# Perfume haters unite! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375 "2006-03-29T06:07:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Logan\_5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/fbc32d/32.png) [@Logan\_5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Logan_5)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/21 "2006-03-29T22:23:01Z")
I get pretty immediate headaches from perfume. One reason I tend to stay away from department stores and malls is because of perfume counters/areas. Which for some ridiculous reason always seem to be placed in the entrance. I love scents so long as I can only smell it if I am close to you. I love scented oils, incense and scented candles, but something about the alcohol/caustic properties of perfume make me ill. Feels like someone smacked my forehead with a shovel. I do like to wear oils, but again that’s like two drops from the applicator stick after getting out of the shower. What I want to know is why must some people dowse their clothes too??? Grrrrrr. When I used to live at home we could always tell how long it had been since my aunt got home or left by the strength of the lingering perfume in the air. Ugh, that was awful. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/22 "2006-03-30T02:32:31Z")
Man, I love the stuff. And women know it. That’s the only explanation for why, in any given empty venue, they have to come and sit right in front, behind or two seats away from me, and allow me to bask in the fog of lilac they’ve managed to get in a 55-gallon drum at Wal-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/23 "2006-03-30T17:51:01Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Overdone perfume is criminal, but even the “right amount” doesn’t work for me. I mean, I can HANDLE light perfume… if I have to… but I don’t like it. I can just manage to deal with it. I agree completely. People should just smell clean, or not smell bad. I know everyone has some scent naturally; just go with that. > [@Tikki](#): > > In order to hide his habit, he douses himself with aftershave after a smoke. I had a co-worker like this. You always knew when he had been out for a smoke and then passed through the department. As long as it’s not right after a smoke, I’d actually rather get a whiff of that. I’m extra-sensitive too at this point because a friend has RADS, and I wonder how many other people are suffering because of this junk. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/24 "2006-03-30T18:13:32Z")
My GF uses perfume, but I can’t smell it even if my face is buried in her neck. To me, that’s a good amount. A lady in the office however, left a lingering trail of stink wherever she went. It would last for hours. The problem finally went away when she was repeatedly warned about the no-scent policy. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/25 "2006-03-30T21:25:19Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I’m extra-sensitive too at this point because a friend has RADS, and I wonder how many other people are suffering because of this junk. A friend invited me to a meeting once for people with all sorts of allergies (airborne types being the biggie). Right near the main door was a table with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bowl of cotton balls. Everyone wearing perfumed products was encouraged to clean them off with the alcohol so those with perfume allergies could breathe easy. There were a whole lot of people there–many of whom, I’m sure, were happy for a little reprieve from the perfumed world. I don’t remember the name of the group that hosted this meeting, which discussed the causes of allergies and how to cope with them, but maybe with some research on web, you can find something like this in your area. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/26 "2006-03-30T23:58:46Z")
Man, I hate perfume. I’m not allergic but I have a very good sense of smell. I can smell fruit being cut from the other side of the house. So if you are wearing any sort of perfume then most of the time I will smell it wherever you have been for the rest of the day (assuming you were indoors, like in my house) and I DON’T LIKE PERFUME! Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/27 "2006-03-31T04:03:59Z")
I have the nose equivalent of short-sightedness. There are only two smells that I catch inmediately: garlic and smoke. But even I can smell some people that seem to be pickled in some cheap scent. It is the closest thing to physical assault that I have endured. They might as well stick and icepick in my ear while at it. Thank Og I can’t smell my husband’s, and even when I do he uses it so sparingly that I can only barely smell it now matter how close we are. Smell clean, what a novel concept! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/28 "2006-03-31T06:44:20Z")
I will indeed unite with perfume haters. I have a sensitive nose, and I hate most perfumes - I’ve mentioned it before on these boards - people who wear perfume almost uniformly believe that they are not offending anyone with it, but your beautiful, light perfume is my overpowering stench. If people are clean, and most North Americans who are out and about in the world are, you don’t need perfume. It doesn’t enhance anything about the person wearing it; it does, however, make lots of people not want to be around you. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/29 "2006-03-31T07:27:30Z")
Yes. I don’t think that you should be able to smell a person unless you’ve got your nose pressed against them. That’s a very firm belief. Scent is just not a part of your “identity” that is appropriate to broadcast, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/30 "2006-03-31T08:07:24Z")
I find myself attracted to women that smell great (ala the wolf in Woody Woodpecker cartoons). Too much is not good. Some women like cologne. I have been called out in public by women asking “who is that that smells good” or “who smells like…” and I’m always glad when I have to admit it. I wear very little. Try to stop me from wearing it! I do agree with moderation. I’ve been using a “bottle” for several months now, it’s halfway full, and the whole thing is about the size of a Jolly Rancher. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/31 "2006-03-31T08:45:02Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > My GF uses perfume, but I can’t smell it even if my face is buried in her neck. To me, that’s a good amount. A lady in the office however, left a lingering trail of stink wherever she went. It would last for hours. The problem finally went away when she was repeatedly warned about the no-scent policy. Erm… I hate strong perfume as much as any strong-perfume-hater, but why take the trouble of wearing perfume if no one can smell it at all? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/32 "2006-03-31T14:28:42Z")
It’s dificult to say this without giving the wrong idea. I prefer people’s natural scents. By that, I don’t mean the stink of unwashed bodies. But, everybody has their own scent. When I hug my father, I get a big whiff of dad. There’s Old Spice in there somewhere, but most of the smell is a unique combination found nowhere else. I find it a profoundly comforting smell. When I cuddle with my niece, she has a unique scent. I can get Barbie strawberry shampoo anywhere. But, nobody bottles the smell of Skyler. It’s the same with girlfriends. I don’t want a woman who smells of perfume. I want the smell that is unique to her. I’m not talking about sniffing dirty socks, underwear, or unwashed armpits. One of the things I enjoy about cuddling is breathing in the scent of a woman. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/33 "2006-03-31T14:38:16Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I prefer people’s natural scents. By that, I don’t mean the stink of unwashed bodies. But, everybody has their own scent. I have noticed that too, and I perfer it that way over artificial perfumes. Actually the smell of perfume makes me think of a fat stinky person, which I suspect came about because in my experence fat people are more likely to use perfumes, the fatter the stronger, for a reason that I can only guess that fat people stink at least to themselves. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/34 "2006-03-31T14:39:13Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > Erm… I hate strong perfume as much as any strong-perfume-hater, but why take the trouble of wearing perfume if no one can smell it at all? 😕 Who cares? As long as I can’t smell it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/35 "2006-03-31T14:41:34Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > One of the things I enjoy about cuddling is breathing in the scent of a woman. There is no smell in the world better, sweeter, more comforting, more arousing, more pleasant than the sweet aroma of fresh-washed girl. Except maybe bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375/36 "2006-03-31T22:48:00Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > \Except maybe bacon. Mmm, bacon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-haters-unite/350375.md?page=1)