Stomach Churning Fragrances...
 

Please, oh please, if you love fragrance, could you restrain yourself and dab on just a tiny bit? Or, better yet, spray it into the air and walk through it??? I am continually amazed that some individuals douse themselves so profusely with fragrance that it not only fills up an entire indoor concert hall, restaurant, hotel lobby, elevator... but all of the greater outdoors! My husband and I attended a concert in an OUTDOOR venue last Saturday night, and someone a few seats down was so drenched in fragrance that we had to remove ourselves and stand beyond the seats after 20 minutes. If you adore fragrance, please know that it's best that it be SUBTLE! If anyone can smell it beyond your personal space, you're wearing much too much! Ironically, you may not be aware that what you hope others will find ever so appealing actually nauseates them! BIG TIME. Assuming it's the "good" stuff and very expensive, it will go much farther with just a dab at a time... It's just so distressing to suffer overpowering fragrances on a plane, in a restaurant, at the movies - everywhere! If you feel "naked" without overloading yourself with your favorite fragrance and notice that people scatter away or give you funny looks or wave their hand in front of their face when you approach - consider that you may be applying far too much.

A resounding second to this complaint! <BR> <BR>I was recently on a 3-hr. flight pinned next to a woman who was surrounded by a cloud of perfume that was almost visible. I am quite allergic to most aftershaves and many perfumes -- particularly Este Lauder, Avon, and Chanel lines (for some reason)-- and almost anything that is sprayed on. I get a headache that verges on a migraine, my sinuses close down, and I am miserably foggy for about 24 hours after a major "immersion." <BR> <BR>Of course, there's nothing you can do once someone has already put the perfume on, so I said nothing. When she went to the rest room just before landing and put MORE on, I wish I had said something anyway. <BR> <BR>An antihistamine helps my reaction, but it works best if I've taken it ahead of time -- which means I'd have to know I'd be caught with someone. And an antihistamine wouldn't save me or anyone else from the choking odor. <BR> <BR>I'm considering printing up a card to hand to these women AND MEN that says: <BR> <BR>"You seem like a lovely person, and it's obvious you enjoy nice fragrances and don't feel dressed without them. However, you may not realize that when you travel, you may be in the company of someone like me who has severe allergies or someone who may not enjoy perfumes or aftershaves as much as you do. <BR> <BR>Next time, you'd be doing us a kindness to use much less fragrance, and perhaps to wait until you reach your destination to put it on. Thanks very much."

In my experience, people who douse themselves in perfume are accustomed to the scent and often don't realize how powerful it is. On two occasions I've asked overly fragrant people if they were wearing a certain scent, and both seemed shocked because they were across the room from me at the time! They honestly did not know strongly they smelled, and both resolved not to wear so much fragrance in the future, without any prompting from me!

Short of having cards printed up (Leila's), is there a good way to deal with these people? Has anyone ever seen a "perfume-free zone" sign anywhere? <BR> <BR>sp24 is right that they don't seem to know, but is there a good way to tell them without insulting them?

There can be an upside to this sort of thing... when I was in college there was a particular, rather ditzy woman who talked incessantly to anyone who's ear she could grab. She dosed herself so heavily with perfume that one could "smell her coming" around the corner in the Student Union and hide out until danger had passed!

Don't you mean "don't wear too much cologne when you TRAVEL"? Why are you writing this on a travel forum?

Cherie: Please write again when you have something interesting to contribute. Thank you.

If a person puts on too much perfume they can dab rubbing alcohol on the spot and it takes away a majority of the smell. You can offer them a sterile alcohol pad. It may seem rude but maybe they'll be so embrassed they'll never do it again.

This is something interesting to contribute: This is a travel forum for persons interested in travel. The Cologne we speak of here is in Germany. <BR>Remember.....Tra-Vel...For-Um. Have a lovely day.

Actually, I think this is relevant to travel. <BR>How do you approach the person next to you on the airplane(as your eyes well with tears, your sinuses start to clog and your head starts spinning in the most vertigo inducing way) and explain to them that the perfume they are wearing is making you really, really sick? <BR>You can't make them go away, and on a long flight that perfume is just going to get recycled through the cabin. <BR> <BR>I'm not going to make a plea for the total cessation of scent in any public venue. I wear it myself, but not a lot; and there are certain scents that have almost made me faint. <BR>So I put it to you, how do you address this very personal thing with a stranger who is unwittingly bringing you to your knees?

Once, we had an individual on a long flight spray himself constantly with some sort of fragranced-water in an atomizer. We politely mentioned this to the steward who stuck his face right into the gentleman's in the seat ahead so no one could hear and possibly cause embarrasement. The steward told him to stop immediately or risk moving his seat to the rear. We gagged for a while but the fellow got the point an stopped. Sometimes, I think, people are so wrapped up in themselves that they are totally unaware of their effect on the persons around them. You can't go around shooting everyone who irritates you. The airlines handled this one for us and the fellow was reasonable after realizing the cabin was an inappropriate place for misting whatever was in that atomizer. The thing to be careful about here is that you cannot control other's fragrance choices, and if you are too sensitive, you can't venture out in public arenas. On the other hand, it is reasonable to expect moderation in application. Now, on to travel! Anyone been to Grasse?

People who are wrapped in themselves and have no consideration of others were brought up by people who were wrapped up in themselves and had no consideration of others. It's a learned behavior, and not one that's likely to change in adulthood. Why should everyone else suffer or feel embarassment because of it? If it's making you sick, confront the offender and politely state what is obvious to everyone except him or her. If they are honestly unaware, you'll probably receive a contrite response and an attempt to do something about it, like wash it off. If they are hostile, then you know you're dealing with the inconsiderate type described above, in which case you should feel free to complain, gag, wheeze, throw up on the offender or anything else without worrying about being "inconsiderate." No one has the right to make others physically ill with toxic fumes.

Please don't encourage rage by suggesting that people act out on planes because they have a pet peeve. A simple notification of the steward handled our problem quite successfully and it was gone in a matter a minutes. Perhaps, as an MD, you could explain on the forum the difference between ACUTE breathing problems brought on by excessive fragrances and UNREMARKABLE dislike of fragrances in tight spaces. I think there is a big difference and I do not wish to be grossed out by someone just waiting to tell off the next fragrance-user. I think it is contingent upon the person who has extreme reactions to notify the airlines of THEIR problem and get a seat assignment in the most forward spot available, not in the middle of the plane which would put them in the most proximal location to all kinds of smells. Non-smokers have the same problem. Often, the line separating smoke from nonsmoking seats is imaginary. At what point is it reasonable to dictate to others how much personal scent is reasonable? Soap fragrance? Deodorant? Perfume that is reasonably applied? Seems to me that the problem can be handled without being vulgar as you suggested. I don't think being wrapped up in their travel is a learned behavior. People traveling have lots on their mind...they aren't all idiots raised by the same mentality...Some just haven't noticed that taking a "Parisian Bath" is NOT the same as a real one, no matter what the time constraints. -wife of MD

First of all, Cherie my dear, since you took such time to compose such an elaborate response, go back and take the time to read my post so you can respond intelligently. First of all, I made no claims to a medical degree. Those are my personal initials as part of a personal e-mail address. You are the one who decided to claim this. Second, neither I nor anyone else has encouraged "air rage" as you again falsely claim; at no time did I suggest violence. In fact, I agreed with your response to gag and really let those stinkers know that they stink. And if the smell is making you sick, you really can't help it if your stomach churns, and if it lands on the offender, well, they'll be forced to wash, now won't they? Inconsiderate people are inconsiderate wherever they go, whether they are traveling, at work or at home. We all know the type. <BR> <BR>Having people disagree with you obviously chaps your hide, doesn't it Cherie? Try to argue more intelligently next time, because we all know you'll have to jump right back in here and argue some more, now won't you? You can't even follow your own advice about not letting the world irritate you.

Obviously I owe you an appology. It appears that MD can stand for more than persons with a degree, however, one might wonder if the ID is up there for people to make the wrong assumption. Secondly, when posting, please do not refer to me so rudely as "my dear" since you and I have no relationship. I will not jump in here to debate your opinion since in a forum setting I think we are all entitled to our own opinions. This is an example of INTELLIGENCE. The original post had to do with a person at an outdoor concert who could not stay in her seat due to an overabundance of fragrance on another concert-goer. My post dealt with the fine line between buying one ticket to a venue, regardless of the seat being on a plane vs a outdoor event, and the civil rights of the people around them. (Am I using too large words for you?) Expelling body fluids such as coughing or worse, is not a protest or a statement of displeasure, its WRONG. Since this is supposed to be a travel forum, I will dwell no further. Please write back and poke me again....I won't look. mrsMD

Cherie honey, you-know-where will freeze over before you stop checking this topic for posts....your last one was just one more example of that. You couldn't stop arguing and posting if your life depended on it. You're a very easy person to bait. Take care babe.

I really appreciate this topic and I share the sentiments of most of those who posted. <BR> <BR>I just hate overpowering chemical fragrances but I love most natural ones, including most cooking smells. <BR> <BR>I once in a car which just reeked of air-freshener and when I got home I realized that my entire body reeked of it as well. <BR> <BR>The worst are aerosal sprays. It drove me crazy when I was kid and my roomates at school and summer camp used spray-deoderant. Why couldn't they be considerate and use a solid roll-on product? <BR> <BR>This would be a good time to ask if anyone has any experience with those little personal air-purifiers which you wear around your neck in your shirt pocket. I have seen them in catalogs and after what I've read about the quality of airplane cabin air (see a collum by Joe Harkins on this on www.travelthe.net) I am considering getting one of them before I fly. <BR> <BR>I haven't flown in years but I hope to soon and with my sinuses I am quite concerned about the air.

Airplanes are the worst! Our first trip to Europe was on Swiss Air to Switzerland. The plane was full and the hostess could not accomodate my request to relocate (or so she said). The combinations of heavy fragrances made for a very miserable trip. To make matters worse, as everyone was awakened for breakfast, most headed for the restrooms where they freshened up and splashed themselves liberally with the free "eau du Swiss Air" provided there. Ugh! It was really awful! To whoever wondered where to "draw" the line...that's simple - at the end of your elbow when raised to shoulder height. If anyone can smell you beyond that, it's offensive in my opinion. Anyone who's fragrance fills up an entire hotel lobby, restaurant, movie theater, etc. is making a lot of people uncomfortable and miserable. I know lots of single folks who wonder why they can't get dates...well, they apply so much fragrance (ostensibly to be more "attractive" to the opposite sex) that it keeps everybody away. Curiously, no one (including myself) likes to speak up about this. I've found that folks become VERY defensive, then offensive, when you suggest that their "popular and expensive" fragrance is too much. I saw a piece on TV (20/20, I think) about this. When they put a bunch of people in a room with someone wearing much too much fragrance, not one person said anything and only one not make an effort to pretend to ignore the situation. I can't imagine that there's a portable air freshener that's really effective where the fumes are overpowering, but I'm hoping to find one.

Thanks Donna, I enjoyed your post. <BR> <BR>Maybe wearing a gas-mask would be best!

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