The End of Scent

Provided a history of hypersensitivity to about anything concentrated going through my mouth - even just herbal supplements - it may not be particularly surprising, merely maddening, that all of my physical complaints have subsided since I completely stopped using fragrance, three days ago. Eventhough fragrance doesn't pass my mouth the way food, drinks or supplements do, it enters my system nonetheless, via my skin, my nostrils ánd my mouth; breathing it in. I could often taste the residue on my tongue. Now, to appreciate my effort you should know that I have not been without scent for a single day during the last four years. I would apply at least four times a day, and when particularly restless I'd spray every hour, switch scents relentlessly and often wore as many as five, six on different spots of my body. I readily admit I was a total scent-a-holic.

The malaise that prompted this trial of abstinence comprised of night sweats, slight fever, (constant) nausea, heartburn, (constant) headaches and insomnia. I have had these symptoms for months and months and things weren't getting much better, even after I had downsized my usage (spritzing just once or twice a day) and had taken other measures too, like adapting my already freakishly healthy diet and ceasing the supplementation of vitamins & minerals. Actually, as early as August 2006 I had started to connect my suddenly increased susceptibility to colds and flu to my heavy fragrance use (I had had the flu only once in the twenty years before and had rarely suffered anything that could qualify as a cold) as well as my melasma, which popped up about half a year into perfumistadom. I just wasn't ready to give up my - addiction; not too big a word, clearly - until things got this bad. Because of the severity of complaints, I do not foresee taking up my habit again anytime soon. But believe me, it is quite a sentence to have to do without the olfactory spicing of my days and moods. It's been a crutch, a stimulus, a soother, a confidence booster, a passion. It'll simply require adjustment, which means filling up an empty hole as large as the Arizona meteor crater. Maybe along the way I think of something else for a daily entry on the blog too. We'll see. Anyhow, I'm grateful alright that the misery hasn't been caused by anything truly serious.

Stay well and thanks for reading.
PS: In bed it occurred to me, quite daftly, that each fragrance is a little soul without a body, like a good-natured genie, and that I feel terribly abandoned. As if the genies have turned wicked on me. O! - having my own 'I'm pulverized by this latest thing!' Little Edie moment - the drama of it all!

See also: Moving & Shaking: Scent of the Day, July 17, 2008

Art: Study for why Britney, 2008, Adam Janes; The Jean Genie, 2005, Cris Bodhal