I later told my eye doctor about it and he reported that the blue spectrum that the eye registers is effected by these lights and not everyone can handle it. It takes alot of getting used to. Grocery stores are using them alot now, too, making some of the vegetables look weird.
As I age, I'm finding that I need brighter, not bluer, lighting. I don't use anything under a 75-watt and can hardly function in most hotel rooms. I have thought about taking my 100-watt bulbs with me, but some hotel lamps use pop-in versus screw-in bulbs.
I've never seen a large store that used CF lighting. I wonder if it was actually metal-halide lamps. These lamps are similar to sodium vapor or mercury vapor lamps and they could have some degree of flicker. Some people are more sensitive to that than others.
As far as blue light goes, I wouldn't expect the light from a CF to be any bluer than that from a blue sky coming through a window.
......I have thought about taking my 100-watt bulbs with me.....
You are not alone. The Indian ownership revolution has eliminated any bulb greater than 60 watts. I always think to take a light bulb but can't remember..... to take it or to retrieve it.
I have had good success with giving them a heads up when I reserve a room on line.
They ask about special needs.....I tell them a light for reading and office work is needed at least 100 watts.
Most department stores have been using overhead florescents for years, and I can't imagine why they would switch to compact florescents which are less efficient and cost more.
There are new department-store-level lighting solutions that will save them a lot of money, but it's not compact florescents. My brother just got into the business selling new efficient lighting solutions to businesses, so next time I see him he should be trained enough I can ask him what they are doing, I'm guessing some LED lighting and some newer florescent and maybe even fiber optic lights.