What NOT to Wear to Work

I was discussing fragrances with some friends recently, and someone mentioned being "trapped" in an office cubicle next to someone wearing noxious perfume. This lit off a spate of complaints from everyone about their least favorite scent, and in almost every case it involved a scenario where they were in an enclosed space (usually at work) with someone wearing it.

When you work in an office with other people, you're essentially cooped up for about 8 hours with a limited air supply. Under these circumstances, you want to smell like nothing at all, or like something very subtle and universally pleasant. Even things that may smell nice at the first whiff or two can get really annoying by the 4th, 6th or 8th hour.

Perfumes that you love to wear socially, drifting in and out of parties, on a date, shopping with friends, running errands with family, or even to the theater can be too much for the office. (In a theater you're only next to someone for an hour or two at a time, and the ventilation is usually better!)

Some people have reactions to fragrances that you wouldn't expect. Strong, distinctive odors like patchouli or carnation can be offensive in the wrong circumstances, but there are some subtler fragrance ingredients that give people problems. A few days ago, was wearing a subtle, high-quality floral scent that I don't normally wear, and my husband got a splitting headache. He usually loves the perfumes I wear (with rare exceptions) and I was really surprised that this one caused a reaction. It was days before I could get him to smell anything without having a headache. I can imagine him stuck in a cubicle next to someone wearing this scent. Egad.

So, here's my list of tips for cubicle dwellers. Your fellows will thank you!

• Practice impeccable personal hygiene if you work in an office.
  
• Use unscented or subtly scented shampoo, hair products and other toiletries.
  
• Go to www.westofparisboutique.com, and enter the word "office" in the search window on the upper left for fragrances that are subtle and nearly universally pleasant and therefore recommended for office use.
  
• Even with these, be very careful to use a light touch.
  
• DO NOT REAPPLY at your desk! (Especially with sprays.) Even if there's no one around at the moment and you think no one will notice, your office mates will notice a cloud of scent when they return.
  
• This is one circumstance when EDTs (the lightest form of scent) are much preferable to EDPs or perfumes.

An Overlooked (but great!) Jasmine Fragrance

Just today I sampled Givenchy's Organza EDT for the first time - the manufacturer's description didn't sound appealing to me (honeysuckle, nutmeg, vanilla and gardenia.)

But the bottle design is SO BEAUTIFUL and unique that I just had to try the fragrance.

The fragrance itself is pretty sweet - lots of jasmine (I honestly can't tell the difference between jasmine and honeysuckle) and vanilla on top. And the nutmeg, which I didn't think I would care for in a fragrance, actually lends a unique and interesting note that is actually kind of appealing.

And actually if I'd tried it sooner I would have included it in this months' Jasmine selections!

This is much sweeter and lighter than I would expect from an oriental, or even a "floriental." I personally enjoy darker, heavier orientals. But a very beautiful, elegant, feminine fragrance that is perfect for many women I know.

Perfume in the Middle East

Many of the worlds arts and sciences were born in the Middle East. Many people believe that the art of perfume began in Egypt. French perfumers, particularly Guerlain (who developed Shalimar) and others took their cues from the Middle East.

Current world politics aside, I was particularly cheered by this report from a Cosmetics Business newsletter that indicates that the perfume industry is recovering in the Middle East. This is good news for the region, for our fellow perfume lovers across the globe, and for the industry as middle eastern perfumers have always been innovative and added to the art.

I've reprinted a section of the report below . . .

In the perfume sector, European and American brands still dominate the market, particularly in the Levant. But major oriental perfume manufacturers in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia report surging demand, with average growth of over 20% as packaging improves, the number of outlets increases and interest by non-Arab consumers rises.

“At one time oriental perfume was sold only to Arabs, but now 70-75% goes to Arabs and the rest to Pakistanis, then westerners, primarily Germans and the English,” says Abdullah Ajmal, assistant general manager of Ajmal Perfumes in Dubai. Feeding perfume sales is the region’s penchant for cosmetics and perfumes, estimated at US$334 spent annually per person in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.

In a survey carried out by Ajmal, the company found that the average male or female customer has between six and eight bottles of perfume at home. “It is a three times a day habit, even carrying perfume in the car. People in the GCC use five times more perfume than their western counterparts,” says Ajmal.

The "Iron Chef" Show of Perfume

I was explaining to a friend how the West of Paris Boutique selects a theme each month and three fragrances that best showcase that theme. "Oh!" she said, "Like an 'Iron Chef' of perfume!"

If you're familiar with the Food Network television show "The Iron Chef," you know that for each episode, the Chairman, with a malicious cackle and a great flourish of a sequined tablecloth, reveals the theme ingredient at the beginning of the show. The chefs compete to "best express the unique qualities of the theme ingredient."

Of course, the "theme ingredient" is often jellyfish or persimmons, making it a less than completely practical cooking show for the likes of myself. But fun to watch and actually quite educational - I had no idea so many things could be made into ice cream.

In any case, my friend was correct. That's basically what we do at the West of Paris Boutique. I know that selecting a perfume can be overwhelming, and information is best absorbed a little at a time, and a "theme" is a great way to go about picking a few fragrances to highlight so that nobody's nose or noodle gets overtaxed. There's a lot of science, history, chemistry, politics and art in perfume. And yet there's also a lot of "nonthinking" about perfume as well- it's a very subjective judgment of what we like, what we feel, what memories are evoked, and so on.

So, for July, the theme ingredient is (may I have a drumroll please?)

JASMINE!

There's a lot to tell about jasmine, but I will save it for future posts.