Aibu to ask how people manage to smell nice?

[Lostatseason5]

I'm a bit overweight and a bit sweaty :( I have been suffering from depression and although I was managing to drag my ass to work every day I wasn't always showering. :( My new year's resolution was to shower every day. I've been doing this but I still feel unfresh by afternoon, I have colleagues that smell AMAZING! I am too embarrassed to ask them how! Aibu to ask for those of you who are always smelling great your "secret" I now shower each morning wear deodorant but I don't wear perfume as I feel I put too much on, but I'd happily wear one of anyone can recommend a fresh one not overpowering - this will probably sound horrendous that grown adult is asking for help with this but depression can be really debilitating and .trying very hard so of you could be kind I would be grateful thank you (i'm.nearly crying writing this!)

Use bar soap, not shower gel. Wash you hair thoroughly with shampoo, condition if necessary.

Launder towels well, rotate them regularly.
Same with sponges/washcloths. There's no point showering well and drying with a sweaty towel.

Make sure you launder your clothes well. Use good quality detergent and conditioner. Keep the machine clean, do a maintenance wash at 90° every so often, check that there isn't scum in the rubber seal. Always remove clothes straight away, never let them sit in the machine after washing. It'll make the clothes smell mouldy. In turn you will smell.

Drying clothes.
If you're not using a dryer, you will be drying inside in this weather, you need to make sure your house is clean and well aired, otherwise the bad smells from the home will cling to the clothes and you'll smell. Air the house constantly, ensure it's not damp. Make sure the clothes are perfectly dry before you put them away.

Pay attention to areas where you sit and your bed. If your hygiene hasn't been optimal, there can be a lingering odour from unwashed butt, sweaty.pits and greasy hair, where your head hits the sofa/headboard. Same in your car. These will need to be deep cleaned by smothering in bicarb and left to stand a day or two and then hoovered. Repeat this often. Air out the house every day. Hoover and clean.

Don't forget to wash your coats, hats, bras, cardigans, etc. If something lives on a hook, like a hoody or dressing gown, wash that too.

If you have pets you need to ensure their hygiene needs are kept too, if they smell you'll smell. Overflowing litter trays or dogs drool on soft furnishings, hair, etc all leave a smell.

Basically, there'll possibly be stale smell in your home/car/clothes which you'll have to deal with as well as the daily maintenance personal and on your home/car etc

Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time OP I've been there so can relate.

A PP said it but clean hair, clean clothes, clean body and change your bedding weekly.

Mitchum gel is excellent for sweating, smells nice too. I put it on the night before so it has time to work and it keeps me dry and fresh all the next day. A good fabric conditioner can help, I use Comfort Blue Skies. It can help to get a nice smelling conditioner once you've washed your hair. I use John Frieda Flawlessly Straight, smells really lovely.

Also the exfoliating shower gloves are good.

You don't need perfume but the cheap ones are usually a bit overpowering. Best go for quality, Jo Malone has some nice ones (Pomegranate Noir) as do Chanel. You don;t need much, one nice squirt and then on your wrists or I put some between my breasts and maybe on my neck.

I also agree with the shaving, when I was overweight and sweating a lot, it did help me feel fresher to have shaved pits and trimmed pubes.

I swear by a product called Trust. You can buy it for £8 from deodorant section in Boots.
It’s zinc oxide with a light lemon scent. It kills the bacteria that make the smell. You only need to put it on once a week and fresh pits the entire time!

Shower, deodourant and then layering (body lotion and perfume).

Carry some body spray around with ya, in your handbag

Two words: fabric conditioner

A quick wash at lunch break, if you have weight on you it will be easier to smell earlier, get some fresh wipes for a quick wipe.
DP uses those strong 24 hour deodorant with aftershave. He is heavy showers daily and smells beautiful all the time.
A nice light perfume.
A lady got on the bus last night nearly knocked me out wearing Alien perfume and a mix of other smells.
Your colleague's may use these over smelling perfumes.
I'm glad you are making changes to feel good, every step counts.

Femfresh powder Under your boobs and down below and in any creases, it's not a talc, so not dangerous in any way, keep you dry.
Daily shower and wear all clothing just the once.

Forgot to add, be mindful of which materials you wear as some synthetics can encourage sweating etc.

Another tip for perfume put a little Vaseline on your wrists/neck the spray with EDP of your choice ,just holds it in and "traps it! (Tip given to me by lady at the Perfume Shop) Sometimes you need to use a different deodorant as they often stop working after a while .Body Shop "Rose" spray is lovely and fresh for a light scent .Or Jo Malone ?. Try some scent and walk around for a while while it sinks into your skin .

Tesco are doing some lovely perfumes which are quite Jo Malone like and they're only £10.00.

Another vote for body lotion/butter. When I'm not using perfume (which I am guilty of sometimes going over board with) I simply put some on my arms and I smell nice for the rest of the day. I use bomb cosmetics as they are nice scents, that last all day but without being over powering or giving you or your colleagues a headache!

Mitchum roll on deodorant is brilliant.
Some nicely scented hair shampoo and conditioner (aldi and lidl so some lovely ones, it doesn't have to be an expensive brand)

Like other people say, bar soap, Mitchell roll on deodorant.
If you go to next have a sniff of Cashmere perfume, its lovely and not expensive x

If you are showering daily and using soap there is no reason why you should not be still smelling perfectly acceptable by mid afternoon unless you have a medical condition.

Are you clothes being washed often enough? No point having a pleasant smelling body if your clothes are whiffy.

Use actual soap instead of shower gel.

Awful, cheap or over-strong perfume in worse than no perfume. There is no need to wear it to smell nice and anyway, one person's lovely perfume is somebody else's migraine inducing stink.

Just stick to keeping your body and your clothes clean. That is enough.

@dottiedodah I'm going to try this! Sounds fab thank you for the tip

Sweat does get trapped in hair, and then when it begins to go stale it smells. So the advice wasn't wrong.

Op as well as making sure your clothes are freshly laundered in the morning, you can use some wet wipes or similar to have a little rub down of your pits etc at lunch time, then apply fresh deodorant.

Fresh clothes everyday a must

Gosh, the OP has certainly had lots of advice!

My tip is to iron your clothes. The v hot temperature kills any bacteria that might have survived after laundering.

Also, just occurred to me to say that even if you are washing your clothes regularly, it's REALLY IMPORTANT to make sure they are washed at at least 40 degrees occasionally (not delicates though) and dried and aired fully before folding.

One of the biggest causes of musty smelling clothing is not lack of washing, it's washing at too low a temperature and not airing and drying fully making them smell damp and mouldy.

I wear Opium eau de toilette and am often complimented on how nice I smell. I used Simple soap, and a neutral laundry product, so I don't have a lot of competing scents.

As there have said (and you are already obviously doing0 it needs be on over clean body and clothes.

Soap not shower gel.

Scented moisturiser.
Roll on deodorant.
Ample perfume. I spray it all over like body spray.
New clean clothes every day.

Bar soap under arms
The sure 48hr cream deo (about £5) at night
Quick spray of another deo in the morning
Dettol anti bac in the wash for anything that smells a bit sweaty
Wax melts at home and windows open every day
Keep clothes/coats away from cooking smells
Perfume
Nice smelling hand cream

If you have body hair and you sweat, the sweat sticks to it and makes a horrid odour, so shaving body hair really helps. Clean clothes every day, and a shower every second day with a flannel wash in between. Also, Mitchum deodorant is very good, and keep a small roll on in your handbag to freshen up. As for perfume, there is some very nice ones in Primark for under £5 (I like the peach one), spray some behind your ears, one spray on each side of your neck, and one spray on each wrist, and rub your wrists together. Talcum powder where skin rubs together, (such as breasts and under your stomach if you are overweight), is a big help. And also, buy some dry shampoo if your hair tends to be greasy, (I like the batiste one), buy a big one and leave it at home, and get a small one for your handbag. Keep a brush in your bag to comb it through. And keep a small makeup bag in your handbag to refresh your makeup during the day. It’s good to have powder, a powder puff to apply it, blotting paper, lipstick, rouge, a brush to apply the rouge , a nice compact mirror and a small bottle of fixing spray. Also, make sure to have a few sanitary napkins or tampax in your bag, just in case. HTH!

Bar soap is much better than shower gel. ‘Dove’ does not count as a bar soap as it’s 25% lotion (or something like that anyway).

It might not be technically a soap but it's as effective as soap. I've been using Dove for donkey's years, wouldn't be without it and I find it much better than shower gel.