Why do people still wear perfume?

[AprilTN]

I have a bottle of perfume but I rarely wear it. My MIL wears the nastiest perfume---Youth Dew---- and it stinks to high heaven. If you hug her you are doomed to smell like it until you change clothes. It is bad.

 

I swear she must bathe in it, and it is a really offensive smell. Dh has told her to tone it down but she still wears a ton. When he has to take her somewhere in his car, he covers the seatbelt with this contraption he made because it will smell on the seatbelt for months! Seriously.

[amy g.]

Miss Good and I are both sensitive to most fragrance oils. They give us horrible puking migraines. The only essential oil that makes us do that is bitter almond. I suspect that it is because the makers do something to it chemically to prevent it from being used for arsenic.

 

I can tell if I buy an essential oil that is cut with something else by the smell. To test it, I put a drop on blotting paper. Essential oils will evaporate without a trace. Adulterated oils leave a stain.

 

There are many scents that are awful on their own, but added to a blend in a small amount, they add something wonderful. My lavender soap sells well, but I find the scent a little harsh, so I added a tiny bit of patchouli to deepen it, and a tiny bit of vanilla to sweeten it. You can only smell the lavender in the finished soap, but it smells like a nicer lavender.

 

I have made so many shopping mistakes for want of a scratch and sniff computer. I bought roman chamomile because people were raving about it. Yuck! I haven't found the right blend for it yet.

 

I bought another expensive oil that smells fresh cut grass. It is supposed to really enhance essential oil blends. I'm not sure what goes well with grass.

[gingersmom]

Why do people smoke?

 

I would much rather smell someones stinky perfume than have to smell tobacco smoke.

[Lolly]

I've been thinking about this all day (cuz I'm ill and really bored) and I wonder if some people's smellers are just weaker than others. It's rare that I come across anyone with overpowering perfume. It's also odd that anyone would freak out over this which leads me to the conclusion that I either live under a rock or some people are way more sensitive (in the smeller department).

 

just sayin....;):D

 

 

Oh yes, some people have better sniffers than others. Some people don't like the way things smell. Some people get headaches from it. With some people, it induces asthma. It isn't just about being more sensitive to the smell. It is about stopping breathing for them.

[pqr]

...because some perfume smells absolutely wonderful.

 

To those ladies who wear a nice perfume .... thank you.

[Mommy22alyns]

I wear perfume because I like the smell of it. Period.

[FairyMom]

I wear perfume because I like the smell of it. Period.

:iagree: At home I use essential oils. When I'm at work, I use a little real perfume to kill the smell of jet fuel.

[keptwoman]

I wear it daily because I like to smell nice, DH likes me to smell nice and it makes me happy. I wear the same one all the time because I want my kids to associate the scent with me.

[LaxMom]

I usually wear scent, either sandalwood/orange or sweet patchouli. (I agree, most patchouli smells like dirt in the bottle... Seems to smell better once it's on {some} people, though, and the sweet patchouli doesn't have the dirt smell either way) I have perfume triggered migraines, so I do just use a tiny dab. The only people who comment on it are those in my personal space, so I guess I don't reek. ;)

 

In the late 90s, I worked for a tech company and was the only woman in the call center. The guys used to ask what I was wearing, and at first I was paranoid that I was wearing too much, but then one of them clarified that they all liked using my phone! Apparently, I didn't give off a cloud, but transferred some cradling the phone in my neck. Lol.

[angela in ohio]

Perfume has been around since the earliest of human civilizations. It is not something just from the 80s/90s.

 

Many scents come from plant and animal sources so it could be reasonable that some could be labeled organic. I would not be surprised if someone from this company (or another like it) came out with a truly organic fragrance.

 

Unfortunately there are some scents that are synthetic. These may be what some people are allergic to.

 

I was reading an article in Wired magazine about regulations which require perfume makers to switch to synthetic ingredients. It was very interesting.

 

I wear an essential oil-based lotion and spray that are intended to relieve stress (eucalyptus, etc.) It makes me feel better. I doubt anyone else can smell it, unless they hug me. I wear vanilla perfume when I go out with dh, too, because he says it makes me smell "warm and yummy." :D

 

I encounter few men that are wearing cologne in day to day life, but they fall into three categories: smarmy men who bathe in it, old men who smell like old men cologne, and those who smell masculine and nice. I don't mind the third category, but the first two are pretty awful. Dh smells clean like soap, and I love that the most.

[mommaduck]

I was reading an article in Wired magazine about regulations which require perfume makers to switch to synthetic ingredients. It was very interesting.

 

I wear an essential oil-based lotion and spray that are intended to relieve stress (eucalyptus, etc.) It makes me feel better. I doubt anyone else can smell it, unless they hug me. I wear vanilla perfume when I go out with dh, too, because he says it makes me smell "warm and yummy." :D

 

I encounter few men that are wearing cologne in day to day life, but they fall into three categories: smarmy men who bathe in it, old men who smell like old men cologne, and those who smell masculine and nice. I don't mind the third category, but the first two are pretty awful. Dh smells clean like soap, and I love that the most.

Why are they doing this?

[Swirl]

I wear vanilla perfume when I go out with dh, too, because he says it makes me smell "warm and yummy." :D

 

When I was growing up we had a wood burning stove that would sometimes downdraft. (My dad would often burn hickory.) One day the guy behind me in class commented on how good my hair smellled- LIKE BACON!! :D They should make bacon perfume.

[QuirkyKapers]

When I was growing up we had a wood burning stove that would sometimes downdraft. (My dad would often burn hickory.) One day the guy behind me in class commented on how good my hair smellled- LIKE BACON!! :D They should make bacon perfume.

 

 

 

:lol::lol:

 

I wear perfume because I like the smell. Also, right now I am wearing some of my mom's and it reminds me of her.

[joannqn]

So why, when we read ancient accounts of perfumery, do we never read about fits of sneezing? Are allergies more common now, and why? Or is it that we are more confined to the indoors now days? Or around more people per day so our noses are under more assault than they can take?

 

Because they weren't exposed to fragrances 24/7 from every possible angle. Consider that we are now exposed to toxic chemicals and fragrances in everything:

 

makeup

hair products

shampoo

conditioner

lotion

soap

perfume

deodorant

laundry soap

fabric softener

 

And that's the average American's exposure from the time they wake up to the time they leave the door if they live alone. Add to that all of the different fragrances each member of their family uses. They are covered in that many different fragrances when they leave the house and meet you. Now multiply that by the number of people you come in contact with and add in all of the cleaning products and air deodorizers in the places you visit. Your system is literally being bombarded by hundreds of chemicals and fragrances every day.

[QuirkyKapers]

Because they weren't exposed to fragrances 24/7 from every possible angle. Consider that we are now exposed to toxic chemicals and fragrances in everything:

 

makeup

hair products

shampoo

conditioner

lotion

soap

perfume

deodorant

laundry soap

fabric softener

 

And that's the average American's exposure from the time they wake up to the time they leave the door if they live alone. Add to that all of the different fragrances each member of their family uses. They are covered in that many different fragrances when they leave the house and meet you. Now multiply that by the number of people you come in contact with and add in all of the cleaning products and air deodorizers in the places you visit. Your system is literally being bombarded by hundreds of chemicals and fragrances every day.

 

 

Yikes, when you look at like that it makes ya think. I know in other areas I am trying to use items that aren't scented. However, candles, deoderant and perfume are things that I just am not ready to give up or use unscented.

[Parrothead]

I was reading an article in Wired magazine about regulations which require perfume makers to switch to synthetic ingredients. It was very interesting.

 

 

How odd. I wonder what the reasoning is.

[angela in ohio]

When I was growing up we had a wood burning stove that would sometimes downdraft. (My dad would often burn hickory.) One day the guy behind me in class commented on how good my hair smellled- LIKE BACON!! :D They should make bacon perfume.

 

We go to a locally-owned "upscale barbecue" restaurant on many of our dates, and everything is cooked on a giant grill or smoked. I have somewhat-long thick hair, and when we leave, I smell like brisket all night according to dh. :D He sniffs my hair all through the movie. :lol:

[angela in ohio]

How odd. I wonder what the reasoning is.

 

The natural scents were banned because they caused reactions in a very small number of people or because of environmental reasons, from what I remember. So they are replaced with costly synthetics that probably cause a reaction in many more (I would guess.) :confused:

 

It looks like you can read the whole article online at their site: Engineering Replacements for Essential Perfume Ingredients.

 

"Starting in 2003, the main industry trade group, the International Fragrance Association, began to aggressively ban or restrict ingredients — now 174 in total — for health or environmental reasons. Some of the restrictions affect natural substances that have been used for centuries by millions of satisfied customers: rose oil, jasmine absolute, spice extracts, and bergamot and other citrus oils. In the case of oakmoss, testing has shown it to cause occasional cases of contact dermatitis, the sort of rash one gets from poison ivy and other chemical irritants. A few of the proscribed ingredients are important synthetics, such as lyral, a molecule widely used in perfumes to create a lilylike floral note. IFRA sees these moves as protective: Wary of bad PR and hoping to forestall action by governments (particularly the European Union, which has taken a hard-nosed approach to chemical regulation), the group feels that the industry is better off regulating itself. Because IFRA’s members produce more than 90 percent of the world’s fragrances, its rules effectively function as law for all but the most obscure niche manufacturers.

 

Not surprisingly, old-fashioned perfumers and critics are aghast that so many crucial, long-used ingredients could be jettisoned because of a rare and mild rash."

Edited November 10, 2011 by angela in ohio

[TranquilMind]

First off, I'm not starting this thread because I'm a little defensive about my fake/flameless candles on my mantle.:lol:

 

BUT, so many here are opposed to everything being "fake", I'm just wondering why people wear scents to make themselves smell like whatever....:confused:

It seems very 80's/90's IMO. I thought most people were trying to be more organic/natural and move away from toxic chemicals.:confused:

 

There is nothing worse than being at an activity or event, and being forced to smell whatever it is others seem to want to smell like. Some people just have no idea how offensive that is. My mom is EXTREMELY sensitive to perfumes and colognes, and even had to have them stop sending her bills/catalogs that contain sample scents. I've watched her REALLY become very ill from just being around someone wearing certain perfumes.

 

I know there has to be others that feel the same way, right?:001_huh:

Yes, there are others. I have left many, many gatherings because of these people you can smell half a block away. Also missed church for months and finally had to change to a less perfumed population.

 

Ridiculous.

[Laurie4b]

People wear perfume because they think it makes them appealing or because they have body odor. Many seem to have defective noses and apply too much.

 

I used to wear it because I liked the scent. I stopped because dh is sensitive to it. I miss wearing it a lot.