Although the number of types of women’s perfumes has increased greatly, consumption of women’s perfumes (and by consumption, I think we mean purchase and application) has declined. Women just don’t seem as interested in perfume, says the New York Times, and they speculate about why (Executive Summary: perfume is an intimate gift, we aren’t as intimate with one another, and lots of perfumes are gross).

How does this apply to the workplace? Some workplaces are going perfume-free, and the New York Times claims this is sort of a new thing:

Now a few workplaces and cultural sites are trying to become fragrance-free zones. Some doctors’ offices ask patients not to wear perfume because some medical personnel or patients may have allergies or asthma that could be exacerbated by scent. Some schools ask students to forgo perfume and even scented deodorants if a teacher has a fragrance allergy — much like peanut butter has been removed from some cafeterias.

Although the paragraph above seems to suggest that teachers might be overly sensitive, I can remember when I taught that fairly frequently a male student would show up wearing roughly a half-bottle of cologne. It’s hard to function around that much cologne without being ill (again with the puke-theme).

But fragrance-free zones certainly aren’t new. At least not in California. The UU church in which I grew up always had a little announcement at the bottom of the order of service about not wearing perfume. I was never sure what you were supposed to do if you showed up in perfume, and then read that in order of service. Swim in the fountain in the garden? Feel uncomfortable throughout the service? Likewise I showed up at a state conference last year and then it was announced that we should not wear anything strongly-scented, a problem in that I was using the stinky hotel-provided shampoo and lotion. Our tax preparer always sends a note about not wearing perfume to your appointment. So not so new as a phenomenon.

The bottom line seems to me that you have to be careful about smells in shared spaces. When you wear perfume (or lotion or even deoderant), you may not know how strongly you smell. It’s like bad breath in that sense. You just can’t smell yourself accurately. You have to ask someone to give you a whiff and an honest opinion.

Via Feministing