The phrase "at first smell" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when describing an initial reaction or impression based on a scent or odor.
Example: "At first smell, the dish seemed unappetizing, but the flavors were surprisingly delightful."
Alternatives: "upon first whiff" or "initially, the scent".
She liked to say — years later, standing in the kitchen of the house where she helped raise and feed us — that it was love at first smell.
"For humans, though, it's usually love at first sight, not love at first smell," said Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist.
It was love at first smell when we stumbled upon De Cupere's recent multi-sensory exhibition, complete with a sweat-drenched wall, tear-inducing dome infused with pepper and an instrument called an "olfactiano" that plays smells instead of notes.
At first, smelling the cappuccino made her laugh and then her eyes got a little red and she began crying because it "smelled so delightful".
A third-floor resident, who would identify himself only as Mohamed, 29, said that he rushed outside at the first smell of smoke, and that everybody on his floor emerged safely.
Worse, it again emphasized the hypocrisy of big-time college sports, which lectures players from the projects to exert patience on going to the pros, while Coach Ex, already in six figures, jumps at the first smell of more money.
At first, the smell will be very acidic and vinegary, but when your kitchen smells like brownies you know the beans are done!
At first, the smell would make me gag.
At first the smell was overpowering, sour and sickening, coming from a barrel of assuredly "wet" refuse some kind of food remnants spilling out over the top.
He cites another writer: "To those not used to it, it seems at first to smell like rotten onions, but immediately after they have tasted it they prefer it to all other food.
If they didn't run at the first sounds of anger, the first sight of guns, the first smell of stubborn ignorance, neither should we.
