Perfume at Mass!

[ridesawhitehors]

Today at mass some lady was reeking of a just terrible perfume. I have to say it was quite distracting and after the gifts and before the consecration I was nauseated, and had a headache from it. Most of the time I can ignore perfume - but this was so strong and awful it was terrible.
Please ladies! Back away from the bottle before mass. Why does anyone want to wear perfume to mass anyway??

 

[mkw]

Our pastor has allergies to everything. One day at mass, he was having a hard time breathing, his throat was closing up on him. Anyway, in his announcements, he requested to everyone, ladies about perfume and men about cologne to either reduce the amount used or better yet, not use at all. With very rare exceptions, the majority of the parish stoped “stinking” up the church. To be honest, we ALL breath easier.

 

[jennstall]

ridesawhitehors:

Why does anyone want to wear perfume to mass anyway??

I imagine it is because they wear perfume everywhere. It’s part of my mother’s dressing routine. Shower, clothes, make-up, perfume. She doesn’t overdo it though, thankfully. I’m sensitive to strong odors myself. If someone in a church or a movie theater or anywhere else is overwhelming my olfactory senses I get up and move instead of complaining about it.

 

[tom.wineman]

Not necessarily just woman either

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Unfortunately there are lots of cheap perfumes (or “scents”) out there nowadays. The more “classic” types of perfume may initially be “overloaded” by the wearer but with the exception of the infamous “Giorgio” usually fade very gracefully.

My older daughter likes “scents” from places like “The Gap” and I personally go into coughing and sneezing fits when she sprays them on, (discreetly muffled), though I myself am extremely fond of good perfume (“Samsara” for spring/ summer and “Tresor” for fall/ winter.) However, if I choose to wear perfume before attending Mass, I will ALWAYS apply it at least 30 minutes prior to leaving for Mass, and only to my earlobes, in deference to those who may be sensitive to it. Too many of the perfumes today are those “all-over sprays” and brother, if they are indeed sprayed “all over” they envelope the body in a haze of reekydom that seems to last hours, if not days. . .

And since men are also becoming more liable to wear scents, or aftershaves, or colognes, and their scent base is usually musk or very strong woods or spices, even what seems a judicious use can be overpowering because the base scent is so strong.

However, we’re pretty lucky. After all, with indoor plumbing and running water, not to mention non-dirt floors, we are far less “stinky” than our ancestors of even 150 years ago, who were lucky to get even WEEKLY baths, lucky to have more than a couple changes of clothing, and lucky to even be able to wash clothing, hair, etc. , let alone be able to wear more than distilled waters of flowers in season.

If this were an older woman, it’s possible that she has lost some of her olfactory senses, and doesn’t even realize that her scent is overpowering. I would try to find one of her friends, or someone of comparable age who is VERY tactful, or even have a parish wide “Ladies Night Out” scheduled where women would go to learn about , where she could have loving help to guide her into not only feeling–and smelling!–good for herself, but for others as well.

I feel maybe Jesus was a touch “overpowered” by the strong ointment that the woman annointed him with, but he took the long view, and the charitable view, about it. Not that HIS feelings–and nose–didn’t count, but how to appreciate the mind and heart of an individual in an action, even if the action might be uncomfortable, annoying, misconstrued by others, etc. Jesus didn’t ignore or chastize the woman, and I’m sure He probably discreetly dealt with the “residue” if it WERE overpowering, too. And, if this were something that He would have had to face on a regular basis, He’d probably have spoken to her about proportion and moderation. Luckily, we have so many wonderful examples in Scripture of God’s love and how to love our neighbor that we CAN deal with situations like this, and learn from them as well, IMO.

 

[mercygate]

That should go for the Priest, too! I frequently receive Communion on the tongue and get a free snootful of whatever aftershave the Rev. Father has splashed on his face that morning. Yuk!

 

[Isidore_AK]

Catholic Parishes don’t usually have much of a problem with the perfume…if you really want a stink, hit a Baptist church! The perfume is soooooo overpowering. It’s like the women are competing for the ‘stinkiest Baptist of the Year’ award…

I went with my wife to a few before she converted, and it was so bad it made my eyes water & my nose run . Give me a censor full of incense ANY day over that…

 

[deaconswife]

ridesawhitehors:

.
Please ladies! Back away from the bottle before mass.

Is the person who was wearing such heavy perfume an older person? If she was I doubt she even realizes that she is wearing so much scent. As people age, their sense of smell decreases and what appears to them as a normal amount to be applying is actually a heavy amount. My mom is 88 and when she applies perfume in a downstairs bathroom you can practically smell it upstairs.

 

[ridesawhitehors]

deaconswife:

Is the person who was wearing such heavy perfume an older person? If she was I doubt she even realizes that she is wearing so much scent. As people age, their sense of smell decreases and what appears to them as a normal amount to be applying is actually a heavy amount. My mom is 88 and when she applies perfume in a downstairs bathroom you can practically smell it upstairs.

Nope! She was younger then me and I’m … well I was 18 when I voted for Reagan
Usually womens perfume bugs me more then aftershave or mens cologne. Its more of a clean aroma.
But these froo-froo ladies and the perfume are silly. oh well, guess I’ll just offer it up next time!!

 

[Bonnie]

Modern scents are made from petrochemicals. Many people - including me - are sensitive to them. The oil that the woman used on Jesus would have been perfumed with essential oils from plants - much easier on the sinuses!

I know a woman from our parish who used to wear so much perfume I couldn’t comfortably get closer than 3 or 4 feet away without getting a migraine. Once she stopped wearing it (I think someone told her) I could get close enough to talk & found out she is a very nice person.

 

[Mary1973]

It’s even worse when you sing in the choir and your fellow members wear perfume and become highly insulted when you ask them not to! It’s always fun to sing with your throat half-closed.

 

[SeekerJen]

Mary1973:

It’s even worse when you sing in the choir and your fellow members wear perfume and become highly insulted when you ask them not to! It’s always fun to sing with your throat half-closed.

Our choir director will usually make a tactful general announcement about how no one should be wearing perfume or cologne to practices or choir Masses because of allergies. He tends to do this at the beginning of the year for the newbies and it really helps. Of course then we get to Midnight Mass or the Easter Vigil, Father starts swinging the thurible, and half the choir is choking and gasping from the incense…

With regards to the original poster’s complaint, likely she’s gotten so used to the scent that she doesn’t realize it’s knocking other people out cold. She can’t smell it anymore, thinks that other people can’t smell it either, and keeps applying it until she can smell it again. I’ve noticed that when I switch shampoos or if I try a new perfume, I can smell it all day long. After a few days I’m used to it and no longer smell it after an hour or so. Fortunately I have the common sense to know that the scent is still there and doesn’t need to be supplemented. Unfortunately common sense seems to be in short supply these days.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

This is one reason why I can rarely go to mass outside of the home. My lungs are too sensitive to pollutants, including perfumes, cigarette smoke, etc. and if they are hurting badly already I cannot risk hurting them worse.