Perfume in the office

I think you should be banned

What length should the jacket sleeves be?!!

Obviously very strong perfume/aftershave is headache-inducing. But bans?

I went to a hospital appointment and there was a card displayed saying that due to an allergy of a staff member could patients not wear perfume or deodorant. No, sorry. A) too late, I was there. And B) I’m wearing my (actually, scentless) deodorant because… well, because.

I have an extremely strong sense of smell. It’s my special power or in most cases what makes me feel sick. But I didn’t realise that I was missing a trick and I could demand that no one emits a scent in my presence !

It's not that I don't care about people of course I do but I'm not a mind reader and have never had anyone complain about my perfume so what do you want me to do?

i suppose you want me to stop brushing my hair at my desk or looking at my face in a compact as well?

What if your Kenwigses make other people's eyeballs hurt?

Dr Jack takes care of that while you're lying unconscious.

But yes, Mary Lou should keep her clarion tones to herself too.

I hate it too. I will keep sneezing if it’s strong as well. When I was pregnant the smells were unbearable.

HonoriaBulstrode

regardless of whether your voice is annoying or you have the golden tones of Joey Maynard.

What if your Kenwigses make other people's eyeballs hurt?
Or if you're Mary-Lou and should just be killed?

The word 'chemicals' is pretty meaningless without adding which type, or at least which group, of chemicals. So many people wrongly think chemical=bad or dangerous, but everything is made of chemical(s). 😬

Also have a degree and PhD in Biochemistry. 👍

I know she used the term chemical incorrectly. 🫣

What if... let's say you have a really annoying voice- why should you coworkers have to hear it?

Well if you can be heard over the other side of the office/restaurant/railwaycarriage, then you should keep it down a bit, regardless of whether your voice is annoying or you have the golden tones of Joey Maynard. Only the person you are actually having a conversation with wants to hear you.

One young lady I used to work with often smelled of coconut and vanilla. It wasn't unpleasant but definitely unmissable. I politely enquired and she readily explained it was the Surf laundry liquid her mum used! Conversely, another woman in our department daily reeked of sweat from the off in the morning, i.e. 5 a.m. How she managed that I'll never know. She was repeatedly told to improve by female management but nothing changed. I don't work there any more but I expect she still stinks. The Surf aroma was much more preferable!

What if... let's say you have a really annoying voice- why should you coworkers have to hear it?
Or if they just dont like your personality, why should they suffer being around you. It's just one of those things.

I think overusing perfume is not cool in closed spaces. You are right, you dont have a choice and may not like someone else's choice of scent of the day. But Id be more pissed off with bullies and a lot of other things before perfume. It's true that projection is very important to many people and many want to create an impression, the modern perfume are full of aromachemicals allowing perfume to last longer and project more. But it's also Western culture to be all 'me me me'. You dont see it in workplaces in many Eastern countries as much.

I also dont like companies policing it and introducing bans- I know it's rife in the US and Im happy UK is not following suit.

Keine is right.
Arsenic is a natural ingredient, it is however not safe to ingest. People are idiots and sadly bite crap like 'perfume are chemicals' and repeat it like mantra feeling very smart.

What the... are you on about with chemicals?
This level of misinformation is criminal.

It’s pretty difficult to have an online conversation where we start discussing the individual chemical components of various perfumes and personal care products. People say chemicals instead of typing out Benzyl acetate or camphor, but those of us with allergies typically know which ingredients or classes of ingredients are causing our reactions.

I have a PhD in biochemistry and I really don't know what people mean beyond 'I don't know what that word means and therefore I think it's bad'. As I said above there's nothing that makes something 'natural' benign or something 'artificial' bad. In fact, the most harmful substances all come from natural sources (and one of those is regularly injected into people's faces for vanity).

I love strong perfume and aftershave. I can think of numerous bad smells I’ve endured at work (mostly BO, bad breath and microwaved fish) but never over strong perfume. Do others notice it or do you think you’re very sensitive? It’s a tricky one, I don’t think you can really police perfume unless it’s exacerbating asthma etc not just a smell you personally dislike.

I used to smell of the chemistry lab some days when I was a student - some days it was pear drops, other days it was 💩 like. Honestly, I'd be glad you sat beside me and cancelled me out. 😉

You knew what she meant.

Perfume IS actual chemicals.
Water is a chemical.
Oxygen is a chemical.
Humans comprise entirely chemicals.
The whole world is made of chemicals.

Yes, that's my point - it's only customers who have a choice. Those for whom it's their workplace don't.

To give people the benefit of the doubt perfumes can smell different to different people. I can't bear CK1, it's fine on other people but if I wear it it makes me feel sick. I'll stick to a couple of sprays of my Gucci Jasmine.

I remember being told on here that my 2 sprays of perfume is far too much and pretty much the same as bathing in it!

No choice if you work in a cafe.