when hair accidentally touches face

[alpacinou]

Hello.

I want to say two people were having dinner. And then as one of them was standing up, her hair touched the other person's face. Can I use the verb "brush" here?

What do you think about this sentence?

As she was getting up from the chair, her hair accidentally brushed against my face.

Is there a better way to express it? I want to preferably not use the adverb "accidentally". How can I?

 

[alpacinou]

It's OK.

Thanks. What are some other options?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hello.

I want to say two people were having dinner. And then as one of them was standing up, her hair touched the other person's face. Can I use the verb "brush" here?

What do you think about this sentence?

As she was getting up from the chair, her hair accidentally brushed against my face.

Is there a better way to express it? I want to preferably not use the adverb "accidentally". How can I?

Just delete accidentally and the line will be fine. Why would she do it on purpose?

 

[alpacinou]

Why would she do it on purpose?

Thanks. I should develop a habit of always asking myself questions like this one.

 

[Tarheel]

Hair can't do anything either accidentally or on purpose. So don't use accidentally

If you were so close that her hair touched you you were quite close. In any case, it would normally be hardly worth mentioning. Maybe you want to emphasize how close you were. In that case you might say that you were brushed by her hair.

 

[tedmc]

This may be worth mentioning:

As she was getting up from the chair, her hair brushed against my face and I caught a whiff of her perfume, a reminder of the close proximity.

 

[Tarheel]

That's an intimate moment. (Would he need a reminder that they were close?)

 

[alpacinou]

This may be worth mentioning:

As she was getting up from the chair, her hair brushed against my face and I caught a whiff of her perfume, a reminder of the close proximity.

Let's discuss this. Is it possible to sit on the table with someone and have dinner and not catch a whiff of their perfume? I mean is it possible he hadn't already caught it before she stood up?

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it possible to sit [STRIKE]on[/STRIKE] at the table with someone and have dinner and not catch a whiff of their perfume? I mean is it possible he hadn't already [STRIKE]caught[/STRIKE] smelled it before she stood up?

It depends how much perfume she put on and how good his sense of smell is. There is no straight answer to your question.

 

[alpacinou]

It depends how much perfume she put on and how good his sense of smell is. There is no straight answer to your question.

You are right. Good point.

Can I perhaps say this?

I had caught a faint whiff of her perfume when we were having dinner. It wasn't until she stood up that I fully smelled her sweet fragrance.

If This doesn't work, how can I express the idea?

 

[emsr2d2]

You are right. Good point. Can I perhaps say this?

I had caught a faint whiff of her perfume when we were having dinner. It wasn't until she stood up that I fully smelled [STRIKE]her[/STRIKE] the sweet fragrance.

If this doesn't work, how can I express the idea?

See above. I've changed "her" to "the" because "her sweet fragrance" sounds as if you are talking about her natural (bodily) smell, not the previously mentioned perfume. "Sweet" isn't really an adjective I associate with perfume.

 

[alpacinou]

See above. I've changed "her" to "the" because "her sweet fragrance" sounds as if you are talking about her natural (bodily) smell, not the previously mentioned perfume. "Sweet" isn't really an adjective I associate with perfume.

What about this?

I had caught a faint whiff of her perfume when we were having dinner. It wasn't until she stood up that I fully smelled the floral fragrance she had put on.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't think "faint whiff" applies here. You were sitting across from each other for however long it took to eat dinner. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "fully smell".

 

[tedmc]

I thought a whiff is a faint smell. The hair is a good carrier of scent from a perfume, which would be discernible when the former is within touch.

 

[emsr2d2]

"a faint whiff" works well in BrE.