I think wearing a little whiff of perfume to bed is romantic, especially if it is a fragrance your husband particularly likes.

Setting the mood is one thing, but every night? And it's clear from this thread that most of us learn to take a step back as we get older and realize that many people can't handle our desire to smell a certain way. My eyes were opened wide back in the late 80s when my dad was subjected to my mom's inability or unwillingness to recognize what her use of perfume was doing to his emphysema.

Sure why not wear perfume to bed every night? No harm done

Thank you to those that do not wear perfume (or use/wear anything heavily scented) in public. Migraines are not fun.

I agree that perfume can be romantic. Obviously one knows what their partner likes and accommodates their preferences, usually.

I disagree. A scent sensitive person can get a faint hit just passing by a person wearing perfume or a strong shampoo that triggers an instant migraine. I suppose if one has never experienced this, they would think "a little" is okay. One does not need to be "very close" for this to happen. There are many things that can trigger mine. Another thing I do each time I take the dog to the groomer is remind her to use unscented shampoo and no perfume afterwards. Strong cleaning products, laundry detergents and some candles.

Apologies for being a downer, but I understand that many manufactured fragrances and toiletries can contain toxic elements, and nobody knows which ones, because they are not required by law to disclose. If you're smelling it, you're breathing it.

'Fragrance' on an ingredients label can mean just about anything, it's unregulated and considered proprietary.

So yes, harm may be done, unfortunately.

Thank you to those that do not wear perfume (or use/wear anything heavily scented) in public. Migraines are not fun.

It's not just migraines. Any olfactory assault is insensitive at best.

In my book, if someone can smell my perfume passing by, that is too much. I don't think we have a "right" to impose scents on others... "good" or bad.

I don't wear or use anything scented because my husband is extremely sensitive to perfume and scented products such as soap, shampoo, lotion, etc. I think because I haven't used scented products for so many years, that I'm now sensitive to them too.

I like 4711 Echt Kolnisch Wasser which has almost negligible sillage, short longevity and smells like lemons.

I used to wear perfume, back in the day- probably three decades ago or more. At that time, Cristalle by Chanel was my favorite, and I remember buying a few other fragrances I loved- Anick Goutal, Parfums Delray…they are still hanging around my vanity, although I don’t imagine they’d still be good. At a certain point, I became aware that a lot of people have health issues exacerbated by fragrances, so I stopped wearing them. This post inspired me to have a sniff of a few of my old favorites:) I’m going out for dinner tonight, but I’ll forgo the fragrances out of consideration. PS I can’t stand smelly fabric softeners and detergents.

I can smell people's detergent and softener choices coming down the trail in the forest, on horses!! It drives me nuts. I have a friend who was diagnosed with epilepsy, and when I walked into her house, I understood that it may be enviromental. The detergent/softener/ candles gave me an intantaneous, serious headache.

Yeah, I’ve mostly stopped because so many people scent sensitive. I don’t like highly perfurmed laundry detergents either. I had a Dolce & Gabanna perfume I really liked but i havent’ used it in a few years. DH can’t wear any type of cologne or after shave since he gets a rash.

Jinx, you are a gem. :-)

Feathers, you are so sweet! ❤️

I don’t wear perfume every day and havent for a while. Although strong scents coming from candles and perfumes on others bother me, I occasionally wear a little Jo Malone on special occasions. I prefer to use a dab of the body lotion instead.

Almost everything else I use is unscented or has a very mild scent such as shampoo.

Oh I love putting perfume on..usually everyday..even if just staying home…my perfumes are very light..more spice scented…can’t wear floral or sweet myself…Joe Malone has my everyday scent..Oud to bergamot more unisex Of a scent..the body lotion is nice too if not wearing perfume it is a nice soft scent…I totally understand if people choose not to wear it but I do love to myself😊 how sweet to wear a bit to bed..especially if your partner enjoys it!

There are many people in the world who are just as interested in perfumes and aromas as the way the people here are interested in interior design and architecture. The scent of the night, what you choose to wear to bed that evening is
ad nauseam, the same way we would discuss which countertop or rug. Whether or not you choose to wear, perfume might be similar to Do you make your furniture and your home comfortable for other people? It really all depends on your personality.

Palimpsest, try storing your 4711 in the fridge in the summer sometime. It is wonderfully refreshing. I love it so much because, as is the case with many fragrances that can transport one to a different time and place,it brings back many fond childhood memories of Germany especially, but Europe in general. I love perfume and cologne, and always wore something everyday, until my DH ,in recent years , developed a hypersensitivity to certain scents of any sort of origin ( ie. in hand soap, shower gel, lotion, laundry detergent, candles etc…..). I will still dab a bit on my hair at the nape of my neck occasionally. I also, sometimes will dab the tiniest bit just under my nose. My hubs is a sweetheart about that indulgence ,because it’s very light and subtle that way. He knows I miss perfume and that I try to use discretion and restraint in wearing the ones that aren’t offensive to him.

This discussion makes me wonder if going 'no scent' is age related. I found I worry about my make up etc less and less as I age. Who am I kidding, what is all that for? It's rather silly really. I am SHOCKED at those that have sooo many different scents. 35 'not many'!??? THAT'S A HUGE amount of bottles!! I have had one scent for years. It has changed over time, but I have found of late unless I am dressing to go out for an evening (a rare occasion) or Church I don't bother with the spray that used to be my final touch before leaving the bedroom from dressing. I have always gone with the idea a scent ought to be captivating to those near you. When your scent precedes you or lingers after you're gone IT'S TOO MUCH. Over on the lotion discussion B&BWorks came up. I find their scents change as they are on the skin and they all turn into this sickening chemical smell. Maybe that is why I quit altogether--ya realize in the end it's just one more chemical!!!

Those of you who get headaches from scents, I am curious, is it just bottled perfume type scents? Do strongly scented flowers also affect you? Other scents? Baking bread, pot roast, new mowed lawns, gasoline?

Jinx, I literally spit out my coffee at number 3.

No to baking bread, pot roast and lawns - all pleasant. I love daffodils, but could never have them in the house, which is the only flower I recall bothering me (at the moment). I did not become sensitive to scents until my mid-20s.

Actually, do you remember the body powders popular with ladies used in the 1960s? Ugh..... I had an adversion to that, but it did not give me a headache as a child.

Perfume and scented products don't appeal to me and I avoid them. I look for unscented products, lotions and cleaning supplies and even found VO5 still makes an unscented, light hold hair spray. Obviously unscented items have a scent but at least it tends to be milder than something with perfume added.

I don't have any allergies or experience headaches from perfumes but walking through a store like The Body Shop often makes me sneeze.

I haven't thought about this before but none of my girlfriends wear a scent - or if they do I haven't noticed it.

I wear a very light scent everyday, but scented candles drive me insane. Especially food related scents ones. No joke! I love the scent from an oven but not a candle.

For those of you who are concerned about any toxic hazards, you can always spray it on your clothes. You would be far better off being concerned About the lead in your dishes then what's in perfume.

I wear perfume occasionally, Chanel 19 mostly. You’d only be aware of it if you were kissing my neck.

A huge trigger for me is the dang inserts/ads in magazines that are scented. But at least you can email the company and have your subscriptions sent without them.

I enjoy scent, and my current favorite is Parfums de Marly Delina. I have 9 or so other scents on my vanity tray and like to rotate them.

Having a perfume collection is no different than collecting any other consumable product. People collect wines and other liquor products, and a host of other things. Learning about scent and developing an interest in the art of perfume is a hobby for many as well.

I used to just have a few bottles of perfumes until Chloé (Parfums Lagerfeld) and Chloe Narcisse discontinued. I have been searching for something like it since. If anyone here knows what other perfumes close to Chloé (Parfums Lagerfeld) please let me know. Thanks

https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Chloe/Chloe-Eau-de-Parfum-1733.html

No to baking bread, pot roast and lawns - all pleasant

That is interesting. So it appears, for you anyway, that not all strong scents trigger your sensitivity. For others, is that true of you as well?

Thanks. I just finished a bottle of Chloe Eau de Parfum. It’s far from Chloe Narcisse or Chloe (Parfums Lagerfeld).

I apply a light mist of my long time fragrance when I know I’ll be seeing (hugging) our kids and grandchildren.

I hope that someday they will be somewhere, smell ’my perfume’ and be reminded of me.

With a sweet memory, I hope.

njmomma, I am another one who cannot stand food-related scented candles. I like to think I kind of outgrew them? But, they still seem to be popular for some people.

Sugar cookie scented candles make me gag.

Just thinking about it bothers me

I’m pretty sure that no one in this forum really understands that these artificial fragrance chemicals can be highly, insidiously toxic. The primary mode of entry into our mammalian system is…..through the airway, it doesn’t matter whether you apply it to your skin or your clothing or walk through a mist of it before leaving the house. You, and anyone who is within smelling distance of you, inhale a myriad of chemicals that make up the mega fragrance industry.

Let’s see, we’ve got cancer causing agents, endocrine disrupters, neurotoxins, alergy and migraine triggers, respiratory irritants, developmental and reproductive toxins. These chemicals can be stored in fatty tissues, they are found in breast milk, in cord blood, in our reproductive cells.

There are over three thousand different chemicals used to manufacture the synthetic compounds we love and recognize; each branded fragrance has its own chemical formula, kept secret and patent protected. Most are comprised of a dozen or more chemicals, hidden in the product by ingredient but listed as ’fragrance’ or ’parfume’, etc. Fragrance manufacturers are not required to list these ingredients…..you’d never buy your favorite scented product again if you knew.

We are inundated by these chemicals in our soaps, shampoos, and other body care products, cleaning chemicals, artificially scented air fresheners of all kinds, wax melts and candles, detergents, fabric softeners, etc. The list is endless. It’s becoming very difficult to exist in today’s environment without several exposures. Remember, these chemicals can be accumulated.

Who should avoid all of these scented products? Pregnant women and couples who want to get pregnant, babies, breast feeding mothers, sperm donors, those with a compromised respiratory system, an immune system weakened by illness or by chemotherapy, anyone taking medications that might weaken the liver (hey, that’s you taking cholesterol, diabetes, or a host of other common meds), and the elderly.

Naturally derived, organic essential oils don’t get off scot-free as some individuals are highly allergic to fragrances period and floral derivatives

in particular.

The scent of peppermint has been shown to improve concentration, memory and cognition.

I had the original Chloe when I was young and yes it was beautiful and so sadly discontinued now so looking for vintage is your only option. Some of the comments in the reviews here mentioned some options however.

https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Karl-Lagerfeld/Chloe-Parfums-Lagerfeld-50352.html

Naturally derived, organic essential oils don’t get off scot-free as some individuals are highly allergic to fragrances period and floral derivatives

in particular.

I was curious about that. When I did wear scents, back in the day, it was usually essential oils in the amber family,.

Thanks for the info! :-) I still have 2 half bottles of Chloe Narcisse left . Now they are priced in hundreds. I paid $85-$90 each for my last 5 bottles a few years ago. I should have bought more.

I’m pretty sure that no one in this forum really understands that these artificial fragrance chemicals can be highly, insidiously toxic.

Substances are not evil just because they are artificial, just as substances are not always good just because they are natural. Can inhaling natural substances be toxic also?

Perhaps what is needed is better disclosure, so that we do understand, and can make better choices.

Another person who used to love fragrances but now seldom wear them..

the last bottle i bought was about 8 years ago. Narciso Rodriguez for her.. i loved that scent but i just dont wear it amymore. i also have a few Jo Malone sample sizes of english pear and freesia along with amber and lavender.

i will put them on if i know i am staying home.

last week i was at our large downtown hospital and on the floor of the cancer pavillion was a large sign mentioning no perfumes or scents were to be worn.

Summers rhythm, I am concerned about that with one of my favorites. I have two back up bottles but may get more.

Get more as you still can. :-)

I used to wear perfume in my 20's, but probably haven't for pushing 30 years, They just never smelled as good on me as they did on other people or in the bottle - I don't think perfume or even scented lotion reacts well with my body chemistry. I worked with a very nice woman in 1988-ish who always soaked herself in Taboo. She smoked and I think she tried to cover it up with the perfume. It was terrible to be in a car or closed office with her as it was hard to breathe and I would end up smelling of Taboo myself!

Bluebell, the combo of Taboo and cigarette smoke would do me in. 😄

Not sure rhizo read my last post...

As I said above, if you're smelling something, you're breathing it, so putting it on clothing might still be a problem.

And IMPO, all those samples in catalogs and magazines smell the same: unpleasant - I simply can't tell them apart. In fact, many of today's perfumes smell very similar to me.

And OMG - I used to wear Tabu in the late 70s/early 80s - it's so cloying. Canoe was the other one from the same company - Dana? Back then, everyone I knew used to like musk too - now it's just yucky to me. Remember the Jovan scents? I think they had one called 'Mink & Pearls' that I liked - and I'm sure I would hate now 😄

I think arcy's on point about the age thing - so much of beauty industry marketing is aimed at young, not mature, women. I think many, if not most young women can be insecure about their attractiveness - and advertising reinforces that. If advertising wasn't effective, it wouldn't be the huge industry it is.

Also, it does seem scents can be an acquired taste. And fun fact, our perception of a smell will 'turn off' after awhile, so we may think the smell's gone, but it's not.

One of my sisters loves scented candles, perfumes and everything else. She's given me clothing that I needed to wash several times before the scent finally went away.