Are the under-40s done with perfume and wristwatches?

[canuk-gal]

I'm over 40 and have stopped wearing perfumes and watches...the former bc of a sensitivity I seem to have developed and the latter bc I've never been that much of a watch person. I still have a drawer full of perfumes, some still not opened from 2-3 years ago. I wish I could still wear perfumes. I like the subtle ones though and cannot stand strong perfumes (they give me a massive headache, even before I developed my sensitivity).

Too bad, as you have a really nice watch! (from what I can remember)

 

[OoohShiny]

A watch is pretty much the only jewellery I see most men wearing, bar a ring or two, but even then, many seem to just not bother with watches now!

I feel naked without a watch on - I have turned round after setting off for work so that I could get one


I always used to wear aftershave but have pretty much stopped now - partly because as a married man I have no need to be attracting anyone else (and I can just give up now? haha!) but also because I am trying to reduce my exposure to unnecessary chemical compounds.

I think I still smell fresh enough, though - a kid in the family said the other day that I aways smell nice, so that's a bonus!

 

[Jambalaya]

What interesting responses! As I suspected, not a lotta love for the perfume. It's interesting that some people say they still come across people who wear too much. I can't remember the last time I smelled perfume on anyone, with the occasional exception of my boss, who's 70. I like scents that are somewhat heavy, like Donna Karan's Cashmere. I'm not light on it, either - I give a good spritz behind each ear and one on my right wrist, which I then share with my left. So three hard spritzes. I always thought it was glamorous when a woman left a trail of scent behind her. I don't use more than three pumps, though. I want to leave a pleasing scent, not fell people from twenty paces!

I love nice smells, and I think it's a pity that most people smell neutral these days. I mourn the apparent passing of perfume! I also really like cologne on men, but again, no men I know seem to use it.

But if someone's perfume is making people feel ill, they've definitely used too much!

Glad that the humble wristwatch isn't as dead as I thought.

 

[Rubymal]

I am in my early thirties. I have a perfume from Norway that is a wonderful, light, floral scent- and I have gotten compliments when I wear it (although I only do so for special occasions because adding another step to my daily routine is too much). Also, I hear more and more people are either allergic or sensitive to smells so I try not to contribute to their pain.

I used to wear a watch to work every when I worked at disney because you werent allowed to have your phone out in front of guests. Although, after I moved to corporate, the phone came back and the watch got stored away.

 

[diamondringlover]

I am over 40 (by quite a few years lol) and I quit wearing perfume many years ago, I always wore a watch and I now wear a apple watch all the time...

 

[stracci2000]

I'm over 50. I wear perfume everyday.
I stopped wearing a watch in 2012.
We went on a beach vacation, and I removed my watch because we were in and out of the water for a week. I never put it back on!

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

I'm under 40, and I used to dress up often with make-up, perfume, jewelry, and heels, but now I don't do any of that except maybe very minimal jewelry. I get dressed up maybe 5 times a year, sometimes I miss it because it was fun, but now the style is much more casual. I would say it's more a reflection of trends than age?

 

[KLE]

I'm under 40, and I used to dress up often with make-up, perfume, jewelry, and heels, but now I don't do any of that except maybe very minimal jewelry. I get dressed up maybe 5 times a year, sometimes I miss it because it was fun, but now the style is much more casual. I would say it's more a reflection of trends than age?

Also maybe life stages. The under 40s tend to have younger kids. I will say I came back around to wearing a watch and perfume after my youngest wasn’t a toddler anymore. He’s 6 now so I’m actually starting to be able to wear and do things I didn’t before...high heels, date nights, etc

 

[foxinsox]

I'm 43 and don't leave the house without perfume. I started wearing a watch last year as part of a deliberate strategy to use my phone less.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I'm 34, I wear fragrance (I own many at this point) as do many of my colleagues. I do think it might be cultural to a point though. Most of my white friends do not wear it, my colleagues and friends who are black or Latina are more likely to (the gents as well).

I only wear a smartwatch I do like them to look like traditional watches though so I have the Kate Spade Pebble in two-tone gold and silver and a Michael Kors Runway in rose gold.

 

[canuk-gal]

I'm 34, I wear fragrance (I own many at this point) as do many of my colleagues. I do think it might be cultural to a point though. Most of my white friends do not wear it, my colleagues and friends who are black or Latina are more likely to (the gents as well).

I only wear a smartwatch I do like them to look like traditional watches though so I have the Kate Spade Pebble in two-tone gold and silver and a Michael Kors Runway in rose gold.

I saw someone wearing this MK watch the other day--it is very pretty!

 

[lyra]

My daughters (29 and 32) don't wear perfume or watches. Perfume is out because neither are allowed to wear it in their workplaces, and they just don't bother on weekends. They use their phones for telling time.

I still wear perfume and a fitbit. I wish it was nicer looking, because it's so functional!

 

[princessandthepear]

I am over 50 and wear perfume but no watch. I used to wear a fitbit . I find wearing a watch problematic as my workplace has banned all watches and jewelry in certain areas.
I find perfumes generational as many of the current releases are sweet gourmands with weak sillage. I love some of the new releases but most of my perfume collection is niche or vintage.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I saw someone wearing this MK watch the other day--it is very pretty!

It's a necessity for me at work. Obviously I can't have my phone on me when I teach but my school also doesn't have someone in the office full time who could take an emergency phone call. I keep the watch on so at least if my son's school calls me (or any other emergency) I'll know about it right away.

 

[Gabbycat]

43 and no to both. Like so many others here, most perfumes (mine or others) give me a migraine. I can sometimes get away with diluted essential oils as a scent, but nothing more.

As for the watch, I've never really been a wearer. They always felt constricting on my wrists, like wearing a handcuff or something.

 

[MrsBlue]

I'm wondering if my sensitivity to scents is due to the chemical ingredients in mass-produced modern fragrances. I remember loving the perfumes on my aunties when I was a kid. Their coats and scarves always smelled lovely. Even Coty face powder smelled amazing. But now most popular scents are just way too much for me.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I used to wear a watch 24 7 but now i have my phone on me 24 7

I like to never go out with out perfume
I love addict by Dior but its bloody exspensive here so while im not working i don't wear it around the house
it tends to fade so only the OH ever notices it but i wear it for me anyway

Hadn't warn a watch since 2012 when i went all the way to Cananda (4 flights there and back) and did it with no watch
however if i get a job that doesn't require physical labour im thinking about wearing my Seiko i got for my 21st that ive never really warn (due to my job being too physical and i don't want to scratch it)
Im pretty sure it needs a new battry ....
opps im a few years too old for the question
My 21st was in 1993

 

[soxfan]

No perfume here. Birds are super sensitive to smells- not good for their respiratory system.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I love jewlery and aftershave on men
and I'll in a non flirtatious way compliment on such
My OH always smells good

i have been fortunate enough to get close enough to Bruce Springsteen to get a good wiff and he smelt expensively wonderful

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I'm wondering if my sensitivity to scents is due to the chemical ingredients in mass-produced modern fragrances. I remember loving the perfumes on my aunties when I was a kid. Their coats and scarves always smelled lovely. Even Coty face powder smelled amazing. But now most popular scents are just way too much for me.

My mum never got the memo about putting one's pearls on last and
while they sit here waiting to be restrung i kinda like how they smell of her white diamonds when i open their case

 

[MsShnooks]

I’m really surprised by responses. I thought perfumes were like moisturisers - everyone used them I’m just under 40 and always wear them.

I always wear watches too - diamond watches are my jewellery and I don’t own any fine jewellery bracelets.

 

[Jambalaya]

My workplace doesn't ban perfume, it just asks people not to go overboard with it. From the responses here, it seems like many workplaces outright ban it, which I didn't realize. I can imagine it being banned in a medical setting or when working with children.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My workplace doesn't ban perfume, it just asks people not to go overboard with it. From the responses here, it seems like many workplaces outright ban it, which I didn't realize. I can imagine it being banned in a medical setting or when working with children.

We once had an owner's wife who went over board on 4711
Nice lady (in her late 60s in the year 2K) nice clothes, nice car, nice jewlery, nice house but not nice scent

i loved that stuff when i was a kid
mum had a bottle at our holiday house in the 1970s
(I don't think she liked it because we were allowed to play with it)

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

I am in my 30s.

The only perfume I like is $281 for 100mL (3.4 oz) so... no, I don't wear perfume!

I do wear a watch that was a gift for my 21st.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Well I haven't worn a watch since I stopped working full time 13 years ago. Perfume is worn daily, I am 41.

My neighbor is a little younger, 36 I think and she wears perfume daily but she has a smart watch.

I do think perfume is still fairly common but maybe most aren't wearing a ton so you wouldn't smell it unless you were really close, just a guess though.

 

[Jambalaya]

$281 for 100ml!! Man, that must be some perfume!

I did a little research and it seems quite a few people have bad reactions to fragrance, hence the banning at many workplaces. It's interesting: when I was growing up in the late Sixties/early Seventies, you never heard of people being sensitive to fragrance and you also didn't hear much about food allergies. It makes me wonder if the products are really so different now, or if we as a species have become sensitized due to exposure. (Sometimes you can be OK with a chemical for an amount of time, and then one day you react to it.) And some of the perfumes of the Eighties were really strong. Remember Giorgio? And Shalimar? That was some heavy stuff! But you didn't really hear about fragrance sensitivities back then. Or perhaps you did, and I was too young to remember.

I Googled, and it turns out that Brazil has the highest perfume sales in the world!

 

[Jambalaya]

Article about perfume preferences by nationality:

The Most Popular Perfumes in the World, From France to Japan

As it turns out, the best perfume in the world is up for debate, with fragrance preferences varying by country. Here, the top-selling global perfumes.

www.byrdie.com

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Does anyone remember some of the perfume they wore growing up?

I recall wearing Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth in high school, also Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers. In my 20's Borghese Il Bacio and now Philosophy Loveswept although I will wear other scents.

 

[Jambalaya]

Stephanie, I was just about to write a list of fragrances that I have loved and lost! So many beautiful ones that were discontinued over 20 years ago. Givenchy L'Eau de Givenchy, Fleur Interdit, also by Givenchy and created for Audrey Hepburn, Roma and Venezia by Laura Biogiotti. All of those perfumes were so beautiful. And who remembers Tasha by Avon? It was lovely.

 

[stracci2000]

Does anyone remember some of the perfume they wore growing up?

I recall wearing Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth in high school, also Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers. In my 20's Borghese Il Bacio and now Philosophy Loveswept although I will wear other scents.

Haha!
I loved Jean Nate, and Love's Baby Soft. and Enjoli!