus’ development. Another is that anosmia, like hair color or height, is genetic.

Perez was made aware immediately after her diagnosis that there is no cure. However, she is able to maintain a normal life.

While smell is proven to play a large role in the ability to taste, Perez feels as though her taste is unaffected by her anosmia.

“People say I shouldn’t be able to taste,” she said. “But I think I can taste, and I know if something is spicy or sweet.”

However, having been smell-blind all her life and never relying on her nose to taste, Perez admits she has no basis for comparison.

Perez also explained that her anosmia is often the subject of her friends’ and families’ jokes.

“Whenever I fight with my brother, he always makes fun of me,” she said. “He says ‘Smell this.’”

However, Perez does not find these jokes offensive.

“It doesn’t bother me because I’ve never been able to smell,” she said.

Although Perez maintains a normal life, she often wishes she could smell.

“Even though there are bad smells, I will never be able to know if there is alcohol in my drink or smell smoke from a fire,” she said.

Although she may feel like it at times, Perez is not alone. According to the National Institute of Health, there are more than two million Americans who have a smell dysfunction.