Why was the term mistress used in the description of this accomplished woman during the promos for this show? Seems rather sexist. If you were doing a promo for a show on JFK would you have opened by describing him as a lothario?

In the future please figure out some way to make your shows such as this scratch-n-sniff. I may be listening, but I would much rather be smelling todays show. Alas, there is no Chanel no.5 in my home….

Amherst, NY
What a coincidence…last night I started watching the film Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (Cannes Film Festival, 2009). The opening scene of the l9l3 Parisian riots over Stravinsky’s RITES OF SPRING captured my interest for just a short time. The opera/ballet audience then was pre-WWI rich, aristocratic –the buyers of Chanel # 5. This perfume, as well as her clothing designs, have not made it into this century’s popular market. Too many CLONES perfume and suit “on the racks” to warrant buying the expensive REAL thing.
Besides, young people do not seem to wear perfume of any kind…at least from my observation.

“make your shows such as this scratch-n-sniff”

I am quite glad this is not possible.

Many people are adversely affected by fragrances. My 17 Y/O daughter is close to being disabled because many fragrances give her an instant migraine. One huge culprit: Purell. Many are unknown, but as far as we can tell, it is only (wo)man made fragrances, not those from things like flowers.

Purell affects me similarly though not as bad or quickly. But I recognized 40 years ago that I had an immediate migraine any time my step-sister wore ‘Tabu’.

The same is true of scented candles and other items in the grocery store. I can no longer breathe on the laundry detergent aisle – hold breath and HURRY.

And we are not alone. I went to the far register at Bed, Bath and Beyond and waited in line. An employee told me there was one open with no line. I informed him I could NOT stand anywhere near the Yankee Candle display, they give me instant migraines. The lady in front of me said “Me too”

So, please ask your guest if there is anyone doing research on what it is in man made fragrances that slam some of us into bed for hours or days.

Guys…it’s just marketing. Can you address the argument that this obsession with the perfume is a lot more about marketing and a lot less about the product itself? It plays to people’s sort of bourgeoisie hopes for elegance you can buy instead of … embody?

Morning,

I was not a Chanel fan but wore Miss Dior and then Halston. I stopped wearing fragrance when 1) a friend said that the Halston smelled like cat tinkle and 2) I read that the Japanese believe that perfume invades another’s space, which certainly is true. Think of fragrance, men’s or women’s, lingering in your office long after they’ve departed.

The only good thing about being unemployed is that I can listed to your show regularly. Thanks!

AS

Please discuss the design of the bottle and label.
R. Bell, Savannah, GA

Iguess I’m another Anne who forgot to indicate home town–I listen on WRNI, Providence, live in Kingston RI. –AS

Ann from Cape Cod probably is of no belief in anecdotes, therefore there is no antidote. Sounds like FDA and other modified scents still lingering on the Potomac. No hope for those who don’t hear and pass on the dope.

There is always some crisis going on in the world. The first hour was on the news. Even a seemingly frivolous topic like perfume can be interesting as it is also about a female entrepreneur, her actions in WWII, etc.

Charleston, during McCarthy hearings, I downed bottle of perfume, like Russian drinking vodka. Mom smelled me and called for help. Pump Pump Pump. My start as hydrologist.

#5, being an older formulation–is it free of the toxins and carcinogens that are allowed, but not disclosed, in modern fragrances?

Chanel’s largest item to date is the No. 5 perfume. Even during World War II, Chanel’s perfume was still notable despite the lack of drive to maintain high fashion standards.

Chanel No. 5 was introduced in 1922. Chanel was the first fashion designer to have her name on a perfume. There are many reasons why her perfume was named No. 5. Five was her lucky number. Her fall and summer collections fell on the fifth of August and February. No. 5 and CC can be seen in the chandelier in her house on 31 Rue Cambon, Paris. No. 5 impacted the perfume industry. Chanel introduced the first square perfume bottle. Ernest Beaux, her first lover, helped create Chanel’s classic perfume. “I want to make it the world’s most expensive perfume.” (Madsen) There was a story that every time Chanel walked by the Ritz on her way home, the bell hop would call her apartment. Then the guards would send someone up to the modern apartment to spray No. 5 everywhere. Fitting rooms were also atomized with the scent. If women were unable to dress elegantly, they made sure they smelled attractive

The formula IS changed!!! I have an antique bottle of lovely No 5 but the modern stuff is horrible,it’s chemical smelling and cloying!

I found a bottle at the Goodwill Store across from Bur last Summer without a label. I knew it was No5 from the cap which had an intertwined CC. It was $5.00 and it was antique No. 5

I am in heaven and will keep this and use it sparingly until I die.

BHA @ 11:24 You wouldn’t have to scratch.

In 1976 my husband took a sabbatical to Orange, France.One day after walking my son to the Ecole Maternelle, I went to the town’s shops even though the Mistral was blowing. I went into a small Perfumerie as I have always loved scents. From listening to your guest I now know that I was accepted as she gave me a tiny bottle of Chanel #19. She must have known I was the one American in the town from my college French,but she did not give me Chanel #5.

Walter Freeman, UCLA, would tell you smell travels, pauses, decides, pulls strings on facial muscles, pulls strings everywhere, then, if you are very lucky, strings disappear, you lift your hands up and dance w/joy, or….oxytosin—reach for a partner to twirl with…or put hands on shoulders of friends and neighbors, and kick up a Dauphuskie. Let’s be very clear and subtle about this prime mover.

Oh…wouldn’t this have been wonderful as a scratch-n-sniff show~

As someone who suffers from allergies and multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome, I can’t believe you produced a show on perfume.

The chemicals in Chanel #5 give it an 8 rating (out of 10) for toxicity on the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep database.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product/130609/Chanel_No_5_Eau_De_Toilette/

Many perfumes contain pthlates (a known endocrine disruptor), neurotoxins, formaldahyde, tolene, and other chemicals that can leave many people not feeling romantic or nostalgic for WWII, but sick. When I’m around perfume (synthetic) I feel like vomiting. My eyes tear up, my throat burns, and I get migraines so I guess I have nothing positive to say about Chanel anything. I won’t go near a perfume counter and if someone sprayed me from toe to head with synthetic perfume, good chance I would go into convulsions or die.

BTW why are you celebrating a woman that collaborated with the Nazis? And did you know Maurice Chevalier, who you so casually and nostalgically played on your show, was also a Nazi collaborator? I guess that takes some of the charm out of it.

I realize that you want to produce light and entertaining shows to cut the edge off the more serious shows, give your listeners a break, but perfume is a contentious issue these days. It’s harmful just like secondhand smoke. I hope you don’t do a show waxing nostalgia about Virginia Slims.

People who wear perfume/cologne are committing a similar offense as cigarette smokers in public.

“Wearing a fragrance is a personal decision of course.” Allison

Not when its contents negatively impact people with asthma, allergies, emphysema, etc. It has real consequences for people other than the wearer.

Alison,

Sorry for the two l’s. Individually, you sound like a very considerate person. I have asthma and am very affected by colognes and perfumes. Some people wear very little fragrance which is undetectable unless in very intimate situations. Others can be discerned by their fragrance thirty feet away, and one can smell their presence twenty minutes after they’ve left the room. Many churches, businesses, etc., do ask that perfumes and colognes be kept in check for reasons of not impacting others, so there is something to it. I, for example, will have an attack being around some colognes and perfumes and can spend a couple of days being sick from them; and, some people have been very understanding in terms of my situation, others have not. I won’t show patronage to certain restaurants/social places because they have scented candles on the tables/use scented cleaning chemicals/have plug air fresheners. I guess I really am just saying for people to be sensitive to those of us who have health-related sensitivities to fragrances, in general.

Unfortunately you are assuming that every person, male or female who wears a fragrance is negatively impacting everyone.

I think what is missing from this conversation is this: there is no credible evidence of wholesale fragrance assault on those who are affected. If that were the case, I don’t doubt that there would be quality of life laws and/or ordinances to affecting the use of perfumes.

Posted by Alison, on January 24th, 2011 at 1:28 PM

Late coming back in here and this post will probably never seen, but I had to respond to this.

“Impacting everyone” – no one said EVERYONE has Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.

The point is you may VERY WELL be impacting SOMEONE. Just because they don’t say something to you doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Especially in an “in passing” setting as opposed to a work area. People are unlikely to accost you verbally when your fragrance accosts them silently. It isn’t like you would go wash it off if someone made a comment so we just try not to breathe near you. Plus, in those who are severely sensitive, like my daughter, it is too late anyway, the migraine has already hit as soon as the odor wafts up her nose. What is the value of mentioning it to a stranger who likely wouldn’t care anyway?

My daughter wrote a paper for school last year titled “Migraine, the invisible disability”. It can’t be seen, no one can judge the severity of your pain by looking at you. And people like Alison seem to believe: “there is no credible evidence of wholesale fragrance assault on those who are affected.” Clearly you speak without knowledge or research.

And then you add: “If that were the case, I don’t doubt that there would be quality of life laws and/or ordinances to affecting the use of perfumes. ”

Read my post regarding the CDC.

 I have worn Chanel 5 since I was 21 and stopped for a while.  Bought a couple of new bottles and the SCENT HAS CHANGED.  Why did they change the formula of this “sacred scent.” I know the scent as well as I know my own face and when I used it, it was not the one I used to use.