While most would say not to wear ANY fragrance to the office, some of us feel naked without at least some perfume. Others may need a certain scent to use as a pick-me-up just to make it through the morning. So what are the common courtesies of wearing perfumes in the office? Choose clean, apply light, and don’t smell like a funeral home.
First of all, choose a clean, light scent. The GAP has some good ones. Dream and Heaven are two of my favorites for smelling like clean clothes, but better. Nobody’s going to complain about your dryer sheets, and these are about the same intensity. Body sprays often work better than perfumes because they fade nicely on your drive to work if you overdo it a little. You could douse your body in most of these before leaving, and still only have a lingering soft scent when you got to work (assuming you have more than a two minute commute). Ok, so maybe you shouldn’t bathe in the stuff, but you could spray a good 4-5 pumps on and not leave people sneezing in your path as you breeze by to your desk.
You may want to see if there is a body spray version of your favorite scent (Eau de toilettes are weaker than Eau de parfums, as well). Go back to the place you bought your perfume and check the displays. Check out bath and body stores for alternative body sprays. Drugstores sell great-smelling body sprays, as well. Look for the Healing Garden line. They come in aromatherapy scents to help you influence your mood when it wants to go south.
Spritz on a tangerine or peppermint scent to wake yourself up in the morning before plunging into paperwork. If you’re particularly stressed out about going to work, try lavender to relax. Put on something that reminds you of the beach (heck, even a sunscreen will work. You need that every day anyway!) to lighten your mood and remind you of a coming vacation (or take you back to the last one you spent lounging in the sun). Ralph Lauren Blue’s a good one. Don’t spray too much of this one on; it tends to have great staying power, and you can go overboard fast. Try Tommy Girl to feel independent and free as well. Use the same caution with this one if you buy the perfume version. This one always helps me when I need to be assertive, yet unstressed. Look for lotions and body washes in these scents for work, and keep the perfumes around for play. That way you’re sure not to overpower the people in the surrounding cubicles, flaring up their asthma or causing their eyes to water over until they short out their keyboards. Department stores often sell shower gel, perfume, and lotion in gift sets for pretty good prices.
If you’ve had the same bottle of perfume for months and refuse to give it up or drop more dollars on a version you’re only going to use for workdays, you may want to at least reconsider the way you apply. You can do the old “spray, delay, and walk away” method. Instead of spraying the perfume directly onto your pulse points, you can spray it into the air, stand in the mist, and walk back out. Only a portion of the scent will cling to your body and clothing, but you still get to wear your faithful scent. Another option is to spray the scent onto your brush before styling your hair. You’ll still smell your perfume, but your co-workers ten feet away won’t. Everyone’s happy.
Those clean, light scents are often more palatable to the people around you than heavy florals or spicy perfumes. If you smell more like you’re going on a dinner date than to work, please reconsider your choice. Florals and spice are all very nice, but your co-workers want you to shower. Clean scents often don’t travel such distances as those heavy florals to tickle the noses of everyone around. I once wore a vanilla scent to work that I’d tried a sample of over lunch, and people across the hall were asking who smelled like baby powder (how they got baby powder from a vanilla scent, I don’t know; I thought I smelled like overpowering birthday cake). Side note: never try a new perfume on your lunch break. If it smells horrible, or it’s way too strong, you can’t escape and you’re going to take prisoners.
You can wear fragrance to work, just proceed with caution. Use scent lightly and you won’t offend your co-workers. You’ll still get your pick-me-up or the comfort your favorite perfume gives you; you’ll just be more polite about it than you would be if you sprayed it onto your neck, wrists, and crooks of your arms. If you’re not too attached to that new floral scent you love, you might want to save that for going out and substitute a cleaner, fresher scent for day. You never know, your co-workers might invite you out to lunch with them.
