We are asked a lot if we should wear perfume at home if we are not going out. Telecommuting is redefining many concepts, but dress codes or wearing perfume should not be one of them.
Because working in pajamas has never been accepted (professional freelancers know this very well) and because no one has ever been advised not to wear perfume in their home. You don't have to dress for a special occasion because the best occasion is life. Likewise, it is ridiculous to restrict the use of perfume to the social sphere. There is a reason why we no longer use the term Sunday.
On the other hand, spraying perfume on the body is a simple and at the same time extremely sophisticated gesture. Tens of thousands of years of evolution are summed up in this almost unconscious gesture today, it is the last layer of culture with which we varnish our skin to get rid of the animal vestige of the smell, ours, provided by our immune system and constitutes our social signature.
Choosing the scent at perfumery (parfumerie) that we give off is therefore not a question that we can take lightly or suspend during the quarantine. There are good reasons not to. Here are three.
1. Scent is more important than clothes
To test this hypothesis, we'll assume that you love fashion and that your wardrobe is as well-stocked as the men's section of a department store. Of course, there are clothes and accessories that you bought because they were all the rage at the time and you hardly ever wore them.
Now think about that go-to garment, that well-constructed and durable basic that has served you for years to create any look. To that tailor-made black suit or that charcoal gray woolen coat that you can't do without in winter. Would you like to give up your perfume for one of them?
Of course not. Your scent signature is the most important thing you have in your wardrobe. Thanks to it, we recognize ourselves and we are recognized, beyond the changing fashions.
Like self-esteem or self-confidence, the scent is not something that can be smelled in a video conference. And yet, we can see it. And it makes you more attractive. You see what we're talking about.
2. Smell helps you regulate your circadian rhythms
According to experts, even if you work from home, you should stick to the routines of the workday as much as possible. It's not worth stopping taking a shower or working in your pajamas, spending more hours in front of the computer, changing your relationship to working time or being disconnected, and not stopping eating.
Anything that helps us maintain a normal climate and divide time into segments, including sleep, is a blessing when we are locked at home all day. Sight is the sense that should regulate our circadian cycles because it is the presence or absence of light that activates the melatonin and histamine circuits. However, due to artificial light and that from screens, these hormones are somewhat messy.
It has recently been discovered that smell plays an important role in regulating these rhythms as well. Our sense of smell varies throughout the day: it improves at night, just before bed, and decreases in the early morning.
So why not help compartmentalize the day by using one perfume in the morning and another in the evening before going to sleep? It's the most meaningful, enjoyable way to tell your body it's time for a change.
3. Scents influence your mood (and that of those around you)
This is something that experts in aromatology, the science that studies the influence of smells on our body and mind have known for a long time. In general, and although they mostly live in cities, humans need a wide variety of olfactory stimuli to feel good.
We feel more relaxed during a walk in the woods (the smell of pine has this effect, which we can also get with a scent with notes of sandalwood). We walk among the orange trees and our body stops weighing (neroli reduces blood pressure: it is present in several fragrances).
We take care of our roses and time passes more slowly (the smell of roses, also present in many perfumes, slows down the heart rate).