Since I started exploring the world of fragrances, I boldly apply unfamiliar samples just before leaving the house for work. What has so far led to highly pleasant, beautiful, or even just mediocre experiences nearly knocked me backward out of my house slippers one morning:
Just after the first two small sprays, someone dumped a truckload of juniper over me. Berries, leaves, branches, cones, trunk - everything was so concentrated that if I had been sitting in a bathtub full of juniper bath additive (without water), there would have been no noticeable difference. The only option was to flee forward: into the fresh air and into the car. I better not mention the traffic risk I posed during that heavily intoxicated 15-minute drive to work. Because during the drive, an incredibly pungent rose joined in, which I imagine to be the cheapest rose soap. In the elevator to our office, I imagined the surely delighted reactions of my two office mates, which did not take long to arrive: "WHAT is that?! Are you serious?!" and "You can't be serious, right??" were the first words that followed my innocent hello. "Yeeeeah, I know, I'm already getting a headache, but we all have to endure this now." At least the ethereal juniper eventually dissipated and left behind: soapy, screeching rose. A hint of jasmine. Soapy, screech… Wait! Indeed, for a few seconds the fog cleared, and a friendly, bright, mild jasmine blossom granted my tormented sense of smell a moment of peace. Relief was abruptly replaced by the soapy rose. Rose soap. Here my olfactory perception capitulated, so I was unable to detect patchouli or incense. Instead, I was accompanied by a slight throbbing headache until after lunch. My colleagues were quite rarely found at their desks that day…
But as we all know, one does not learn from mistakes the first time, and so I will continue to start my experiments on office mornings. After all, you get free field research with colleagues.
Medusa00 14 years ago 
Daisy 14 years ago 