Have you ever felt self-conscious wearing a fragrance? (my experience)

We have all been there when a frag you are wearing starts projecting fiercely and it only takes a comment from someone for paranoia to go into overdrive.

I only use the most conservative/harmless frags to work and usually spray less then I usually do with subtlely been the order of the day.

Many years ago I remember been up all night and been late for work. I had no time to shower or change clothes so I slapped on some of my dads old spice and went in on a very hot day.

Anyway when I got to my desk I switched the fan on and went about my work. Not long after people started to say to each other "what is that smell". And I'm talking about several people and I overheard them say "yeah it smells like BO and old spice" and I could have died. The fan was blowing my BO and old spice across the office lol, I kept my head down and at lunch ran home and showered and changed clothes.lol......... I never made that mistake again.

These threads are so painful yet enjoyable to read through!

All I can do is echo my usual sentiment: it's not what you wear but how you wear it. No fragrance is going to smell good when you beat people ruthlessly over the head with it. Don't be the annoying guy who chokes everyone out on the elevator.. nobody likes that guy.

I'm still not convinced it was you.

You definitely wore more than I'd wear... but I'm not sure you'd stink up an entire store. And - if you were to smell it from a distance, it wouldn't be concentrated enough to make a family disgusted. In fact, they'd probably realize it was cologne. TdH sweetens up and becomes much less "odd to the average nose" after a little while IMO.

With that said, I think it was Kerosene who said he got told he smelled like bugspray when wearing TdH recently, and bugspray does smell sharp... so maybe there is something to all of this.

Either way, you learned your lesson I suppose! Can't win em all.

EVERY single time I put on Quorum, it's usually an attention getter in the most negative of ways. I guess this is why I choose to pump 6 full sprays onto my chest and neck before business meetings. We have a small conference room, and I LIVE for watching faces contort when they try to identify all 100 notes in that particular creation. Not sure where this fetish came from - but every Thursday is Quorum day. Frankly, its the only fragrance I own that I do that with.

I never wear more than 2 sprays to the office and I opt for subtle/conservative options. Terre d'Hermes is a projection beast in my experience - 4 sprays will project a lot. Also TdH tend to get a bit "perfumey" when it projects too much. I'd say keep it at 1-2 sprays and you'll be good.

yeah once i wore rive gauche to class, it was my first wear.. 2 sprays and it was way stronger than i expected. we had a presentation that day and I could see that my teacher noticed and she seemed to like it. but still i felt self conscious. got to roll with the punches

Nope, I've never felt self-conscious wearing a fragrance. I am careful about what I wear to work or an indoor social event, though and I don't like to appear in public right after I've put something on. I'd be surprised if anyone could actually smell a cologne in a retail store because they are always so heavily scented these days anyhow, usually with something fairly nasty. Shopping is pretty much an olfactory assault of one kind or another.

I'd always wear 6 to 8 sprays under clothes at work, and never had an issue.
Nor when I then went to stores at lunch time, and put another 6 or 8 sprays on my hands/wrists/ forearms of different scents.

Your four sprays doesn't seem like all that much to me.
Regards,
Renato

I wear 5 sprays of the TdH Pure Parfum to work every now and then but I don't think it's a projection monster. The first time I wore my X02 Aventus to work (The one that got a Youtube reviewer sent home from work due to it's potency) I wondered if anybody would say anything, but nobody so much as asked what I was wearing. The only fragrances that might make me feel self conscious are probably the Tom Ford Private blends b/c they project so strongly and they aren't catered to mass appeal. I still wear 4 sprays of them anyway. I usually stick with people pleasers when I go to work and leave the crazy niche stuff for my off time.

Same thing happened with me and tdh. But luckily i was the customer and not the worker, therefor i could leave right away as i nnoticed it was a tad strong. It would suck to be in that situatio and theres no way out. I also had an experience as u described with aventus as well

I wear my TDH Pure Perfume mixed with TDH EDT maybe once every 2 months or so - and I pump circa 6-8 sprays to my chest and abdominal area and maybe 5-6 sprays to my neck and shoulder area.

Have never heard anything from anyone - might be that they secretly name me 'That guy/The Cologne Guy' - I really don't care, I need my frag to work for 8-10 hours, since I often work for 12 hours straight and I live in Denmark, a country with a summer like the winter in Florida......

I never ever could only pump 1-2-3 sprays of a frag, unless I plan to wear it to bed.
Always pump at least 6-8 sprays (if it's a very potent frag) and 14-16 sprays if it's a milder frag.
Don't plan to change that......ever

I mistakenly wore Ralph Lauren Safari for women thinking it was the men's version. Was already half way to work and figured I'd just roll with it. Had my first complaint of "What in the world is that stink?????" and decided to scrub it off.

•Lmaooooo!

A friend's uncle once said never swim against the flow. You'll get tired and drown. Unless you have the energy and ability to to do it inconspicuously.

Good advice, I don't follow it though .

Coming from a guy who lives in Florida....... anyone that gets within 15 feet of you should receive a raise and immediately request a transfer.

Haha, perhaps one of the funniest posts on BN I have read so far.
Why is there not a reputation system for this sub-forum? If there was, I'd probably rep you :P.

To the OP. I definitely know what it is like to be self-conscious of wearing too much of a frag. I think you applied slightly too much but not far too much.


I agree. Also, it helps to wear a big chain, a fake rolex and some Gucci shades.

Lol. Years ago a colleague asked aloud "What's that smell? Smells
like garbage."
I was wearing CK Obsession for Men. It was a hot day.

I have been lucky throughout my life with regard to this - no awkward fragrance moments.

I've had plenty of odd comments, but I've never felt self-conscious about it...

OP: Not really. Loudness is the only thing I ever worry about, and if it's a loud fragrance, I go easy on the sprayer. So no problem. No awkward comments. My boss loves perfume, so if she compliments something I'm wearing, I decant a little sample for her the next day. To date, the most raving compliment was for Timbuktu.

I wore 1 Million once (sprayed some on at Myers). Big mistake. Not only does it project hard but does not suit me in the slightest. Walking around I could see people visibly recoiling at me throughout the day.
Should not have applied 4 sprays.

Probably there was a customer with some doggy poop on his shoes in the store and that was the origin of the strange smell.

A-Men in a walmart store.
Had a deliverence family walk past and I swear to god the one looked at mom and said "maw, whats that funny smell?" I could have taken a pic of them for the walmartians pics but was laughing too hard!

I only wore Marc Jacobs 'Bang' to work once--when a coworker came into my office, and, face scrunched, noted that it smelled like bug spray, I realized that the it was probably all of the Iso-E Super in that frag (same case with TdH). I had a friend compliment Bang not long before, noting that it smelled "incense-y," so I was surprised (and kind of bummed) that someone else picked up on the most synthetic element--in that situation, I played dumb.

I had a co-worker say "it smells like Pine Sol in here" when I was wearing Invasion Barbare. INVASION BARBARE!

I think that people are not used to men wearing scents that aren't the usual standards like Old Spice, Brut, etc and to some folks it just throws them off. This is why going obscure niche scent might get over big on basenotes but in the real world a lot of folks are like "what smells like incense??" not imagining that someone would actually wear a fragrace to smell like incense or a moroccan desert.

I did receive some negative and/or less favorable comments on my scents before from a few people, but I was never too self conscious, especially not in a negative way, about them. The only way in which the scents made me self-conscious was, if even possible, in a positive way (making me feel classy, well-groomed, less common etc.).

I wouldn't be so concerned.
I don't find Terre d'Hermes offensive in any way, rather, I get an outdoorsy smell from it.
Moreover, your total number of sprays does not seem excessive inasmuch as two were to your chest, and, I presume, you had a shirt covering your chest area.

Some time ago I liberally applied Green Irish Tweed (ca. 8 sprays) from a bottle made in 2003. Back then it was a potent scent with depth and vibrancy, dark green and massive. Shortly after that I took the bus and at every bus stop people that entered grimaced and rolled their eyes. This was unpleasant to me.
Also some time ago I applied too much of the new formulation of New York. It was a rather warm day and, bah, the new drydown was just obnoxious. I even apologized to my then-girlfriend, who by herself was a fragrance enthusiast and loved nearly everything I wore.

People who don't get fragrances always seem to go down the route of comparing them to antiseptic, air fresher, cleaning products etc. The only time I have felt truly self conscious is when I was wearing Sartorial; smelt like BO and was projecting like crazy. Sold that horror the next day!

I've only ever had two negative comments in my life , once when I was 15-16 and had just splashed on some of my dads original Hugo Boss and then got into my friends older brothers car, only for him to exclaim "F**** hell! LOL, how much after shave you put on!". Second was a similar event, only it was an Indian taxi driver and it was with Joop!.

I have a hand full of bad comments about my fragrances

Pure Shot - In the taxi - My uncle - You wear too much fragrance
Aoud Red Flowers / Attar / Elisabethan Rose - In the office - A bitch that I hate - Sorry but I cannot stand near you. I was like "bring it on bitch" and keep wearing those scents LOL
Jasmin Full - Going out - A close friend - You smells like toilet cleaner
Miel de Bois - Going out - 2 close friends - you smell like piss and I'm not surprised LOL
Delivre Moi / Tubereuse Couture - A colleague - You smell like wax, I much prefer your other scents

I also have comment that not direct to me but to the environment like "It smells like pagoda in here" (Jasmin Full - it smells just like the jasmine sold in front of pagodas where I live), "it smells like rain" (Voleur de Roses)

On a Train wearing too much Montale ..... it was horriffic hearing peoples reactions LOL !!!!

The first time I wore Tobacco Vanille out I was pretty self concious! Nobody actually commented, but I could smell myself all evening!

Once I accidentally spilled too much of a vial of blackberry perfume oil on my wrist. I tried washing it off, but it was still very strong. I apologized when I walked in; I told my coworkers I was the walking fruit cocktail. They said they didn't notice. I wore a thin jacket over my arms to keep the smell at bay. I was so nervous I was going to bother someone with my smell, but thankfully I didn't.

I once overdid spraying Arabie... but my work colleagues didn't mind.

There have been a few situations in which I have felt self-conscious - invariably after testing a fragrance. Oddly enough, I usually have not minded! I horrified people when I first wore Jicky (two sprays on a humid day), but I was horrified myself, and enjoyed this collective horror, for such was my flummoxedness at my first sampling of this perfume that remarks like, 'Something smells very strange', contributed to a sort of reverie rather than caused me embarrassment. Then there was the time that I completely overdosed on Shalimar and Shalimar Parfum Initial. Yes, both at the same time. I was far too loud and sweet, but as it was new to me, I didn't really mind that much. If nothing else, I learned that I dislike caramel. The only time that I have felt _truly_ self-conscious wearing a fragrance was with L'Heure Bleue. The modern EdT. It sat on my skin like a lump, and had excessive longevity and projection. Never softening. Just this steely, anisic armour. How I longed for it to become something more gentle! But no, it had an almost military presence, for all that it was only two sprays. I writhed internally when I had to share an elevator a few hours later; wherever I went, people noticed it, and sort of tilted their heads inquiringly. It did not suit me at all. Ever since, I've been wary of anise.

Rarely, but the last time was perhaps when testing Joop! Nightflight. I went to my local shop, passing a group of young, nice looking females on the way, and couldn't help but notice that I did smell like someone who had just stepped out of the 90's, wearing a rather cheap and loud scent of that era.

I wore Michele Bergman's Black Gardenia to the gym once. No real overload that I can think of when I applied- just a few drops of oil in the usual spots. Anyway,I jumped on the treadmill and did inclined walking with weights and then .......I became very aware of this indian headshop smell mixed with jasmine that seemed to be everywhere... it was me ! All the treadmills were taken up and I had these two elderly ladies on either side of me ,walking and reading on their treadmills.... giving me sideways glances every so often ...looking like they were puzzled. I never wore Black Gardenia to the gym after that.

Wow! I read how much some of you wear and it blows my mind! 6 sprays? 8 sprays? 10+?!? Wow. You've got to have desensitized noses. I sort of did that years ago with my tastebuds with sugar. I used way too much for a while there.

I'm a 2 or 3 spray guy depending on what frag I'm wearing: 1 or 2 to the chest and I bring my arms together & spray once over them (not once per arm in other words). I'll go with a 4th spray if I'm wearing something really subtle, but I mean REALLY subtle, and even then, the 4th spray will be a mist to walk through. I've had lots of comments about smelling nice/yummy/sexy/etc through the years, mostly from women I've dated. Never solicited. I've only ever had one negative comment, and that's my self-conscious story:

I was self conscious on my first date with one particular woman because her friends told me she didn't really like cologne. I only wore 1 spray when we met, but even THAT was too much. She didn't comment negatively really. She sneezed after we hugged, and that made me curious, so I asked her about it. That's when she said it wasn't that she didn't like perfumes, it's that she's allergic. I didn't wear anything during the months we dated, even if I wasn't expecting to see her that day because sometimes she'd drop by unannounced or we'd make spontaneous plans. I love scents, but giving them up for a woman was a no-brainer. I'm a big believer in the idea that if you can't give something up for a while it means you have a problem. It turned out to be really helpful too. We dated for three months. After that, when I went back to wearing my usual, I realized I didn't like it anymore. Through the years I'd gotten tons of compliments from women on how I smelled, but I guess I'd been wearing the same thing every day for so long that my nose tuned it out. Anyway, I started looking for something new shortly after we stopped dating and I've been on a scents journey ever since. Now I've built up a small collection of scents I really enjoy.

I'm still friends with her, and I don't wear anything if we're going to be hanging out.

Two weeks back I rubbed LLAM up the wrong way and that was a headache inducing nightmare.

If I remember correctly, I think this is why I swapped away my bottle of Nightflight. Its an amazingly loud scent and can certainly come across as a cheaper cologne ( as the slang term goes.....). Almost in an air freshener kinda way.

Interesting thread!
I had always thought that my scents respectively the way I apply them don't project much. Sometimes I would ask my best friend and she didn't even smell me (I found out that her olfaction is not that good). Nobody would ever comment on my scents unless they hug me. When I go into perfumeries they can't smell the scent I wear (well, maybe because the air is loaden with dozens of scents already) etc. etc.
But when I visit my mum and my sister (only a few times a year because they live quite far away) my sister always complains about the sillage of my perfume. She seems to be very very sensitive. She also tends to hysterical and dramatic reactions stimulating asthmatic reactions. I don't say that she doesn't have asthmatic problems at all but I suspect that she takes the slightest reason to get some attention, in that she hasn't changed since she was four years old. She tends to exaggerate and get obsessed with it. Once - when I wasn't wearing perfume at all in respect for her she started complaining again, coughing and so on. When it turned out that it was just an ordinary body lotion - not even an overly perfumed one - she was quiet all of a sudden. Well, although she really is super sensitive it made me overthink my former belief that I'm not smelled by others. I think it can be difficult to judge my own sillage just by the intensity I get myself while wearing the scent. Especially we underestimate the sillage of scents our nose itselfs gets used to very quickly. My mum is a quite reliable indicator. She is honest, she got a good olfaction but is not as hyper sensitive as my sister. Once she confirmed that my scent was room-filling - and that was just two or three tiny droplets (!) of Guerlain Shalimar Initial. That one really made me be more self concious. I own lots of perfumes that I now don't dare to wear at work any more (I don't want to smell perfumey at work - I just want to smell good and wear a scent that I love for my own pleasure). And as I usually dont switch scents after work (in the evening I do some testing when I stay at home - when I go out I reapply the scent of the day) that really restricts me in the choice of my sotd, which is a pity. I try to take advantage of the week-ends and vacations to use my more intense scents...

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PD: 4 large sprays of TdH seems a lot to me btw. Strong stuff!

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How much is too much of New York? It would be interesting for me as I own and love that scent as well.

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That would maybe explain why after 4 sprays of l'Heure Bleue EdT (I did feel self concious) my company was is such a hurry to get home after the concert (and not his wife waiting for him).

Thanks - I have thought about making a 'stealth' video of the Thursday sales meeting...real life can be a hoot if you make it your entertainment.

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You know, I thought Bang had terrible longevity - and I used at least 15 sprays once to get it to last for a few hours. That stuff must have silent off the charts projection. Now I know why. Geez.

I am shocked every time I read this kind of thing on basenotes. I don't think I could ever wear more than 4 sprays, and usually I just use 2 sprays. I think most people can detect it at this mild dose. I can imagine at 16 sprays it would start to drip down your skin in droplets...though who knows, maybe it works for you.

The question you all should dread, "Who stood in dog shit?"!!!!! LOL

I have gotten a few times, "What is that smell?", I always know it is me. I put my hand up and get, "Oh that is nice." And not in a Mrs.Brown* version either.

*Irish comedy, very very very very funny.

I did that with Joop a couple of years ago. It was embarrassing. I worked in a pharmacy at the time. I had a 1-ounce bottle of Joop. Before work, I decided to use two sprays. I sprayed one on my chest, and the other one was sprayed on my left wrist and rubbed against my right. When I got to work, one of the girls complained to my manager about me. To make it even worse, I didn't even like how it smelled. I had just revisited Joop a couple of days before that incident, and that stuff smelled repulsive to me!

I have been embarrassed for a certain family member that tends to over spray. It smells like ten people are following him with three sprays on a piece of encre noire!

Lol how can anyone not like TdH? But then again, it seems that men appreciate it more than women.

But as you said, the atomizer is quite generous - I tend to do 2 sprays with my EDT.

Occasionally I forget about the fact that if your body is hot it tends to project that little bit more, there been no major incidents but i was still self conscious

My first ever fragrance was a splash bottle of Givenchy’s Xeryus. Not only did I love the smell but the bottle was really something back in the day. However, I was in my teens, still at school and just started mingling with… girls (shock! horror!).

One morning, I just dowsed myself in the stuff (I really didn’t know how much was enough, so simply got carried away). A couple of hours later, my scent had fumigated a classroom and, to make things worse, there was no way I could deny it was me. For the rest of the day, I was a complete laughing stock but, looking back, I realise just how potent fragrances were back then.

And this was the aftershave concentration…

Unless my scent smells like cake my lovely husband tells me I smell of toilet block/urinal cake. He makes an exception of Poison which has a very primal reaction from him.. He he!

After 26 almost 27 years I ignore his lavatorial comments. It's his fault he can't appreciate the intricacies of my chypres and citruses. Me? I continue to wear them for myself

That's so Evil. Love it!


The only time I think I overdid it ,was when wearing Eau Des Merveilles at work.
A co worker constantly complained ''Something smells like Hot Dogs in here'' ?????

Its strange, usually I get tons of compliments on that perfume. Must have been something wrong with her nose.

A couple of years ago, a colleague wandered around the office all day wrinkling her nose and complaining about a smell of "wet mop". I'm almost sure it was my Premier Figuier, and I have never worn it to work since.

If I'm wearing a fragrance that gives me confidence, I really don't care (or perhaps I'm just oblivious). If I'm sampling something and I've sprayed something I don't like on myself I will actually try to stand as far away from people as possible.

Mate, it's not you - it's the country you're living in...

+1. never had any issues and/or negative comments and it wouldn't deter me from wearing what i like, even though i wouldn't normally overspray unless it's a weak fragrance with minimal projection and longevity. the only person that would stop me from wearing something would be my wife commenting that she can't stand it and/or hates it (for obvious reasons & only at home).