Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Rest of the Story

The American Tenors concert was wonderful but there's more to the story. Isn't there always more to every story?

It's true, I put the convertible top down and drove in the dark, cool night under a full moon but it wasn't just to enjoy the evening air and starry night. The rest of the story is that I was gagging for some fresh air. You see, the concert was held in a very modern auditorium in a retirement community.

Do you know what that means? It means that the venue was filled to the rafters with elderly women.

Elderly women bathed in clouds of heavy perfume. I'm talking heavy perfume of many types. The result was an oppressive fog. I'm wondering how the tenors windpipes could survive such an onslaught of chemicals.

I've said many times that anyone over 60 should probably not wear perfume, me included! Something changes in our body chemistry and BOOM.... when perfume hits the skin it transforms into something unintended.

Perhaps women should be carded at the perfume counter, limited to a watered down version of a light scent.

I've given up wearing perfume except perhaps a light spritz of CK One which I spray in the air in front of me and quickly run through.

But Wednesday night? Wednesday night I was in "White Linen Hell".

How about you? Do you wear perfume? Do you have a signature scent? I worked with a woman who only wore "Nude" by Bill Blass. It is a very distinctive scent and she wore it sparingly. You could get the slightest hint and know that she was somewhere nearby.


15 comments:

Becky said...

I guess I have a little over 2 years to wear perfume!! :) My signature scent for years was Mackie, but for the past 4-5 years it has been Burberry Classic.

Vee said...

Yes, and my favorite is "White Linen." No kidding. ;D But I loathe wearing more than a light spritz of anything. Nevertheless, I'm with Coco Chanel who said something like this... a woman who trusts her own scent is a very secure woman indeed. Too much perfume is a headache waiting to happen. I truly enjoy scent though and am always annoyed to shop in Canada where even the candle shops have no aroma.

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

So is "Nude" a good smell or not so good? lol
I wear Fifth Avenue by Elizabeth Arden--It's light and I do love it but her "Red Door" that Catherine Zeta-Jones made famous is HEAVY and stinks! Yes, I remember my "city" grandmother's Shalimar and Estee Lauder Youth Dew. After she passed on I inherited her washer and dryer and it still reeked of Youth Dew for as long as I had it! My less sophisticated country grandmother wore the powdery distinctive Emeraude by Coty--overpowering too! I'll rely on my sophisticated daughters to let me know if my fragrance is too strong and makes people sick!
Fun post!

MelissaD said...

I wore Chanel No. 5 for years - just a cologne version - the scent was lovely and seemed to fit me. About 10 years ago I started suffering from allergies and sinus and stopped wearing perfume completely. I tried and it just seems too strong now - I don't even like scented hand lotion.
Fresh air is always wonderful - no matter why you need it!

Anonymous said...

We have one person who visits our office who wears such a heavy amount of strong cologne that I can't breathe and have to leave the room. I went to one doctor's office where, next to the no cell phone in office sign, there was one saying please do not wear cologne or scent. I like Chanel No.5 or White Linen-sprayed very lightly.

Lisa D. said...

This made me laugh, remembering junior and senior high as the boys started wearing cologne. You could smell them before they came around the corner, it was so strong.
I don't wear perfume, I don't even like scented laundry detergent or air fresheners. Just give me fresh air! Can you tell I'm a country girl? :)
My mother works in a care facility and I think she's noticed that as people age they tend to lose some sense of smell, taste, etc. So these women put on more perfume, not realizing how strong it is.

Rose said...

Perfume has never agreed with me...something I love on someone else turns deadly if I wear it.

Kat said...

I know there's a board meeting at work the minute I walk in the door as the secretary always wears a different perfume on those days. I can tell when my other secretary is, um, having a monthly event because she wears some sort of heavily perfumed, um, accessories.
Whenever a particular guy at work moves my rig I can smell his cologne in my truck for hours.
If I'm working in my backyard, I can tell when a particular neighbor walks along the sidewalk in the front of our house from the backwash of scent she leaves behind. I want to yell at all of them to just take a freaking shower if you think you have to cover up your smell!
I hate it !@!!@#$%@#%!#%

Leslie T said...

This is so funny and SO true! I can imagine the horror of your situation in that auditorium!
I wear perfume very rarely, but when I do I just spritz a small amount in my hair. That way there is no reaction with my skin, no "tainting" of the scent.

Chris said...

In my younger days, I wore Chloe in the spring/summer & Amerige in the fall/winter.

Now, at 61,(sorry!)I wear Celadon. I do spray into the air and walk through it. I am going to be more careful from now on...I'll ask my girlfriends "Do I stink?". Ha!

Anonymous said...

very interesting post! I usually don't wear any perfume, sometimes I may use a bit of essential oil. I am allergic to lots of scents, lotions, laundry soaps, etc. I hate it when I find something I like and then they change the formula or scent and I have to find an alternative. I use home made laundry soap now because of this. Glad you enjoyed the concert.
Pam

Tess said...

Every morning, a single spritz of Coco Chanel. Makes me feel sooooooo pretty.

Pamela said...

I know - what is it about older women and perfume? I hope someone will be honest with me if I ever start doing that!

J'Ollie Primitives said...

Several of the aides at the nursing home I work at bring residents scented lotion. the residents love the TLC ~ and it doesn't stink up the joint like an overabundance of perfume.
I like one tiny squirt of "Daisy" before work.

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