Perfumes and stuff

[Sporting]

Sprayed a tester perfume, which I found in our bathroom, on myself (hadn't had much time to preen myself!) before heading out for a job yesterday. The female client immediately recognised it as one meant for women, though she said I smelled nice.

So what's the difference, chemical - or otherwise, between male and female bathroom etc products and does it matter at all?

[hobbes]

They're all the same alcohol base. They'll just have different blends of oils and fragrances. As with most things, the difference between masculine and feminine is very much learned behaviour with no actual basis. It's social conditioning. So mens' scents will likely be heavier on cedarwood, spices etc. whereas womens' scents tend to be lighter and more towards floral notes.
The unisex ones tend to be very citrus avoiding both the musky and floral ends of the spectrum.
As for things like moisturiser and shampoo etc. the main difference is the packaging.

[pebblethefish]

Men's ones are called "Rampant" or "Tiger" or "You're The Fucking MAN, You Really Are!!!", whereas women's ones have slightly more sensible names, and instead rely on the advertising to create the image.

[hobbes]

My current scents are Givenchy Play Intense, Clinique Happy, Armani Aqua Di Gio, Armani Homme (which makes me sneeze) and L'eau D'issey.

[Balderdasha]

Perfumes are an area where I find myself at odds with the majority of the population. My dad didn't allow any aerosol sprays or nail polish to be used in the house. Perhaps because of this, or perhaps I inherited his aversion, all perfumes, aftershaves, deodorants, etc, smell to me like hideous, artificial poison. If I accidentally walk through a cloud of deodorant, say if a jogger in a park has sprayed it, or past a perfume counter in a shop, it makes me cough and retch. My husband has generally stopped wearing any aftershave because of my negative reaction to it.

But, I know that most people like the smell of these things. My husband would like it if I could find a perfume I liked as he enjoys associating unique pleasant smells with individuals he loves. I've tried smelling different ones and to me they all smell uniformly toxic. I know that for face-to-face professional meetings I should probably wear perfume, but I just can't do it.

[Fussbudget]

It's kind of invasive in a way clothes or haircuts aren't though, isn't it. You pick a smell that you like, and then you somehow either assume that everyone you meet or who walks in your slipstream has the same taste, or you just don't give a shit about them. You wouldn't force a particular flavour of food down everyone's throats in the same way just because you like it.

There was a point in the 90s where every other woman seemed to be wearing Angel by Thierry Mugler which has that horrible stale vanilla smell that made me gag every time. I don't notice so many people wearing fragrances out and about these days but maybe modern perfumes have become less obnoxious.

[treibeis]

Men's ones are called "Rampant" or "Tiger" or "You're The Fucking MAN, You Really Are!!!", whereas women's ones have slightly more sensible names, and instead rely on the advertising to create the image.

There's a men's fragrance here called "Gammon". I know one of their slogans was/is "If you smell of Gammon, anything can happen to you", but there are undoubtedly others as well.

[hobbes]

It's kind of invasive in a way clothes or haircuts aren't though, isn't it. You pick a smell that you like, and then you somehow either assume that everyone you meet or who walks in your slipstream has the same taste, or you just don't give a shit about them. You wouldn't force a particular flavour of food down everyone's throats in the same way just because you like it.

There was a point in the 90s where every other woman seemed to be wearing Angel by Thierry Mugler which has that horrible stale vanilla smell that made me gag every time. I don't notice so many people wearing fragrances out and about these days but maybe modern perfumes have become less obnoxious.

Maybe people wear less because they don't smell of tobacco smoke all the time since the smoking indoors ban?

[WOM]

They are a selfish assault on everyone else in the room.

[Nocturnal Submission]

My current scents are Givenchy Play Intense, Clinique Happy, Armani Aqua Di Gio, Armani Homme (which makes me sneeze) and L'eau D'issey.

[Toby Gymshorts]

TLMG is well into perfume and has loads* of the stuff.

I can't smell any of it.

*I mean, over a hundred bottles. Probably. I haven't counted, like, but there's a lot of them.

[Toby Gymshorts]

But anyway, Terre d'Hermes, since you didn't ask. I'm led to believe it smells great on me, but that could just be an horrendous practical joke on TLMG's part.

[treibeis]

But anyway, Terre d'Hermes, since you didn't ask. I'm led to believe it smells great on me, but that could just be an horrendous practical joke on TLMG's part.

"Terre d'Hermes", here in Germany at any rate, sounds like it should smell like the footwell of a parcel delivery van.

You must fucking reek.

[S. aureus]

Eternity for men deodorant is all I use, and I suspect that if anyone else is able to smell it then they are getting far closer to my armpits than would normally be considered reasonable behaviour, though maybe everyone else has a better sense of smell than I do.
The only reason I use it is that otherwise my armpits get pretty stinky by mid afternoon.

[Toby Gymshorts]

You must fucking reek.

Entirely possible. I wouldn't know either way.

[Bruno]

I prefer scent-free everything, especially laundry detergent and dryer sheets. I'm with Balderdasha that perfumes generally smell toxic to me, or at best invasive. I seem to rarely encounter subtle uses of cologne, apparently because people think they need coverage.

[laverte]

It's kind of invasive in a way clothes or haircuts aren't though, isn't it. You pick a smell that you like, and then you somehow either assume that everyone you meet or who walks in your slipstream has the same taste, or you just don't give a shit about them. You wouldn't force a particular flavour of food down everyone's throats in the same way just because you like it.

i'd never thought about it this way: artificial scent as picking your teeth or slurping your coffee. i could almost feel guilty for wearing some.

Funny that i tend to worry about smelling bad in public, but not so much about smelling (what i think of as) good.

There was a point in the 90s where every other woman seemed to be wearing Angel by Thierry Mugler which has that horrible stale vanilla smell that made me gag every time. I don't notice so many people wearing fragrances out and about these days but maybe modern perfumes have become less obnoxious.

Ha! That always reminded me of the vanilla fragrance people put in their car, presumably to hide the fact they've been eating onion-flavoured crisps or hadn't cleaned it out for months.

My mother-in-law uses something sweet and fruitful, in ample quantities, to deodorise her toilet, which is a tiny enclosed room. It feels like being made to snort a whole papaya fruit.

[blameless]

My mother-in-law uses something sweet and fruitful, in ample quantities, to deodorise her toilet, which is a tiny enclosed room. It feels like being made to snort a whole papaya fruit.

Thank you for a genuine laugh out loud moment there, laverte.

[Aitch]

I love the smell of freshly laundered lycra when I go past a group of cyclists, or more usually when a group of freshly laundered cyclists whooshes past me.

[hobbes]

They are a selfish assault on everyone else in the room.

No, YOU'RE a selfish assault on everyone else in the room.

[caja-dglh]

They are a selfish assault on everyone else in the room.

Like your shirts?

[WOM]

Both valid points.

But people who enjoy fragrances seem to think that everyone around them enjoys them equally, so they bathe in them. If they're worth wearing, they're worth wearing A LOT. I can't begin to count the number of rapid-onset headaches I've had during plays because some woman within five feet of me decided the evening would be more enjoyable if she smelled like a lilac bush.

[DCI Harry Batt]

It's the people who actually spray stuff on themselves, in shared spaces, who want shooting. Or at least a good, long spell in a re-education facility.

[caja-dglh]

Fair. I haven't worn any fragrance in years beyond whatever is in my deodorant. Hobbes is certainly onto something with the appeal being younger or to overpower cigarettes.

[caja-dglh]

It's the people who actually spray stuff on themselves, in shared spaces, who want shooting. Or at least a good, long spell in a re-education facility.

IT'S A JOB, TONTON.