Perfume and fragrance chat

[xivnuhranx]

Okay, I need help and this thread is for me.

My wife likes having fragrances in the house and, generally speaking, I do not. She has tried to buy fragrances that I like - earthy, woody scents like pine, balsam, heather, etc - but they are always a bust. The best way I can describe them is that they smell "cheap." Are there any home fragrance brands that the ladies can suggest?

I second going to someplace like Bath and Body Works. Even though the store looks like a Christian Soccer Mom hellhole on the outside, they are excellent at producing really good and diverse scents at an affordable prince. They do a lot of earthy scents, especially for the winter.

If you want something even more unique but way more expensive, Diptyque has more earthy scents. La Droguerie smells like a vegetable garden with lots of basil, Papier is kind of woody and musky. But at $75 a candle, find a Diptyque store. Some upscale US stores like Nordstrom might have them if it's in a rich neighborhood. DO NOT BUY from Amazon, they're AliExpress fakes. (I intentionally bought an AliExpress fake, it does not smell legit.)

I recommend buying candles and using a lamp-style candle warmer, so that it will be truest to the scent in the jar. I've found that regardless of how expensive a candle is, the flame and smoke always changes the scent or dilutes it. Candle warmers almost make the candle last for years.

 

[Barbarella]

Home fragrance: a relative of mine is sensitive to fragrance and she likes Capri Blue, which you can get on Amazon. It’s not cheap but not outrageous.

I decided I really love the Poivre Le Labo City fragrance, and wanted to purchase the smallest, 15 ml for $170. Very expensive but it lasts all day.

But then I saw you can get a 1.5 ml sample for $13.00. Um, any reason I shouldn’t just buy ten samples, put them in my own sprayer, and save $50.00?

Is my admittedly poor math off?.


Of the others, I also enjoyed the Mexico City one but it didn’t last. I’ll describe it more later.

 

[Starslop's Adoring Fan]

Whenever I have to attend special events, I like to use Penhaligon's Babylon. I love woody scents and it lasts throughout the day.

 

[Bibendum]

I'm planning on ordering Summer of 84 by Kerosene, a few others by Kerosene, Sundazed by Byredo, a few more from Zoologist like Night Flyer, Woodcut by OO, maybe Dev Two.

Woodcut is pretty nice, but be aware that the caramel note is quite strong, at least initially. I was hoping for a drier wood, but to my nose, it's quite sweet. You can order the original Bat (Night Flyer) from OO as well -- I love the "wet dirt" (geosmin) note in this one. The overripe tropical fruits are, once again, quite sweet and strong.

 

[Ninon42]

Woodcut is pretty nice, but be aware that the caramel note is quite strong, at least initially. I was hoping for a drier wood, but to my nose, it's quite sweet. You can order the original Bat (Night Flyer) from OO as well -- I love the "wet dirt" (geosmin) note in this one. The overripe tropical fruits are, once again, quite sweet and strong.

Olympic Rainforest has a similar vibe to Night Flyer of hiking through the woods, but without the fruits. Sakura is the more refined, floral interpretation IMO. Kyphi has a dry pine note from the frankincense that may be more to your taste. The only scents I've found that are as evocative and experiential as Olympic Orchids are Demeter (for single notes or soliflores) and the CB I Hate Perfume line by the same perfumer Christopher Brosius. Black March smells like dry, fallen autumn leaves on freshly turned soil.

 

[Bibendum]

Olympic Rainforest has a similar vibe to Night Flyer of hiking through the woods, but without the fruits. Sakura is the more refined, floral interpretation IMO. Kyphi has a dry pine note from the frankincense that may be more to your taste. The only scents I've found that are as evocative and experiential as Olympic Orchids are Demeter (for single notes or soliflores) and the CB I Hate Perfume line by the same perfumer Christopher Brosius. Black March smells like dry, fallen autumn leaves on freshly turned soil.

Black March is amazing, I love it. I'll certainly give Kyphi and Olympic Rainforest a try, they sound delightful.

 

[alpro whore]

oh a fragrance thread! i have a couple of fragrance 'projects'; one is just building my own collection, the other is collecting all of the fragrances my mum wore throughout my lifetime including the very discontinued Gucci By Gucci EDP. i've gotten my claws on two adorable little 5ml minis, but I want a full bottle, and they're fucking hard to come by. I've found a couple on some sketchy sites and a couple on ebay, but it's scarce. The ones on ebay tend to be partially used as well, I just want a fresh 100ml bottle to drown in the memory of being a kid shopping with my mum again. Other than that I just need Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche EDT for that little collection, as I inherited enough Lancome La Vie Est Belle from her to open a boutique.

(this fucker! if anyone knows of any half decent places to find discontinued fragrances online that ship to the UK, i'll forever be thankful)

i brought the Etat Libre D'Orange discovery set a while back and I'm still having a lot of fun with it, and have fallen in love with a couple of fragrances. My favourite scent profiles are dark, woody, rich, sweet and spicy, and then powdery, musky, plastic-y purple florals if i fancy something a bit 'fresher'.

From ELDO I intend to buy a full bottle of 'Frustration' (a warm, rich, slightly spicy scent; it has a woody base with boozy, vanillic cinnamon on top, and also has chestnut in there which you can definitely smell, it almost gives it a synthetic edge. it's like molasses and lasts all fucking day) and 'She Was An Anomaly' (this is a plastic barbie doll head, powdery and purple, slightly lactonic. very cosy, comforting and 'clean', with an edge of synthetic-ness again).

I also loved 'Eau De Protection' (the perfect jammy rose, think of Rose Jam by Lush but richer), 'Fat Electrician' (a kind of weaker Frustration, with burnt rubber. it's more delicious than it sounds), 'The Ghost In The Shell' (a bit like She Was Anomaly, but lacking the purple florals, and is very milky and... skinlike?) and 'Soul of My Soul' (another powerhouse, rich and quite spicy). Maybe future purchases.

I'm now looking for another discovery set, I wanted ones from bdk and Frederic De Malle. bdk operates a 'build you own' format but the options for Gris Charnel and Rouge Smoking, the two I wanted to try the most, were not there, and the Frederic De Malle 12-set has a lot of fresher florals, and does not have Dans Tes Bras, which is the one I really want to try. Annoying. Open to any discovery set recommendations!

 

[Ninon42]

i brought the Etat Libre D'Orange discovery set a while back and I'm still having a lot of fun with it, and have fallen in love with a couple of fragrances. My favourite scent profiles are dark, woody, rich, sweet and spicy, and then powdery, musky, plastic-y purple florals if i fancy something a bit 'fresher'.

Did you try their popular You or Someone Like You, or I Am Trash? For the more daring (perhaps masochistic), Secretions Magnifiques isn't as bad as its reputation but neither would I call it wearable, with a scent of warm metal. Tom of Finland has a profile of latex and rubber which did nothing for me but did, appropriately enough, appeal to two of two gay men I shared my sample with. Zoologist has a discovery set if you want to get adventurous.

 

[alpro whore]

Did you try their popular You or Someone Like You, or I Am Trash? For the more daring (perhaps masochistic), Secretions Magnifiques isn't as bad as its reputation but neither would I call it wearable, with a scent of warm metal. Tom of Finland has a profile of latex and rubber which did nothing for me but did, appropriately enough, appeal to two of two gay men I shared my sample with. Zoologist has a discovery set if you want to get adventurous.

i did! you or someone like you is the best freshie i have tried, i loved the mint, it's just not my choice of scent profile to wear. i am trash was my least favourite from the whole box - i don't like apple scents in fragrance anyway, and it just didn't work with my skin chemistry as it was gone after 30 mins of applying.

i've heard about secretions and also doubted it really smelling as horrific as folk say, it more just sounds very interesting to me. tom of finland sounds like i would like it; there are some fragrances that weren't in the set i received that i wanted to try (jasmin et cigarette, une amourette, la fin du monde) that i wanted to try so i'll probably order them, as well as the rest i haven't tried, that are available in their little pick-and-choose sets of 4 on their website.

i somehow forgot about zoologist, they sound like an interesting house and fragrances with an animalic hint do appeal as they're often quite warm and musky.

 

[LionelMischief]

Had an account back in the day but forgot login. Anyway, had to re-register to thank ladies here for recommending l'eau d'issey for men. Bought it based off this thread and wife really likes it.

 

[EllenDrawsRapeOfHerHaters]

Home fragrance: a relative of mine is sensitive to fragrance and she likes Capri Blue, which you can get on Amazon. It’s not cheap but not outrageous.

I decided I really love the Poivre Le Labo City fragrance, and wanted to purchase the smallest, 15 ml for $170. Very expensive but it lasts all day.

But then I saw you can get a 1.5 ml sample for $13.00. Um, any reason I shouldn’t just buy ten samples, put them in my own sprayer, and save $50.00?

Is my admittedly poor math off?.


Of the others, I also enjoyed the Mexico City one but it didn’t last. I’ll describe it more later.

You might lose some of it when you're pouring. Otherwise there's no issue if you have steady hands and experience. I'm assuming you have an atomizer? No clue how cheap they are.
Edit: if you're not going to get the cute bottle, I'd look into getting a dupe.

 

[Barbarella]

You might lose some of it when you're pouring. Otherwise there's no issue if you have steady hands and experience. I'm assuming you have an atomizer? No clue how cheap they are.
Edit: if you're not going to get the cute bottle, I'd look into getting a dupe.

So they aren’t as dumb as I thought-they limit you to two samples. (Yes, I have funnels and atomizers, and wasn’t worried about spillage but that’s moot now.)

I have always been adverse to dupes, but the Dua one I bought is nice enough. I don’t know if it smells like the fragrance it was duping as I’d never smelled it, but it doesn’t seem to be cheap smelling. My former experience with dupes was that they were horrible., but the Dua one seems good.

So it might be interesting to try a dupe of one I actually have to see if they are close. Do you recommend any brands?

 

[EllenDrawsRapeOfHerHaters]

So they aren’t as dumb as I thought-they limit you to two samples. (Yes, I have funnels and atomizers, and wasn’t worried about spillage but that’s moot now.)

I have always been adverse to dupes, but the Dua one I bought is nice enough. I don’t know if it smells like the fragrance it was duping as I’d never smelled it, but it doesn’t seem to be cheap smelling. My former experience with dupes was that they were horrible., but the Dua one seems good.

So it might be interesting to try a dupe of one I actually have to see if they are close. Do you recommend any brands?

I like Perfume Parlour and ChezPierre. Does the site still limit you if you use a VPN and change your location?

 

[Barbarella]

I like Perfume Parlour and ChezPierre. Does the site still limit you if you use a VPN and change your location?

I didn’t try. It would get too expensive to do two samples at a time, because anything under $35.00 is going to cost shipping charges-samples are $13 ea. . I guess if I want it I’ll just buy it-it’ll be on site this month.

Thanks for the idea though!

 

[orangecat]

So it might be interesting to try a dupe of one I actually have to see if they are close. Do you recommend any brands?

I've heard people say that Oilperfumery/Oakcha is fairly good (tho they liked oilperfumery more). I've heard hit and miss on Dua (just ordered some on sale but they haven't arrived yet. Won't order again because I personally hate when companies use AI to make stuff). Julianna’s and Genre Parfums have been mentioned.

The general consensus on dupe houses seems to be that they're hit or miss and not very reliable. Unless a perfume is an insane price, I'll probably just get a decant and leave it at that. I'm hoping the DUA ones end up being good but don't have my hopes up.

Oh, the one I can recommend is Lattafa (and possibly other Middle Eastern places if you check reviews thoroughly). Got the Bianco Latte dupe Eclaire and loved it. Not sure if they'll have the specific scents you're looking for but I can speak from experience that once they macerate, the more popular ones are great.

 

[alpro whore]

I've been tempted to pick up Khamrah by Lattafa, but just haven't bitten the bullet yet; plus i'm not sure whether i'd enjoy Khamrah or Khamrah Qahwa more based on notes alone.

My perfumista samples came in - i ordered 2ml samples of:
- Guerlain Tobacco Honey
- Dior Tobacolor
- Serge Lutens Chergui
- Kerosene Follow
- Frederic Malle Dans Tes Bras
- BDK Gris Charnel
- Orto Parisi Megamare (for my other half)

chose all based on the notes appealing to me, and mr alpro whore was really intrigued by the seaweed note in Megamare. some reviews of the trio that have been tested:

Orto Parisi - Megamare
the reports of the longevity and sillage on this are no lie, this fragrance is fucking powerful. the whole flat has been smelling of megamare for three damn days now and my other half only applies a spray or so before going to work. it has a typical male aquatic DNA to it, but it's amplified tenfold and made more interesting; there's a saltiness from the seaweed, and to my nose there's a strong almost-petrol like note, which i suspect is the calone as watermelon-y smells always come off petrol-y to me. it's almost edible in a weird way, and is somehow heavy and fresh at the same time. definitely masculine, i could never pull it off lmao, but i love it on my partner.

Guerlain - Tobacco Honey
holy shit well, this is the one i was most excited to try and it was absolutely not a disappointment. what a fucking incredible perfume. it is a beautiful, rich, sticky, sweet, heady honey. you can smell the hint of the cloves and anise at the top, whilst the tobacco and woods underneath keep it earthy but still very sweet. i was in a bubble of amazing honey sweetness for fucking hours; i applied it mid afternoon and woke up the next day still smelling of it. it's exactly what i wanted from a honey scent and i don't think it could be more perfect, other than maybe not being so fucking expensive. it does smell, and perform, at it's price point though; i'm interested to see how it stacks up against Tobacolor but i will likely be buying a full bottle of it and probably the 200ml at this rate.

BDK - Gris Charnel
this is the most perfect unisex perfume i have smelt, it really doesn't lean feminine nor masculine to me. it's very very clean smelling, but a smokey clean, and it's ever so slightly sweet and powdery too. it has iris in it, and i fucking love iris, and i think that's what gives it the powdery edge. when i first sprayed it i genuinely thought i was anosmic to it, but it dried down to a lovely scent that i smelt quite strongly on myself for 6 hours. its quite linear throughout it's wear but about 10 hours after applying it i caught the faintest whiff that reminded me of brand-new tent material which although odd made me nostalgic. it's very nice and i recommend anyone interested to test it as it is definitely different from the majority of fragrances on the market, but i'm not sure if it's 'me' enough to buy a full bottle.

 

[Aunt Carol]

In my opinion, it only has the "old lady" reputation because it's been around for so long. It smells gorgeous and sophisticated (funnily enough, because back in the 1920's it was known as the "bad girl" perfume haha).

I went through a phase of trying the perfumes that were the oldest still in production, and most of them are pretty good, since time and market forces have winnowed the clunkers out.

There should be a perfume reclamation project: when all the grandmas who started wearing this perfume in their slutty 20s have died, it's time for a new generation of hot young things to pick up the torch.

Has anyone else tried crystal/Thai deodorant? [...] I haven't been through a full stick yet but it's literally a salt rock so I assume it lasts longer than regular deodorant.

I have a standard-sized stick of crystal deodorant, used every night, that I started using in 2014. It has just passed its 10-year anniversary. I wrote the date I opened it on the bottom of the package, because I was autistic curious. However, it is now a domed 1.5cm tall and shrinking around the diameter (I took it out of the plastic housing so I could use up the stub). I have a spare ready.

The limiting factor with crystal deodorant is that if you drop it on a hard floor, it will usually break into jagged salt crystals that you do not wish to rub on your armpit. I tried not to be a dumbass and also I was lucky that the times this one has fallen, it's landed on my bathroom rug.

Every now and then I feel like my armpits are stinkier than usual, so I use chlorhexidine wipes on my armpits once a day until the pack of CHG runs out (six days?). Either this helps or it keeps me distracted while I find something else to fixate on.

It’s been 6 pages and none of you have posted a way for me to smell these perfume samples through the screen. This topic is worthless.

I go through periods of being interested in perfume, reading a lot and spending money, then going dormant again for a while/using up what I have. Part of the problem is that it's hard to decide what you want to buy based on other people's reviews (and local availability is variable), but on the other hand, it's still fun to dabble. Another part is that I'm not supposed to wear scents at work, and mostly what I do is work.

Although I like florals, I feel like my personal body stink doesn't react with them well and I get kind of hamburger-y as the day wears on. (I may be imagining this.) Mostly I like spice and woods and a little bit of musk, but not too much.

Song of India India Temple scented oil is a guilty pleasure. It's my favorite incense, so I was intrigued to find it in a roll-on. It smells like what you'd think patchouli smells like if you'd only had it described to you, and never met any hippies who wore it rather than wipe their butts. I like to wear it on my body, under clothes, when I'm going somewhere to sweat outside, whether it be digging things up or dancing arrythmically in an open-air venue where you can buy plastic cups of wine.

 

[orangecat]

art of the problem is that it's hard to decide what you want to buy based on other people's reviews (and local availability is variable),

Agreed. Many perfumes just smell completely differently to every person. My sister and I love and hate the opposite perfumes.

Another part is that I'm not supposed to wear scents at work, and mostly what I do is work.

Have you looked into skin scents (your skin but better perfumes)? I've heard lots of people use those for work.

 

[Ninon42]

My perfumista samples came in - i ordered 2ml samples of:
- Guerlain Tobacco Honey
- Dior Tobacolor
- Serge Lutens Chergui
- Kerosene Follow
- Frederic Malle Dans Tes Bras
- BDK Gris Charnel
- Orto Parisi Megamare (for my other half)

Did you get a sesame note from Tobacco Honey? I added it to my sample list (mostly to compare to Slowdive) but the sesame accord mentioned on Guerlain's site makes me leery. Chergui is often mentioned as one of Serge Lutens' best frags, but it's mid for the house IMO, a sweet tobacco with little nuance. I'd highly recommend Arabie and Sarrasins if you like a dark, moody jasmine (and the juice is a fantastic shade of purple!). Follow was realistic coffee grounds to me, and that's a compliment! Dans Tes Bras was a touch powdery for my tastes, but FM in general is a great house; I love L'eau d'Hiver and Lys Mediterranee. Looking forward to your thoughts on the rest of the samples.

 

[Bloitzhole]

cinnamon flavored urinal cake. After a few hours standing in-front of an industrial fan it fades into a mens scent you'd get at Walmart. No way I'm wearing that again.

I'm glad that someone noses Kouros exactly as I do - urinal cake. Be sure to keep the sample as a prank to play on unsuspecting galpals.

I see you enjoyed Encre Noire, which is one of my favorite scents. The flanker "Encre Noire a l'extreme" retains the DNA but adds a wonderful amber note, and a full bottle is usually only 20-30 bucks. I highly recommend trying it, it's like wet bonfire with a few embers left. My absolute goto scent when it's colder or rainy (though frankly, I could wear it every day for my own sake).

I have Lalique "Homme Equus" and Afnan "Supremacy Not only Intense" coming in monday and am very curious. I dislike Aventus for its pineapple note and supposedly, this is a middle eastern interpretation with a bit more smoke to it and no pineapple (though I anticipate having to microdose it, most middle eastern perfumes have enormous projection, which I genuinely hate).