Just think about how badly those people might smell if they did NOT douse themselves!

My worst nightmare - getting trapped in a lift (sorry, elevator?) with a person wearing "Poison" (by Dior??) death might be prefferable, or imminent!

Are you okay now Cherie and MD - or do you need smelling salts? (sorry, just had a laugh reading through the above)

Es

This is soooo funny... just today at lunch we stopped at a supposedly 5 star restaurant for lunch... a woman walked by with a scent that was so strong it stayed way after she left to go to another dining room... when she stood in the door to greet somebody the scent arrived before she did....She walked past us to the rest rooms and we waited for her to come back so we could hold our breath... I understand in HALIFAX, N.S. there is a no perfume ordinance in schools, offices, etc.

Bear in mind it isn't just women who are guilty of over scenting. There are some very strong mens fragrances wafting around out there and they are just as bad if not worse than the womens scents.

Hmmmmm....I can't remember the last time I felt that an overabundance of women's OR men's scent was pleasant to be around. I think the point has been made.

Been there too often. Easily handled. I pull out my bottle of Advil and take two. The over-bearing person usually says something, to which I politely, but firmly say, that when some fragrance is applied too heavily, I develop a headache. I offer her/him some Advil too, and the point is well taken. Too much fragrance is just as rude as too much talking on a flight.

I have an eccentric but useful friend who has had a stack of cards printed up that say something like:

"You seem like a nice person, but I wonder if you realize how heavy your fragrance is. I'm giving you this card at the end of the trip because there was nothing to be done once you'd already doused yourself for the day. However, for the benefit of future traveling companions, I suggest that next time you refrain from putting on any perfume, cologne, or aftershave until you reach your destination.

Some of us are very sensitive or even allergic to these fragrances, and traveling next to someone wearing so much is very unpleasant. Thank you."

Perfume, in excess, is like smokers, who simply stink, but they can't smell it. ditto, people who don't wash much..they are used to the smell, and don't see why others are so "finiky". I, myself, take a mask (can buy them in any paint store) and put it on, in the opera, airplane, train, or where ever I find some offensive smells. Better than to try to get others to change their behavior, which is the lost cause of the century, in my opinion.

A tad confused as to why this subject is here, but it's a topic I feel strongly about, especially as I am unlucky enough to have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. This syndrome of too much fragrance is more common to women, although I've certainly found men with the habit. I can't expalin it, but it's a fact that it is NOT an easy subject to raise with the offender; one's perosnal smell - foul or "pleasant" - never is. To a responder who said, "At what point is it reasonable to dictate to others how much personal scent is reasonable?" I would ask, at what point is it legitimate to fill public space with one's own stifling olfactory presence? It is exactly the same as playing a boom box in public, thus kindly giving everyone around a free concert of what YOU want to listen to.