To spray or not to spray…A hotly debated topic in many offices these days! Whether or not fragrances should be allowed in the workplace ranks right up there with such conundrums as ‘is it appropriate to wear open-toed shoes or sandals on a casual day’ or ‘if it is o.k. to eat stinky food on your lunch break’.

No one enjoys being trapped inside an elevator with someone who seems to have bathed in their favorite cologne.  Many companies have gone as far as to declare their workplace a ‘fragrance free zone’ banning not only perfume and colognes but requesting that employees wear only fragrance-free deodorant, lotions and shower with fragrance-free soap or shower gel. Being generally fragrance-free makes sense for places such as hospitals or small closed in environments where one person’s overpowering bouquet could cause someone else to have an asthmatic or allergic reaction.

On the other hand fragrance fanatics argue that it unreasonable to ask people to wear absolutely no scent. For them applying fragrance is simply a part of good grooming like combing their hair or brushing their teeth.  They claim that they don’t feel pulled together without fragrance and wearing a scent helps them feel more confident.

If it’s not against your company policy and you do choose to wear fragrance there are a few rules you need to follow to avoid becoming the office pariah:

Use a light touch when applying your scent – A good practice is to spray 1 pump and walk through the mist. If using your fingertips to apply use less than you think you need.

Keep your personal fragrance…Personal If you can smell yourself, you have too much on. As a general rule, someone should have to be less than a foot away from you to realize how great you smell.

Consider the impression you want to leave before spraying on your scent.

Opt for a lighter fragrance at work. Like fashion, you need to save the sexy or experimental for your time off.

It’s also important to know when to not to wear perfume – no matter how much you love it:

Skip the perfume on a job interview. You want to be remembered for your skills, not how good you smell.

Think about the space you will be in. If it is a small event in a small closed room, skip the fragrance, it may affect others negatively.

Who are you going to be with? Does anyone have allergies? Don’t wear cologne if you’re not sure. Better safe than sorry.