# Why does perfume stink? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912 "2006-12-05T05:41:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912/1 "2006-12-05T05:41:53Z")
I’ve got nothing against old people. We are all heading in that direction, but I swear almost all the perfume I smell on older women absolutely reeks! If I’m in line some where and an older woman gets behind me I have to change lines or if I’m eating at a restaurant, I feel like I’m going to gag. What are they wearing? Do they put too much on? But that shouldn’t change the odor of the perfume! What are they trying to cover up? Younger women sometimes smell good when they wear perfume, but I prefer no smell at all. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912/2 "2006-12-05T05:58:45Z")
I think your sense of smell (& taste) [deteriorates as you get older](http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/7/845) so they use moire. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912/3 "2006-12-05T15:48:32Z")
Plus the scents they may have used for years might be heavier than what is in style now, which tend to be lighter and more “natural”. Or, seriously, they may be worried about other smells and try to mask them. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912/4 "2006-12-05T16:06:18Z")
Or the perfume itself might be old, and have gone “off,” without their realizing it. My grandmother kept open bottles of perfume for _decades_. She never had the problem you speak of, though. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912/5 "2006-12-06T21:03:13Z")
Some people think you can perfume up in lieu of a bath. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-perfume-stink/382912/6 "2006-12-07T07:24:34Z")
I would like to tell you about my grandmother, who is an amazing, fun, and active woman of 80 years. My mother, myself, and a few aunts were playing cards with her at her home a few weeks ago and she she suddenly says, “I haven’t put on anything that smells nice in a while.” We think nothing of this, but she goes to her bedroom and comes out absolutely reeking of some cheap and/or expired perfume. I’ve never known this woman to smell bad (or like this god awful perfume) before. I had to change shirts after I left because when I hugged her goodbye it got on me. I don’t know the answer to your question, but I think it must have something to do with loss of the sense of smell, which probably also ties into why old people often have a “smell” even when it isn’t perfume.