How much perfume/cologne is enough?

[Micca]

Male Dis-er/DH checking in here. It really isn't necessary at all but "a whisper" is ok if you like it. I remember when DDs were teenagers they used to slather that stuff on before going out. They were thinking it would attract the guys and I figure it would pretty much keep them away.

 

[willowsnn3]

I had a coworker years ago, that would complain that perfume would make her cough and make her nose run. I would roll my eyes at her and think what a crabby old lady.
Well karma......now 10 years later, I'm the crabby old lady who gets a runny nose when someone with too much perfume comes too close

Yes, I am becoming a crabby old lady too....

 

[Minnesota!]

I love perfume, and cologne. I like clean, airy scents best. I spray on my wrists, then one over the top of my head...the misting effect.

Currently I am hooked on a sea-salt and fig that I found somewhere...I love it!

 

[Magpie]

I never said drench, did I? If you can't tell the difference between drenching yourself in scent or being subtle, you're right, you shouldn't wear any. I rarely wear perfume and when I do, I mist and walk through. I have a signature daily scent I use and people at work only comment on it when they are standing close to me and ask what I am wearing because it smells so good.

The question was, "Don't you want to smell good for your significant other?" Which raises the question... Does this imply people who don't wear perfume don't care about pleasing their partners? Do they just not smell good?

Personally, my partner thinks I smell better without perfume, and I have to assume that it never crosses anyone else's mind to even notice that I smell of anything at all (certainly it's not something I notice about most other people, thankfully). And I think I'm quite happy with that state of affairs, even if it means I've missed out on a compliment or two.

I'd rather be complimented on my hair, nails and clothing, than my smell. Compliments on my figure are always welcome, too.

 

[mrodgers]

Another male here. Working in a manufacturing plant, it's 115° at floor level. The north wall is covered in 6 foot ventilation fans. There's ventilation fans on the roof. 3 garage doors that are open across the front high enough for trailers to be backed in. We are in a control room 40 feet above floor level inside a building inside the building. We are 150 feet away from the bathroom which is behind another office, bulk material storage bags, a dumpster (which usually stinks like crazy), a 53 foot box trailer, and is downwind from all the ventilation and garage doors and someone will comment, "Bobbi just got off break and just came out of the bathroom." We can smell her body spray or whatever she uses as soon as she opens the bathroom door and leaves the bathroom.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am beginning to think perfume bottles should only squirt one big swoosh then lock up for at least 6 hours. Or if it is not a spritzer type, only allow 3 drops in that 6 hour span. You know kinda like the chip in the refillable mugs, lol.

Anyone else feel the same?

I wish I could magically block the smell out.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I'm good with just soap. Never had any desire to put additional odors on myself.

 

[MrsDuck]

0 perfume/cologne is my preference. I am super sensitive and most scents bother me. I wish I was into it - buying perfume seems like a fun process.

 

[Christine]

I never used to be sensitive but I am now. Just this week, someone in my office came in wearing a scent that permeated the three adjacent cubicles and wafted into two offices. My nose started running and whenever I had to take a phone call, my voice was breaking up. When I walked away, it would clear up and as soon as I was back around it, everything would start up again. I was like that for about 4 hours until the perfume finally started to wear off.

 

[Disney Doll]

It should never enter the room before you do nor remain in the room after you leave.

 

[disykat]

I don't wear perfume due to allergies, but I at least can understand why people want to smell like perfume. I will NEVER understand why people want to smell like deodorant, laundry detergent, etc. Can you imagine the compliments they get? "Mmm, I can tell you are sweating because you smell like deodorant!" "Mmm, you smell like dryer sheets!"

If people who aren't hugging you are commenting on your smell, you are using too much!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I do one spray on my neck and one on my wrist. If I have to reach across someone's computer at work to help them I do get complimented. But you can't smell me before I enter the room.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I only wear perfume when I am going out with my dh on date night or a wedding or something like that - I spray and walk into it. I either wear scented lotion daily from Bath and Body or a spray from Bath and Body. Both are very subtle and only i can smell them on me unless my dh is hugging me then he can smell them as well. I don't want to smell you from a mile away so I don't want to be smelled from a mile away either ;-)

 

[sunshinehighway]

I only wear perfume when I am going out with my dh on date night or a wedding or something like that - I spray and walk into it. I either wear scented lotion daily from Bath and Body or a spray from Bath and Body. Both are very subtle and only i can smell them on me unless my dh is hugging me then he can smell them as well. I don't want to smell you from a mile away so I don't want to be smelled from a mile away either ;-)

It's all so subjective. I wear perfume daily but absolutely hate the scented lotions from the Bath and Body. To me, they are just so strong. When I wear perfume I randomly will get a whiff or it here and there through the day. The scented lotions I smell constantly until I wash them off.

 

[manning]

Way back Za za gabor got out of the elevator and we got in. It was a long ride up and it was only to the 2nd floor.

 

[Vijoge]

It should never enter the room before you do nor remain in the room after you leave.

At my most recent place of employment you enter through an exterior door into a small foyer that's about 8' x 10', then you go through another door to get into the main building. Both of these doors remain closed at all times except when someone is entering or leaving the building. Invariably I would arrive at work and the foyer area would be filled with the strongest smell of scent you can possibly imagine. It almost seems impossible that someone could leave that much scent behind in the 3 seconds it takes to cross between these two doors. But they do. There are a lot of young women working there who shop the sales at Bath and Body Works and stock up on quart sized bottles of body spray and then think they need to use the whole quart in a week. Everywhere you go in the building you can smell where they've been.

 

[pryncess527]

I never understood the need.

You don't understand the need to smell good for your significant other?

I don't understand the need for perfume as the only path to smelling good for your significant other.

I have a signature scent that I used to wear daily. I still love it and wear it on occasion, but my DH prefers it when I don't wear any.

 

[Magpie]

I don't understand the need for perfume as the only path to smelling good for your significant other.

I have a signature scent that I used to wear daily. I still love it and wear it on occasion, but my DH prefers it when I don't wear any.

Back when I was in the Reserves, there was a young man who used to get right up next to me (waaay inside my personal bubble) and comment on how terrific my "perfume" smelled. I wasn't wearing any. Far as I could tell, he was zeroing in on my shampoo. I actually ended up switching to a less "fruity" brand, because I didn't need his nose up in my hair all the time.

I think most people who wear scent are like you - they wear it for themselves, because they think it smells nice. If their partners appreciate it, all to the better. But I suspect that's a secondary consideration. At least, I've never personally met anyone who actively prefers their partner to wear perfume/cologne/body spray and doesn't like the way they smell without it.

 

[Domo]

What about perfumed washing powder etc. for clothes?

 

[Domo]

I remember back to my teen years, we used to lather on the Lynx deodorant - not sure what they call that in the US, if anything else at all. I remember one guy used to empty half a can in one sitting on himself after each gym session! It was classed as 'sophisticated'... these days, we're far more reserved!