Too much perfume?

Question

I have a coworker, who's perfume is so strong that it smells like she uses a bottle a day. How can she not smell herself? I turn on the fan at my desk, immediately when she sits down. She's a nice lady and I don't want to offend her, but it is really very strong and I can't stand it another day. My cubicle is next to hers, so I'm suffering the worse. We are literally choking. All my coworkers in our area talk about the smell. None of have allergies or asthma, so we can't approach our boss with a medical excuse. What should I do?

Alot of good answers, thanks!

Answer 1

You should speak to your boss. It is his responsibility to provide an environment his for his employees that is comfortable enough for you to work. It doesn't have to be a medical excuse. You might even talk to the woman herself, or better yet, get her a perfume that is not very strong that you and your co-workers like and give it to her as a gift. She may feel compelled to wear it and that would make everything more bearable.

Answer 2

I am having the same problem, big time. I could write a book on this I have so much to say. I began doing research and have found that a lot of perfumes have more toxic chemicals in them than cigarettes and that they are worse for you. Many people are actually addicted to their fragrances because of the chemicals in them, some intentionally. Fragrances are considered trade secrets and therefor companies do not have to tell anyone including the FDA what is in them. The industry is self regulated. When some of these materials are used in other industries they are highly regulated. However, In the fragrance industry they are used and people never know they are being exposed to these dangerous chemicals.

•ethanol •camphene •Beta-pinene •Beta-myrcene •benzaldehyde •limonene •benzyl alcohol •Beta-phenethyl alcohol •citronellal •camphor •benzyl acetate •estragole •Alpha-cedrene •Alpha-pinene •diethylene glycol mnoethyl ether •linalool •Alpha-terpineol •Beta-citronellol . Other compounds identified were: •acetone •t-butanol •ethyl acetate •toluene •3-octanone •cineole •2-ethyl-1-hexanol* •phenylacetaidehyde •terpinen-4-ol* •menthyl acetate.

All of these chemicals have been shown in animal studies to cause serious health problems and death in animals.

The fan and the window don't work. For me, it is about noon time that either the scent wears off or I have become accustomed to it. You would think that all the hints would be noticed but someone who douses themselves in perfume doesn't notice much obviously.

I think the best thing you can do is be honest and friendly. Tell her that it is not that you don't like the perfume, nothing personal, but rather there is something in it that irritates you. In fact, I think that is all you can do unless you want to bring HR into it. Maybe take her out to lunch sometime.

Bizarre how these people don't seem to have a clue. Same thing in my office. Everyone laughs about it. You can smell her in the elevator when she is not in it. When she walks down the hall, she leaves a scent trail. People see me reading the internet at a free desk and say "oh, strong perfume today?" She is not here today and I feel happy and healthy. Why should we have to go through this? Nobody likes the smell that they seem to love so much.

I think that it should be a law. Seriously. No perfumes or colognes in the work place. God I sound like a psycho, but it really takes a toll on me.

Good luck!!!!

Answer 3

As a business owner I am faced with employees with similar problems. My suggestion would be to have coffee with her in a quiet area. NEVER confront in front of a crowd or small group of people.. approach her with a nice compliment on the work she does and how you enjoy working with or next to her. Then make a small suggestion in regards to how much perfume she wears. Say something like, Can I make a suggestion without offending you too much? And proceed to tell her that even though her perfume smells good it seems to be a strong scent. If she does not automatically ask is it too strong then gently suggest that maybe she should wear less of it because it is a really strong scent . If that doesn't do the trick then have your boss handle the situation..

Answer 4

if u are close enough with her that she wont be offended then say something gently...picture if she had to tell u that u have BO or sumthin...what would u like her to say to u? its always easier if u put urself in the other persons shoes and think abotu how u would feel if u were the offending party. its very likely that shes so used to it that she cant even smell it. i have a coworker who does the same thing..she wears this horrible rose scented perfume that smells like a funeral home and bug spray...yuck! she bathes in the stuff so one day one of the women in our group ran into her in the bathroom and asked her what perfume she wears and the woman told her and the girl said wow that stuff is strong! i can smell it from down the hall and the woman got super offended and over the next few days she purposly accumulated matching lotion, body spray and scented potpourri...our office REEKS and we cant do anything about it...we spoke to the boss and he said he cant tell her not to use it so we are waiting for a new person to join the group so we can fake that they have a medical emergency so she will be forced to stop!! good luck

Answer 5

I had a similar problem with a coworker of mine. I simply stuck my head around the corner and said, "Jose, I've got to tell you that I love the scent of your cologne, but I'm obviously suffering a chemical reaction to it. Is there any chance that you might be willing to wear something different?"

Easy cheesy - he apologized profusely, moved to a different desk for the day, and I've never had a problem since then.

I don't think she'll take it as an offense if someone simply tells her in a friendly manner that she's causing some distress.

(An allergic reaction is similar to the chemical reaction - you don't even have to have allergies to react. So if you sniffle and wipe your nose....?) Not that I advocate lying to the lady, but you might have to play it that way.

Another option might be to approach her and tell her that you overheard coworkers complaining and that you thought you could give her a friendly heads' up before something came down. The downside of this one is that she might have problems to know that people are talking about her and take THAT to the boss.

I'd play it the first way.

Answer 6

Let her know that, although her perfume smell good, it is affecting your work skills because it is too strong. It might be harsh, but it seems as though it is affecting you and those your work with you. If she is offended tell her that you mean no disrespect, but wanted to address the issue because you value her presence in the work environment.

Answer 7

even if you don't have allergies or asthma, you can still be chemical sensitive, it can give you a headache. you really just need to approach her nicely and tell her it is a little too much. many offices are now enforcing rules about wearing perfume. Good Luck, i feel your pain.

Answer 8

She wears so much because when she puts some on, she gets used to the smell & doesnt smell it anymore, so she thinks no one else can smell it so she wears a lot more.
Just cough when she gets too close for you.
Or tell her you're alergic to it.

Answer 9

Just type up a note and leave it at her desk.

"Your perfume is overwhelming and I know that other feel this way also. Tone it down a bit thank you."

Answer 10

Tell her as polietly as you can... "Everyday I notice your perfume, it smellls very good but I think you put too much on a day. One or two squirts a day will help. Its making us concentrate on your perfume and not our job. You umderstand??" Maybe that will help!


~Kool Kat~