Enough Already with the Cologne

Have you ever entered a house or a building and noticed a strong fragrance right off the bat? You know, it could be a candle burning or something delicious cooking. Or it could be some detergent or cleaning product that you smell. But then, after you're there for a few minutes, the fragrance is not as easy to detect. Ever noticed that?

One of the few things I remember from high school chemistry is this: our sense of smell grows accustomed to what it's exposed to. What does that tell you and me? Be careful with your perfume or cologne.

Over the past two days, I have encountered two men that had overwhelming cologne. I'm not talking about the "mmmm, that's smells good" type of cologne. I'm talking about the "oh my goodness, that just singed my nose hairs" cologne.

The first gentleman was in Brookshire's buying groceries with his young son. I happened to pass them and was almost knocked out by the fragrance. It's hard to describe, but it offended me. Whoa! What was he thinking? Didn't his wife mention to him that he had gone overboard with his application? Trust me, it packed a punch!

The second gentleman was in another store that I entered. I passed him going down the aisle and boom! What was that? /coughs/ "I...need...ox-i-gen...please...bring...a...mask." I thought about doing the "Stop, Drop, and Roll", but I wasn't on fire. If you asked me, the name of his cologne was Eau de Cesspool.

It reminded me of my first job. During high school, I worked at a department store. One of the managers was an elderly lady...sweet lady...sometimes a little gruff...but overall, sweet. God bless her soul...she wore too much perfume. I couldn't stand to be on the elevator with her because my clothes would smell like her the rest of the day. (Here's a special note to you ladies reading my blog...be careful to use different perfumes throughout your life. As we learned in chemistry class, your nose will become accustomed to a scent. Before you know it, you're in your senior years and you won't realize that you have just bathed in your perfume. Not everyone is going to be as fond of it as you are.) Well the manager had been wearing the same perfume for probably 10 years or longer. Her sense of smell was accustomed to that fragrance. She could no longer tell when she had applied too much. Sad!

Then there was my dentist in Mississippi. Angie and I lived in a suburb of Jackson for three years. My dentist over there was awesome. One huge problem, though...he evidently poured a half gallon of his favorite cologne all over his hands daily. After a dental appointment, I'd have to go home and shower. I couldn't stand his musky scent; and because he was working around my mouth, I'd have that fragrance all around my face during a dental procedure. P.U.!

I'm funny when it comes to cologne. I wear it some days and some days I don't. I can go years without wearing it, but then wear it every day for three years. For the last two years, I've been on the "wear-it" kick. As you might expect, I have several different fragrances from which I select. I carefully try to wear different colognes from time to time so my nose won't grow accustomed to one certain fragrance.

Another thing to consider is this: most of the products that we use in America already have a fragrance. Think about it. Your shampoo...your soap...your deodorant...your shaving cream...your cologne...your hair spray....etc. Separately, they all smell good. But together, they might smell...make that spell..."stinky". So apply sparingly from now on; or your attractant might become repellent.