Okay, this thread about the sense of smell got me thinking… What do you do when someone nearby is wearing way too much perfume/cologne/after shave? For me, it gets almost unbearable. My nose will itch, my eyes will water, and I’ll either start coughing or sneezing. This isn’t for those daubs of fragrance here and there. You know the type – they wear WAY WAY too much and you never lose them in the mall because you just follow their scent trail.
Do you ever say anything to them? If so, what do you say? “Um, you smell!” or “Did you break a bottle of perfume on you?” I mean… what do you say? I’ve always been stumped.
Me too, Baglady, and if it’s really, really strong I get a splitting headache. A light spritz of perfume doesn’t bother me, the kind you gotta be quite near the person to smell…I guess the extra fragance molecules fall off the Over-Odored and into my allergy center. Why they can’t all into their allergy center is beyond me.
Sadly, I’m a wimp so I rarely say anything, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Then again, they are dumping molecules into my allergy center, so perhaps they deserve a little hurt. I’m going to wait and see if one of the tactful, yet assertive people on this board show up with some good ideas.
Ugh. This is one of my pet peeves. IMO, unless you are in someone’s personal space (w/in say, 6 inches or so), you shouldn’t even be able to tell if they have perfume or cologne on. This applies to men as well as women.
If it’s a stranger who is over-doing it, I typically don’t say anything, I just get away from them ASAP. If it’s someone I know well, I have been known to say “You have way too much cologne on - go and air out somewhere.” I think it’s a courtesy - kind of like telling a friend “You’ve got a piece of spinach stuck in your teeth.”
I can’t wear any perfume at all as it gives me a really bad headache. If I try any perfume on or walk through the perfume department of a shop, I will have an awful headache which lasts all day and if I try to wear perfume the headache lasts three days.
When someone wears a bottle of perfume, I will make every effort to avoid them, as I am not a masochist, but have yet to say anything. Friends of mine know that I have this problem so will warn me if they’re going to put perfume on and move. Strange thing is I don’t have this problem with cologne or anything else scented. Lotions, creams, aftershave I’m fine with. Just perfume. My mother has the same problem, maybe it’s a genetic thing - senstive nose or something. Weird.