Questions about fragrance use

[Jackie.Hikaru]

My wife doesn't use anything, either. Neither of us think about it. She does, however, have a distinct musk when she's been out in the sun. It's nice.

I apologize for needing to say this but… that is unbearably cute.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

DO EEEEEET

 

[ItsJustMeApathy]

You guys are missing out! Other than the folks who have weird reactions, there’s something very pleasant about people with nice smells beyond deodorant. My SO is constantly being told how good they smell when we’re out, and we’re not 50 yet, lol.

Everything in moderation.

Scents give me a migraine. I once drove 5 hours to Memphis to a concert and almost left after the opener because someone had on perfume and my head was throbbing.
I can't do anything floral at all. Not even the slightest scent of it. At the mall I have to walk on the other side of the mall near Bath And Body Works. That place makes my face hurt from all the scents.

I work at Walmart and I will say most customers don't smell like anything. And of my fellow associates, most don't use perfume or any scent except the ones that 'smoke' on their breaks, they come in and spray themselves with perfume so they don't smell like weed. Jokes on them, they smell like weed and perfume.

I bought some almond essential oil the other day, I use that sometimes when I want to feel fancy.

 

[NotWise]

Moderation. I was taught that it should only be detectable by someone close enough to kiss you. If you're in a swimming pool and someone is detectable in another lane, that's too much!

...

I've never liked floral 'feminine' perfumes and hate rose in particular (smells of babywipe), but like woodsy scents - have worn a few. But there's no better scent than fresh sweat.

I have a friend from The Bronx who uses no perfume because of a youthful association with women who went to Mass drenched in perfume to hide the fact that they hadn't bathed.

The problem with the scent of fresh sweat is that it doesn't stay fresh very long at all.

There seems to be some gene in my family that causes women to key on men's natural scent. One of my daughters was even willing to get into an ill-advised and dead-end workplace relationship because she loved the way the guy smelled.

 

[Jorunn]

There is plenty of scent in body wash and shampoo. Plenty of variety as well. Because they are rinsed off, the smells are subtle. Your nose needs to be pressed against my skin, or buried in my hair to detect those scents. And by that point, once I feel your hot breath, I start adding my own natural scents.

It can be pretty sexy to place a dab of perfume or cologne in several different spots and let your partner try to find them. Though one must also not overlook the smell and taste of food products on your partner’s skin.

 

[Britva415]

All I know is, people who wear patchouli wear A LOT of patchouli.

 

[TheLobster]

Yes, of course I do use fragrances every day. Ultraviolet by Paco Rabanne has been my favorite for years. Usually it’s a touch behind the ears and on each wrist, more if it’s a night out.

Y’all who rely only on whatever scents your soap and skincare products have (and had for decades, it’s not a new thing) are willfully forgoing one of the easiest and low-effort ways we humans can express ourselves, especially in public. Are you also wearing jeans and tee or hoodie and never anything else? Because that’s basically the equivalent.

Many here are saying it’s an old people thing to use fragrances, so I guess I’m old in my 30s and have been old since puberty

 

[TheRedChamber]

Are you also wearing jeans and tee and never anything else?

Sorry, is that wrong?

 

[TheLobster]

Sorry, is that wrong?

At least you're consistent.

 

[Belegon]

I haven't used cologne in years.... I do occasionally put a couple drops of peppermint essential oil on my wrists and rub it around my chest and up to my elbows... I don't think I've really heard any comments on it one way or the other, and honestly it's as much to wake ME up as it is anything else. Peppermint smells always make me more alert, while I've noticed that lavender seems to always calm me down. I sometimes will drip a few drops of lavender essential oil on a paper towel and leave it on my nightstand. It seems to help me sleep.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I use unscented products whenever possible, such as with deodorant, but it's difficult to avoid all fragrances entirely. Shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, and even our own sweat can present fragrances that others can smell, even if we don't detect them ourselves.

Olfactory memories can trigger some of the most intimate senses shared between two people, so I frequently include descriptions of these in my stories.

Though it is a rare fragrance these days, the smell of Jean Nate body spray will generate a hard on for me better than any blue pill. The memories of all the nubile teen girls who used to wear it in my youth are as strong as ever.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I rarely wear cologne for special nights out with my wife.

Most people don't wear strong fragrances at work because it can be really annoying to smell someone else's fragrance of choice when you can't get away from them (even if you like the smell).

Dating myself further...

I paid my way through college repairing office machines. After fixing a typewriter or other device at one company, I would need to call into the office to get my next dispatch. Using some secretary's phone to make the call would inevitably transfer whatever perfume she was wearing to my ear. By the end of the day I frequently smelled like a whorehouse. This was also a problem with pay phones, especially in places like airports.

It did desensitize my wife to me coming home with the smell of other women on me.

 

[Trionyx]

Years ago there was a men’s cologne that my GF called ‘justified rape.’ Needless to say, I wore it a lot. Generally can’t stand the smell of perfumes and colognes now except in the faintest doses.

 

[MorraRose]

I’m a mid-fifties female and it seems that moderation is the trend in my urbanizing suburban area, middle-class, mostly. For characters in a story, especially alluring men, a hint of something earthy/spicy is nice, especially when the MC catches a whiff somewhere and brings back wistful memories : ). Scent can act as a motif, too, and it doesn’t have to be perfume.

 

[Actingup]

My SO becomes nauseous if we have to go through the Duty Free area at an airport, and otherwise tends to avoid scents. I have some aftershave on a shelf somewhere, and there it stays!

 

[Erozetta]

Are you also wearing jeans and tee or hoodie and never anything else? Because that’s basically the equivalent.

That is like 85% of my wardrobe. My favorite hoodie has been worn so often it has holes in it and all of my T-shirts are horror movie based.

Seriously, though. For anyone who does wear scents, particularly strong scents, there's a 90% chance you've given someone a migraine that ruined their day and made them viciously sick.

Same with people who smoke in public.

I've gotten stuck at a store before because I couldn't see to drive home the auras from a migraine got so bad, and then I spent about an hour throwing up to try and ease the pressure in my head. It's not just a headache. It's absolutely debilitating.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

As the OP, I appreciate all of your responses. Some of them have matched up with my own observations, including one I hadn't mentioned: The decline in detectable tobacco smoke over the past few decades. I probably will continue not to write much about added-fragrance use by characters, except to show this as a choice to change behavior. A character might decide to be perceived differently by another character, or people in general, and could do that by adding fragrance rather than dressing differently. We'll see how that goes.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Y’all who rely only on whatever scents your soap and skincare products have (and had for decades, it’s not a new thing) are willfully forgoing one of the easiest and low-effort ways we humans can express ourselves, especially in public. Are you also wearing jeans and tee or hoodie and never anything else? Because that’s basically the equivalent.

So?

 

[NuclearFairy]

Y’all who rely only on whatever scents your soap and skincare products have (and had for decades, it’s not a new thing) are willfully forgoing one of the easiest and low-effort ways we humans can express ourselves, especially in public. Are you also wearing jeans and tee or hoodie and never anything else? Because that’s basically the equivalent.

Jeans are so uncomfy. Just gimme a soft skirt and a hoodie and I'll be happy.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I have a small collection of cologne, and axe, but I barely use them. It's just something I don't think about. I might spray something if I deem an occasion worthy, like goth prom, last year, but I don't generally think about it. I got a bit of jewlery too, but I don't think to throw any of that on, either.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Jeans are so uncomfy. Just gimme a soft skirt and a hoodie and I'll be happy.

I never understood how jeans can be uncomfortable.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I never understood how jeans can be uncomfortable.

Because they're stiff, they don't stretch, and they don't come in the right shape for my ass. If I can get them up over my rump they either gape five inches in the front, or three inches in the back. And don't even get me started on the pain of trying to cinch them closed with a belt.

 

[Erozetta]

Because they're stiff, they don't stretch, and they don't come in the right shape for my ass. If I can get them up over my rump they either gape five inches in the front, or three inches in the back. And don't even get me started on the pain of trying to cinch them closed with a belt.

Learning to sew darts is a great way to take care of this issue.

I basically add darts to all of skirts and pants as soon as I get them.

Lots of jeans currently have some amount of spandex in them for stretch, and I hate it.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Learning to sew darts is a great way to take care of this issue.

I basically add darts to all of skirts and pants as soon as I get them.

Lots of jeans currently have some amount of spandex in them for stretch, and I hate it.

Unfortunately, especially with all the mending I already have to do on a weekly basis, my wrists are too fucked up for me to want to do that by hand, and I don't have the funds to buy a machine to make such tasks easier.

Otherwise yeah that's a good suggestion and probably one of the most useful things I learned in home economics.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Because they're stiff, they don't stretch, and they don't come in the right shape for my ass. If I can get them up over my rump they either gape five inches in the front, or three inches in the back. And don't even get me started on the pain of trying to cinch them closed with a belt.

I don't see them as stiff, but stiff under the guise that they don't wear and break in, like leather shoes, so the material has a bit of give, I get that, and the big booty problems. Most jeans seem to be for men, or modeled after them. It's like they gotta genetically engineer jeans to sorta fit various womens body's. My only issuea is finding the right size and cut.

If I could, I'd practically give you one of my sewing machines, just to get rid of it. Also I got a while back, this handheld Singer for like $20. I haven't used it yet, to know how well it works.