Even if everyone stopped wearing perfume outside the home completely, it would make only a small dent for those who have sensitivities.
The vast majority of fragrance people are exposed to is not from other people’s perfume deliberately applied as such. It is from from fragrances added to their detergents, fabric softeners, shampoos, soaps/body washes, antiperspirants, lotions, household cleaners, dish detergents etc, as well as fragrances stores deliberately pump in to stores, restrooms, etc. One of our local supermarkets pumps almond smell into its bakery section, for example.
Most of the business done by firms like IFF is not personal scent. Industrial uses of fragrance far outweigh perfumes.
@CTmom2018 - agree it is a “small” part of the problem, yet it can make a huge difference in confined circumstances. On planes, in theaters or in waiting rooms where avoiding is almost impossible, every person who doesn’t add scents is a gift to those who experience adverse reactions. Traveling with some of these symptoms is extra challenging. I am appreciative when people refrain from wearing optional scents in these settings.
It’s absolutely not as easy as “removing yourself”. From what…life? From Walmart, Target, and the grocery? From my state, since it’s full of smokers?
I moved a year ago and got a PO Box. USPS allows the forwarding address to be sold. For months, I got so many unwanted magazines, all with perfumed inserts. They were put into the PO Box, so they contaminated all my mail. Nothing like knowing you will get physically sick every time you get the mail.
A man I work with overdoes it on the cologne. Someone told me that it’s because his wife has an especially virulent form of early onset dementia and the way she recognizes him is by his smell. I find it easier to tolerate now, particularly because I’ve met his wife and she is lovely and SO young.
OTOH, I just can’t stand the perfume aisles. I try to avoid cutting through Macy’s, except when it’s actually snowing because they literally chase after you with perfume samples. I don’t feel ill or get migraines but I just don’t like most of the smells.
I hate flowers and feel badly for one of my close friends. She adores flowers but is so allergic she can’t have them near her. I have no issues but I despise flowers and won’t have them near me. I wish I could switch with her.
“Just the other day my husband was telling me that he was reading when people lose their sense of smell they are more likely to get divorced.”
As someone who lives in a house with three guys plus me, I call BS. Your husband is trying to get you to ignore whatever stench he has going on that you’re about to call him out for. Losing the sense of smell might actually keep some marriages together! Lord knows I’ve wished to go nose blind enough times… like when you return home after being away for a few days, swing open the front door and get smacked with Guy Funk. If you’ve got a keen sense of smell you have to really, really love the other people you live with in order to not strangle them.
No, hubby is actually the type to take 2 showers a day. He was saying the article was about how we do know each others smells. I know he is very aware of my scent. I think it was along the lines of the cat. My family is very scent oriented - my d loves to open boxes and take a big whiff in. We all have a certain smell in our homes, not bad, they just have a scent from our day to day living that probably isn’t consciously noticed by people.
Since I ever became aware of people’s issues with scents, I now spritz my cologne on VERY lightly. Maybe I should give it up altogether. I sure don’t want to make anyone ill.
@VaBluebird - Thank you for considering possible impacts. In my experience, either a scent is a problem for me or not. Small amounts of the wrong scent can take me out of the game for hours; while another scent may not be a problem at all. Another person may tolerate what I cannot, but have other scents that are debilitating. I appreciate the awareness that this is not just a matter of an unappealing or distasteful scent, but rather an odor that is a trigger for physical symptoms. It is a courtesy for people to refrain on behalf of the possibility of bothering someone and it comes at a price if one is forfeiting something they enjoy. There are many points of view on what the mechanisms of adverse reactions or sensitivity may be; there are many stakeholders in the scent business. On a large scale, it seems likely to remain unaddressed unless studies were to reveal long term deleterious effects, as happened very slowly over time with the second hand smoke issue .
I am appreciating the dialogue here as there are no quick fixes or easy answers. I know many who navigate this challenge and it is sometimes daunting. It may be one more thoughtful gesture we can make to consider each other, especially in places where one is “trapped” over time (work, trains, buses, planes) or would hate to leave, like a graduation or theater performance.
I just wanted to point out that not everyone who smells strongly of perfume has used too much of it. Very often, it’s a chemical reaction between their skin and the scent they use. For example, people with dry or acidic skin burn off the fragrance more quickly, and they may reapply it more frequently. People with oilier skin may use a normal amount of fragrance, but that fragrance will be more likely to linger and seem more pronounced. And sometimes, there’s just a mismatch between fragrance and skin type.
@Massmomm - understand lots of individual variations for wearers and those around them. I see no way to define what “too much” means in this context. Someone can be scented just the way they like and that may or may not work for the person next to them. In any case, not prone to presuming people are doing anything other than wearing what they enjoy.
I had to ask a friend to not hug me. She wore a heavy scent and while that bothered me I found the after smell on
my hair unbearable. All day I would smell her perfume and usually had to go home and wash my hair.
My first event was my mother visiting in 1982. She wore a heavy dose of Georgio perfume. Yeh seat belt wreaked.
I walked into a candle store shortly after and my throat closed up. Now I feel nauseated ? and my throat hurts, eyes water, bad headache.
Everything in our house is scent free. I can’t get oil massages when I get a pedicure because then I have to wash my clothes and take a shower. If I get in bed without I will get up in an hour and change the sheets.
It is a burden in this current too much scent society.
Saving grace is many who smell everything! Are excellent cooks.
I, too, wish others were conscious of, and sensitive to, layering on fragrances. Some of us are unable to breathe withoit complications after inhaling- and being suffocated by powerful perfumes and masking agents.
The lining of my stomach jumps and I have an instantaneous nauseous feeling in the presence of many odors/ scents.
I do feel that loud sickly fragrances have lost ground to more natural scents these days, and I am grateful for that.
Maybe if we could outlaw fabric softeners and fragrance beads for laundry…
I became aware because our oldest son had allergic asthma and one of his allergies was to a component in perfumes and colognes. I cannot remember the substance but it seems it was called a “fixative”. Later I became aware of peoples’ sincere discomforts with heavy scents. I don’t even have an allergy or any other physical discomfort but I can sure appreciate the need for some people to really dial it down! Too much. I wonder why they think it’s necessary to drown themselves in it?
I dislike the fake scents in candles for the most part, though for a school fund raiser we once bought one that smelled like French Toast that wasn’t too bad. My best friend from high school’s mother wore L’Air du Temps. It was launched in 1948 and I suspect she’s been wearing it ever since. She’s in her 90s still going strong and still wearing her signature scent. I always think of her when I smell it.
I sneeze every time I go down the laundry detergent aisle, so I assume I allergic to some one of the scents there.
Lots of variation in preferences and sensitivities with scents. For some individuals and businesses, the notion of a signature scent is compelling. I have heard people say that they “don’t feel dressed” without their perfume. Businesses research how to use scent to draw customers; clearly it has appeal.
At the same time, a significant percentage of people (some studies say 30%) experience adverse reactions to such odors or scents. I have no expertise in this field and have not checked out the studies, just sharing that negative experiences is are not a rarity, as demonstrated by many of the comments in this thread.
Appreciate hearing the variety of perspectives. It is almost impossible to lead a totally scent-free life or avoid encounters with unwanted smells. As other have suggested, they are ubiquitous. At the same time, considering the impact on others can make a big difference to those who struggle with it.
We are dreading our upcoming convention trip to Vegas. H is highly sensitive to scents as are D and I. He can’t go into some stores and malls because the off-gassing from chemicals (especially in clothing) tightens his chest. Fortunately, more hotels have restricted smoking areas, which should be helpful.
I think one reason we all prefer online shopping is we aren’t inundated by scents that can trigger our allergies and asthma.