Perfume - akin to cigarette smoke ?

[Squills]

AIBU to feel saddened by a blog I read recently or am I just out of touch?

The article related to our taste in perfume often changes with age - especially after the menopause. It was followed by an online discussion and I was amazed to read that some people feel that perfume shouldn't be used at all in public and liken it to cigarette smoke in both smell and hazardous effects.

I felt really saddened by the sanitised view of life some of the posters portrayed. One poster called it a 'perfume habit' and went on referring to perfume as if it was a Class A drug.

I love perfume and feel 'undressed' without wearing it. I feel it will be a sad day if users are banned from wearing it (as some of the posters felt they should be).

[grannytomine]

lizzieoak I have suffered from migraines for 60 years and I can assure your neurologist that if I eat an orange I will get a mirgraine. I love fruit, have tried many times over the years to enjoy an orange but it will inevitably result in me having a migraine within a few hours. Fortunately chocolate is quite safe for me although I know other people who say it is a trigger.

[oldbirdy]

Vagabond, Curry - Thanks heavenes! I thought i was the only person in the world who hates the smell of Chanel no 5. I cannot bear it. My MIL wears it which can be awkward....

[VintagePerfumista]

The only perfumes which should be banned are:
Flowerbomb and Tresor (Marlene from the office in 93 still haunts my dreams with that boakfest she seemingly bathed in)

I thought this thread was going to be about Amarige, which does have a touch of the fag smoke about it.

[YodellingForJesus]

I am a bit at all the posters who think think allergy and migraine sufferers affected by perfume are just whiners who should get over it. The number of times I have had a hideous attack thanks to some inconsiderate sod wearing too much perfume or spraying themselves in confined spaces. I wouldn't ban the stuff, but I wish people wouldn't drown themselves in it.

[ClarenceTheAngel]

Oh, I just really wish I could wear perfumes. I have spent a fortune over the years on various perfumes only to come out in a hideous, itchy rash and end up giving them away to grateful friends and relatives.
I do agree with the posters that say it should be applied with a light hand though - heavy perfumes make me headaches. Some perfumes are better suited to night. And I really wish people would not spray body sprays and deodorant in my vicinity as it gets on my chest and makes me cough.

[helpimitchy]

Perfume exacerbates my sinusitis to the point where I'm in so much pain that I can't go to work. If I can't go to work, I don't get paid. I also have to take strong painkillers which are addictive if taken too often.

Both me and ds2 feel sick and dizzy with it as well. We both have asd.

Dh had to ask sil not to use her perfume in our house last time she stayed. I don't think she was impressed, but it really does have a bad effect on both me and ds2

Somebody spraying perfume around us is every bit as bad as cigarette smoke.

[ItShouldHaveBeenJess]

vintage Guessing you're not so keen on Aquolina Pink Sugar, then?! [grin}

[AppleMagic]

grannytomine I agree. I always get a migraine about 8hrs after an eye test and have never had one at any other times. I'm reasonably confident it's causal not coincidence.

I agree that perfume shouldn't be banned in general (in the same way I don't think peanuts should be) but I think there is a case for banning them in specific circumstances (by employers where another employee/client/regular customer is sensitive to them) and that people should use them considerately. Wearing perfume is not a human right/not wearing perfume is not a massive sacrifice if it does have a large negative impact on someone else. Its a shame but maybe necessary if people can't not be cunts about it be considerate.

[Amalfimamma]

people are allergic so it should be banned

I'm allergic to precious snowflakes, dickheads and scumbags. When they are banned you can ban perfume.

[AppleMagic]

If people can't not be cunts about it be considerate.
Ie don't spray it around in public, use it too much or wear it around people who are badly affected by it.

[JellyBelli]

I'm allergic to some ingredients in some make up, perfumes and aftershaves, I love the stuff myself and I'm always looking for a new one that I can wear. I dont drown myself in it. I want to wear it, I dont want to waste it on the whole room.
Its a bit self centered for people to assume that other people do things to impress them.

[TowerRavenSeven]

Yanbu to be saddened. I am as well. But I don't wear it any more, and used to wear it every day until I found any scent wreaks havoc with my (frequent) migraines. I've even given up scented candles.

It might be sanitized but I'm pro anything that doesn't make my migraine worse (or bring one on).

[Sallystyle]

I love perfume.

Unlike another poster I love most everything by Dior. My favourite ever being hypnotic poison.

Some people might hate it but I'm not going to stop wearing it, in moderation.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

I don't need it banning altogether, in fact I like smelling a little waft as someone walks past. When it becomes a migraine-inducing problem is if I get trapped for long periods with it, for instance in the theatre or on a plane.

And as a pp said, the reason I don't complain is that I'm being polite, it's not as though someone in a theatre can just wipe it off. If it was a colleague or friend I was in regular contact with I would probably have a polite word though, luckily mine all seem to have a light touch with fragrances.

[user1467976192]

This post kinda reminds me of the tunes advert in the 90's where she has a cold and sprays so much perfume her date passes out.... could also be I have a cold so that will be me tomorrow

[user1467976192]

U2 has the edge try play doh by library of fragrance... it smells a bit like the red Dior that was discontinued... it's a weird name but I love it

[JaceLancs]

I love perfume and wear it every day but for work stick to light fragrances and only s quick squirt at that
One of my colleagues once started sneezing when I used a new perfume - it's the only one I've ever had commented on and I've not worn it during the day since

[RetroImp]

I love perfumes. Scents can trigger all sorts of lovely memories. Would agree though that the right amount should only be smelled close up. A dear friend of mine has a such a lovely aftershave, I keep sniffing him. But scents do smell different on different people and my DP just smells lovely both with his scent or without. I lost my father young and sometimes when someone passes using the same aftershave it makes me nostalgic in a happy way.

[MetalMidget]

I think it depends on the combination of the perfume, the quantity worn and the wearer (due to scents changing according to hormone levels, so I've heard). I've passed people who have smelled absolutely lovely, others whose scents are a bit nauseating and headache inducing.

Then there's Dior Poison. I'm pretty sure that it's banned under the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons.

[Love51]

Someone who works in my building sometimes goes into anaphylaxis due to perfume. There are signs on all the toilets explaining this, and telling you not to spray any on in the loos. A couple of times a year she gets seriously ill at work as a result of people ignoring this. It's obviously quite rare for someone's reaction to be this bad, but it's awful that people are so selfish. I very much enjoy wearing perfume on my days off, but anaphylaxis is too high a price for my colleague to pay for me to smell how I choose.
I don't think perfume should be banned from all workplaces, just those where it could cause serious harm!

[BellesBelles]

Not RTWT, however...

OP I love perfume too. But (like me) I bet there are perfumes you don't like and ones you love. Everyone likes something different, so people might just not like to have to smell the smell we love if they don't like it?

I used to work with a lady who wore Angel, all day every day. I happen to like Angel well enough, but not enough to wear it myself- but if I did, it would be a night-time perfume not a day-time office perfume. It's so rich and heavy. So although I love perfume and actually didn't mind that smell, it was off-putting to have to smell it all though the day. Quite distracting too. Horses for courses, I guess!

[DrCoconut]

I took DS2 to the cinema last weekend. Someone was spraying perfume there. Why? What reason is there to spray perfume in a cinema? I didn't get enough of it to react and it wasn't a really stinky one but many perfumes give me migraines. It's a real health issue not a fad.

[dybil]

Isn't part of the issue, which hasn't been touched on much here, that perfumes can generally be bad for your health, regardless of whether or not you are allergic?

time.com/3703948/is-perfume-safe/

(I'm a smoker and perfume doesn't bother me, so not getting on my high horse, just thought that this was why people liken it to second hand smoke?)

[kerryob]

I love my perfumes! I quit smoking 8 years ago & my perfumes was my treat to myself instead of smelling like an ashtray. I wear Angel & Alien as they last all day & don't have to spray again at work. I dont see wearing it any different to make up. Perfume is not comparable to smoking, after watching loved ones die from lung cancer I'm pretty sure of that.

Love51 whoever has ignore the rules should be disciplined, can they allocate your colleague her own toilet? It's a H&S issue

[DamePastel]

I love a spritz of ck one for work. it's so fresh. It's probably worn off by the time i get to work.