[JohnZ]

I just made a post under the Thai Ruby topic and I thought of an interesting story. Not about Thailand...but it may be related. Have you ever noticed when traveling abroad, the smell (odor) of the culture....places and people? Thailand has some interesting odors....for sure. But in making that post I remembered an interesting experience I had while traveling in Mexico with a bunch of South Koreans on business (yeah, I know...weird). At dinner and after a third round of Tequila, we were talking about acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, religion.....and the soul searching philosophical stuff that Tequila brings out.....then one of the Koreans mentioned something about the smells of Mexico. Which made me think of a question....which I asked. What do Americans smell like? The response was......drum roll......butter. I thought that response was interesting. What does it say about us?

BTW. The S. Koreans can drink anyone under the table. Been there.....and the smell of the floor of Anillo el Toro, in San Juan del Rio.....is..well interesting in a cultural sense.

[Lil Dancer]

Pretty interesting post! I never thought about our odors. In Italy, we noticed that many people do not use deodorant. I did not find that offensive, although some people might. Its probably healthier not to wear it. Speaking of drinking, they drink wine at lunch and dinner, but it seems to be a very weak alcoholic content - just enough to pleasantly relax you, but not get actually "loaded".

[Talk Host]

I traveled extensively in the former Soviet Union for about 10 years. Everytime my colleagues and I would step onto a bus or into a room, everybody would turn around and look at us. I finally realized that it was our "odor" that gave us away. One of my friends there (who now lives in the states) said that we smell like "right guard." In a culture that does not use deodorant, it must be really weird to smell people (us) who use perfume.

[REDCART]

You guys are an education. Never thought about it but of course we must have a distinct odor. I've read about Navy SEALs in Vietnam eating fish and the local fish sauce on just about everything because the Vietnamese could smell Americans in the jungle from a distance.

[Flash]

I am drawn to a quote from gryoung's post "When Insults Had Class". That would be "Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?".

All this discussion about how folks in other countries can smell us a mile away. Could it be because a good number of North Americans are consumed with smelling like something other than themselves? It is very seldom that I can go to a restaurant, movie, play or whatever, without having to tolerate the "odor" of what someone else has deemed a "fragrance" and who feels that everyone in the establishment should be given the opportunity to inhale a good dose of it.
My wife explained to me that when she was growing up, she was taught to spritz a little in the air and then walk through it, and to do this 1/2 hour before going out the door. She was taught that the only time someone was allowed to catch her fragrance was when they were standing directly in her space. Other than that, it was supposed to go unnoticed. If only that were the case nowadays.
Unfortunately, there are many of us who are allergic to large doses of perfume and our evening is altered by a splitting headache. All because it seems everyone is trying to outdo the other by bathing in their own preferred scent.
It's refreshing to have someone walk by and to catch a brief hint of their scent rather than have them walk by and leave the area smelling like they dropped and broke the bottle right under our noses.
I am interested in others' comments on this issue. Do you think there should be a "heavy" perfume ban in movie theatres, restaurants, concerts, etc., just as there is currently a no-smoking ban?

[villagerjudy]

LMAO over the perfume comment. I know that some of the perfumes are expensive but Raid Bug Spray, in moderate doses, smells better than some of them. I'd love to ban perfumes since I am mildly allergic but then we'd have to ban "gas" in the movies too. That isn't a good idea for me since being a nurse "gas" is part of my livelihood so we can't mess with that. One man's perfume is another's poisen.

[darbyduff]

I do agree that some women take "baths" in the most gawd awful perfume but I've noticed alot of men doing the same thing.

Years ago I worked as a counselor at a Mental Hospital. Most of our alcoholic men would use large amounts of cologne so we couldn't tell that they had been drinking. And of course alot of them were drinking the stuff too.

Ever since that time, I think men who douse themselves are maybe doing it for the same reasons. Men???? ???

[JohnZ]

I recall Bob Ueker, playing the announcer in the movie Major League. He was announcing from the press box with a bottle of Jack Daniels in the foreground. In one scene he dipped is fingers into the JD and put a little dab behind each ear with panache. Sine qua non for a ex big league player of his era.

[Flash]

There could be some truth to darbyduff's suggestion that alcoholic men bath in perfume to mask their "other" smell. Don't know if it's necessarily "always" true, but I couldn't agree more that there are a good number of men who are also clueless that they are making it uncomfortable for their friends by going overboard with their cologne, which is just as bad as perfume.

When I was proposing a ban on excessiveperfume in certain social venues, I really meant a ban on women's perfume AND men's cologne, used in excess. I wouldn't be this vocal about it if I didn't get a splitting headache within seconds of breathing in a STRONGperfume or cologne. There is nothing worse than going out to a nice restaurant, ordering the food and just as the food is served, someone with a massive dose of fragrance is seated adjacent to me. Aside from the instant headache, any aroma coming from my $20 or $30 meal is overpowered by the smell coming from this inconsiderate person. Is this really necessary? It's such a touchy subject. It's ok to fill an entire room with one's scent, but it's not ok to tell that person they're wearing way too much perfume. Perhaps with more discussion we could get a movement going.

[mnchshadow]

Hi all, my friend just sent me the forum and I am just getting into all the subjects. I wanted to add my two cents to this topic. I have found that when I personally have on a fragrance that I love I can't smell it after a few minutes. But other people will ask "what are you wearing," and comment how nice it smells on me. So am I wearing too much? I don't know. However some men I know wear so much cologne that you can actually taste it. It is horrible when that happens. Especially when in a closed environment where you can't escape easily. Movie theaters, restaurants etc. Please guys it is very nice to smell a cologne on you but in moderation.