Consciousness of body odour: a dress in itself

Some time ago, I met a lady who happened to know my distant cousin. This realization made the vibe flow better, as it seemed we had a connection more than just friendship. Perhaps my nose was just too picky, but the smell I perceived from her when we first met was awkward and harsh, but I convinced myself that it could probably be a one-time occurrence. We met again, and there, the same harsh and pungent smell was almost choking me out. She was a long-term friend of my relative who was older than me, and thus, I knew her age could either be in my bracket or even older. Rather than talk in the car, my preference was to sit out in the open so as to have the natural and fresh air dilute the smell that emanated from her.

Yet again, we met, and I had to take her somewhere to get some snacks as she was hungry. This prolonged her stay in the car and yet choked me more. The smell was nauseating, and I prided myself on withholding the vomiting. Many thoughts ran through my mind as to how other people found it comfortable relating to her. She told me she was into catering, the pepper soup, and the like. She even narrated the kind gestures of some customers to her, and I wondered if those tales were true. Without exaggerating, days after I dropped her off, I could smell her odor from the car and had to open the car doors to let the smell dissipate into the environment. I found myself disgusted and getting pissed off.

Though our friendship was in its early stages, I knew we could not continue for long purposely because of the smell. Words can hurt, and I know the impact. It's often pleasing when corrections are made in mild tones that would not hurt the other party. Then, I began to contemplate my best approach to disclosing how uncomfortable her smell was making me. I thought, "What kind of perfume do you use that's so strong?" But I changed my mind and could not bear seeing myself asking her that. At another time, I wanted to go direct and express how uncomfortable her smell was, but again, I could not muster that courage.

Gradually, I began to withdraw my physical presence from her and began to dodge anything that had to do with seeing each other. That was where excuses upon excuses began to pop up. Genuinely, I was the busy type, but one could always make out time, and for her, I just was not willing to make any compromise. And then, I just began to ignore the calls or return the call after some days or never. Then, I guess she got the message; she stopped calling, and I breathed some relief.

I know you would probably say I should have manned up enough courage to tell her about the discomfort I felt about her smell, but hey, it seemed like a chronic smell that I was not certain I could help her with. Again, I believe a few persons could have disclosed her state to her, and if she needed medical help (probably the smell was as a result of a chronic infection), she could have opened up and sought medical advice.

IMAGE CREDIT IS MINE

The body gives out odor and smells sequel to skin deposits, which may be affected by the weather. An example is an individual who had just engaged in a sprint race or had engaged in a sweaty activity; unless he or she washed off those sweats, they'd dry off on the skin and, with repeated occurrences, could contribute to the individual's smell. There are people that bathe several times a day, but personally, the minimum times should be twice (morning and evening times). For those individuals who would only bathe a day, they are likely to have more odors, while some disease conditions could make an individual smell bad.

Body deodorant and perfumes have been used to overshadow unpleasant body odors. Some soaps and even creams or body moisturizers have pleasing odors and could be strong enough to be perceived even after the individual had spent considerable hours of the day. Some people have choices for very pungent but pleasing perfumes, while others enjoy the odor low-key. I have a few collections of perfumes that are relatively inexpensive and give me a pleasant smell. I have had compliments from my perfume and even asked the name so they could recommend the same for themselves or their partners. This often gives me a pleasurable feeling in addition to my dressing, which I prefer to be simple and smart. There was a time my presence in the office was announced by my perfume, and at other times when I was washing my clothes, I could feel the retained smell of the perfume on my clothes.