On a recent morning with my workout group, one of the ladies asked for a recommendation of a laundry detergent that would effectively remove “sweaty odor” from her workout clothes. Naturally, I chimed in with my recommendation, as did several others with their personal favorites.
Not surprisingly, someone emphatically declared her preference for fragrance-free laundry detergent. This immediately prompted a debate of sorts regarding the majority’s preference and desire for fresh and clean-smelling clothes, vs. clothes which we know are clean (because they’ve been through the laundering process), but that do not have the “trademark clean smell” that only a scented fabric care product can deliver.
“Ms. Anti-Scent” posed this question to the rest of us: “Why should my clothes have a scent, when my deodorant, shampoo and body lotion already do? ”
Well, when you put it that way… Clearly, there will always be indisputable fans of fragrance – such as myself – as well as critics of its overuse. However, my workout buddy does bring up a good point regarding her concern about wearing too many incompatible scents on her self, which may prove counterproductive; i.e. clashing instead of smashing!
However, with a little fragrance know-how, a quick-fix (of sorts) can be found to that situation. You see, many personal care and fabric care scents are increasingly inspired by the fine fragrances sold at the department store counters — what in the fragrance industry is known as “trickle-down scents”.
So, if you’re partial to fruity scents, then select a shampoo (Herbal Essences) and/or laundry detergent (Gain) in that scent arena. If you’re more of an oriental (warm vanilla spicy woody) fragrance lover, then reach for the bottle of Organix shampoo’s Shea Butter variant, and soften your clothes with Downy Simple Pleasures in Lavender Vanilla scent (my personal favorite!). In this way, all this fragrance “layering” will be complementary, and will add to your signature style!
Fragrance Insights 