I have one fragrance that I always deem "too sexxy" for certain venues.

I wonder, is it instinctual reflex?
Or are there some notes that just produce such a perception?

What do you think?

I think it is based on one's personal taste. Tabu is one that I enjoy in the winter at home and wear it to bed, to sleep. I don't think of it much as a sex-bomb fragrance for me, although I see how it could be. I think wearing clouds of it to church or a work setting would feel inappropriate. I have worn just a touch of Youth Dew to church. It smells beautiful on a sweater. This is another one I wear almost exclusively for my own comfort at home. I wear Angel to church in the winter, also. It is a romantic fragrance when I wear it at home. My husband favors it.

So, GG....what is the one fragrance you deem too sexy?

I think tuberose perfumes can be too sexy for professional wear. I find vetiver very sexy on a man and as a result if a man wore that in my workplace, say, I might be too distracted to concentrate on the work! But I recognize that not all people will perceive vetiver that way.

This reminds me of something I was thinking about the other night when there was a discussion about fragrances we smelled as a child. My Dad wore Old Spice, mostly. My husband's mother wears 2 fragrances: White Shoulders and Chanel 5. I have White Shoulders and enjoy wearing it to church. I have the InStyle Fragrances Version of No. 5. For obvious reasons, these 2 could never be sex-bomb fragrances for me. I would think for my husband to be smelling White Shoulders on me in certain situations would equal complete dysfunction!

I have never thought of anything being too sexy to wear anywhere.

There are some I think are a bit too *loud*, but not too sexy!

ha ha, maybe it's my reaction to myself .
Here is the fragrance what I am referencing:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Baccarat_Une...engale__5176016

So what does it smell like?

Different notes are going to trigger different reactions in yourself & other people. If you put on a scent & you find it sexy, you will feel sexy & project sexy. When another person sees you, they see what you project, when they're close enough to catch a whiff of your perfume, they will react to how they perceive the different notes in your perfume. Some may think it's sexy too, others won't.

Oh, la la! I've never smelled it but that bottle is pretty sexy itself!

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.............................

No such thing IMHO. I think it's the person....... It can be understated and classy and still be sexy. Some perfumes are cheap and sexy..........I hope I don't wear any of those or I hope they don't smell like that on me.


There are NO rules for such things because again..........it's all perspective.

In the late 80s/early 90s, whole office floors were scented by one wearer of Obsession, or Samsara. Ancient secretaries soaked themselves in Shalimar before arriving and the elevators reaked. It was just all too much and completely inappropriate. Any fragrance is inappropriate if overapplied but heavy orientals really don't belong at the office. I know I'm old fashioned but a simple floral, green floral, green chypre or citrus are far more appropriate to my mind. A little Fidji, Charlie, Cristalle, or even Escape, is far more practical. Yes, that's the word--practical. If it's got vanilla or foody notes, well, that's sending a non-business message to my mind. But whatever.

I've been wearing MKK to business meetings. Ha-ha.

I suppose a good rule of thumb is that it shouldn't too extroverted. It should be like a suit, perfectly cut but polite, and grown up, but I think the right perfume for the job will vary from person to person. For example, I actually consider a tuberose my "polite" fragrance, because I don't usually wear pretty florals, whereas Opium would be too much personality for business. More generically, I suppose anything green-floral is a good bet.

I agree that it's a personal perception. "Sexy" is subjective and a person can easily wear any perfume they chose and like (providing application is not excessive).

The one 'fume that many Polers agreed smelled very evocative was Boudoir. I think this was because of an aroma therein redolent of ummm (as Rasputin would say) Napolian's olifactory preferences.

In my opinion, in discreet quantities, (al)most anything can be worn to the office. Also, clothes and carriage can (re)contextualize scent. I wear pretty much everything of sufficient quality to work, including Boudoir, Tabu, Habanita. On the other hand, I see exactly where those recommending greens plus are coming from in terms of the aesthetic.

I think it's more an issue of invasiveness. Something like Tabu is too thick and creates too large of a sillage area. It's not so much that it's sexy as it's.....not socially appropriate, perhaps .....in certain settings. I think any note can be rendered and combined in a way that makes it ok for work wear, but that instinctives sense of "this is too much" is individual.

An illustration of this, I think, is the fact that many of us had fathers that wore Old Spice ......everywhere! If we were to analyze that scent blindly, we'd probably largely agree that it's a bit too thick and sensual for a picnic or leaving the house with a thermos and metal lunchbox. Nonetheless, it happened en masse during a certain time period.

I work in a place I call "The Bunker." It's windowless, not exactly in a basement but on the lower level of a split-level building. So I'm careful about what I wear. Not much of it, and I try to keep to citrus/light florals/greens to be considerate -- there are people, lots of them apparently, who just can't stand perfume, so sad, and there is always a chance that someone might actually be allergic to it.

I think tuberose is a real "if," as many people just seem to hate it. So is heavily indolic jasmine. Especially in close quarters (planes, trains, carpools, theatres).

If you work with a perfume-phobe, sooner or later that person will let you know, and God help you if you apply so much as a drop after that. If your co-workers are more reasonable people, I think a modest amount of whatever pleases you -- after all, isn't that ultimately why we wear scent? -- is fine.

Unfortunately, it takes only one bad apple, as they say. I've seen perfume-o-phobes, who IMHO tend to be people who just can't handle pleasure in any form, get policy changed for entire companies so that no one can wear anything scented. Of course, this can also be a response to some office twit who insists on drenching themselves in Britney or Axe every day.

I keep seeing "studies" that say men find the most sexy fragrance to be peanut butter or pumpkin pie. So I'm guessing the tuberose, etc. won't cause undue excitement in the office. It might cause people to stay away from you, but that's a whole 'nother problem.

Well, I wear Opium to work. I wear the parfum and it doesn't WAFT everywhere you go. I love it.

Glo, my mom has been wearing Opium to work on most days for the past 20 years. It's beautiful, quietly sensual, classy and confident all at the same time. I'm glad you wear it to work. You know, for a spicy perfume, you would think it would take up alot of space, but it doesn't.

Too much of anything is not a good thing. However, there's a difference between wearing too much Carriere, and too much Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. I love them both, but would opt to wear Carriere to work, if I worked in an office.

This doesn't mean that one is sexy and one is not. Different people think that different things are sexy. For example, my oldest son is my Flower Child. He probably thinks "sexy" means either nothing, patchouli, or nag champa. My middle son is probably a fresh and clean guy, since his girlfriend wears Gap Grass, Bathed and Infused Green, and the one from Bathed and Infused called "Bad Puppy" (I think that's the name).


My youngest son has a better handle on perfs. My guess would be that he'd say that "sexy" is a vanilla based or a spicy scent (because "guys love vanilla, Mom").


Of this I am certain. Suffocation with sillage never wins points. So, I try to keep things on the lowdown, for work.

GG

I don't mean it as a slight on Opium, it's my second favorite fragrance after Mitsouko, it's just that it's definitely a "going out" fragrance on my skin.

The one scent I own, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable in some social settings...is Habanita.
Sometimes when I wear it I'll get a whiff...and I find myself blushing. Femme can do that, too, but Habanita smells a little wicked on me, and that's one I could never wear on the job, for fear of scaring off folks. *LOL*

I don't think of sexy as a bad thing. Maybe I have too much of a business mindset, but when I get a whiff of a nice fragrance, on a man or a woman, I just think "hmm, nice" wonder what it is, go on my way and be glad I haven't been suffocated. The class of fragrance is not so important, just how lightly it is applied - and that seems to be the key. I'd rather be enticed by a hint of an oriental than walloped by a "fresh" scent. Like a drawer sachet or a candle compared to a room spray.

The old 'Just Musk', remember that one from Yardley. It is a total man magnet. Wear it and men will follow you around with their tongues hanging out. I can still recall the advert for it..."Just Musk the perfume with the provocative aroma..."

I also used to own a 'Musk' oil in a small black bottle with gold writing and it was a man magnet as well. I think it was Coty Musk

Give me a sexy frag over anything loud and vile anytime. I think most people appreciate a sexy scent so I say if ya love it then wear it.

I too would have to say there is no such thing as too sexy. If everyone in the office can smell your perfume, then you have overapplied. I've noticed people who like to be noticed, often over apply their fragrances. I work with one such person who often sprays herself during the day in her cubicle. Naturally when she does this anyone walking by is almost forced to ask, "what's that smell?" to which she replies, "Betsey Johnson". Because she enjoys this fragrance, she assumes everyone else does. This in my opinion is inappropriate. Wearing fragrance should be personal and for those whom you allow into your space.

E