Very little — one or two light sprays applied well before you leave home, so the initial strong burst has already settled by the time you arrive, is a safer guide than spraying right before walking into a shared space.

A simple test to judge it by

If a colleague sitting across the room, or someone in a lift, can clearly smell your perfume without being close to you, it’s likely too much for that kind of shared, enclosed environment. Offices don’t have the ventilation of an outdoor space or a large venue, so fragrance that would be perfectly reasonable at an evening event can feel overwhelming in a small meeting room over several hours. Applying earlier in the day, rather than freshening up at your desk, also helps avoid catching people with the strongest initial burst of a fragrance.

  • One to two sprays, applied well before arriving, rather than topped up at your desk
  • If colleagues notice you from across the room, that’s a sign to scale back
  • Avoid reapplying during the working day in shared spaces

Open-plan offices with poor air circulation are particularly worth being cautious in, since scent has nowhere to disperse and can build up across a room over the course of a working day far more than in a well-ventilated space.

Our guide to how to apply and wear perfume and our complete guide to perfume cover this kind of everyday judgement in more depth.