Perfume

[BigTexan]

This may be a little off topic here, but it relates to a story I'm trying to write so ...

Why do some women wear WAY too much perfume? I'm not talking just old women either. Them I can understand. Their noses may not be working as good as when they were younger and so they compensate with more perfume, perhaps without even realizing they are doing it. But younger women do it too.

I'm talking the women who, on a windy day, outside, their perfume makes your eyes water at fifty feet! Or the woman who walks by your table at dinner and your steak melts! There is no way they don't know. Hell they have to step over the bodies of those who have choked to death from their stench!

When ever my wife and I are out and we encounter one, usually at least once a week, my wife always grabs me and squeezes my arm just enough to let me know she'll kill me if I say anything. Yes I have been known to ask the woman if she killed a skunk that morning or if she fell into a septic tank and didn't have time for a bath.

But to the question. Why do women, and actually some men too, do this?

I'm thinking of having one of these characters in my story to add a little humor. But before I can put her in, I need to understand why she does it. What is she thinking? Does she really say to herself, "Hmm, you know a 16oz bottle of perfume should last more than 1 usage? Oh well!"

Anyone who can help me out, I would appreciate it.

BigTexan

 

[Guest]

just a guess...

I think that it is an outworking of the total person... My brother can be smelled at 100 ft and it fits with his total personality... larger than life. There is nothing subtle about him.

I wear a subtle scent that is pleasing to me and, I hope, anyone who I allow close enough to smell it... that is very few people. I was startled during my last annual check when my nurse practitioner asked me what scent I was wearing.... I have since sent her a bottle. I'm sure there's a lit story in there somewhere...

Some women have to have the latest and greatest and have to have everyone know it... "I just spent $185 on this bottle of very trendy perfume... be impressed". The pattern follows in their clothing and car.

Others really believe that "more is better".. more perfume, more make-up, more jewelry.

Currently, a popular scent is Amirage by Givenchy. I have yet to notice this scent in an understated way... I don't think it is possible to put it on without it being overpowering. It knocks me over...

These are my random thoughts... I am very olifactorily sensitive so I enjoyed the speculation. If we ever go out to supper together, BT, I will make the overly loud comments so you stay out of trouble with your wife...

b

 

[Chicklet]

I don't know.

it's disgusting, though, isn't it?

personally, though, i've come across just as many men who use too much of whatever they use.

Instead of "eyes watering" you could describe the hairs in your nose curling = )

Chicklet

 

[sirhugs]

I don't know.

...
Instead of "eyes watering" you could describe the hairs in your nose curling = )

Chicklet

LOL

good description, Chicklet!

I share the sense ( excuse the pun) that its largely the ' more is better' philosophy. Although most people who overdo seem too stereotypical and shallow to have thoughts. Ever notice how mant of the overly scented women have BIG hair and BIG chests ?

 

[BigTexan]

Instead of "eyes watering" you could describe the hairs in your nose curling = )

Chicklet

Actually I think it would be nose hair desolving!

And Sir Hugs, you may have something there, but the one who assulted me last night was more of a Junior League type, lots of jewelry, nose high in the air, and smelling like someone dumped a truckload of sugar onto a compost heap.

BigTexan

 

[Madame Manga]

Actually I think it would be nose hair desolving!

And Sir Hugs, you may have something there, but the one who assulted me last night was more of a Junior League type, lots of jewelry, nose high in the air, and smelling like someone dumped a truckload of sugar onto a compost heap.

BigTexan

*splutter*

Excellent simile. ;-) Oh, I know what you mean, believe me...I have rarely been knocked down by artificial scents on men, but often on women. Conversely, I have rarely been knocked down by overripe NATURAL scents on women. American women don't like to be smelly, and some take it to extremes. My mother and aunt constantly make comments about other people's B.O. Unless it's homeless-encampment powerful, I've never heard a man say disparaging things about someone's odor.

My husband can't stand scented products, so I don't use perfume. All my lotions and so on are scentless, and I don't buy scented candles, soaps, laundry detergent, and so on. He likes nothing better than my pre-showered morning smell, to be frank! He doesn't even want me to use deodorant, but as a concession to the public, I do. ;-)

I have no idea whether this is a personal thing or a general masculine thing. I suppose it may have cultural components--what you are used to is going to have a powerful effect on what you like. Do many guys prefer a slightly funky natural woman to one who smells like kiwi-vanilla-lemongrass body wash?

MM

 

[wildsweetone]

Hmm Madame Manga, in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the smell of a kiwi... those of us who wash occasionally, don't tend to stink much eh

i have a relative close to me who wears:

a huge diamond dress ring (and i mean huge),
enjoys 'name dropping',
is extremely disorganised,
breakfasts late,
smokes,
appears to rush around doing absolutely nothing all day,
lives on her nerves, and
wears Chanel No. 5 (to absolute excess, i think she baths in the stuff).

does that help any?

personally, my favourite perfume is the scent of a lavender flower.

 

[Madame Manga]

Hmm Madame Manga, in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the smell of a kiwi... those of us who wash occasionally, don't tend to stink much eh

Kiwi at breakfast, sure. Kiwi in my crotch? Eh...

Deodorant may be against the wishes of my dearest love, but I scrub my pits and use it anyway (unscented, natch). I AM still an American woman, and the cleanliness neurosis trumps all! We shall deodorize and sanitize the world...

MM

 

[Magda Sandor]

The Scent of a Woman

Often when applying perfume one cannot initially smell it very strongly (this is true of better fragrances). Therefore they tend to put on more...and more, until they can. And then everyone can smell it. Yes, often to excess.

 

[wildsweetone]

here's a trick my character taught me:

directly quoted from the story 'Quickly, I sprayed a tiny amount of 4711 eau de cologne into the air. The scent delicately caught my body as I walked through its mist to the door.'

mmm sounds kinda sensual to me...

 

[its Leslie]

I HATE perfume, I also hate make up. I like women to smell clean and look clean and that's it basically.

I don't mind a woman spending money to make their hair look nice, I don't mind them spending money on nice clothes, but I hate the smell of perfume and I find the average make up makes them look somehow too artificial.

That and hmmm while wandering adult sites, the fastest way to get me to use the back button is excessive mascara (sp?). I find painted eyes make a woman sluttish looking (in a negative way).

 

[Chicklet]

i don't wear perfume because i can't stand it.

wildsweetone, that is awsome. very sensual.

Chicklet

ps - i do wear deoderant, however.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

here's a trick my character taught me:

directly quoted from the story 'Quickly, I sprayed a tiny amount of 4711 eau de cologne into the air. The scent delicately caught my body as I walked through its mist to the door.'

mmm sounds kinda sensual to me...

That's actually how it's supposed to be applied. I learned that when you spray perfume onto one wrist and then rub it against the other that you do something bad to the things that make up the perfume. I don't understand how, but then I'm a humanities person, not a scientist. Sounds right though.

Les, I'm assuming you're a guy. Which is why I'll share something with you. Our perfume, makeup, etc has nothing to do with men. I went from red hair to black hair and while the two women and the gay guy I work with noticed the change the three straight men in the office didn't notice until someone pointed it out. In general, we're all about competeing with other women, not anything to do with men.

I would argue that women who wear it that strong do it for 2 reasons....
1. they want to be identified as that scent (she's a chanel no 5 woman)
2. they can't smell it and keep adding it even though other people can
'3. they enjoy irritating other people (hey I live in nyc now, it's totally possible(

 

[TheEarl]

Interesting thought: Men's sense of semll is usually up to half the intensity of women's. This is why you do get men walking out smelling like they've washed in aftershave, we just can't smell it.

I personally have a terrible sense of smell, but have asked female friends to tell me when it's "too much." So i know pretty much how to use.

Why do women wear too much then? Is it a panic self-image thing? I've never noticed, I honestly can't smell things which make others reel.

The Earl

 

[its Leslie]

Nothing to do with men???

Why in tarnation wear it then heheh.

Actually, me I DO notice hair clothes etc.

If you have a botched hair do I notice, if you have NO hairdo I notice. I look at a woman's hair and her eyes long before I have any interest in your smell or other body proportions.

I have seen many a female with a great body and then saw the excessive make up and wrote her off. I don't care how good you look from the neck down if you don't look good from the neck up.

And to me good looking is a nice smile, eyes that say I feel good about being me (which means I don't need paint), and nice long washed well kept hair.

But I was under the assumption perfume was about getting a man to respond involuntarily, not getting other women jealous of your scent. Or are all the ads out there wrong somehow?

I think too much make up though is possibly indicative of low self esteem. Nature did more than enough to make most women look good enough.

 

[wildsweetone]

scents smell differently during the various stages of a woman's menstrual cycle, hence the changes in amounts splashed on the body.

the woman wearing the scent can tell the difference in the smell, and the people around her can tell the difference (especially other women).

 

[Guest]

i resemble that remark

Ever notice how mant of the overly scented women have BIG hair and BIG chests ?

sirhugs-

I am crushed... I have both of the latter and am meticulous to NEVER be guilty of the former.

Please don't condemn those of us from the Irish gene pool...

-b

 

[TheEarl]

According to research apparently cucumber or licquorice(sp???) are smells that get ladies moist. Mr lynx? We've got a new idea for you...

Men it's supposed to be pumpkin pie. Never had that myself, so can't comment.

The Earl

 

[TheEarl]

Forgot to say also: Women sweat smells more alluring to men when she's at different stages of the menstrual cycle. When women are at their most fertile, they release more pheramones, making their scent more alluring to men. So ditch the perfume and work up a sweat .

The Earl

 

[Quasimodem]

LOL
Ever notice . . . women have BIG hair and BIG chests ?

Long as they don't have big, hairy chests.

 

[its Leslie]

The whole notion of perfume makes me laugh actually. Where DO they get those odours from anyway?

And like The Earl pointed out, women get plenty enough help from their own chemical factories.

Now I'm not advocating women stopping using deoderant, but think about the word deoderant...
...it eliminates the scents your body is making. You might want some of those scents eh.

Mother nature built you ladies just fine. There is no reason to pretend you can best mother nature at her own game eh.

 

[TaffyJ]

You guys are so nice.

It's lovely to hear that some of you think we're just fine the way we are without all the artificial add-ons. I only wish young girls weren't so thoroughly duped by the media into believing all guys want you to look/smell like whatever their product is. I know that's a generalization, but it does hold true for at least 30% of American teens, I'd estimate.

Just thinking back to my high school years, I remember sitting in a closed classroom and my eyes watering and sneezing because I was surrounded by about 6 girls all wearing different perfumes. It wasn't much different in college.

I also recall in college going out with a really nice guy. He was the perfect gentleman, but with a bit of the wolf in his eyes when he looked at me. I liked that. When It came down to the horizontal boogie, I backed out at the last minute because his smell wasn't right. He was completely deodorized. He was sweating, but had no smell at all. Even though he was trying to prove otherwise, my body didn't believe he was really a man because he didn't smell like one. He was politely disappointed, but what could I say? "Sorry, you just don't smell right."

Thank goodness there isn't a "masculine freshness product" out there for guys to deodorize their crotch with. (Please tell me there's not!)

 

[wildsweetone]

my 12 year old son has now finally gotten into the hang of putting deodorant on daily... thanks to his mum's reminders.

now i just have to figure out a way to let him know he doesn't need to use an entire can of it each time he puts it on. on the good side, i think all the spiders in his dungeon of a bedroom are dead...

 

[tenyari]

One drop of perfume or colone is enough to give me a negative reaction of you.

I've got a strong nose, and allergies, and I'm not afraid to use them.

I'm of the belief that most guys don't want perfume on their women. Women buy it thinking it makes them smell better, but in reality most of the women I know who use it just smell like chemicals and the part of flowers that sets off allergies...

Likewise with colone, and I always wonder why guys who do wear it. I don't see the same level of advertisement trying to get them into wearing all that snake oil...

 

[TheEarl]

I disagree Tenyari. I may have a terrible sense of smell, but just catching a whiff of a girl's perfume (if she's chosen it correctly) can be one of the most arousing things ever.

I don't know about women's reaction to aftershave, but I smell nice. Or at least i think I smell nice. With a sense of smell like mine, it's a bit hard to tell.

The Earl