Perfume is Unfashionable and Inconsiderate

[Anonymous]

I work for a non-U.S. company that has done a scent sensitivity training and asked people in certain groups (presumably people who work with someone with a scent issue) not to wear perfume, scented lotion, scented deodorant, scented hair products, etc. I don’t wear perfume to work and never use scented lotion, but I think asking people to buy special deodorants, unscented shampoo, etc, is taking things a bit far. It has made me more aware, though, that it is truly an issue for some people.

[Anonymous]

About the equivalent of smoking cigarettes in my presence. Just the worst and I’ll hate you for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About the equivalent of smoking cigarettes in my presence. Just the worst and I’ll hate you for it.

PP as I suffer with migraine for days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you perfume lovers are ridiculous. It triggers my asthma and makes me unable to breathe, how is that not a problem? What makes people think they are more entitled to their perfume versus someone else’s inability to breathe. This is a common problem!

We just want to weed out the weak.

+1

+2. This is ultimate Karen comment.it’s so hard to accept not being able to control other people.

Let me guess. You perfume lovers insist that everyone accommodate your emotional support dog everywhere you go. But anyone else with a health issue, tough?!

Nope. Only a sensitive soul like yourself would need an ESA to survive life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am super curious about how many women posting on here actually work in an office in close proximity to other people. I'm guessing not very many.

When I worked in cubicles, I was physically very close to some colleagues and things like strong scented hand lotion and perfume that lasted all day definitely bothered me and I find it very insensitive to use that stuff. There are signs in the kitchen about not heating up fish because of the odor, and I view strong perfumes/lotions in that same category and wish there was signs about that, too. Over the course of my career, I've had to ask a handful of colleagues if they wouldn't mind changing their lotion or if they could tone down the perfume because it was giving me a headache. They've all been very kind about it.

I would never complain about someone walking by wearing a strong scent because that goes away, but sitting right next to someone with a very strong smell gives me a massive headache, which in turn makes me unproductive at work. If you want me to do my job well, then you need to let me do it in an environment where I'm not feeling ill or being distracted.

Thankfully I'm senior now and have my own office, so it's no longer an issue.

This is a reason cubicles need to die because anything could be someone’s sensitivity or allergy. I have a smell trigger for my PTSD. It doesn’t take more than a whiff to set off a flashback. I do not expect to control anyone’s behaviors other than my own. I have specifically avoided certain workplaces as a result because I’m not an entitled ahole.

I think the people wearing stinky perfume or lotions in an open environment are the entitled asholes, PP, not the ones complaining about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate exhaust fumes, but people still drive. Instead of getting mad I realize it's part of living in a society.

Exhaust isn’t really optional in the
World in which we live. Both can give me migraines. Perfume is optional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for a non-U.S. company that has done a scent sensitivity training and asked people in certain groups (presumably people who work with someone with a scent issue) not to wear perfume, scented lotion, scented deodorant, scented hair products, etc. I don’t wear perfume to work and never use scented lotion, but I think asking people to buy special deodorants, unscented shampoo, etc, is taking things a bit far. It has made me more aware, though, that it is truly an issue for some people.

Did they provide a personal care allowance so that people could buy all unscented products?

[Anonymous]

My doctor used to smell wonderful. I think it was paco raban

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate exhaust fumes, but people still drive. Instead of getting mad I realize it's part of living in a society.

Exhaust isn’t really optional in the
World in which we live. Both can give me migraines. Perfume is optional

It’s optional for you to wear it or not but clearly it’s not your option whether others choose to wear it! I second pps rec for cbt for most of you orthorexia of scent sufferers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will stop wearing perfume when people stop passing stinky gas.

NP. I'm not going to stop doing either one! And I have asthma, but perfume isn't a trigger for it, luckily.

[Anonymous]

Oh this makes me sad. I love perfume. I love smelling other peoples’ fragrances. It makes me happy! I def don’t use very much but I really can’t imagine a world where I wouldn’t wear some every day, and no one else would either. I’m sorry your sensitive, OP, but I do think this is one that’s on you. Avoid us if you must but I really love scents!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh this makes me sad. I love perfume. I love smelling other peoples’ fragrances. It makes me happy! I def don’t use very much but I really can’t imagine a world where I wouldn’t wear some every day, and no one else would either. I’m sorry your sensitive, OP, but I do think this is one that’s on you. Avoid us if you must but I really love scents!

There are some workplaces that have policies against it.

[Anonymous]

Cheap perfume is unfashionable and inconsiderate. I was honestly shocked to read in the other perfume thread how many women wear drugstore junk. And people who wear cheap perfume generally don't understand how to wear it. It's not supposed to be apparent to people when you walk into a room, only if someone whispers in your ear.

[Anonymous]

For the people advocating for scent-free environment, how can you regulate this? We buy Dove body wash. Pretty sure it has a scent. I’m not even sure there’s an in scented option. In scented deoterant? What brand is that? Do I have to switch laundry detergents to work in your office? Is there even a such thing as I scented shampoo?

Everything around you has a scent. If you are only describing to women’s perfume, perhaps there’s a psychological issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These threads are so weird to me because I am definitely "scent sensitive" in that I notice smells very easily and more than others do. But I have no allergies or medical issue that make the smells affect me. I just notice them, even subtle smells, good and bad.

But I don't view that as a reason to demand other people stop wearing perfume. That's bizarre to me. I get if you have an allergy or similar and therefore can't work near someone wearing strong perfume. In that case, ask for an accommodation -- makes perfect sense (scents, ha!).

But to demand that all the old ladies at the Kennedy Center stop wearing their perfumes? To get angry about smelling someone else's perfume in a waiting room or standing on line at the post office? This just seems so controlling to me. Sometimes other people's perfume bothers me, but it's a temporary annoyance, something I notice and then forget about. I don't go home fuming about some woman on the bus and her heavy perfume.

These complaints are like eavesdropping on people and then complaining that their conversation is dull. Just move along. It doesn't concern you.

If I’m standing in line behind someone who’s wearing perfume, it can trigger a migraine the last four days. It does concern me.

As soon as you get a whiff of the offending scent you should hightail it outta there.