Choosing perfume to wear to work isn’t getting any easier. At my last office job, management sent regular emails warning staff to be sensitive about wearing perfume. Last I heard, they had to bring in a mediator for a woman in one department who couldn’t tolerate the perfumed body lotion of a woman in another department.
People may disagree, but I believe that if you choose the right scent and wear it carefully, you can pull off perfume at work. If a scent isn’t right for you, it will sit on your skin like a smear of frosting and never seem quite natural. If a perfume likes you, it absorbs into your body and reappears as a sort of natural breath from your skin. At work, it’s important not only to make sure that your perfume suits you, but that it communicates the right message. You already know better than to trot out Caron Parfum Sacré or Agent Provocateur for a board meeting. But it’s equally important to keep a lid on the Jessica McClintock or other “pretty” scents.
An effective perfume for work isn’t overly demanding, is easy to stand next to in the break room, and serves up a dose of competency with its beauty. Balmain Jolie Madame is perfect, in my mind. It starts out with an easy sparkle of green and violets, and just when you think, “Well, she’s nice but I can push her around,” boom! comes the leather. I’ve never smelled the old formula, which I hear is divine, but I think the new formula does the job pretty well. Guerlain Vetiver is another good choice for work. It is intriguing, strong, and clean, and you want to give it a raise right away. (Plus, it would be a smash at happy hour on the way home.) For winter, Guerlain Vol de Nuit is spectacular at the office, especially in the parfum in quiet amounts. It is velvety but takes charge — a real stealth power scent. For summer, a fresh, uncomplicated workhorse is Balmain de Balmain.
Related to work perfumes are perfumes to wear to weddings, graduations, and other ceremonial events. These scents also need to be sensitive to others, and should let the focus be on the event and not necessarily on you. Unlike business perfumes, these fragrances can be pretty as well as beautiful. This is a good time to wear florals, including Patou Joy and Divine Folie, lots of the Goutals, Balenciaga Le Dix, Yves Saint Laurent Paris, and Chanel no. 22. If you are a co-star in the event — say, the mother of the bride or the godmother of the baby being baptized — you can ramp it up and wear a bigger floral, such as Piguet Fracas, Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, or Guerlain Nahéma.
Working from home gives you the ultimate flexibility in perfume choice, of course. I change my scent as soon as old one wears off, and sometimes wear as many as four at a time. I haven’t had one complaint yet.
Note: image is via Images de Parfums.
See also: The Fragrance Wardrobe Part 1, The Fragrance Wardrobe Part 2 ~ Comfort Scents, Part 4 ~ Perfume for Seduction and Part 5 ~ All The Rest.
When I used to give facials , I would cover myself in lavender and vanilla oil from head to toe. From the very first stroke to their face they would instantly be in a trance. They became so relaxed, most would fall asleep. The ultimate compliment! Then when I worked with a bunch of gay, irratable old women I decided I wanted to smell irresistable to them and believe it or not it was a now discontinued “Charles Jourdan” that did it for them. From the moment they smelled me they were in a better mood and seemed happier. Now I am a stay at home mom, and believe it or not I am baffled more by what to wear around my 11 month old son. I worry about what he likes and what will offend him. Also the way I smell is the way he'll smell from all the holding! Who would of thunk it?!
Gosh, when I was thinking of “work” fragrances, I guess I just thought about offices! In reality, lots of people work other places, and being a mom is plenty of work. I'll have to see if I can find some Charles Jourdan to smell. It's always nice to have something that makes people happy…
I love a very light spray of Chanel Bois des Iles for work. It smells very grownup and professional to me.
To Kayliana — I have a 5.5 month old daughter, and the way I wear perfume is to reach back and spray a small amount over my shoulder, between my shoulderblades. That way I get little breezes of it wafting up throughout the day, but my little one never has to contact it on my chest or arms.
Mmm Bois des Iles. I think I'll go put some on right now. And your suggestion for moms with babies is terrific, thank you.
I, too, am home with a baby (4.5 months) and like Angela, I've had no complaints yet. 🙂 I actually enjoy smelling my daughter and thinking “Wow!” and then realizing it's the perfume from my arm transferring. Hopefully, she enjoys smelling like the parfum du jour.
Angela, thank you for this very thoughtful post.
I suppose I have been thoughtless about what I wear for the occasion, especially to work, but I have to admit that I wear whatever I dern well please. :):) However, I do agree with you that if the perfume just does not “sit well” on the skin, one should not wear it to work or other business events.
I pretty much wore what I liked when my children were babies, but I don't think I was as deep, deep, deep into fragrance then as I am now.
The one occasion, however, that does stump me is a funeral. Unfortunately, I have had to attend about four funerals over the past year, and have wondered if I made the correct fragrance choice. Since death is a part of life, and no doubt we will all have to attend one from time to time in the years to come, does anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you!
Hugs!
What a lucky baby!
Yes, there is certainly something to be said for wearing what you “dern well please”!
I think of violets as kind of a sad and contemplative scent, if it's not done in a candied way. What about Apres l'Ondee? Or maybe, for the symbolism, L'Heure Bleue? Or, for the wordplay, Ghost?
I did wear Apres l'Ondee to a funeral, and it is fitting. But then I decided not to wear it to every funeral, because I don't want such a beautiful classic to become associated in my mind with funerals, know what I mean?
Maybe I should not wear anything or just grab whatever comes to mind on that day. L'Air du Temps might be a good one to wear now that I think about it.
Hugs!
I didn't think about that, but of course you're right. Maybe it would be good not to wear a scent at all.
Another one here who wears whatever he darn well pleases. I try to avoid stinking up the classroom and my students with A*Men, but when I crave it, I lose my sense of decorum. Visit, Gucci pour homme and Emporio Armani He (and Night) strike me as ideal for autumn/winter officewear, while in summer I opt for L'Eau d'Issey Blueu and Chanel Pour Monsieur (which I lurve). Agree on no perfume for funerals, but isn't Le Labo Vetiver 46 just perfect with its sustained resinous, iris-layered vetiver? Ditto for melancholy violets.
I'm planning a trip to NYC next month and will make a beeline to Le Labo to try Vetiver 46 and others. I see you like the Chanels for men–I've found I like the Chanels for men better than the Chanels for women, strangely enough.
Ah, the business perfume. In this, I find it depends on what kind of business you're trying to carry off. If you're dressed to impress, the classic Chanels (pre-Allure) seem to do the trick. If I'm headed in for a meeting with a client, a subliminal touch of No. 19 or Cuir de Russie (not as familiar as No. 5, and with the icy calm of iris at the heart) is what I go for.
Great choices–something about the ladylike sparkle of aldehydes is nice, too, when putting on high heels.
When I think 'business', i.e. corporate environment, I think Givenchy III.
Angela, you wouldn't recommend Patou Joy or other such florals for the workplace?
Bela, I'm not sure why I didn't get this comment sooner, but I agree that Givenchy III is a go-getter scent (and I really like it, too).
Hmm. Maybe it depends on where you work. It's hard to make the argument that Joy isn't perfectly appropriate anywhere, but I can see some people arguing that wearing a floral slots you as “feminine”, with whatever baggage that carries. Then again, I wore Goutal Des Lys to the office today, so there!
I can’t believe I’m back on this blog again (was on last night!) but it’s so fun! And I should be working. Along the what to wear around baby line, my interest in perfume really started when I was pregnant but I’ve been trying to wear the same thing around my baby, 3.5 months. I chose 100% Love as the everyday new mother scent for me. However, I can’t resist different perfumes for other occasions. Wore Rive Gauche for her baptism (I think it’s a brunette floral!), will wear Eau de Cartier or Pamplelune or Calyx to the beach this summer etc. By the way, I don’t think wearing a soft perfume like 100% Love covers the lovely baby/breastmilk smell in case you’re wondering, in fact I think it blends nicely!
That’s so funny that you mention 100% love–I have a friend who just had a baby, and that’s what she chose to wear when she was in labor!
I’ve stopped wearing 100% Love every day but I wear it to bed every once in a while and it is pure bliss when I do. The name is perfect – it is sensuous and comforting. Very interesting about your friend!
It really is nice, isn’t it? A terrific bedtime scent.