Ladies only

where're the ladies? http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_diffs.html

A really interesting site you recommended Gooderin. My husband is anosmic and
we both found the research very useful. I personally find that my sense of smell
has decreased slightly with age (I'm post-menopausal - just) and sometimes
find I've sprayed too much perfume on myself from the comments of those around.
Maybe that explains why elderly ladies like strong perfumes!! It's not their fault.

The hormone/smell link makes good sense - women are more receptive to most
things around ovulation and less so around the time of menstruation(usually).
It really is nice to be over that roller-coaster sensation every month!! I am finding
this even keel stage better than I expected. I am enjoying those aldehydes at the
moment and not loving those gourmand/florals. Rive gauche, Cabochard, Feminite
du Bois have taken over from Angel, Loukhoum etc. Hope this isn't boring you....

Yes, my sense of smell changes a bit with my menstrual cycle (I'm not going to clear my throat, though ). It also changes drastically when I'm pregnant. When pregnant I can't stand certain smells, and it varies with the pregnancy, it seem. First pregnancy, I HATED the smell of anything mint, including other people's chewing gum, which I could smell from five feet away sometimes! Another time I couldn't stand the smell of the dining hall at the residential college where my husband was a tutor (I couldn't even set foot in the place, the smell just completely nauseated me!), and I couldn't stand the smell of a particular body deodorant my husband likes (which I normally don't mind). I go off all sorts of smells that I normally like or tolerate.

It's similar with my menstrual cycle, but not as noticible and not as likely to go into "nauseated". Mostly, I find some fragrances too strong or too weak or just not to my taste (Sunflowers, which I very much like, will give me a headache around the end of my cycle, for some reason; the rest of the cycle it's okay).

bonni

I like these science-based threads! (Veronica, Shycat, are you going to weigh in on this one?)

I've jokingly said my preoccupation with fragrances must be some peri-menopausal symptom as I had zero interest in them until about a year ago (member musse and I both turn 51 in May **waving**).

On a related note, what fragrance does one wear for nightsweats?

Well, I think it depends on the time of the year. A winter nightsweat evokes a different kind of mood than a summer one, in my experience.

:

(I'm only 41-nearing-42 but I'm all too familiar with night sweats and hot flashes, ugh!)

bonni

Hello ladies,

Ohhhh, I can totally relate to this topic Just before my cycle begins all I'll wear are gourmands and more gourmands fragrances... This is when I find myself drawn towards wearing Chantal Thomass, and Fantasy and I enjoy my Burberry and can hardly wait until I can spray some Aimez-moi on.... This is also THE ONLY time I truly crave Angel and enjoy the way it wraps around me... I crave all the sweetness and often chocolatiness of a good fragrance at that time... and will wear Casmir and Good Life too.... But then towards the end of it... straight gourmands are out and I tend to seek out and reach for more earthy fragrances... this is when I find that Aromatics Elixir and Rouge Hermès will get their wear... so when I sample anything at this time in my cycle I make sure I stay away form anything that's too sweet or too candylike... as I'm more or less bound to hate it... and the other way around.... sampling Dalimix would be a waste of time at the beginning of my cycle as I would really not relate to it all that much...

Good. I like to make people laugh.


I used to work in a male-dominated environment (support tech at an ISP), and I was in a snippy mood one day and a co-worker said to me rather irritably, "Are you on the rag or something?" And I replied, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Any more brilliant questions?!" The look on his face was precious. I still have it very clearly in my memory. And he never dared to ask me such a thing again! ;D


Ohhh, good question! I use pepermint and lavender oil to help headaches (stress headaches, specifically), and lavender is also good for clearing the sinuses, but I never thought about crampy stuff.


My husband will be next in line, credit card in hand...



Ah, but maybe that's the real you, and the "other" you is actually the one that's affected by the DROP in hormones (or something).

I quit worrying about being a bitch years ago. Normally people only call you that when you were too opinionated (in opposition to their opinion) or too willing to stand up for yourself. Or, well, when you're being bitchy, but I don't like to think about that one much. I'm SURE it's just that I'm opinionated and assertive and stuff. Right?

bonni

LUSH used to make an amazing bath product (bubble bath bar) called Aura Suavis marketed to help calm down and smooth the frazzled aura - especially 'at that time of month'. LOL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...aurasuavis.jpg
"Aura Suavis is the pink and yellow swirly one, designed to look like one of those photographs of your aura (on a good day). It's full of all the essential oils which auric experts use to get your aura looking the way it should so that people who can see them will congratulate you. The theory is that while you bathe with an Aura Suavis the clary sage oil calms our skin and enhances your inner perception while the geranium oil decongests your skin, balances your mind and reduces your strss levels. People will comment, 'Wow, your aura's looking fantastic today!' Maybe."

Anyway, being a business and some would say distinctly crazy they chose to discontinue it. :sigh: Â*

I still have a few bars stashed. But I also make my own mix of the oils used (and others) to ease my pain monthly. I find that a few drops added to an unscented body cream or oil and smeared on my pelvis, tummy & back before bed (or when needed) and then wrapping up in a duvet with hot water bottle; really helps ease cramps, soothe pain (along with ibruprofen), and calms my frazzled nerves. Â*

It must be good (even if I say so myself) because my good friend who boycotted LUSH for a year after they discontinued Aura Suavis (it was her absolute favourite) has 'very strongly' requested another bottle of my blend from me. This was after I had given her a bottle as a gift. She says she has the best nights sleep when she uses a few drops on her 'jamas and pillows at night. Â*;D

I would like to recommend from LUSH, the Flying Fox shower gel and Youki -Hi bath ballistic which have a sexy, sultry jasmine honey scent but also contains other oils to soothe the savage female each month! Â*;D

[edited to add] I also recommend their Rainbow Worrier (sandalwood, patchouli) bath ballistic which chills me out so much I usually make sure I use just before bed time as I am prone to fall asleep. LOL

:-*

Glaxxo-Smith-Kline Pharmaceuticals should release a fragrance under their patented name Paxil.
Announcer: Make every day the first day of spring with Paxil Perfume. Much like aldehydes, Paxil enhances all the fragrances that have come before, making even withered flowers blossom anew. Breathe deeply and sense the sunshine nature of the newest release from the fragrance house of GSK. Available in the classic, refillable, pumpkin-colored, columnar flacon with the child-proof cap. Paxil ... everyone around you will love you for it.

Glaxxo-Smith-Kline Pharmaceuticals should release a fragrance under their patented name Paxil.
Announcer: Make every day the first day of spring with Paxil Perfume. Much like aldehydes, Paxil enhances all the fragrances that have come before, making even withered flowers blossom anew. Breathe deeply and sense the sunshine nature of the newest release from the fragrance house of GSK. Available in the classic, refillable, pumpkin-colored, columnar flacon with the child-proof cap. Paxil ... everyone around you will love you for it.[/quote]

*Bwahhahaha* ;D ;D ;D

Really interesting thread! In February I changed from my normal pill to a mini-pill, and there is a slight, but noticeable difference in how some of my favourite scents smell on me. Ormonde Jayne Champaca, which I absolutely loved, has just lost its edge very slightly, and Lipstick Rose, which I enjoyed but not as much as Champaca, has become divine. They are only the slightest of changes, but because I've noticed a difference on several scents, can only credit to the change in my hormones.

I haven't really been following the changes of my senses comparing to my cycle. Maybe I should pay attention to it, it could explain why sometimes I get headaches from certain perfumes.

What I could not ignore, was the change in my olfactory abilities (I hope that's the right way to say it :-? ) when after some 7-8 years I stopped taking the pill. Suddenly the world was full of scents!
Not that I could not smell anything before, but it did grow brighter and more alive. I don't think that I'd ever repeat that experience though, for I'm totally disappointed in pill.

I am a guy as it may be but, I also feel that your preference it what you would like to smell may change during your cycle. Very interesting thread!

I tried to read the info, but it was to much like med school... I'm sure I could pass a test on it, though.

I absolutely cycle though my scents with my menstrual cycle. I've developed fearsome PMS the last few years, the week before my period I am irritable and snappy. I like softer, powdery, rose, violet scents. Carnal flower at that time will literally make me gag. The week of the big event the bad mood evaporates, but then I'm a tad tired and crampy. I go for sweet vanillas and fresh green florals.

By default, the other two weeks see me wear my headier florals and gourmands.