Let's talk fragrance! I had occasion to think about perfume the other day. I was in a store, shopping with the hubby, when we turned down an aisle and got blasted by the heavy odor of a woman's cologne. We weren't in a department store, so it wasn't like we were walking past the fragrance department. We were in Costco.
I had to turn around. I couldn't stomach it. There was a time when an overly perfumed person simply was annoying. Now, the danger is a migraine. I can't handle it and I go elsewhere. It makes me sympathetic for people with allergies. I had no idea perfume could be so offensive until it started giving me migraines.
And then I got to thinking about my own perfume preferences. Ten years ago, I had a selection. Obsession, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Opium, Sunflowers, Shalimar, Passion, J'Adore — I had mood perfume, and I often had the lotions and gels that went with each fragrance.
The only fragrance I wear now is the Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush body mist. It's not really perfume, and it isn't offensive to my senses. It occurred to me as I flipped through one of my favorite fashion magazines recently that I was saving a lot of money by not buying perfume anymore. I remember Opium costing around $70 for a small bottle; I have no idea what it costs now.
What's your favorite perfume? Has your ability to tolerate perfume changed over the years? Do overly perfumed people annoy you? What was your favorite perfume when you were a teen? In your twenties? Older? Do you still wear perfume?
Favorite today? Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist and I bought a bottle on board ship last year so I could get it cheaper. It's heavenly. And yes, overly perfumed people annoy me. That's why I don't wear perfume when I'm going to be around a lot of people (meetings, conferences, etc). Sometimes I wear a body mist called Sea Island Cotton from Bath & Body Works. It's light and clean.
In my teens I loved Tigress and Tabu. In my thirties it was White Linen. In my forties I was too busy with raising kids and I can't remember what or if I wore perfume. I guess I can definitely say my taste has changed through the years.
Marilyn
I never could wear heavy stuff like Obsession or Opium. And flowery stuff makes me ill.
My favorite perfume can be bought at the local drugstore for less than $20, and I get lots of compliments on it, so I guess I don’t stink too much. Interestingly enough, it’s simply called Skin.
I like light fragrances. Perhaps I should explore some more and see if I find anything I like.
Oh my, I forgot about Tabu! When I was in elementary school, my grandmother was an Avon Lady. I loved Sweet Honesty — which is just about the most cloying and horrible scent on the planet to my nose now. 🙂
I don’t remember Tigress, but I had a friend who loved White Linen.
PC, it’s interesting you bring up drugstore perfume. The hubby smells GREAT in Stetson. It’s cheap, but it’s nice on him. Not that he wears cologne anymore either. I think he must have gotten away from it because of the problems I have.
I’ll have to explore the drugstore a bit more. I don’t mind inexpensive stuff, so long as it smells nice and doesn’t give me a headache.
The hubby smells GREAT in Stetson. It’s cheap, but it’s nice on him.
That’s just it. The same perfume or cologne will smell twelve different ways on twelve different people. I’ve asked people what perfume they were wearing only to find out it smells like cleaning solution on me.
And some colognes will affect me while others don’t. Years ago the hubby bought some Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene. Every time he wore it my head stuffed up. I told him he had to get rid of it.
Now he wears one of the Polo fragrances or a men’s body spray from Bath and Body Works.
I Googled Tigress to see who made it (Faberge) and discovered you can buy a 12 oz bottle on overstockperfume.com for $1500. Yes, you read that right. It sure didn’t cost that when I wore it as a poor college student.
M
verification word = socutren, which sounds like a perfume ingredient or the generic name for a new drug for ED
Hey Lynn! I love to wear Lucky #6. It’s light and smells good on me. I hate it when I like a perfume and put it on and it smells like bug killer. (sigh)
The DH’s mother used to wear White Shoulders and I had a friend who wore it. I was pregnant with #1 and tried it. Within hours I was covered in hives. Imagine a pregnant belly covered in hives. I shiver thinking of it. LOL!
word verif- pardse
sounds like a perfume