User blog comment:Kirby Phelps (PK)/What do vampires smell like?/@comment-2601:40C:C200:2114:6174:7296:BA2D:2C2-20171119161332

I kind of wonder if Stephenie Meyer was trying to evoke the "odor of sanctity" with this comparison.

The odor of sanctity is a scent, often said to be sweet or floral, which is said to emanate from the mummified bodies and relics of saints. In the Twilight books, vampires (especially the Cullens) are depicted as being supernatural, almost otherworldly in their grace and beauty, and it's not unthinkable to assume that their dessicated, bloodless bodies would have a similar scent to mummified human remains. And it would make sense that a werewolf, with their enhanced sense of smell, could find this scent overpowering or sickening.