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Fragrance-Free Nation: The Perfume Gauntlet Revisited

© Sharon Rorem

It has now been a year since I wrote my first article for this column. I titled it "The Perfume Gauntlet". If you are interested in reading it and getting background on this, just click on the link in my list of articles. I had a reader suggest to me that I should just give up on shopping at the malls and purchase everything through the Internet. As I pointed out to the reader, that is not always possible.

My mother and I decided to make another short trip to Southdale, a mall in Edina, Minnesota which is reported to be the first shopping mall in the United States. This is very near our home and we have been shopping at this mall for many years. It is only in the past 6 or 7 years that this mall has been problematic for us. The mall air is heavy with fragrances.

Aroma boxes, attached high up on the walls, spray scents. Stores and kiosks throughout the mall spray scents, and department stores plan it so that the perfume counters are located as near the entrances as possible. This positioning on perfume counters at the entrances is what I have termed "The Perfume Gauntlet". That problem is the main topic of this article.

We used to shop at Dayton's in Southdale. The perfume was still there, but not as heavy. Something was different. Dayton's no longer exists. It became Marshall Field's a while ago. The name change was not the only change. Marshall Field's believes in a heavier coverage of perfume throughout the store. This last time we tried to shop at Marshall Field's was a disaster. My mother has breathing problems, and she became short of breath within 5 minutes of entering the store. Perfume is everywhere-there is no "safe" entrance. This infuriated me and I wrote a letter to the CEO of Marshall Field's. I did receive a reply, and it is below in quotes.

"Dear Ms. Rorem:

Thank you for your letter to Robert Ulrich in which you expressed your dissatisfaction with Marshall Field's concerning the fragrance in the air in our stores. Mr. Ulrich has requested that I respond to you directly.

Fragrances and cosmetics make up a large part of our business, especially during the Holiday Season. The sampling of perfumes will be much higher during this time of the year as it is a big gift-giving item. Guests such as yourself and your mother may find this time of year uncomfortable because of the fragrance sampling. I do apologize for your discomfort, but we will not be stopping this practice.