Do you wear perfume each and every day?
Are there situations where you can’t bear/are not allowed/won’t wear fragrance?
Do you need self-prescribed perfume pauses?
Or is every day a scented one?
When do you go out fragrance-free?
My Answer:
Hardly ever. Usually I wear perfume, one during the day, another one after my evening bath. When I’m sick, I think extra hard about it, but I usually end up wearing something that makes me feel better (Thank you Jean-Claude, for knowing exactly what I need when I’m not well!).
Thankfully I don’t have to consider other people too often when it comes to my perfume choices, but when on an airplane or train for example, I go very lightly scented. When I help my husband in his office and have to be close to patients, I consider that in my choices as well and use restraint and something sure to not offend.
But in general, I always go about my life perfumed.
It’s what makes every day that little bit more special.
Olfactoria's Travels 
Yes, I have parfum-free days – i.e. today : I left the house very early, with slightly shaky stomach (too early for breakfast), additionally I had the feeling a parfum could induce a headache.
But later on during the day, when I become myself again, I might spritz from the bottle in my handbag ;-)…
I hope you had a delicious breakfast by now! Which perfume do you have in your bag?
The new baby : Pink Vetiver…
Ah, very nice! I bet it smells terrific on you.
Yes, I have perfume free on days when I do not feel well. Then I have the rare occasion when I forget to put on perfume – which is quickly rectified when I come home. My bag is so heavy as it is that I cannot add even one sample to have in case of emergencies.
Ah, one sample must fit in there! 😉
It is a good idea not to wear perfume, when you are not well, this way at least no bad associations are formed.
I have not gone perfume free for at least the past 5 years, not a day. I just can’t 😀 When I’m feeling under the weather I usually wear an uplifting citrus that isn’t too strong. It’s a matter of feeling naked without perfume but also… getting through those bottles!
Very understandable, Guus. 😀
Today I went perfume free because I knew I was going for a sniff trip to the department store. Only unscented for about 3 hours but it felt unusual.
Portia xx
Did you find something nice on your department store trip? With which perfume did you end up as your SOTD?
Hey Birgit,
Costume National “21”
Previously I had overlooked this brand but…… WOW!!!
Portia xx
I’ve overlooked it too. Maybe time to change that… 🙂
Imagine a cross between sweet, milky Earl Grey tea and the less uncomfortable bits of Secretions Magnifiques and you’re on your way,
Portia xx
I’m all on board with the milky Earl Grey, but the mere mention of SM is a dealbreaker, I’m afraid. 😉
HA HA HA!! OK
But it’s worth at least a spritz on paper, promise you won’t gag.
Portia xx
Will try on paper first. 😉
I couldn’t wear perfume during my first months of pregnancy and when I’m really sick. It happend actually a few times that I forgot to perfume mysef. But that is so rare. I try to wear something light when I’m in a car with someone else, especially my daughter.
I didn’t wear much perfume when pregnant either, also I didn’t want to confuse my newborn with a daily changing mommy-scent. Those days are thankfully over. 😉
I’m with Portia on this one, the only time I go without perfume is when I am going to the mall specifically to try on perfume, so really the answer is I hardly ever go without perfume. I usually wear something from my collection during the day (whether I am leaving the house or not) and then save the evenings for trying new samples. I do try to go with my lighter scents when going somewhere more work related or on an airplane, etc. I save my really heavy hitters for when I know I will be outside or smoking shisha (hookah) and nobody could possibly be offended by a little perfume with all that smoke! 🙂
Going sans scent on a shopping tour makes sense. More skin space to go around. 😉
I only ever go without scent when I am not feeling well as I have made that mistake before and not been able to wear the perfume again. The only other time is if I know I am going to be testing perfumes on a shopping trip or if I have forgotton, in which case I have samples in my handbag, my car and in my drawer at work. 🙂
You are prepared for every eventuality, Andrea, that’s the spirit of a true Perfumista! 🙂
I usually always have perfume on. If it seems like I’m scent free it’s only because whatever I put on has worn off and I haven’t had a chance to refresh it. The only time I might consider going without is, like others have said, if I’m going on a sniffing trip to the mall, or sometimes if I’m sick.
We all seem to be quite attached to our perfumes. No wonder. 🙂
I teach ballet classes every morning, scentless and slightly resentful but spray happily once I get out of that leotard!
Like the other addicts, er….enthusiasts, I go bare wristed to sample perfumes, and am careful at the theatre and dinner parties. Luckily there are fragrances with sillage that you can suit to most occasions. Cologne pour le Soir is gorgeous for those.
I love how you say you teach unscdnted and slightly resentful. 🙂
It’s undertandable that you have to refrain from perfuming yourself for work.
I only tried (and have a love/hate relationship with) Abolue pour le Soir. I should try the Cologne soon.
I’m wearing perfume pretty much everyday. Life is too short not to be wearing these beautiful compositions. However it happens every now and then that I catch a cold, my throat is sore, nose blocked and these days I can’t even smell anything, so I don’t wear anything neither. If i go to someone who has little kids, go to the doctor or planning a travel I make sure I don’t put too much. Sometimes when I stay home all day long I might forget to use a fragrance. But then I treat it as a break. Instead I burn scented candle or sth in the oil burner. This year i went to South western France for camping, it was boiling hot, so I was glad i didn’t take any bottles with me, just some samples, cause the damage would be massive.nthat was the time i hardly wore any regular fragrance because of the sun. But besides I wear it everyday, even to bed if i want.
I’m glad you didn’t bring any perfumes on your vacation, it would have been too sad had they been destroyed by the heat.
It gets even better, just as we left home on our way to the ferry i was mad at my man that, even though the only thing he was suppose to remember while packing were his toiletries, he forgot all of them. Later I was glad he didn’t take his 100 ml bottle of Chanel cologne. Luck:-)
Ha, sometimes things turn out well despite appearances. 🙂
I can’t imagine going to work without wearing perfume, It would feel like I wasn’t fully dressed and I’d lack that bit of extra confidence. On weekends I often go scent-free if I’m not doing anything in particular. It’s quite nice not to have any distraction and just relax. If I’m looking after my niece as I am doing lately, then perfume doesn’t feel quite right either. Not sure why. Maybe I don’t want anything getting in the way, if that makes any sense.
Perfume for you seems to be an additional layer of protection between you and the world, you don’t need nor want that with your niece. (Excuse the psychoanalyzing, can’t help myself.)
I will go un-fragranced only in these very specific situations:
1. Nausea. Perhaps universally agreed upon. This included morning sickness while pregnant with my children. Any other sickness, scent is a comfort!
2. Camping in the deep woods. The only “perfume” I wear is bug spray! Mosquitos love tasty Shalimar!
3. Sniffing trips. One cannot go shopping for perfume already scented. I feel naked when I leave the house, and will often carry a favorite with me just in case I find nothing spray-worthy.
Times when I feel a little self-conscious to spritz:
1. At the gym. But I do it anyway. I wear Demeter’s Soap, Eau de Merv, or a little Tommy Girl. Clean, soapy, and/or light scents don’t seem to disturb others, and cover sweaty smell well.
2. The locker room. I can’t shower and get dressed without applying perfume! But people wince when I pull out even a decant and tilt my head back to spritz. I wait until there is no one in the locker bay, or even spritz before I get out of the shower stall. If It’s crowded, I wait until I get into the car!
Very comprehensive overview, Nina, thank you. It’s so sad that perfume is going the way of cigarettes slowly but surely in the perception of the general public.
My perfume pattern is similar; one for day and one before bed. Sometimes a change in the afternoon. I can usually handle a simple musk or something sheer even when I’m ill. If I have a doctor or dentist appointment, or am in a crowded situation I consciously watch it, but I’ve found that even strong scents are manageable if I wear just a dab to the cleavage; then I can catch a whiff of scent but others can’t.
Exactly. A strong perfume doesn’t mean one has to practically shower in it.
I came to oerfume late, I have a lot to make up for. As others have said, if sick I pick one that I find uplifting
Me too, the right perfume can help so much, when I’m not well.
There is usually one day a week when I don’t wear perfume at all; for some reason, it feels good to clear my head and not think about perfume or sniff anything but my own clean skin on that day. Not sure exactly why I crave that kind of break, but I do.
Is that always the same day, like Sundays or so, or do you go perfume-free when the mood strikes?
It’s not always the same day, but it’s usually a week day (often Monday), because on the weekends is when I actually get out and about the most, socially, so I like to be perfumed then. I guess you could say I have more fun with perfume on the weekends, as I tend to change it up more between day and evening, and also to wear what I want rather than sample. 🙂
I enjoy those wear what you want weekends as well.
The only time it ocurrs I don’t wear a perfume is when I’m home for the weekend and generally not doing anything but then by the evening I usually feel the need to smell something so I apply something to my arm, just to be able to sniff it for a bit. 🙂
Totally understandable! 🙂
No fragrance when I’m going to the pool or to the beach and no scent when there’s an organic chemistry lab class that day – believe me, the odour of organic chemicals kills all perfume
I believe you.
condensed acetic acid or some nitrogen or sulphur compounds have a killer odour
Some things I’m glad I don’t have to smell. 🙂
Yup.
I think the only times I walk out of the house un-scented are when my sense of smell is dulled because I’m feeling ill, I’m going fragrance sniffing, or if I’m heading to a barbecue restaurant or a burger joint.
Shalimar is beautiful . . . but not very tasty smelling when combined with the smells of charred meat, vinegar, and dry rub!
Those last are my husbands favorite scents. No wonder my perfumes stand no chance. 😉
I am still on the look-out for the perfume with the perfect ham accord 😉
I very rarely go a day without wearing something. Not only do I simply enjoy smelling something nice on my skin, I have way too many bottles to use up in the 30-40 years that I (hopefully) have left. 🙂 I might possibly go without something if I’m feeling sick, but I’ve not been sick – knock on wood – for the past few years since I’ve really gotten into perfumes. I may go extra light if I know that the circumstances call for it, but I’ll still wearing something rather than nothing at all.
Perfume is so much a part of our daily lives, something would be missing if we didn’t wear any.
And you make the very valid point of having to use it all eventually. 🙂
Two situations cause me to go without fragrance. Being in close proximity to my mother for more than a few moments is one, because her breathing is affected by so many scented products. Also, it seems that every once in a while, I need a break for myself. I don’t know if it’s sensory overload or something else.
Oh your poor Mom, that can’t be easy (for either of you!).
To give yourself a break now and again is very sensible, I feel I can smell things better again after a bit of an absence.
She enjoyed perfume when she was younger, so she misses not being able to enjoy it on her or others. So I didn’t pick up the best hobby from her perspective. But as for the breaks from fragrance, I wonder if, for me, not wearing fragrance helps me to be more appreciative and attuned when I so wear it.
*do wear it 🙂
I am scented every day, even if I have a cold or flu and cannot smell myself. The only time I go perfume free is if I see my Grandmother (or someone else with lung issues, but right now Grandma is the only one of those in my life, and she is totally worth it). It is almost as difficult to imagine not wearing perfume as it is to imagine not wearing cloths.
Perfume is part of our way of presenting ourselves to the world, isn’t it?
I hope your Grandmother stays with you for a long time, despite the lung issues.
Thank you! Me, too:).
I wear a perfume every day – unless I’m seriously sick (either I don’t want any smells or I can’t smell them) or if I work from home (then I use that time to test several perfumes).
For airplanes, concerts and other similar situations I use a little perfume, usually dabbed, not sprayed.
Dabbing makes such a huge difference, you can wear almost anything anywhere that way.
The four horses of my non-perfume wearing apocalypse would be:
Bereavement
Sickness
Busyness
Non-specific forgetfulness (may segue into senior moments over time)
Haha. What a great way to put it. 🙂
i wear perfume every.single.day 🙂
I’m sure you smell wonderful every day, Mel.
In my everyday life I only go perfume free now if I am feeling ill or after an evening bath (when I like floating around in that clean soap smell – so that almost doesn’t count).
On those admittedly rare days when I really can’t be bothered to think perfume thoughts I tend to reach for Chergui, which has quietly become my stalwart.
P.s. having read Tara’s answer I realise that when I am away on holiday, despite a carefully curated sample and decant selection, I tend to go scent free most of the time – hum this does need analysing!
It’s interesting that Chergui is your fallback, very good to have one!
Scent-free vacations hmm? Maybe going unscented is the equivalent of letting your hair down. 🙂
In general, I wear fragrance on weekdays to work, but give myself a perfume break on weekends. The exception is if I’m going out. However, I’m careful about my perfume choice when going to a theater or restaurant – don’t want to skunk anyone with a heavy-hitting perfume! Since fragrance is so inextricably bound to memory, I’ll avoid it when I’m sick, or any time there will be an unpleasant experience; I don’t want a favorite fragrance to remind me of something bad.
That is understandable, the connections, also bad ones are so easily made with perfume.
I fear I am wearing too much at times. I hope you will do a Monday question around what constitutes ‘too much.’ I’ve found myself combing the blogs for information about where to apply perfume, how to make it last etc. With a wild perfume like SL Tubereuse Criminelle I just cant tell how much and sometime not sure where and when to use it.
But yes, these days I wear perfume at the start of the day, sometimes refreshing my scent mid-day and then switch to a night time scent, which is by the way when I feel most confident about how much to use. My partner has not complained and that is as good a gauge as I need. On the other hand I think I need to wash my sheets more often. This night time perfume wearing is somewhat new for me, and switching from one night to another creates a confusion of scents within a few days and I find perfume on sheets, even when it is the same one for two or three nights, will get a staleness I dont care for.
A good idea for an upcoming MQ, How much is too much? I will use that if I may.
As long as your husband is not complaining, you are probably good. 🙂
I have been “scented” on a daily basis since I first fell in love with perfume at the age of six (we’re talking over 40 years!). However, lately I have been gravitating towards “naturals” so sometimes my “perfume” will be a drop of sandalwood on each wrist or patchouli heavily diluted in sweet almond oil rubbed all over my body 🙂 !! My hubby has severe allergic reactions (headaches, extreme nausea) with some of the heavy mainstream scents and my co-worker literally screams at me that I “smell like an old lady” and that she is “eating my perfume” whenever I go vintage/chypre. I find that neither is offended by essential oils (I have even begun some experimental blendings) so this is a great way for me to scent my day!
I’m glad you found an alternative that is working for you and those around you.
It must be hard to love perfume and live with someone allergic to it. 😦
Luckily my absolutely favorite perfumer (Laurie Erickson- Sonoma Scent Studio) is jumping on the “natural bandwagon” and will soon be coming out with three natural perfumes! Can’t wait to grace my dresser with those beauties!
There are a few times when I don’t wear fragrance. Once I went to a funeral with my brother. I wore NU. He was so angry at me. Evidently I had set off his allergies. So I usually don’t wear fragrance around him or at funerals. I am asthmatic and sometimes have so much trouble with my breathing that I have to abstain. I love to wear a dot of Shalimar parfum before going to bed. It’s hard to sleep without it. (-:
I’m sorry this happened with your brother.
I can see how Shalimar is an ideal bedfellow. Sweet dreams! 🙂
I wear perfume daily. I hate not being scented. I’d only ever not spritz when I’m going perfume testing. But the worst part is I work as a scientist perfuming lung tests on patients with really severe lung problems, so when I’m at work I have to make sure I’m wearing something that’s close to the skin for my own personal enjoyment only, and I struggle to find inoffensive perfumes that are close to my skin and aren’t citrus which doesn’t wear well on me 😦
Your job is a challenge for perfume-wearing indeed. Do you ever wear oil-based perfume? I find it is ideal for enjoying scent without the sillage and bothering others in the least. (My most recent oil perfume find is Nabucco Amytis, but I also like the Aroma M oil perfumes very much.)
Thanks for the tip! I’ve so far only stepped meekly into oil-based but I think I will have to stride longer and walk further into this new world.
You are welcome! Good luck and have fun!