okay - interfering with your breathing is a valid reason to complain, likewise performance. However, interfering with your meal (at least in my opinion) is NOT.

Likewise, "taste" or lack thereof is a subjective issue. What is tasteful to me may not be to you. It is also highly cultural, split not only by nationality, but also by age, to some extent by gender, sometimes even along occupational lines!

And face it, there is not much a person can do in a restauraunt or theatre if they are wearing too much scent, except leave. And seeing someone theatrically "suffering" in an attempt to leave would proably make me decide to stay. A polite request would be more likely to cause me to move as far as possible from the sufferer.

I have several friends who suffer from severe asthma. One chokes, gags, and bitches theatrically at the slightest hint of anything that can agravate her condition. The other tolerates as much as possible, will quietly and privately explain things when necessary, etc. Guess which one people go out WAY out of their way to NOT aggravate her condition? (And it isn't the theatrical one)

And BTW, I agree many people wear far too much scent, and there are too many scented products on the market. some public restrooms have so much scented chemicals used that I almost prefer hot porta-potties to the gag reaction I get in the "clean" restroom