I’m sure we have all been in the situation where one has had an encounter where a woman may enter a room and the whole room is engulfed and permeated by the scent of her strong perfume? Can you imagine that in Saudi Arabia it is more likely for the man to be found wearing the stronger scent than the woman? One of my conclusions as to why this is so is perhaps the man does not believe in deodorant and instead believes a strong scent is a more pleasant aroma? I have also observed that particularly with the men (and sometimes the women) who wear the strong scents that they may have long exited a room but the scent remains behind them for hours. Now I’m not adverse to scent at all and am known to wear (light) scent myself at times. Among my favorite is a natural lavender scent made by our own blogger Aafke. But I do think that in some places signs should be posted that strong scent is not permissible, such as in hospitals and especially on floors where patients may be in weakened conditions with low immune systems.
I should also mention that it is so expected that men and women alike will use and enjoy strong scents that in many homes there will be a collection of scents for guests to use either attractively arranged in a washroom or sometimes even on a small table in an entrance foyer.
Filed under: gender, Just for fun, Saudi culture | 70 Comments »
