Scents For The Stacks

[angelslurry]

The library is perhaps the nicest place I've ever worked, but it's presented a unique challenge to my personal perfuming. It's neat and clean, but to preserve the books it's naturally kept dry and stuffy, and with a constant influx of humanity every day, the air has a subtle but pervasive stale funk that is DEATH to many BPAL scents.

 

Outside of work, I favor scents heavy on resins, grasses, aquatics, ginger and only a small amount of fruit like apple or peach. At work, notes like almond, amber, ambergris and leather seem particularly vulnerable to The Funk (Hades went, apropos, hellish); florals are hit and miss (Wolf's Heart holds up fairly well); the one that's faired the best is an ozone scent (Thunder Moon! I started keeping the bottle in my locker at work to reapply throughout the day, but I'm growing weary of it ).

 

So I am wondering if anyone could suggest scents to sample that:

a) have fairly work-safe names in case someone asks what I'm wearing (which one supervisor has done twice)

are generally fresh and clean but not too sharp, because my beloved ginger often goes TOO sharp at work

c) don't contain too many flowery or foody notes like jasmine, vanilla, cocoa or spice---I don't wear them much, and I'm not optimistic that they'd work in there anyway, since it's the sweet kind of notes that seem to go the wrongest. UnLESS someone can make a case for such scents working in similarly stale/stuffy environs.

 

This will probably be an ongoing experiment, so the more suggestions the better!

[smallvoice]

For ozone/aquatics, you might try Danube or Szepasszony. I haven't tried Szepasszony, but I've heard it raved over again and again.

 

You might also think about something like Shattered, Dirty, Whitechapel, Aglaea or Embalming Fluid, for clean. Hope that helps, at least some!

[minilux]

Caliban or Severin are what first come to mind. Maybe Kumiho for a crisp, clean ginger if you haven't already tried it. For something a touch warmer and spicier, Sudha Segara might work. Good luck!

[northatlantic]

For ozone, try Tempest and Lightning.

 

For clean/grassy, The Apothecary (has fig but only a tiny bit, the dominant is herbs/moss/grasses) and Amsterdam (also a tiny bit aquatic).

 

Aquatic - Sea of Glass.

 

Clean - seconded Dirty and Embalming Fluid, also try: Shanghai.

 

Are citrus scents counted in the "not big on fruit?" Because Schroedinger's Cat is very fresh and bright.

[Nia]

Belladonna smells of slightly minty aloe vera;

Ave Maria Gratia Plena might work because it's lemony;

Cheshire Cat smells fresh;

Croquet has citrus and nectarine, but it smells basically of pink grapefruit and nothing else to me;

Phobos = lemongrass,

Leanan Sidhe is herbal and gentle.

Shanghai.

Yggdrassil.

Embalming fluid

Ultraviolet.

Pele is the only aquatic (in the "fresh" sense) floral I have tried that didn't have any sweetness.

 

Stay away from Odin. It smells like your work environment.

 

Good luck!

[styro]

Just to clarify...have you tried any of the scents that are specifically library/book-themed, e.g., Dee, Aziraphale, The Lurid Library? I realize that Dee has leather as a note, but I also find that it's one of those strong, long-lasting scents that holds up well against various environmental conditions. And Aziraphale is very clean, especially in the early stages, if that's what you're looking for.

 

Another thematically-appropriate GC would be Clio: it's got amber, but the orange-lavender combination definitely makes it clean and fresh.

[angelslurry]

For ozone/aquatics, you might try Danube or Szepasszony. I haven't tried Szepasszony, but I've heard it raved over again and again.

 

I got Szepasszony in my last Imp pack, and you may be right---on me it starts out like fresh celery and ends up a bit herbal-sweet, which usually means soapy doom in the library (the top three scents gone bad reactions seem to be "soapy", "chalky", or "sour"--or than just plain "blech" ) but nothing lost in trying!

 

Caliban or Severin are what first come to mind. Maybe Kumiho for a crisp, clean ginger if you haven't already tried it. For something a touch warmer and spicier, Sudha Segara might work. Good luck!

 

Alas, already tried and swapped off Severin (too sour) and Sudha Segara (too milky). But I did just get Kumiho and I like it so far--putting it on to smell it right now, it might have what it takes to weather The Funk. I'm a little afraid to risk it though, because the last few scents that went bad at work I kind of stopped liking even though it wasn't their fault!

 

Are citrus scents counted in the "not big on fruit?" Because Schroedinger's Cat is very fresh and bright.

 

What few scents I've tried that had citrus notes were hit and miss: Phantasm wasn't great, but Arcana was. I'm iffy about mint, too, but who knows, maybe the library will turn out to be the perfect environment for mint.

 

Stay away from Odin. It smells like your work environment.

 

Yikes, duly noted!

 

Just to clarify...have you tried any of the scents that are specifically library/book-themed, e.g., Dee, Aziraphale, The Lurid Library? (snip)

 

Another thematically-appropriate GC would be Clio: it's got amber, but the orange-lavender combination definitely makes it clean and fresh.

 

I have not, in fact--I was debating the parchment note as something that would go nicely with the surroundings. Clio was definitely on my list, maybe I'll add Dee.

 

It occurred to me belatedly that even though not specifically forbidden from doing so, working in an enclosed public space while wearing perfume could be potentially bothersome to patrons who might be chemically sensitive and whatnot. Then today I had to shelve around a guy who smelled like a fish market on a hot day, and figured I could worse than just wear enough BPAL to make my immediate personal space more pleasant to my own nose.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll give some of them a try!

Edited October 26, 2007 by Angel Slurry

[Ms Density]

I work in a library. I second The Apothecary, although you may want to dilute it because it's pretty strong. I also think Arcana would work for this.

[303marlena]

My votes are for White Rabbit, the Dormouse, and the Unicorn. Not because I am stuck on Alice in Wonderland..I'd think they'd be what you're looking for, they are great work scents, not too sweet, not to fruity, but really good, light and clean but not too ozoney/perfumey smellin'

 

[fatalbellydance]

Just to clarify...have you tried any of the scents that are specifically library/book-themed, e.g., Dee, Aziraphale, The Lurid Library? I realize that Dee has leather as a note, but I also find that it's one of those strong, long-lasting scents that holds up well against various environmental conditions. And Aziraphale is very clean, especially in the early stages, if that's what you're looking for.

 

Another thematically-appropriate GC would be Clio: it's got amber, but the orange-lavender combination definitely makes it clean and fresh.

 

I work in a library as well, and wear all of these regularly. Eshe is another to add to this set, as it has a dusty almost papery note in it. Odin also gives me that same feel, and is nice and unisex. I think of all those mentioned here, I wear Dee, Aziraphale, and Clio the most though.

[alterosen]

I wish I could help. I work in a library, too, but we're not supposed to wear scent to spare those of our co-workers with chemical sensitivities & allergies so I haven't had a chance to notice if things work or change. I keep imps in my bag in my desk to sniff during the day if necessary to keep myself happy. It's a large open building, anyway, so it's probably not the same kind of stuffy atmosphere (though the Special Collections division is a different kind of beast). Good luck!

[hkhm]

i'm just assembling this image of a librarian wearing a scent like penny dreadful.

 

i worked in a library a while back and we weren't allowed to wear scents either.

think most of us did anyway but we kept it light and low-key.

[angelslurry]

Yeah, I can't say I've noticed any of my coworkers wearing scent, but it never came up as a no-no during orientation, and when I wore Wolf's Heart to calm my first-day jitters my supervisor noticed and commented favorably on it, so it doesn't seem to be verboten unless it's an old long-forgotten and/or unobserved rule. I might ask my two other supervisors just to be sure.

 

Our library probably wouldn't be so stuffy if it wasn't so claustrophobic---a few decades ago it was only one floor with a very high ceiling, then it was reconstructed into two floors with somewhat low ceilings. And all our shelves are metal and bracketed together between walls and posts, so there's not even a nice polished wood ambience like in other places.

[Electra]

I used to work in a library. I miss it .

 

Let's see. Olokun is a beautiful aquatic, and it holds up really, really well in disgusting summer heat, so I can at least vouch for the fact that it's not delicate and it's got legs. Possibly worth a shot.

 

You also might do well with something that's a very clean, subtle skin scent like Mr. Ibis. That one is so subtle that I can't imagine it going too terribly wrong.

[faylie]

Another library worker here. Have you tried Kuang Shi (herbally mango on me), Cheshire Cat (seconded), Baobhan Sith (very clean and light on me), Phantom Queen (nice, light and appley) or even Hurricane for an ozone, although I almost find that one scary

[erraticprophet]

I love White Rabbit for work. It smells very clean.

 

Embalming Fluid is a close second. Very refreshing!

 

I also like Alice because it's very light, but it does have a milk note that you don't like.

 

I think you might like Aziraphale and perhaps Mr. Ibis because they seem to be very scholarly scents-- if you could call scents scholarly.

[stonechiper]

I work circ desk at a library and have gotten several compliments on Phoenix. Libraries tend to be dry/cold enviroments so I tend to pick something slightly aquatic or subtly spicy, and Phoenix has both those elements.

[bryghtrose]

I'm a librarian, and I wear lots of different scents at work. The only ones I stay away from are the Snake Oil types- just because that's not the vibe I want to give off to my patrons.

 

I love wearing Clio. In fact, I wore it when I was interviewing. I do think it helped.

 

The parchment note is very dry and subtle. I found it too subtle for me.

 

I usually wear Phantom Queen, Medea and Selkie at work. They're rich, herbal and somewhat aquatic, and they all work well in a dry environment.

 

Mag Mell is clean, fresh and lemony, with a grassy/herbal undertone.

[Mergekat]

Maybe Ü from the Mütter Museum series.

On me it lasts a long time just on a few drops. It's very "green" with hints of balsam and resins in there too. It reminds me of being in a refreshingly cool, green house. I've worn it in several scenarios, and it still has consistent staying power (indoors, outdoors, in a hot car). It says in its description it has some leather and vanilla, but all I get is the greenery portion (so it must be faint, background notes). I put some droplets on my velvet necklace collar too, and it still lingers there even after two weeks.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Mergekat

[Circaea]

I second Mag Mell (smells like fresh cut grass), and the Dormouse (light green tiny spring flowers). Lemon Scented Sticky Bat smells like sweet lemons. Refreshing, but not a lot of throw. Atlas is a soft wood, coffee and mallow scent (also not a lot of throw, so it's unlikely to trigger perfume-aversion glares).