I ran out of the house this morning a little late, but I could still get to work on time.
Halfway to work, I realized that I had forgotten to put on antiperspirant. Some people might be able to get through a day without it, but I certainly can’t without noticeable repercussions.
So, would you turn around and be late or go on to work and be stinky?
(I turned around.)
Depends how far away “halfway” is, and what stores are on the route. If it’s an hour drive and turning around when halfway there means spending an additional hour on the road, then no. I’d have stopped at a drug store or supermarket on the way. Worst case, run out at lunchtime and buy some.
I’ve been there, my friend. Your options may be different than mine, but depending on what I’ve worn, I’ve either gotten away with it (blazer over a sweater keeps things contained, as it were) OR popped out during lunch and gotten antiperspirant then.
My particular situation is that there’s no place to stop en route, but I figure everyone has been in one of these no-win situations. 
Isn’t there a store on the way where you can stop and buy some anti-erspirant?
If not, keep some in your office.
Seriously you are payed to be on time, not to smell nice.
Next time keep some backup antiperspirant in the office.
I’d assess the likelihood of people being able to tell.
If I’m going to working outside, in the hot sun, then I might consider going back.
But if I’m going to be in the over-air conditioned office all day, then no.
Even in the first situation, I’m leaning towards “no”. I don’t smell that bad (I don’t think!) And I don’t work that close to people that they’d notice, even if I was stinking.
Those trial-sized tolietries you find at the drugstore are great to keep in the car.
If I couldn’t get to a store, then I’d just go to work and wash up at lunchtime. Not to be responsible, but to avoid having to stay later.
Back when I had a 1-2 hour commute, and going home wasn’t an option, I had a checklist of products to always keep in my purse: toothbrush, baby powder, safety pins, nailclippers, lip balm. Wouldn’t leave the house without any of it. Now I walk 10 minutes to my desk at school, I’m lucky to remember my cellphone.
I would go stinky or, rather, wash up at lunch time. If I’m late I get the bad parking.
I keep deoderant in my desk drawer in my office just incase I need it.
Had you showered, or just leapt out of bed all funky? If the latter, then definitely turn around. If you’ve showered, you’ve got some time before the clean wears off, so I’d go in and then try to score some anti-perspirant at lunchtime.
This is why I always keep a spare at work. You will too, I think, starting tomorrow!
Would you believe that air freshener will tide you over for the day? I learned that the hard way. Sure, it wo’t keep you from sweating and it can turn your skin itchy, but you won’t smell!
Since I live in Texas and work at a university with no good parking remotely near my building, I would stop and buy some deodorant. Most of the year I would end up stinky and gross in about ten minutes.
If buying deoderant on the way wasn’t an option, I would reluctantly go back home in most cases, because I think in most situations people would develop a worse impression of someone who they’ve noticed smells bad than they would of someone who shows up late (especially since you can more easily make up plausible excuses for lateness than you can for BO).
I feel like this was a dilemma presented a while back. Deja vu all over again…
I’m in New England and it’s winter. Unless you are a beasty sweaty mofo, you could probably go a few days funk free. That’s assuming you aren’t hitting the gym before work, or getting your swerve on with someone. Telltale smells for both of those activities.
It also depends on what you do and how close you have to be to others. If you work in a cubicle and have minimal contact with people in close quarters, probably no worries on your end. If you’re going to be in a conference room around a table you’d better go to CVS/Eckerd/Walgreens and pick up a roll on. Or eke it out until your morning break and make a visit.
I don’t make a point of looking for funk. So unless you just farted, or haven’t bathed for a week, or have the dreaded coffee/ciggy breath, I probably wouldn’t notice. But if I do notice the funk, and it comes from you, I’m never forgetting that…
I’m with George Carlin here. Make sure all of your openings are deodorized and clean, and you’re pretty much in the clear. (I suppose you don’t have to worry about the nostrils and earholes too much, but everything else…)
When I have a locker, I keep antiperspirant in it.
When I don’t, I carry it in my laptop bag. And if I ever forget that, I absolutely need to go back, can’t work without the thing.
If you were going to be working outside in the hot sun, presumably your coworkers would be too, and probably wouldn’t notice because they’d be hot and smelly. Don’t you all walk around hot and smelly all day down there in the South, anyway? I know I did when I was in south Texas. When it’s 90 degrees with 90% humidity by 6 in the morning, there’s not much antiperspirant can do for you.
Yup. I learned that in high school when I used Glade to cover up the smell of the smoky vices I indulged in between classes. That particular problem doesn’t come up anymore, but I still don’t go anywhere without a can of air freshener in my car, knowing how versatile it is.
Forgive me if this is a bit of a closed-minded and American question to ask, but were you as vigilant about taking deodorant everywhere before you lived here?
No actually, although I do know some other people who do the same and have not lived in the US. I didn’t catch the “carry a toothbrush bug” until Costa Rica.
Heck, before going Over There I was in school. In primary school and high school, pretty much the only time I got any appreciable stink was because of Phys Ed, which included a shower anyway, so no deodorant needed. And in college, well, that college stinks of SH2 (rotten eggs) during half the year; the other half of the year you are liable to catch wafts of assorted organic odors as you walk in front of lab doors. A classmate once got in a sardine-can-dull bus and wondered why was everybody giving him space… and then realized his lab-neighbor was brewing urea. D’oh! :smack:
So not the kind of environments where anybody gives a shit about clean sweat.
There’s enough ‘stinky’ people at my work that the management have provided anti-perspirant/deodorant in all the loos to save us other folk the olfactory onslaught of their wafting.
Which means, if I forget to douse before work, I have ample opportunity when I get there to spray a fug under me’ arms. Not that I really need it of course: it’s just insurance.
I keep a supply of deodorant, mouthwash, floss, tampons, moisturiser, lip balm, nail file, gum, contact lens solution, eye drops, spare pair of stockings and vitamins in my desk should I forget any of these in the morning. Yes, I am often told I am like a girl scout.
But in the case that I did not have this, I would generally only turn around if I forgot my wallet, keys or underwear. Otherwise I figure I can make it through a day without.