A simple trip to the department store can, indeed, turn into an olfactory fiasco if there happens to be present a rather extensively stocked male fragrance "wall." Yes, folks, I'm talking about confronting the proverbial (or maybe not so much) "Wall of Smell!!!" (In 3-D and, of course, Dolby Digital Surround!)
My first impulse is to grab every tester and spray, spray, SPRAY!!! I've discovered, however, much to my chagrin, that this strategy is clearly flawed. You see, once you've rolled up your sleeves and chosen a virgin area of skin upon which to spray a tiny amount of tester juice, you have to wait a little while before the top notes dissipate and the dry-down begins. This might take some time -- like several hours. So you periodically sniff your left thumb's second knuckle in order to gage the first fragrance's progress while picking out a second tester with which to spray your right elbow. And so on.
Now, if you're like me (and you're probably not), you'll try to remember which fragrance you've sprayed where, but you can't, of course, unless you've brought along a Sharpie to mark each section of skin that you've sprayed with the name of whichever fragrance you've sampled . . . or something. Oy!
Meanwhile, the salesperson saunters by and asks, "Can I help you with anything?"
"No, thank you," you reply. "There's nothing you can do until the dry-down."
"Well," she (or he) continues. "I see you're sampling quite a few fragrances today. Perhaps I might suggest one for you."
"No!" you exclaim. "I know what I'm doing, but I can't keep track of these bloody scents if you keep interrupting! Now, Piss off!"
The salesperson smiles (maybe) and slinks away while you continue your maniacal quest for the perfect scent. However, while you've just sprayed your left shoulder (the only real estate available unless you pull down your trousers) with Hugo Boss, you realize you can't distinguish lavender from amber anymore.
That's right, dear friends: Olfactory Fatigue & Scensory Overload Syndrome!
You throw down your Sharpie in disgust, purchase the worst scent of the bunch, and go home, leaving the salesperson to wonder, what the heck just happened?
So, dear friends, when you go shopping for a fragrance, and you're confronted with the perennial "Wall of Smell," how do you go about keeping track of all the fragrances you sample, and what do you do to prevent OF & SOS?
As always, I thank you kindly for your generous input.
Cheers!
Harry
My first impulse is to grab every tester and spray, spray, SPRAY!!! I've discovered, however, much to my chagrin, that this strategy is clearly flawed. You see, once you've rolled up your sleeves and chosen a virgin area of skin upon which to spray a tiny amount of tester juice, you have to wait a little while before the top notes dissipate and the dry-down begins. This might take some time -- like several hours. So you periodically sniff your left thumb's second knuckle in order to gage the first fragrance's progress while picking out a second tester with which to spray your right elbow. And so on.
Now, if you're like me (and you're probably not), you'll try to remember which fragrance you've sprayed where, but you can't, of course, unless you've brought along a Sharpie to mark each section of skin that you've sprayed with the name of whichever fragrance you've sampled . . . or something. Oy!
Meanwhile, the salesperson saunters by and asks, "Can I help you with anything?"
"No, thank you," you reply. "There's nothing you can do until the dry-down."
"Well," she (or he) continues. "I see you're sampling quite a few fragrances today. Perhaps I might suggest one for you."
"No!" you exclaim. "I know what I'm doing, but I can't keep track of these bloody scents if you keep interrupting! Now, Piss off!"
The salesperson smiles (maybe) and slinks away while you continue your maniacal quest for the perfect scent. However, while you've just sprayed your left shoulder (the only real estate available unless you pull down your trousers) with Hugo Boss, you realize you can't distinguish lavender from amber anymore.
That's right, dear friends: Olfactory Fatigue & Scensory Overload Syndrome!
You throw down your Sharpie in disgust, purchase the worst scent of the bunch, and go home, leaving the salesperson to wonder, what the heck just happened?
So, dear friends, when you go shopping for a fragrance, and you're confronted with the perennial "Wall of Smell," how do you go about keeping track of all the fragrances you sample, and what do you do to prevent OF & SOS?
As always, I thank you kindly for your generous input.
Cheers!
Harry
