By Elizabeth Farina
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Have you ever been sitting in a restaurant, about to take a bite of food, when another person seated at a nearby table is wearing so much cologne or perfume that one wonders how that person cannot realize how pungent the odor becomes when heavily applied? What about running into a friend you haven’t seen in a long time; and after a brief hug, you end up wearing their perfume for the rest of the day?

It’s hot. We sweat. We stink when we sweat – ask any mom or dad starting a load of their student athlete’s laundry. Talk to a custodian who tackles the locker room after a hard practice or tough game. The stink saturates the air. It can be so overpowering that one gags.

Daily hygiene is an important part of the summer ritual. However, we’re not talking about dirty diapers, flatulence, bad breathe, cigarette smoke or even reheating fish marinated in garlic and onions in the kitchen.  It’s the fact that odors cannot be masked with gallons of eau de toilette. In fact, it often becomes even more pronounced with each application.

This is not to say that perfumes and colognes are evil and should be banned. One normally wears a pleasant fragrance because it is personally enjoyable. It’s a social norm to dab a little scent on the body. Even more so, it’s a $13-$14 billion global industry on its own, with the U.S. and Western Europe taking 58 percent of the market, according to the business industry consultant Frost & Sullivan report.

However, it can be a nightmare for others. 

There is a certain perfume that one beloved family member wears on special occasions that absolutely sends me running from the room. They love the scent to the point that they request the perfume as a gift during the holidays. I cannot bear to even purchase it because it is literally is poison to me. I try not to breathe through my nose when bombarded with it, but it lingers longer than I can hold my breath.

I haven’t any known allergies; however, allergies seem to be an underlying theme in Richmond. Some perfumes and colognes make it difficult for me to breathe. I wish I wasn’t blessed with a nose that is as sensitive as a blood hound tracking a fugitive, but I’m stuck with the nasal cavity the Maker gave me. The thought of getting stuck in an elevator with someone wearing that same beloved perfume sends a shudder through my spine. I’d rather wrestle an alligator than be stuffed into a small environment with that saturating scent.

Knowing how perfumes and colognes can act as a human repellant, I’m self-conscious when applying any fragrance. Since I can, most of the time, remove myself from these situations, I really don’t carry a pitchfork or a torch against anyone who bathes themselves in scents. But what if there comes a time when a particularly nauseating odor haunts me and I cannot escape the fumes?

I’d love to hear about your experience and how you’ve handled the situation. E-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or mail a letter to PO Box 420, Midlothian VA 23113.