Low Sillage Fragrances

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. If other people in your department wear fragrances too, I can't help but think that maybe she just wanted to make trouble and it's not really your perfume?

But it's possible that there's a note in your perfume she's sensitive to. What were you wearing? And what kind of fragrances do the other people in your dept wear that don't bother her?

I think that any soapy fragrances (eg. Pure Grace, Amazing Grace, egyptian musks, white musks...) or citrus fragrances (Eau d'Hadrien, Guerlain Eau de Fleurs Cedrat...) are pretty safe. Or what I do is spray once on tummy before putting on shirt, and I can wear pretty much anything (although I do a very light spray if it's a strong scent).

Yes, try a Lemon Verbena (I love this note but it fades too fast/no sillage) like L'Occitane's or as suggested, maybe Amazing Grace - which I always had to sniff up close.

Esencia De Duende by J. Del Pozo. Long lasting, stays very close to the skin.

I agree with Plumeria, as other people's scents cause her NO problem, this feels like a troublemaker. If it was me I would probably confront her and ask why she has no issue with airfresheners and other scents and ask which note she historically has a problem with But then if it was me I'd arrange to get her for secret Santa and surprise her with a lovely bottle of your great choice in fragrance. Bet it wouldn't be such a problem on her?

Anyway, I actually have a Yule time allergy that nobody can smell. My daughter and brother also share this allergy. Ready...Poinsetta! I sneeze my nose off at those beautiful blooms! Any plants in the office?

Sorry if I seem like a meanie, I had a very irritating confrontation with an assistant, and am in a foul mood. Of course I settled the issue, but why oh why do people cause such chaos?

Sounds bad My experience with this is from my dad,who's quite allergic to some scents.When I know I'm going to his place or he gives me a lift I tend to wear Pure Poison(hardly any silage on me), a tiny spritz of Jicky edt on my belly ,Narciso Rodriguez edt,Omnia or Tam Dao.They have never caused any comments or problems.Hope this helps

Usually pure parfum versions are known for their low sillage. If you do make changes in scent to pacify her and she continues to harass you please make a formal complaint with Human Resources. You have rights too!

Aomassai? Tragic. You have my sympathy as a fellow Aomassai fan. It's my current favorite sweet/gourmand scent. A rich, complex, multifaceted scent with fascinating, beguiling movement and a truly sensual wearing experience. It works for me on many levels. Although it's probably a good idea to avoid wearing Aomassai to the office from now on, you can always take solace in that you can indulge in it on the weekends.

Might be the dried grass notes in Aomassai to which your coworker has a reaction. Personally, I feel that you can wear other favorites in your wardrobe as long you apply lightly. But since you asked, some of my favorites that wear close to my skin include:

Creed, Fleurissimo
Shiseido, Feminite du Bois
Gendarme, Carriere
Neil Morris, Skincense
L'Artisan, Mure et Musc
Guerlain, Shalimar Light

Try the Ayala Moriel line. Most of them stay carefully close to the skin. And, if your co-worker complains, you can inform her that they are 100% natural, no chemicals at all. If she reacts to Ayala's perfumes, she is either lying, or she needs to wear a HEPA filter mask for the rest of her life because she is allergic to the world.

on another fragrance site someone had the same problem with a whackjob in the next cubicle. While i'm tempted to suggest one poster's recommendation of a lunch of hot dogs with sauerkraut and onions with a side of cauliflower and broccoli sauteed in garlic, all chased with a couple beers, these people have psychological problems and can become unstable (the person in question ended up perching a portable fan on the top of the cubicle wall facing the offender as a silent threat -- ya really!) so I second the idea of talking to HR and getting them involved and preferably to take the heat. They probably know and have more training in dealing with emotionally unstable personalities, and likely have dealt with the compainer before and know what she is about.
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and for recs, Philosophy frags like Falling in Love and the Grace line (Amazing Grace, Pure Grace, Baby Grace) are notably and likely purposefully non-offensive, if also a bit bland and uninteresting at the same time. Haven't tried them, but maybe the Clean line or Fresh Scents by Terri would work?

and AP please don't lose sleep over this: that's just the reaction she needs and is feeding off.

Agent Provocateur, I'm so sorry to hear about that experience! Unfortunately, Canada is becoming quite unfriendly to perfumes, more than any other country. Most work places ask their staff to avoid scent. Personally, I've always ignored this request (except for when I'm visiting places such as the lung departments in hospitals) as I know that my scents are never worn in an offensive matter. I fact, in many cases I noticed that some people's hair spray or body lotions or deodorants probably smell stronger sillage-wise than how I wear my perfumes.

There was an interesting article about this in AdBusters magazine last year. The writer, even though himself suffers from chemical sensitivity, concluded that while perfume-wearers should wear their perfumes in a considerate manner (i.e.: not bathe in their cologne minutes before entering a packed bus), people with chemical sensitivities should also be considerate and accepting of the fact that other people like to wear fragrance from time to time (as long as they wear it in a friendly and considerate quantity). I couldn't agree with him more. I don't think it is reasonable to have a ban on perfume. Or tell people not to wear this perfume or the other. It is, however, reasonable to ask people to tone down their application of perfume if it seems too strong for most of the people around them.

The one thing that affects sillage more than anything else in my opinion is the method by which the scent was applied. I find that when sprayed, the sillage is greater. There are several reasons for that:
a) it covers a larger portion of your skin, and there is more skin and body warmth to lift up the scent and diffuse it in the air
b) the scent when sprayed also hits spots that were not intended for spraying, such as articles of clothing or hair, which hold the scent longer and the scent will be more persistent that way (rather than dissipating like it does on a person's warm skin)

Whichever scent you chose, you may want to consider dabbing it instead of spraying. Or reducing the amount of perfume you apply. If you don't have the choice to dab your fragrance (i.e.: you don't feel like decanting every single perfume you have in your collection, if your collection is as huge as some of the Basenoters here!), you could, alternatively, apply your perfume as follows:
Spritz one spritz really close to the skin on one wrist, as to avoid contact with clothes, hair, etc. Than touch your other wrist with your perfumed wrist, and repeat applying the perfume this way to your neck if desired. If you keep it down to 1-2 spritzes applied that way, I think you'll be ok (unless you are wearing the really high sillage ones, such as Angel or Poison etc. - in that case you may need to tone it down even more by using a toothpick to apply the scent :-D - just kidding of course!).

As far as specific perfumes go - I find most of the classics in parfum form to stay very close to the skin.
From the more recent releases, ones that could be considered "skin scents" are Lovely, Pure Turquoise, Narciso Rodriguez - but only when applied very lightly. Again, you may want to opt for a roll on or parfum version of these rather than the spray.

What a bi*ch. I say go the other way and spray yourself head to toe in Fracas and stand in front of her desk with a fan, wafting the fumes her way.

On a more practical notes, why not try extrait de parfum strengths? Although intense, they have low sillage and stay close to the skin and rarely bother others.

When my daughter and I made the seemingly e-n-d-l-e-s-s drive from Wisconsin to Louisiana this fall, I wore Nanadebary Green in the car. I asked her if she could smell my fume, and she said no. I have to put my nose right to my skin to smell delicate Nan Green, but it's totally worth it.

With regard to sleepless nights due to confrontations: I remind myself that irritating events of injustice spark a series of psychological and physical reactions within us, which, much like the common cold, have to run their course in thought and sensation until the bad chemistry flushes through our brains, and then we see things in perspective and gradually let go of the internal trauma. The fact that you took this event to heart is simply a sign to me that you're a wonderful, honest, sensitive person, and I only like you more!!!

Oh AP, what a nasty, messed up person your colleague must be!

I have to second (or third) the suggestion that you report this to your HR department so they're in the loop. (Though is there a risk they'll over react and ban frags in your workplace completely? Eeek.) You may well find HR have already heard of your colleague if she's been intimidating and causing friction for years.

If it's noted by HR that you have taken this colleague's complaints on board and have changed the perfumes you wear in order to minimise her discomfort, it might nip the problem in the bud and she'll move on to someone else. (And HR will have more evidence to possibly send her on a course.)(Do they have courses for people who are just plain awkward?)

On a practical note, I find solid perfumes have a minimal sillage. Crazy Libulelle and the Poppies, solid Philosophy Pure Grace etc and solid Lush fragrances are all ones I've found stay close to the skin.

Good luck and don't let this person get to you. If you change your perfume habits and she still complains then tough on her. You don't sit near her and there are lots of other fragrances in the office, but you are being decent and kind enough to change something for her benefit. That is plenty.

She sounds like a miserable person. You on the other hand are quite considerate. I hope you don't lose too much sleep over this. Judging by her reputation, it won't be long before she moves on and targets someone else on a different matter. In the meantime, maybe just try wearing a lesser amount as others have suggested.

Btw, I second the suggestion for Mure et Musc. A subdued musk with berry notes, but not sweet. I've neglected this one, but I wore this to work today and quite enjoyed it.

I agree with all those who suggest Narciso Rodriguez but would say that the Musc for Her is the lightest and has the added advantage of not being a spray, more control with application. This person would have to sit in your lap to smell it and I'm guessing that's not likely, huh?

as much as it's a pain I would say that you should stop wearing fragrances to the office for a week. During that week have someone ask her if her allergies are bothering her. When the inevitable answer is yes,sweetly inform her that you've stopped wearing fragrance to the office because of her allergies so clearly it must be something else in the office, getting you permanently off the hook

Jovan White Musk and ck be are two fragrances you might want to look into.

I have worked for many years with someone who is allergic to perfumes as well as many other things. She was not trying to be controlling or to be mean. She did have strange reactions that I noticed. Was it perfume or something else or was it psychological? I don't know. But I tried to solve her problem by compromising my perfume wearing.

Ayala's suggestions are good and that is more or less what I did. I stopped spraying any of my perfumes and used dabs of perfumes. Since most perfumes are now spray, I sometimes sprayed my wrist very close to the skin. Or I used the cotton ball method, spraying a cotton ball and then running it over my wrist and/or putting in in my bra. I could alsways smell my perfume but others couldn't smell me unless they were very close to me.

I also found that parfum leaves a low silage and so started wearing parfums or extraits to work. A chemist suggested to me that it is the alcohol mloecules in the air that cause the problems. I don't know if this is true but parfum stays close to the skin and doesn't fill a room. Also, since parfum costs so much we tend to use it more sparingly and this alone means it is not so overwhelming.

Natural perfumes like Ayala Moriel's perfumes also stay closer to the skin and are not offensive to those with allergies. I aksed my colleague and she told me that the Ayala Moriel perfumes didn't bother her.

With the power perfumes after the 80's, the many harsh synthetics, the proliferation of sprays instead of splash and dab, and the huge bottles nowadays, I do think that many people overdo their perfume. Sillage is a 'wave' not a wall of perfume. I found I could still enjoy my perfumes and yet not hurt my colleagues or cause a toxic atmosphere in the workplace.

Good luck!

You may wish to try natural perfumes, either in parfum or EdT strength. There are a number of perfumers you can visit via the links on the left column of http://naturalperfumery.com They are all fabulous perfumers that have a rather low profile on the net, yet they are very worth of a sniff via their sampling programs.

just dab discretly whatever perfume you like, just don 't spray!

dabbing extrait de parfum or any edp in your cleavage will stay close to your body. if you want extra low sillage skin scent try Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens, again dabbed not sprayed. the Lutens export bottles are versatile, one can choose to spray or not, the result is dramatically different if you dab or spray.

I agree w/ Anya and Ayala.
One of Ayala's that's incredibly subtle, but gorgeous, is Les Nuages de Joie Jaune- a glorious mimosa. Also, her Viola- powdery rose/ violet, whispery.

Anya's new Temple , in your brassiere, would do you a world of good- and never trouble Ms. Thang.
Sweet Liz Zorn has some good ones as well, very close to the skin , but satisfying.

AP, I work in a 'fragrance-free'* environment, but skirt by with Eau Parfumee Au The Rouge.

*And this drives me crazy, because it's a public place: staff aren't allowed to wear scent, but I could be facing customers wearing combos of Poison, Opium, Baby Phat and Eau D'Skunk and I can't ask 'em to leave or go scrub.

No offense but, there are of course chemicals in natural perfumes. What do you think essential oils are composed of?

While anecdotally it seems that people are less inclined to be allergic to naturally occurring chemicals compared to synthesized or isolated chemicals, it is not impossible or even implausible that allergic responses could be triggered.

I'm not trying to be confrontational, and I hope this doesn't come off that way. I just don't want to see misinformation being spread. Many essential oils are photo-sensitizers, skin irritants, mucous membrane irritants, abortifacient, etc. Being natural does not guarantee being safe.

~SoS

Oh my, this is one of my biggest fragrance fears. Some recommendations I've gathered from the forum: Bulgari Omnia Crystalline, Demeter Laundromat, CdG Dry Clean, Cerruti 1881 pf, Un Jardin sur le Nil, kai, anything from the Clean line. My mother swears that Shalimar dries down to just smell "clean".