**
Growing up, I remember my mom dealing with frequent headaches, especially around "smelly" people or places. She avoided stores such as Bath & Bodyworks like the plague, and never ever used scented lotion or body spray. I always thought it was strange until I started to have an increasingly sensitive sense of smell myself.
Nowadays, I get smell-headaches instantly. Stinky cologne, overpowering aftershave, Tahitian vanilla body spritz, the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store, the overhead projector in my classroom at school, you name it, any and all of these cause me grief. And I'm not exactly quiet about it, having written a "Stink-related public service announcement" (see here) and a rant about how perfume makes you ugly (truly, see here). But today, I just couldn't take it.
**
"Excuse me, I'm sorry, may I please get by?" I said, unbuckling my belt and hoisting my laptop bag and purse onto my lap.
She looked at me in shock.
"I'm sorry, I think I'm allergic to your perfume."
Her eyes bulged and she spat, "Well that's funny because I don't wear perfume."
"Well
I shuffled off to an available window seat across the way, surprised that I couldn't still smell the floral poison. Hateful eyes gazed upon me.
**
Until today, I'd never switched seats on an airplane before. Not when a drunk man invaded my personal space and talked to me inappropriately. Not when a woman reclined all the way back and smashed my knees. Not when a man in the middle took over half my seat. Moving, instead of sitting and stewing and suffering a headache for two hours, felt liberating! But I really wish it wasn't necessary. So please friends, please leave off the perfume and cologne during travel and encourage others to do the same. And inventors, can one of you please concoct Smell-B-Gone spritz or a travel-sized bubble of fresh air that I can take with me every week? Thanks!
xoxo,
shawna
Related links:
- For pete's sake, be considerate: Shawna's guide to airport/airplane etiquette
- A stink-related public service announcement
- Sorry Chanel, perfume makes you ugly
You know, I was never all that sensitive to smells but have recently gained new found sympathy for those who are. My 1st trimester of pregnancy was horrible for smells. Not that they made me want to throw up or anything, it was just that every smell was really intense and off-putting. I now hated the smell of my little Scentsy candle in the bathroom, hand soap, air fresheners, cooking smells, body wash, you name it, I didn't like it. Not that I was a heavy perfume wearer, but even my one spritz of body spray was too much. Of all people, the HR department at work had this overwhelming scented candle going all the time and I could smell it way down the hall at my desk. Walking past to get to the cafeteria was torturous. Thanks for the headache! WOOHOO! Anyway, what I'm saying is, I have since sympathized with the smell-sensitive part of the population and have severly limited or elimated use of all things smelly.
ReplyDeleteTwo words: Scented deodorant. Sets me off like nothing else. Bet that is what the lady was wearing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I bet you're right about the deodorant. I hadn't thought of that!
ReplyDelete