The existence of a close similarity between olfactory perception and imagery is still an unsettle issue with research providing controversial results. Here we address the possible perceptual nature of odour imagery by investigating whether there is a similar reduced behavioural response after repeated exposure (habituation) to a real or imagined smell. Twenty-six volunteers took part in this study, half of them had to smell and to imagine a lemon odorant while the other half smelled and imagined a strawberry odorant. In the odour imagery condition, participants had to imagine the same odour 12 times, while in the perceived odour condition they had to smell the same odorant 12 times. In both conditions, participants rated the intensity and pleasantness of the imagined and smelled odour stimuli on each trial. Overall, both odours were rated as equally pleasant, whereas the lemon odour was rated as more intense (78.5 ± 12.3 vs. 71.3 ± 16.0, p = 0.019) and trigeminal (40.7 ± 27.3 vs. 17.7 ± 20.7, p < 0.001) compared to strawberry. Furthermore, participants reported that the lemon stimulus was closer to their own concept of the smell of lemon compared to strawberry (74.8 ± 23.4 vs. 41.4 ± 30.1, p < 0.001). By means of linear mixed-effects models, we found a comparable and significant reduction of perceived intensity and pleasantness over time during both odour imagery and actual odour stimulation. However, this was retrieved for the lemon odour (intensity, p = 0.993; pleasantness, p = 0.228) but not for strawberry (intensity, p < 0.001; pleasantness, p = 0.023). Comparable olfactory habituation following imagery and actual odour stimulation could be odour specific and might be associated with the intensity and the trigeminal sensation evoked by the stimuli. It is also possible that these results are driven by how much the target odorants resembled the participants’ own olfactory mental representation. This work was supported by the University of Trento.