(Heather ~ drop me a note! youCanCallMeMeg@gmail.com )
One of my readers asked if I had a "fragrance." I know many women (at least women my age) have a perfume that is theirs ~ they'll add a spritz as part of getting dressed UP. They might add it for work, or for daily wear ~ it depends on what they consider dressed UP. I don't know if teens and twenties do the same these days.
I have had a serious adverse reaction to some perfumes. I first noticed it when I was at a play and had to leave in the middle of the first act because I could NOT breathe. I felt better while in the lobby, but they wouldn't let me back in until the end of the act. When I sat back down, I felt ill again and realised it was my wife's perfume. I leaned as far from her as I could and didn't really enjoy a very good local production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
I have since walked out or changed seats when at events (including religious services) where I noticed the nearby perfume was bothering me ~ at least now I'm aware of it and I act quickly and as stealthily as possible. Sometimes, I get trapped in an elevator with a woman who wears so much perfume that when she stands still she leaves a puddle. I try to escape before I need to inhale and take the stairs the rest of the way. So maybe perfume is good as an exercise stimulant. :)
I doubt it's all perfumes. I think there's something in some fragrances that bother me. But it may bother me after longer exposure, and if I wear a perfume that does trigger a bad reaction, it's kind of hard for me to change seats to get away from myself.
Yes, I could sit with an open bottle of a possible fragrance on my desk while I'm working. Or spray a bit on my shirt collar or something else that I can remove in case of emergency.
I guess, right now, it's not that important to me.
So, no perfume. I'll start my Girls Do It (But I Don't) list with that.
Friday, March 22, 2013
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Meg -
ReplyDeleteYou might want to see an allergist anyway. Some allergies only get worse with time, and accidental exposure can force you to use an epi-pen. With that being said, there are many women who don't use perfume for reasons similar to yours. So you may be doing another thing that girls do - avoiding allergy problems.
M
Just my own observation, but I don't think women wear fragrances as much as they once did, particularly younger women. The currently popular fragrances are much lighter than they used to be, too. Both are good things. I'll use one from time to time, if I'm going to something fancy, but I use very little, maybe a bit of "Happy" on the wrists and behind the ears to avoid offending people like you who have reactions to it. Otherwise, it's just another potential giveaway sign of crossdressing to those you don't want to find out - I found out the hard way that Chanel #5 didn't go away for days.
ReplyDeleteThere is some ingredient in perfume, regardless of brand or fragrance, that literally makes me gag. If someone gets close enough to me for the little smell molecules to hit my nose, I go into a helpless coughing fit and it burns my nose like the dickens.
ReplyDeleteSo I for one am *glad* that the use of perfume is on the decline!