What's that smell?
Please, folks - especially you women, although I've worked with some men who are guilty, too - give everyone's nose a break! Loud perfume/cologne is simply obnoxious. Overwhelming others with your loud smell is just as impolite as overwhelming them with your loud voice. I'd rather deal with BO than with some of the so-called "good" odors I've had to deal with wafting off some people. There are some fine dining establishments where patrons who are too liberal with their application of foo-foo juice (to use an old Navy term) are simply not allowed to enter because their odor interferes with the other diners' sense of taste and smell. (Although I will admit that the Whataburger we frequent has yet to impose such restrictions.) Practically everything we Americans put on our bodies now has some "pleasing" smell associated with it: soap and other cleansers, shampoo, conditioner, hair care products, makeup and facial products, moisturizers and other skin care products, deodorant. Not to mention laundry detergents and fabric softeners and dryer sheets in the wash for our clothes. And then top top it all off, perfume or (maybe and) cologne. It's all too much! No one wants to know that you're coming a minute before you arrive because they can smell you coming. Deploy a little olfactory stealth.
[Just a word of warning - from here on it's TMI Territory. You can stop now and not really miss anything.] [You've been warned!]
I got off on this little rant because there's a woman at my company who falls into the "Why just do it when you can overdo it" category with regard to her use of "White Diamonds" *. Luckily for me, she works on another floor. Unluckily for me, today I was on that floor and walked past the restroom. As I did, another woman opened the door to enter and while the door was open, it was immediately apparent that "White Diamonds" was in the rest room ... and that she was experiencing some severe gastrointestinal distress. The combination was especially potent. So potent that the woman who was entering immediately backed out and said, "I don't have to go THAT badly!" I reacted, too - I didn't know I could gag and sneeze at the same time. Dayumm!
* [I was going to put in a link here but didn't for two reasons. First, I couldn't figure out the HTML code for smells, and second, I don't want to promote this perfume.]
[Just a word of warning - from here on it's TMI Territory. You can stop now and not really miss anything.] [You've been warned!]
I got off on this little rant because there's a woman at my company who falls into the "Why just do it when you can overdo it" category with regard to her use of "White Diamonds" *. Luckily for me, she works on another floor. Unluckily for me, today I was on that floor and walked past the restroom. As I did, another woman opened the door to enter and while the door was open, it was immediately apparent that "White Diamonds" was in the rest room ... and that she was experiencing some severe gastrointestinal distress. The combination was especially potent. So potent that the woman who was entering immediately backed out and said, "I don't have to go THAT badly!" I reacted, too - I didn't know I could gag and sneeze at the same time. Dayumm!
* [I was going to put in a link here but didn't for two reasons. First, I couldn't figure out the HTML code for smells, and second, I don't want to promote this perfume.]
On 9/26/2007 9:56 AM,
hotdrwife said…
Yucko patooey.
My cousin takes a bath in White Diamonds. She's worn it for years and I think her smeller is so used to it, that she keeps adding more and more so SHE can smell it, too. Either way, it's deadly.
I'm a big fan of "a little goes a long ways". Except in the case of vodka or wine.
On 9/26/2007 10:20 AM,
Nancy said…
When ever I am going out with a couple g'friends, I refrain from putting on any perfume. More than too much of a scent, I hate too much of a mixture of scents.
On 9/26/2007 10:28 AM,
Jami said…
@hdw - that's only true if you're drinking the vodka or wine ... or tequila.
@nancy - I try very hard not to have much of a mixture at all: unscented products, deodorant, etc. I only have 3 different perfumes I wear (only 1 at a time!), and I try to keep their application light.
On 9/26/2007 10:36 AM,
Howard said…
Amen, sister! And it's the guys, too. Too much cologne! At least put on some Hai Karate!
On 9/26/2007 11:38 AM,
Jen said…
I agree about the loud voice loud smell analogy. It's just the loud presence, period, that I have trouble with. HATE the overdoing perfume thing...
On 9/26/2007 2:33 PM,
soccer mom in denial said…
I avoid all scented products - even dish cleaner. It is all so fake and offensive. I don't wear perfume either.
I'm also struck by how infrequently I smell perfume. Even walking around, riding the subway, at soccer games. I wonder if folks in my neck of the world are less likely to wear perfume?
On 9/27/2007 6:23 PM,
cathouse teri said…
I am horribly offended by the smell of cologne. On men or women. I think it's something that someone should be VERY close to you to smell, if indeed you insist on wearing it. AS you said, we already have tons of smells on us!
But it can really ruin my meal, or my experience on an outing, if someone is overpowering me with their ugliness. And by ugliness, I mean that the smell of perfume, cologne, hairspray, whatever is the SAME to me as cigarette smoke blowing in my face! Arrrrggghh!
Soooooooooooooo intrusive! More so than cell phones ringing off the hook! :)
On 9/28/2007 2:39 AM,
Anonymous said…
This one made me laugh. It's pointedly true. But then, I used to hate rush hour in London (which actually lasted three hours in the morning, three hours at night - go figure!) because the number of people with hideous B.O. was too much.
I think the blame lies with the obvious - they don't wash - and the less obvious to some but not to me, i.e. synthetic fabrics.
But here's a good tip to avoid perfume overload - spray it in front of you and walk into it. Don't spray it ON you. That way you get a nicely spread scent that isn't going to overwhelm anyone. x
On 9/28/2007 9:25 AM,
Weekends Off said…
"But here's a good tip to avoid perfume overload - spray it in front of you and walk into it. Don't spray it ON you. That way you get a nicely spread scent that isn't going to overwhelm anyone."
That's what I do, a tip my mother taught me when I was just old enough to wear Loves Baby Soft perfume. A little dab will do ya!
My husband really overdoes it, sometimes I can taste the cologne he's wearing just from breathing near him. I've been known to go after him with the febreeze LOL.
On 9/28/2007 11:00 AM,
SoulPony said…
nothing is more invasive as loud perfume/cologne.
keep your stink to yourself, why should i have to smell it.
if you get off the chemicals you will notice how overwhelming the scents are we have around us. after i stopped using chemical detergents i can't stand to go near the cleaning supply aisle. it feels like my lungs are burning. and the smell of clean sheets, and i mean clean sheets that have no leftover detergents that can't be washed out is so amazing. it's nice to smell something that is just clean and not the smell of all the scents that are added.
On 10/02/2007 1:56 PM,
Jenn in Holland said…
Can I get an AMEN sister?
AMEN.
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