On my last cruise, I had gotten all dressed up and ready to go to the first formal night on my cruise. When I left my stateroom, the corridor smelled like the cosmetics counter at the department store, but was barely tolerable. Then, I got into the elevator...the scent was so heavy that I began to sneeze uncontrollaby and immediately got a splitting headache. Needless to say, I missed dinner that night and did not go to the second formal night on my cruise because of the problem. I will admit that I am allergic to some perfumes, but it usually doesn't bother me as long as someone uses it in MODERATION. But, you don't have to bathe in the stuff. I wish people would realize that there are lots of us out there with allergies and small enclosures like elevators can become a chamber of misery when filled with perfume...and it doesn't matter how expensive or cheap it is either. A little is nice...a lot would gag a maggot.
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I don't suffer with allergies but I do admit that some people do douse themselves quite heavily. I love perfume so I know I have to be careful not to over do it. It can be a bit much sometimes when someone overdoes it, almost makes your eyes water! lol
My husband and I had a similar experience-but with a guy! We knew he was near us without even looking for him. He was wearing some very strong cologne.
It also depends on how sensitive an individual is to odors. I am very sensitive. With certain odors, even a trace can seem overwhleming to me. My sister, on the other hand many times barely notices the scent (she has no sinus problems). I have come to realize that in some circumstances it is not others who are the problem...it is my own sense of smell. People with these types of allergies tend to be more sensitive than others also. While I do think many tend to be overly smelly on formal nights...people also may have sprayed their hair, used lotion, etc etc, I try breathing through my mouth while passing by people who are overpowering to me.
I especially hate this when we are in confined spaces like movie theatres or on the airplane. It's so rude to force your odor on other people. Just because you think it smells good doesn't mean I will! If it's at dinner it can ruin the taste of the food because taste is a big part of eating, ever try to enjoy food with a head cold? I once worked with a woman who wore so much perfume that I knew she had been in the room before I had, even though she was now nowhere to be seen. Gross! Perfume should be an intimate thing, apparent only when someone special is near. That's what makes perfume sexy.
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Lauri
Carnival Fascination
Carnival Fascination: June 2004
Carnival Triumph: Halloween 2003
I agree! Maybe we should light a cigarette in the passageways and elevators to counteract the perfume smell.
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Marc
"The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
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Perfume is annoying and it makes me nauseous too. I think the problem is people who use it all the time lose their sensitivity of smell and have to put more on to notice it themselves. To the rest of us our eyes are watering.
I kind of wondered if other people had also had the same experience that I had. While I am a bit sensitive to some fragrances, I am not overly sensitive and scent used in moderation usuallly doesn't bother me. But, as I mentioned, on my last cruise it did and someone really must have taken a bath in it. There was no one in the corridor or in the elevator when I got broadsided by the perfume. I wasn't the only one who had problems with this on the cruise either. One of my shipmates actually had an asthma attack and had to leave in the middle of dinner because of the strong perfumes. I'm not saying that we shouldn't use fragrance...just a little restraint. Thomas, you are right about people losing their sensitivity to one fragrance if they use the same on all of the time. Another thing that most people ought to remember is that our body chemistry changes as we age...what may smell great on us at 20 may stink at 40 or 50.
i am also very sensitive to strong smells,flowery perfumes especially can give me a violent headace and make me physically sick. Perfume and all fragrance should be subtle, you should have to get close to someone to smell their fragrance. Your fragrance shouldn't enter the room before you do. Do you ladies remember the fragrance "Giorgio" Beverly Hills? It was very "distinct" and strong. It didn't smell good on any of the ladies i encountered, as a matter of fact it became a running joke, you would be in a group somewhere and you would get a whiff and someone would say something to fact " Oh here comes Giorgio". Do they still make it????
If we saw someone with a physical disability attempting to get in an elevator, we would be considerate and help out. So let's all be considerate of those with allergies and use a discrete amount of perfume/cologne. A small amount is intriquing and attractive but a large amount is showy and thoughtless of others.
Glad to see your post. I suffer from migraines. One of my triggers is strong perfume.
(Once a migraine is triggered all I can do is go to bed, sometimes for days.)
I have had so many times ruined by Heavy perfume/cologne (Church, Movies, Dinner).
Why do people load the perfume/cologne on?
Like Lauriloo said, "Perfume/cologne should be an intimate thing, apparent only when someone special is near. That's what makes perfume/cologne sexy."
sorry that perfume bothers so many. I agree that too much is not good. However I tend to think that perhaps some of these people also had problems with the smell of cigarettes. Hummmmm what will it be next. what about smelling beer on someone when we arent drinking, that can be pretty bad too.
Perfume can be an enviromental pollutent just like cigarette smoke, high levels of pollution, chemicals and constrution dust. It a fine balance for the rights of both parties. My son can be sent into a major asthma attack due to perfume and other enviromental pollutants. I do know many places now ask that you refrain from wearing both perfume and/ or hairspray.
Any strong odor from smoke to perfume is bound to cause some people trouble. In these days, most of us can excape the smoke odor, but perfume will always be with us. I guess that we just have to grimace and bear it!
Ever notice the strong smell of mothballs on the first formal night??
I found it very interesting that many of the people who responded to this post are also bothered in some way by heavy perfume. Cado, I noted that you said that probably many of the people that said they had problems with perfume also probably had problems with cigerette smoke. That may well be true, but cigarette smoking is limited on most ships to certain areas of the ship and prohibited elsewhere. I have yet to see a ship with an area labeled "For Heavy Perfume Wearers Only".
Thomas, I could not agree more with your statement concerning hairspray. Actually, I was a licensed hairdresser at one time and during my coursework to get my license, we were warned that prolonged exposure to hairspray could damage the lungs. I think that they have reduced or eliminated some of the propellants now, but it is still a lung irritant.
Lisa K, I do remember the perfume "Giorgio Beverly Hills". I don't know if they make it anymore. I hope not. That is one perfume that seemed impossible for anyone to wear "lightly".
I think that the point that I wanted to make here was not that we should not wear perfume, but that it should be done with a light touch. Finally, if you have to use perfume to try to cover up an odor, be it moth balls or the lack of a shower, then you are probably using too much. It doesn't work anyway...it just makes a rather smelly "cocktail" of scents.
I agree with you on that, Trip. "Poison" is poison as far as I am concerned along with a few other equally strong, harsh scents. Actually some studies have been done by the EPA and medical professionals that indicate that perfumes are causing increasingly serious health problems. Many of the perfumes are about 95% petrochemicals (similar to gasoline) which contain known carcinogens and toxins. Wonder how many of the people who douse heavily with perfume would even consider opening the gas cap of their car and taking a big whiff. Perhaps one of these days, there will be "no perfume" areas like there are "no smoking" areas for people who don't want to be assaulted by the chemicals in perfumes and colognes.
Sorry, your info is a little misleading. The statistic often quoted is 95% of the ingredients commonly used in perfumes/scented products are petrochemical based, not that a single bottle (or spritz) of perfume is 95% petrochemical. Actually, the bulk of a single perfume is the alcohol (and sometimes water) the small amount of scent oil is dissolved in:
Perfume: usually contains 20-45% perfume oils in pure ethyl alcohol.
The concentration of oils varies from perfumer to perfumer.
Eau de Perfume (EdP): usually contains 15-25% perfume oils in pure ethyl alcohol.
Eau de Toilette (EdT): a 6-15% solution of perfume oils in an 80% grade of alcohol.
(Eau de) Cologne:*a 3-6% solution of fragrance oil in a 70% grade alcohol.
The reason there are so many petrochemicals in use is because synthetic scents are cheaper than real essential oils. By the way, ethyl alcohol is the alcohol in liquor.
If anyone wants to use perfumes that don't use petrochemically-derived scents, I suggest you try Purefumes from Aveda. They only use natural plant-derived fragrances in all their products, not just their perfume lines. Unfortunately, I hear they are discontinuing my favorite Chakra II-Attraction that contains Frankincense/Myrrh/Rose oils but I'm sure I'll find a new one!
Post Edited (06-12-04 23:06)
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Lauri
Carnival Fascination
Carnival Fascination: June 2004
Carnival Triumph: Halloween 2003
What's even worse (and I'm a smoker) is when smokers drown themselves in perfume/cologne thinking that will cover the smoke smell......not to mention those that think it will cover up body odor. Cheap perfume is the worst!!!
USE THE STAIRS. HOW RIDICULOUS CAN YOU BE. SMALL SPACES ALWAYS MAKE ANY ODOR WORSE. IF YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ALLERGIES, DON'T BLAME EVERYONE ELSE. USE THE STAIRS.
Not everyone can handle several flights of stairs, Tammar. Are asthmatics, handicapped, elderly and others just SOL? That's why people need to be more considerate of how they affect those around them and not only think about themselves 24 hrs a day. This can't be the same Tammar that made all the very religious posts. Doesn't make sense to have such a mean comment come from someone who blesses people in the next breath.
Post Edited (06-12-04 23:28)
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Lauri
Carnival Fascination
Carnival Fascination: June 2004
Carnival Triumph: Halloween 2003
Tammar, you have to use the corridors to get to the stairs and they also reeked! If it had been cigarette smoke, it would have been heavy enough to give the corridors that "smoke-filled room appearance" and might have set off the smoke alarms. That's way too heavy and that is what I am objecting to. I mentioned the elevators because it was even more concentrated in them. You must be one of the lucky ones not have allergies or sensitivities to anything or you would understand just how sick they can make people. In the severely allergic it can be life-threatening. I don't fall into that category yet, but allergies have a nasty habit of getting worse over time with constant exposure and lots more people are developing them. I had no allergy problems when I was a kid, but do now.
I guess that I must be really fortunate, but I have never encountered an overpowering smell (stench?) of perfume in the stairwells or elevators on any of my cruises. Perhaps that is because I smell my "really old sneaker" deodorant instead.
Lauri, thanks for the tip on Purefumes from Aveda. I will have to check them out. My problem is evidentally with the synthetic stuff, particularly when it is worn too heavily. Thanks for the clarification as well. The way that I stated it was probably misleading. I had to laugh about your comment about Brut. My brother always had all of the Brut stuff as well. Around here, British Sterling and English Leather were also popular "guy" scents when I was younger. I can't say that I liked English Leather all that much...too sweet or something, but British Sterling really got my motor going.
I love perfume but am aware that some people are allergic to it. Two of my co-workers are very sensitive, so I do not wear cologne or hairspray around them. The only time I'm bothered by perfume is when it's very heavy and some brands of cheap perfume are just horrible! I have a good sense of smell, so I choose carefully when I purchase perfume. My garden is full of roses and I always have fresh flowers in my home. A nice a aroma can be very pleasing, but let's not overwhelm our fellow passengers when we're on a cruise!
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