Perfume/cosmetics sections at department stores

[py_megapixel]

Does anyone else have a problem walking into department stores, specifically because of the cosmetics section? I find that many of the perfumes there make me feel light-headed and nauseous. Surely this must also cause a problem for those who are asthmatic?

I find that Debenhams and House of Fraser tend to put theirs right behind the entrance doors, which is rather problematic. I've come to the conclusion that it's generally OK if I hold my nose and walk through as fast as possible without breaking into a run then it's usually fine. I just can't understand why they would put it there, unless there is some marketing reason for it?

John Lewis is a little better, with their perfume section usually being a bit more "out-of-the-way" and therefore easier to avoid.

 

[pdeaves]

I always assumed that 'by the door' a) allows surplus aroma to vent outside and b) is supposed to make the store smell inviting (like baking bread is supposed to make your house smell good if you're selling it). However, like you I find heavily perfumed places difficult (watering eyes as well as breathing!).

 

[Mojo]

I can’t say I’ve ever noticed it as a problem.

 

[thejuggler]

By the front door is the most expensive area to rent and cosmetic companies will pay the rents to be there.

 

[High Dyke]

Had a bad experience in the Debenhams store in Canterbury many years ago. Walked into the store through that department and was, in effect, 'assaulted' by the customer assistant with a spray bottle. They didn't even ask whether I wanted to try the product or not, nor whether I was likely to suffer any form of reaction to the product.

 

[py_megapixel]

Had a bad experience in the Debenhams store in Canterbury many years ago. Walked into the store through that department and was, in effect, 'assaulted' by the customer assistant with a spray bottle. They didn't even ask whether I wanted to try the product or not, nor whether I was likely to suffer any form of reaction to the product.

If that was me, it would be enough to convince me never in my life to purchase anything from Debenhams again.

 

[Howardh]

They do smell sickly. If you think Debenhams is a problem you can always stay away - but no such luck when navigating your way from airport security through all those flaming shops, the first is usually the so-called "duty free" (AKA rip-off joint) where you have no option but to be assaulted by these smells.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Follow the money. Cosmetics have sky high profit margins.

 

[birchesgreen]

I can't say i've ever been assaulted by perfume, i didn't know it was so dangerous.

 

[py_megapixel]

I can't say i've ever been assaulted by perfume, i didn't know it was so dangerous.

It can be dangerous to those who suffer from asthma. I'm not asthmatic myself but they can still make me feel ill.

 

[Ianno87]

I always assumed that 'by the door' a) allows surplus aroma to vent outside and b) is supposed to make the store smell inviting (like baking bread is supposed to make your house smell good if you're selling it). However, like you I find heavily perfumed places difficult (watering eyes as well as breathing!).

More just to get impulse buys from people entering and leaving.

 

[Busaholic]

I've only noticed this in stores with at least two entrances, meaning you can avoid this if you happen to know: I don't have a great sense of smell but can react badly to certain scents/perfumes.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Follow the money. Cosmetics have sky high profit margins.

Is that why the perfume industry can afford to spend so much on television advertising of the most ludicrous type, with story board scenarios that would defeat even the "little grey cells" of Hercule Poirot in the application of logic?

 

[eMeS]

Does anyone else have a problem walking into department stores, specifically because of the cosmetics section? I find that many of the perfumes there make me feel light-headed and nauseous. Surely this must also cause a problem for those who are asthmatic?
...
John Lewis is a little better, with their perfume section usually being a bit more "out-of-the-way" and therefore easier to avoid.

I've never smoked, and it's been one of the reasons that I rarely enter these department stores. Debenhams in Milton Keynes has now closed, but John Lewis has perfumes across the main entrance off Middleton Hall, and Boots has perfumes across one of its main entrances. I'm not asthmatic, but simply object to being assaulted. Perhaps perfume wearers simply get immune to the smells they're wearing. Since lock-down started I've found other sources for the items I used to buy from these polluters.

 

[mmh]

I have a feeling that perfumes which didn't smell wouldn't sell very well.

 

[Karl]

I never shop in those stores. I always get my Old Spice and Brut online. 'Spread it all over!'

 

[satisnek]

 

[WesternLancer]

Is that why the perfume industry can afford to spend so much on television advertising of the most ludicrous type, with story board scenarios that would defeat even the "little grey cells" of Hercule Poirot in the application of logic?

Bascially yes, along with big glossy ads in magazines and lots of high cost adverts pre christmas. Heavy mark up profit margin products I believe.

Also explains the high staff ratio of people on the stands promoting product sales (or assaulting you with the spray as noted above). Another area of work that will probably decline as high street sales gradually decline of course.

Also explains their nature in duty free areas as historically they were luxuries subject to higher purchase tax rates so if duty free you can discount it with part of the price that would otherwise be paid as tax and it seems cheaper to the consumer, but you could also still build in a higher profit margin that you retained as the vendor whilst the customer still thinks 'this is much cheaper than in my local department store'.

 

[3rd rail land]

I don't like the sickly smells one is bombarded with upon entering pretty much any department store or even some other shops such as larger Boots.
I won't avoid these shops per se, although I tend to shop nearly exclusively online aside from supermarkets, but I will try and use an entrance/exit that avoids the perfume/fragrance section.

 

[mmh]

Also explains the high staff ratio of people on the stands promoting product sales (or assaulting you with the spray as noted above). Another area of work that will probably decline as high street sales gradually decline of course.

It might decline (it already has) but perfume won't be disappearing from the high street, and definitely not from department stores. You can't smell things online, and it's a luxury purchase, not a distress one. Part of the experience of shopping for high end cosmetics and fragrances is being fawned, sorry pampered, over by pretty women who have to tip their head back to open their eyes in immaculate uniform. And that gag's about 40 years old. They're still here. RIP Victoria.

 

[PeterY]

I thought it was just me that found the smell obnoxious, so I'm glad to learn I'm not the only one. I try to avoid stores with perfume counters at the front.
Also I don't wear aftershave for the same reason and I find that it stings when applied to my face.

People know not to buy me aftershave etc for Christmas

 

[shodkini]

One potential problem for a few people is sensitisation - once you have had a bad reaction to a fairly high concentration of a chemical [typically a biocide or solvent], subsequent exposure to much lower concentrations can cause the same reaction.

 

[xotGD]

If you walk through the perfume department and don't smell anything - time to get a Covid test!

One good thing about buying something from one of these concessions is that they normally throw in a few free samples of other products.

 

[py_megapixel]

One good thing about buying something from one of these concessions is that they normally throw in a few free samples of other products.

Wonderful. Buy something with a noxious odour - get something else noxious free!

 

[Ashley Hill]

As a youngster I was taken Christmas shopping by my parents and visited Dingles,Debenhams,M&S etc. I always thought these stores were exotic with their perfume counters. Nowadays I see bored sales staff in a scene of faded grandeur.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

What really puts me off is muzak in food stores: loud bright places that one wants to leave ASAP

 

[Westcountryman]

The one that really gets me is Lush. The smell is so strong that I can smell them yards away when approaching down the street. Many times in the UK and on the continent I have noticed the familiar smell, and then had to look for the shop. I feel really sorry for the people who actually work there. As I used to work in the chemical industry, I can confirm that the Fabreze ad where you go noseblind is actually accurate. When I started work, I could smell the chemicals when I arrived in the morning. Then only after a weekend, then only after a week's holiday, then never. So the poor people working in Lush may not be able to smell their own shop. Doesn't potentially prevent them having health problems though.

 

[py_megapixel]

The one that really gets me is Lush. The smell is so strong that I can smell them yards away when approaching down the street. Many times in the UK and on the continent I have noticed the familiar smell, and then had to look for the shop. I feel really sorry for the people who actually work there. As I used to work in the chemical industry, I can confirm that the Fabreze ad where you go noseblind is actually accurate. When I started work, I could smell the chemicals when I arrived in the morning. Then only after a weekend, then only after a week's holiday, then never. So the poor people working in Lush may not be able to smell their own shop. Doesn't potentially prevent them having health problems though.

That effect actually has a technical name! Olfactory fatigue.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_fatigue:

Olfactory fatigue, also known as odor fatigue, olfactory adaptation, and noseblindness, is the temporary, normal inability to distinguish a particular odor after a prolonged exposure to that airborne compound. For example, when entering a restaurant initially the odor of food is often perceived as being very strong, but after time the awareness of the odor normally fades to the point where the smell is not perceptible

 

[GusB]

The one that really gets me is Lush. The smell is so strong that I can smell them yards away when approaching down the street. Many times in the UK and on the continent I have noticed the familiar smell, and then had to look for the shop. I feel really sorry for the people who actually work there. As I used to work in the chemical industry, I can confirm that the Fabreze ad where you go noseblind is actually accurate. When I started work, I could smell the chemicals when I arrived in the morning. Then only after a weekend, then only after a week's holiday, then never. So the poor people working in Lush may not be able to smell their own shop. Doesn't potentially prevent them having health problems though.

I shared a flat with two people who worked in Lush. One one hand I never had to go and buy soap, but on the other the place did smell rather strong.
It did rather bring a new definition to the term "stinking hippies"

 

[xotGD]

I shared a flat with two people who worked in Lush. One one hand I never had to go and buy soap, but on the other the place did smell rather strong.
It did rather bring a new definition to the term "stinking hippies"

Better than having housemates from the sewage treatment works!