Perfume….???

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Ok so I know we all have a lot in common and I’m hoping this too…

I’m really allergic to perfume…I wasn’t when I was younger, my mom was, but I had hundreds of perfumes and loved them…

Then one day I got a huge migraine from them and haven’t been able to tolerate them since. Some scented lotions/products too!

Fruit scented ones are Ok, but it seems I can’t wear perfume and even get run out of my office by harsh perfume users….

Problem…I know my BF likes perfume, but tonight…he told me he loves perfume…

 

CRAP!!

So are any of you allergic to perfume AND found *ONE* that you can wear??? Please help me!! LOL

[jerseygirl]

That is crap! Have you tried scented oil blends? Prehaps they are less volatile. I have bad coughing attacks to some perfumes – especially Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder ones for some reason. When someone passes my in the street wearing Red Door – I’m left spluttering. No offense to EA fans, I’m just sensitive to it.

Edit to add:  mmm…. so your BF loves perfumes but he understands you have trouble with it right?  It’s not really a threat to the relationship is it?  (need crossed eyed smiley here!)  Doesn’t he enjoy your current perfume “Lagomorpha”?  Still, be nice for you to have something nice to wear, specially if you enjoyed it so much when you were younger.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hahahh if it was a threat to the relationship I wouldn’t be asking, just adopting new bunnies!! heheh I’m sooo bad!!

Just wondering if anyone sensitive had found something they could wear!

[Cassi&Charlie]

I get rashes from perfumes so I feel your pain. I used body shop oils for a while, you just dab them on and you can mix and match so you have a smell you like. In the end I got bored with the effort though and now I just hope that I don’t smell too bad.

I’ve always had problems with scented things like soap, body washes, shampoos etc

Lagomorpha lol

[jerseygirl]

 

[jerseygirl]

Yeah Lagomorpha! Now I’m thinking of perfume bottle design with rabbit ear cap and ad campaigns with all male bunnies everywhere coming out to following the wearer down the street! I got waaaaaay too much time on my hands!

[ANEarly]

A lot of smells give me headaches too.  I switched to the new Dove Fresh line.  I use Energize which is lemongrass and grapfruit.  Its really light and airy and smells great.  The whole line actually smells nice and not too strong.

–Adriene

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

They all give me a headache! Wish I had an answer for you. Vanilla oil can smell delicious though and not be perfumy. The lotion version of “vanilla lace” at victoria’s secret is usually tolerable for me too and potent enough to be smelled from just being near you. It seems to lack that horrible ingredient (have or less of it) that sets me off… it can still get to me on certain days.

[TARM]

Some perfumes make me feel ill and if they’re too strong they give me a headache. I really like the gardenia perfume from Bath and Body Works. Some of those lotions, like the tuberose one, are too strong for me but gardenia is just right. :0) There’s a new one out that my mom got and I really want that one too…but I don’t remember which one it is. Plus I’m broke as a joke and have other things to spend $18.99 on.

[Balefulregards]

We Both ( husband and I ) like the essential oil blends at L’Occitane – They have some nice basic “scents” – and aren’t mixed with the alcohol the way many colognes/perfumes may be. They may “seem” expensive – but last forever.

Sadly, I find that the less expensive colognes get filled with synthetic materials and that is what gives me headaches. I might look for something that is as “all natural” as possible. Luca Turin has an amazing book with his perfume reviews, and I tend to find him fairly dead on, although every cologne smells different on each person.

For instance, I can’t smell the appeal in Chanel No.5 – it evokes no scent memory for me, which is what I think some reviewers are reacting to…But I have no trouble wearing other Chanel scents like Coco ( and I had it before the rabbit, but I will now always think I am wearing the HER scent)

And now Dawn will retreat from this discussion, as she has revealed a strange and obsessive knowledge about perfumes and their components…

[Sage Cat]

I agree – most perfumes are way to strong for me.   And a lot of women forget – you are only supposed to where enough so people are attracted but don’t realize why!!!

I’m all so an essential oil girl – but it is very rare that I wear anything. I use to get the body shop oils – mostly now I find something at the one of the Natural Grocery’s. What can I say . . I live in Colorado.

Funny thing is it’s one of those girly things I like. But, I work at home, what is the point of perfume and make up?  It has even goten to the point that J. thinks I look odd if I am wearing makeup. Plus, when you are a chef, you are NOT allowed to wear perfume or make up – it is actually a Health Department rule.

Hey Baleful – I actually have a bottle of Chanel No.5 that was my moms – this bottle is about 50 years old, it is maybe half full. Because it is real perfume – not toilet water – it has intensified over the years. It is amazing! I rare occasions I wear very small amounts of it. However, I’m sure the appeal is because it was my moms.

[Ang]

aveda has a nice line of perfumes all natural essential oils used. nice blends. or find an aromatherapist and they will help find a blend for you.

[Alicia Conklin]

Well, I’m not sure what part of it is what gives you the migraines..but I get them from Ralph Lauren Romance..and I used to love that scent.

 

I find that most of the victoria’s secret scents are ok with me.  Some of them (very sexy line) can be a bit harsh but I have Supermodel and I never have any kind of reaction to that at all.   They also have a line of sprays that are fruit scented but are really nice too.  It might be worth a shot to check some of those out.    I just smelled some of the other samples I have and I’m going to go with Supermodel as your best bet.  I just smelled sexy little things (this one is kind of light but still a floral scent so I’m guessing could be a problem) dream angels desire, pink, and body by victoria..and they all seem pretty strong.  But mm supermodel..love it lol.

[TARM]

Now see? I’ve never liked anything I’ve ever smelled from VS. I have Ralph Lauren “Lauren” that I used to love but have gradually stopped liking as much. I still wear it occasionally but I usually stick with my Gardenia Toilet Water. (I wish it had a better name..lol)

[Alicia Conklin]

Supermodel is a newer fragrance..it’s different then alot of their other fragrances.  It’s more sweet and less flowery then alot of their other stuff.

[Balefulregards]

Sage Cat- Ah yes, when perfumes were distilled from all natural ingredients they retained ( and strengthened as the bit of water in them evaporated naturally) the original smell.

And the blend of Chanel No 5 is classic – but my Mom was a hippie and wore Patchouli oil, so there is no evocative scent memory for me – but I know LOTS of people for whom it was their first “memory” for them – an association of femininity, sophistication and adulthood – which is kind of Luca Turins research specialty – the evolution of our scent memory.

With newborn babies, they can turn their heads to t-shirts worn by their mother ( versus a t shirt by another newly delivered mother) when offered a choice. We know our mothers scents in the womb, as babies can smell vis a vis the amniotic fluid – so it makes sense that the colognes worn by the people we loved can produce such amazing emotions ( or when smelling colognes worn by people we dislike…Hello Polo worn by half my high school male classmates!)

Sorry – you are now running into some of my own research interests – so I tend to get all excited….

[Sage Cat]

The NPR show Talk of the Nation reciently had an episode called “What Your Nose Knows and How Artists Use It”. Here is the link if y’all are intrested: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91965224

T&R Mom – to this day every time I smell Ralph Lauren “Lauren” I think of my best friend from high school – she loved it and wore it every day!

Baleful – Very cool stuff. I think every guy I went to high school with wore Polo – However, so did my dad. this is one reason I never dated a guy from that school. Could you imagine kissing a guy that smells like you dad – EW!

[Beka27]

perfume, what is this thing you speak of…? i smell like soap…

[jerseygirl]

So true, certains scents evoking certain memories.  Chanel No. 5: I used to work in aged care and this perfume reminds me of a lady afflicted with dementia.  She was very wealthy and used to spritz hereself with Chanel No.5 before bed plus a few spritz for the Carer – usually we got it full in the face! *cough splutter*.  We’d spend the rest of the shift reeking!  This scent will eternally remind me of her (RIP) and her antics.  She kept us on our toes! 

[KatnipCrzy]

One fragrance that you might try is by Philosophy- and is sold at most department stores so you should be able to “sniff” before you buy type thing.  But they make a scent called “Amazing Grace” and it is a light, clean scent that a lot of health care workers seem to like because it does not have the “perfume” reaction for patients they are in close contact with.

I have a been sense of smell- but I still do not do well with “perfumes” - I don’t think that I smell what other people do- most perfumes smell “chemically” and harsh to me- I don’t pick up on floral, amber, lavendar, or whatever undertones- it just smells harsh and fake.  And they almost all smell the same.  I can not go to Bath and Body works to pick out christmas presents because after I smell 2 different scents- they all smell the same to me- I lose the ability to distinguish for awhile.

My hubby plugged in a scented oil thing by the computer and while I could not identify the scent I could smell and taste the wrongness/fakeness of it and he had to move it somewhere else.  But to him (who has a great sense of smell) it smelled light and appropriate.  Weird.

I seem to be able to handle using lighter body sprays- I usually prefer floral scents- I don’t usually like spice.  But one that I really do like is from Victoria’s Secret- Love Spell (I wonder if they still make it?)  I have a bottle of body spray that I bought about 3 years ago and I still have over half the bottle.  But VS Love Spell and Philosophy fragrances- Amazing Grace, Falling in Love, and they have a couple of others- those to me are light and do not smell harsh.

Don’t you hate it when someone walks by and you can TASTE their perfume?  Yuck, old ladies are notorius for this!  And for guys there is nothing worse than cheap cologne- Brut, Old Spice, etc….  I would rather a guy smell like his scent of deordorant than cheap cologne!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I hate when people wear so much I can smell where they’ve been and follow them to where they are now!! YUCK!!

Thanks for all the help guys!!

[babybunsmum]

i agree k&k… i think perfume should be detectable only when you’re sitting right next to some one (like movie theater close).  i don’t have your problem with perfume sensitivity though… just a personal opinion on the matter

have you ever tried any essential oils?  i got into those a few years back & love to mix my own scents with them.  there are lots to choose from but my favs are jasmin & lavendar.  i buy them from health food stores or most places you can buy supplements (pic is from http://www.wingedseed.com).  i mix the lavendar with water in a spray bottle to spritz on clothes when i’m ironing, or my bedsheets to make them smell pretty.  i like mixing the jasmin with some lavendar & peppermint oils in some fragrance-free body cream.  they’re reeeeally concentrated so you’re not supposed to dab it on like perfume but i do that with jasmin anyways some times.

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[kimberleyanddarren]

some perfumes really annoy me, but i HATE the smell of hairspray it makes me gag instantly, eeewww

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