(no subject)

[rootofnewt]

Why are people so compelled to smell "fragrant"? Synthetic scents aren't necessary. Folks are so afraid to be natural that they douse themselves and the environment in nasty chemicals. Plenty of folks with asthma, allergies, migraines, or MCS know that fragrant doesn't mean nice, after all poop is pretty fragrant, but I generally avoid smearing that all over my pulse points.

Comments

[heido.livejournal.com]

you owe me a new monitor.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

You don't use a sneeze guard?

[heido.livejournal.com]

and a keyboard now.

:)

[karenthecroccy.livejournal.com]

There's a customer that comes into my store every Saturday. She wears too much perfume and one particular scent makes my face turn red and my nose and mouth swell. I won't go near her, but somehow, there's a force out there that doesn't like me and steers her towards me.

At one point, I asked her what she was wearing and mentioned that I have difficulty around certain floraly perfumes and hers was one of them. She didn't get it. *rolls eyes*

[circumspectly.livejournal.com]

I dunno why people want to stink. That was one of the big sellers at the stupid "closeout sale" we went to today. "Buy one, get two free, or buy two, get FIVE free!!" Oh, the humanity...that just means there will be *that many* more stinky folk out and about. ick.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I hope the stink that was one sale contains all the toxic sludge that used to be in Lake Erie.

And hey--now it's outta the store!

[melodiousdrone.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I have a body spray that I wear quite often, but I use it as more of a fabric freshener and I've yet to get complaints, but then again I'm less rude than others. O, and what is with MUSK? Humans put out their own musk...it's called pheremones, take a shower, THIS ISN'T FRANCE!!! :)

i apologize for my "type"

[lupa.livejournal.com]

i'm one of those who feels compelled to smell "fragrant," but i'm just as happy using essential oils as i am synthetics. a combo of orange oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint oil is one of my faves.

of course, there's also the fact that anti-perspirants and deodorants - natural or otherwise - all either don't work on me or else i'm badly allergic to them, so i have a tendency to stink if i don't use fragrance.

Re: i apologize for my "type"

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Do you pile them on? Do you use tons of fabric softener that vents out and wafts through the neighborhood? Do you shop only at bath and body works and use a complete line of their stuff AND wash all your clothes in Tide?

I don't think natural BO is all that bad. Unwashed for ten days BO is sometimes not so nice, but just-this-day, not usually. Sadly, most folks in this country find it rank.

Re: i apologize for my "type"

[lupa.livejournal.com]

i sometimes pile the straight perfume on but that is because fragrance disappears into my skin due to how oily and mediterranean i am. i also won't spray it on my clothes because it gets more sillage that way.

and you know very well i refuse to use fabric softener or any laundry detergent i don't make myself ;) even when i did use detergent i bought, i thought the smell of Tide was gross and i usually bought the Arm & Hammer stuff with "no dye" (just color cancellers so it would be clear and not snot-yellow like the stuff really is) and no fragrance. i sometimes look at the amount of suds in some people's clothes in the laundromat and wonder how in the world they can take having those fabrics on their skin. i want to tell these people that if they actually rinsed their clothes *clean* they wouldn't NEED fabric softener.

finally, Bath and Body Works? wouldn't touch 'em with a ten foot pole and i certainly don't get the appeal. none of it smells good to me.

it's a pity - i think my own BO smells pretty bad, but i'm fairly tolerant of the BO of others.... oh, except for cigarette breath. eurgh, nasty!

Re: i apologize for my "type"

[krasota.livejournal.com]

You didn't make me sick when you visited that day, but my rant is mostly about folks in certain communities going on and on about how good Dove and Herbal Essence smell. And people who use Tide need to have their olfactory centers rehauled.

:p

Re: i apologize for my "type"

[nimrodiel.livejournal.com]

Tide itself is nasty and harsh.

The last time I washed my clothes in a machine that had a regular Tide user owning it, and didn't think to do anything to get the residue off before putting my clothes in it ended up with me being covered in hives...


I hate doing laundry as it is. I even moreso hate having to rewash clothing that should be clean.

[xiane.livejournal.com]

... but if you did smear poop on all your pulse points, you'd pretty much be guaranteed to be rid of all the "fragrant"-smelling people forever. ;)

[evilcresyluna.livejournal.com]

Heh, it's funny the stuff I wouldn't use if not required to for work: fragrance, conditioner, moisturizer, the sheer amount of cosmetics, underwear... ;)
Though you should see the way my coworkers apply perfume, spray a large cloud in front of self and then walk into it, then several applications to the crotch area. If I leave a bottle out on a counter I can be sure of 20% of it being gone by the end of shift.

[jenx.livejournal.com]

then several applications to the crotch area.

Um, EEEWWW.

[evilcresyluna.livejournal.com]

>Um, EEEWWW.

Oh, there's nothing like freesia/cotton candy/fruitasic crotch - especially if it induces an asthma attack in some innocent bastard. ;P

[absinthea.livejournal.com]

after all poop is pretty fragrant, but I generally avoid smearing that all over my pulse points.

Well, NOW you don't, but eau de poo-poo used to be one of your toddlerhood faves, didn't it?? Or was that just a one time performance art attempt?

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Most children go through a poop phase, but I'm sure that my mother would remind me on a weekly basis if I went through a decorative scatology phase.

[jenx.livejournal.com]

Usually, it's a dot of sandalwood or clove bud oil behind each ear, and that's it. I don't like chemical-y smells, so most commercial perfumes are out. Scented detergent makes C and I itch; I use dryer sheets rather than liquid fabric softner.

What's really bad is when students come in for a job interview and they REEK of cologne/perfume. Poor interviewer - trapped in a teeny room with THE CLOUD OF EAU DE GAG.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

By using less than the suggested amount of detergent, not overstuffing the washer, and using vinegar in the rinse cycle, I completely eliminate the so-called "need" for fabric softener. Every dermatologist I've known has suggested that patients eliminate fabric softener and scented detergents when combating *any* rash. Some docs are pretty cool. ;)

[ismene.livejournal.com]

I am one of those people that likes to smell fragrant, but I don't douse myself in it and I certainly know better than to wear it around /you/. (Unless, of course, scent has sunken into frequently-worn porous bracelets unaware...oops.) I'm allergic to synthetics so I stick to essential oil blends, though I'm allergic to several of those as well. I don't think my own human scent smells that bad unless I've gotten very sweaty, but I just like variety and smelling different. At least scent doesn't waft out from me - even I can usually barely smell it on my unless I'm sniffing the places where I applied it.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Aye, you're pretty conscientous about it. I'm talking about folks who douse themselves in a whole bath line (from body gel through all the shower stuff to moisturizer and hair products) or those folks who think suave and dove smell "good".

suave

[ismene.livejournal.com]

Suave is what gets bought when I very suddenly run out of a necessary product, because at least some of their scents are tolerable. I now have 5 different shampoos and 4 different conditioners, plus 3 soaps /just in the shower/, so I don't think I'll have to make an emergency bath product run any time this year.

Re: suave

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I'd love to be able to buy something off the shelf. As it is, if I *do* neglect to reorder shampoo when the jug gets close to empty (the pump I use in the shower holds about a month's worth of shampoo), there's generally a few ounces in a bottle in boy's gym bag and another in our travel bag.

[wolfden.livejournal.com]

Some days I swear you've met my mother-in-law out somewhere. She is the kind to use the entire bath line. I can't stand to breathe near her even outside. She makes me ill. I am less sensitive than you are but am still pretty sensitive to fragrances. There are some that I can tolerate. I like essential oil of peppermint. It doesn't make me ill but other essential oils do. Lavender bothers me, most floral scents seem to. I need to try Vinegar in the rinse. we don't use fabric softener much. We use Downy Free if we do. Tide is awful. I can't stand to be near people that use it. Funny, my mother-in-law uses that too. She is layered in stink. I've forbidden it in my house. She would never do it for me but I played my mom's asthma as the trump card. My sensitivities clearly are imaginary but mom's asthma is real. As long as she doesn't reek, I don't care. My neighbor was a perfume buyer for Belk before she stayed home with her kids. She never wears fragrance. She says my mother-in-law reeks too. My mother-in-law does use some entire lines from Bath and Body Works but what's worse in my opinion is using the entire line of something very stinky from Victoria's Secret which is her current obsession. I use a Rosemary Mint deodorant from Avalon Organics (it really doesn't have much scent). The only other scented thing I occasionally leave the house in is an herbal peppermint rub (when you first put it on it really clears your sinuses). I use it as a topical muscle relaxant when I'm having a lot of trouble with pain and spasms. It really helps. It's all natural and made locally. My massage therapist got me hooked on it.

I'm with you. I hate all the stink. I hate it when we go out and I have to leave because someone's perfume is making me physically ill. I was very grateful that Target put the Method Free and Clear laundry detergent on the end of the aisle so I don't need to hold my breath in the laundry aisle any more. We still use Cheer Free sometimes too but that usually happens when I don't know I need laundry detergent and Chris has to grab it at the grocery store.

The thing I wish I could find is a hair product that would hold my hair and not stink. I've been unsuccessful in finding anything. I could use a gel or something. I haven't tried making my own of plain gelatin yet but I suppose that will be the next thing to try. Do you have any suggestions?

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I make flax hair gel for my husband, but I make it thin, just to control frizzies.

I use 2TB flaxseed and one cup of water. Bring to a boil, simmer 5-15 minutes, strain immediately. Cool and refrigerate. It keeps for a week or two. The longer it simmers or sits, the thicker it is.

[wolfden.livejournal.com]

Cool. I'll try that as soon as we get moved next week. Thanks.

[bbick.livejournal.com]

...after all poop is pretty fragrant, but I generally avoid smearing that all over my pulse points.

Eh...to each their own, I guess.

[never1eighty.livejournal.com]

I used to be one of those ppl. I never used Tide because my dad is allergic to it (always used All Free). But I piled on the Bounce and the fabric softener and used everything from Bath & Body Works. But since my health has gotten worse, all of a sudden EVERYTHING is bothering me. The detergent the whole household uses makes me sneeze and itch like mad. They use bleach to clean the toilets, which makes my lungs shrivel. The perfumes my m-i-l uses make me gag, my husband's Lynx makes my asthma act up. The neighbor's dryer vent is right outside my window and that makes me ill. I've had to thrown out a ton of bath products of mine (including the Bath and Body Works stuff) and most of my husbands. How or why this happened, I don't know. Essential oils don't bother me at all (unless they stink anyway), nor do most BPAL perfume blends. I can use homemade soaps and my skin loves them. Last week someone sent me a package with a pomander in it and I couldn't use the bloody thing until I had washed and aired the sucker for a week. It sucks, especially living in a shared house with ppl who think I am crazy for it. Long story short, I hear ya!

[kesara.livejournal.com]

UGH. Eau de Bath & Body Works.

Now I admit, I enjoy the occasional scented body wash or perfume. BUT anything more than a single half-spray (which is then dabbed over 3-4 locations) makes me gag. Some of the ladies (and guys) at work pile on the cologne. It's gross. Not only do I smell them coming, but frequently I can *taste* them too. Yuck. SO unnecessary.

I used to love scented lotions, but B&BW (and similar) lotions become cloying by the end of the day. I'm not sure if they've increased the perfume content in recent years, but I've come home from work and had to take another shower because I couldn't stand my own stench.

I've since switched to fragrance free laundry detergent, added a second rinse cycle, and cut down to 1/3 the amount of detergent previously used. I'm switching to fragrance free dryer sheets as well, and I've already switched to fragrance free skin care. The fragrances don't make me wheeze or sneeze, but I have gotten to the point where I just can't stand "unnecessary" fragrances. (I do admit to a secret love of apple-scented dishsoap; however... I've always disliked the scent of eau de dirty dishes. ;)

I can no longer go to department stores that have perfume counters in the front, and FORGET the Yankee Candle shop. On the extremely rare occasions when I have to go to Macy's, I have to hold my breath and sprint through the front. The fragrances make me want to hurl.