Perfume in the office

[Aninabertsi]

Why???!! Why do people think I would want to smell them from 30 feet away!? Or have the same taste as them? If you must use perfume, why not just use a small amount so only if I stand directly next to you I can smell it not all the way across the office (open plan office at that)...I can't think or concentrate on what I'm doing because all I can think off is this effing smell. Sorry for the rant but I think it should be banned

People don't like confrontation, hence my rant is only on here not in real life. I would never say it to my colleague, as i dont want to offend her. I did tell her to remove the air fresheners from her desk (she had 3 different types, all different smells), as I was 8 weeks pregnant and felt( and not just felt ) like throwing up every time I set foot in the office.

My work bans strong perfumes yet people still wear them, drives me up the wall. What's the point of a safety policy if you're not going to enforce it.

Walking into the ladies locker room is an assault on the sinuses.

OP I agree (perfume gives me migraines). However, you won't get much sympathy from Mumsnet on this topic. It is filed under the "why should I care about other peoples needs" category.

YANBU. As a neurodivergent person, perfume (& other smells) is one of the banes of my existence. I literally could not work in a place where people are wearing it as it gives me so much sensory distress and leads to sensory overload. There's definitely been an uptick in people wearing it too, and why? It usually just smells like artificial nasty chemicals, very few perfumes actually smell pleasant. People comparing it against smelling BO are making a false dichotomy - you can both not smell like BO and also not douse yourself in offensive chemicals that cause other people problems. Nobody needs perfume, it's completely unnecessary - there's other ways to smell nice that are a bit more discreet.

I think a lot of people take it very personally on here :) did it hit the nerve? I was never talking about people using a little bit of perfume. what I am saying is, if someone can smell you across the office, that is too much and should hopefully be clear to people BUT it evidently isn't...

When I was young and got the Metro to work, it was thick with Poison and Opium. It used to make my eyes water and make me wheezy. There were always a few lasses spraying it on in the carriage!

It's one of the reasons I was thrilled to be working from home. I'm very sensitive to noise and scents.
Am i the only one who doesn't like adults smelling of baby powder?

YANBU that people should be considerate when they work in an office, and this is just part of that. I tend to enjoy a waft of perfume when someone walks by, but being stuck next to them all day might not be so pleasant. Some people (like my Dad) have allergies and are sensitive to strong scent. Being forced to stay in an enclosed space with someone who smells strongly (whether through BO or perfume) would make his job more difficult.

I suspect it was more the 'ban everything that smells' posts that people are objecting to. I think most people try to wear fairly subtle perfume to work but then sometimes accidentally spray too much or spray at lunchtime so have half an hour or so where the top notes are intrusive before the perfume calms down again.

There's presumably some super smellers about as well, there's been a few posts about Sol de Janeiro but DD wears it and it's an inoffensive gourmand perfume that's very fashionable with the young.

I'm with you all the way on this! I HATE perfume - many make my eyes water and my nose run. And that grim after smell of skunk that lingers on people's clothes.... yuk, just yuk!

Showing your ignorance there.

And that's why some Asthmatics don't use swimming pools.

"Dior Poison was bad enough back in the day. Now it seems every damn perfume uses that scent as its benchmark to smell stronger. Gross."

Dior Poison is not perfume, it's insecticide. 😁

I've said this before but there is a special place in hell reserved for people who spray perfume in public places.There is no need to do it. Would you carry out other parts of your personal grooming routine in the office or on the number 6 bus? The worst is somewhere like a bus where I can't get away from it and can feel the migraine coming by my stop. I know the environment cannot be totally controlled but unnecessary odours like perfume do not belong where others have to suffer them. Keep them for at home.

Better than smelling of poo or BO

Just walking through the perfume section in John Lewis or Debenhams is enough to make me feel sick. I avoid them like the plague. And don’t get me started on Lush…

I avoid the perfume sections of department stores in hayfever season (not easy, as they're so often at the front of the store). And I avoid Lush full stop.

Better than smelling of poo or BO

Because it has to be one or the other?

Many people do carry out their personal grooming on the bus or train - brushing long hair, putting on makeup, painting nails. Same as many people have phone conversations about private matters on the bus or train where everyone can hear.

Out of interest, what was the job and what are the key points about jacket sleeve length?

Sorry but this is really gross. Trying to cover up the smell of not having washed with perfume smells worse than ever. Just have a wash.

I get very painful sinusitis and also eye allergies to perfume, plug ins, reed diffusers, strong cleaning sprays etc. I have permanent corneal damage from the eye irritation over the years. Fragrance sensitivity is no joke. When my sinuses kick off I end up in bed with saline washouts, steroid spray and codeine phosphate because the pain is so sharp. The steroid spray causes my nose to bleed if I use it too often.

It’s not either/or. I’m horrified by the number of people on this thread who seem to think the natural state of a human being is to smell of BO/poo. Have a wash and wear clean clothes- you then won’t need to mask anything.

This would actually stop me being able to work in that office. It’s horrible to have barriers like this to daily life and earning a living. It makes life very difficult. People who do this are very selfish.

Agreed. For those of us with sensory issues, it’s absolutely foul. If someone stinks of perfume/aftershave I assume they dislike soap or are just not very classy.

Less is more.

The jacket sleeve must be on your wrist bone - any shorter or longer will not do wagging finger

It was at large, old money / old school accountancy firm (not Big4)! I was just thinking wtf have I got myself into 😂

We live in the western world where access to clean water is thankfully a right. Nobody needs to be unwashed.

Christ, I think the person who created Dior Poison came up with that !. It certainly did.

I prefer a light subtle scent, a touch behind my ears and on my wrists that someone would have to get fairly close and intimate in order to detect.

Perfume is not supposed to fell your victim at 20 paces.