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Need advice on what to wear and how to wear a fragrance around ppl who hate perfume

post #1 of 18
5/8/08 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
I need some advice on what to wear around my family. I can't just go for a whole day without wearing anything!! But unfortunately, my family absolutely hates it when I wear perfume!! And I don't even think I spray too much. But I was wondering if any of you have any suggestions on a fragrance that is very inoffensive but nothing too citrusy.

Thanks so much!
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post #2 of 18
5/8/08 at 6:47pm
I can't imagine anyone being offended by:

Prada Infusion d'Iris
SJP Lovely
Jardin sur le Nil/Jardin en Mediterranee
Stella

All, to me, are quiet, tasteful fragrances.
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post #3 of 18
5/8/08 at 9:10pm
Perhaps you could try to find fragrances that are offered in a "dabbing" form rather than a spray. When you dab the product on, it tends to stay closer to the skin and it leaves less sillage and far less is dispersed into the air. With a "dabber" (I don't know the name of the mechanism, sorry!!) you can control it far more too; you can pop only a tiny drop or two onto your skin if that's what you want. A roll-on oil could work too (like Kai). This could be your chance to explore minis, as most of them don't have a spray; they rely on you to apply a few drops with your fingers.

Otherwise, you could try spraying a tiny bit just onto the insides of your wrists and then while it's still damp, touch your wrists very gently to your neck to transfer a tiny bit of the scent. You're still perfuming yourself but it should be imperceptible to those who aren't standing right next to you.

Also, perhaps choose cologne or eau de toilette strengths, rather than parfums or EDPs. As for "inoffensive" perfumes, perhaps something by Philosophy (Amazing Grace maybe?). You could be a bit sneaky and layer with the bath & body products; surely your family can't ask you to stop using shower gels and lotions too!?
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post #4 of 18
5/9/08 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lynnaea View Post

I can't imagine anyone being offended by:

Prada Infusion d'Iris
SJP Lovely
Jardin sur le Nil/Jardin en Mediterranee
Stella

All, to me, are quiet, tasteful fragrances.


It's interesting how different our perceptions are. I agree these are fine scents, but they are "perfumey" to me, not what I'd personally call "quiet".

If they're really sensitive to scent, you may be able to get away with something like those Bvlgaris- the green tea (Eau la Vert) or white tea (Au Blanc) - not sure if those are spelled correctly - scent applied sparingly, but I don't think anything else would be subtle enough. Carriere (Gendarme) might blend in with dryer sheets smell or soap smell and they may not read it as perfume.

The choices are pretty limited, though. Anything citrus or floral or musk or amber, etc, will be very apparent to people not used to being around perfume. I'm bummed you need to work around this - my family embraces scent, so I've never had to deal with these types of restrictions, and really light scents are not my favorite genre, so the Bvlgari options are the only ones I can think of right now. Thankfully, they're readily available at just about any department store.
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post #5 of 18
5/9/08 at 10:12am
Maybe you can wear something that is more warm and gourmand because florals and citrus notes stick out more whereas notes like vanilla and tonka bean don't seem as readily "THERE" if that makes any sense to you at all. I just mean that you might have a better chance of smelling good without being as noticed if you stick oriental, but not with really heavy oriental. Good luck
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post #6 of 18
5/9/08 at 9:03pm
I second the Bvlgari White Tea recommendation.. it's simply magnificent, there's no way it can offend or annoy anyone.
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post #7 of 18
5/9/08 at 9:29pm
"Lots of Youth-Dew layered with Cabochard, and No. 5 Chanel !!" just kidding, you could probably clear a room full of people with that combo.

But on a serious note, no pun intended; you could try;
Guerlain-Eau de cologne Imperial or Eau du coq
Lancôme-Ô de Lancôme
Dior-Eau fraiche

all of these are light and refreshing.

So sad about the people who hate fragrance, I always feel people who do not like fragrance do not have much spirit. Hopefully these scents will awaken their inner spirit.
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post #8 of 18
5/10/08 at 4:24am
Bashful!! Good to see you back!! :bounce: You been missed.

I believe you said somewhere that in your culture fragrances are not worn so I would imagine your family is very sensitive to any kinds of body scent. Agree with Ozkat that frags dabbed are better than sprayed and that "naturals" would be the best choice.

If you know you're going to be in a family-intense situation for a day or so, why not just settle on a lightly scented body-lotion and let it go at that. There's all of them and just you, after all. And it's not forever.

Or you could adopt a new family - I'm available!!
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post #9 of 18
5/10/08 at 6:31am
Thread Starter 
Thank you so much to all of you!! I think these are all great ideas and will try to experiment with each of them. I have quite a few family functions coming up, so it's a great chance for me to see which method may be best.

Thanks again!!
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post #10 of 18
5/11/08 at 7:21am
There was a thread a while back about a Noter who was having trouble with a colleague who claimed to be allergic to her perfume. While that's not the case for you, a lot of very sensible suggestions were given on how to wear perfume as inoffensively as possible so I found a link to the thread:
http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=202731

And Zibeline asked something that might be useful for you on which perfumes are best to wear to work in an environment that isn't highly scented:
http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=202066

Both have lots of suggestions that I hope will be useful to you.
My latest suggestion would be Lorenzo Villoresi's Teint de Neige, just because it's sooooooo light and pretty I can't imagine anyone finding it even slightly offensive. (But that's just because I rilly rilly like it.)

Otherwise, I'd probably go with just a scented body lotion, as Tao says, or maybe a solid perfume. Specifically, Philosophy's Pure Grace in solid perfume form. That's a super-clean smelling fragrance and hopefully a solid format would keep sillage to an absolute minimum.
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post #11 of 18
5/11/08 at 9:57am
Dearest Bashful:
Please update us with your trials and successes. We'd love to hear every detail!
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post #12 of 18
3/6/11 at 4:33pm
Bulgari Jasmin Noir - you'll love it, but it dries down and is imperceptible.
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post #13 of 18
3/7/11 at 5:53am
I have discovered that I can wear any scent at all and keep it to myself if I apply under my clothing (abdomen, between my shoulder blades in back). I get whiffs coming up from my skin under my clothes, but it doesn't intrude into anybody else's space. And it doesn't overwhelm me either, as many scents do when they're applied too close to my face, especially lately as I seem to be increasingly sensitive to fragrances near my face (hormones). My husband has a sensitive nose, especially when fragrances have just been sprayed and they are still very perfumey and strong. He likes fragrance when we go "out" - meaning out of the house. Some people can't tolerate perfumes in closed spaces.
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post #14 of 18
3/7/11 at 6:58am
What about F. Malle L'Eau d'Hiver - it's so delicate and beautiful .
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post #15 of 18
3/7/11 at 7:58am
+1 for Prada Infusion d'Iris.

This is a safe scent.
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post #16 of 18
3/7/11 at 8:09am
This thread is from 2008!!!!! Last posted in May 2008, strange to dig it up now and make suggestions. Hopefully the OP sorted it out back in 2008.
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post #17 of 18
3/7/11 at 9:48am
Nah, not strange, it's a valid question always. The DH doesn't like perfumes though he's been oddly tolerant of them for me. The best I get is "that doesn't stink" which has been the designation granted to the drydown phase of several perfumes, even some that start off stinky to him.

The only one he really ever said smelled good was the Instant Vacation Greek Isles from Avon, it was very very light, sweetish, pretty and airy. It's out of production and gone, and wasn't really my favorite though I do like it.

It seems really unlikely that anyone could hate all scents, they have to like smelling SOMETHING. Pie cooking or the seashore or flowers or something.
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post #18 of 18
3/7/11 at 12:24pm
Au Thé Rouge
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Female Fragrance Discussion › Need advice on what to wear and how to wear a fragrance around ppl who hate perfume