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Perfumes You Just Don't Get . . . Or That You Like But Is Generally Not Liked By Others

HORNS

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There are other threads, concerning other topics, that ask if something is "overrated" but I think what is more accurate is a discussion on what you all just don't understand or appreciate but is widely accepted as good or great.

Also, I'd like to hear about the scents that you like that are not liked or even disparaged by others.

For me, the perfumes I don't get:

Green Irish Tweed - Obvious choice is obvious. I suppose my issue with GIT is that the core smell is so ubiquitous in the perfume world and with just generic everyday scents. There's so many moments in the past where I was exposed to this smell that it's hard to have a positive perspective on it.

Guerlain Vetiver - Not my type of vetiver. Overall it's too "stemmy" and becomes too monochromatic to the point that it annoys me.

For the perfumes that I like that I like that doesn't get much positive reception:

Hermes Voyage d'Hermes - Is this really not popular? Well, in proportion to how much I like this scent, maybe. I suppose the main gripe is its cost and how it doesn't break any new ground, but I think this situation is a great example of how one's olfactory response can be so different than others. I get so much long-lasting clean musk and incense with the dry-down and the overall perfume exhibits such distinct stages on the skin.

L'Occitane Vetiver - It's hard to bring up a brand of perfume, regardless of how confident you are, in a fragrance discussion with such educated noses while the perfume comes from a store you can always find in a low-end shopping mall. But I like this scent and enjoy the different, softer and vanilla-like approach to vetiver.

So, what do you all think?
 

L'Incandescent

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Fragrances others rave about but that I don't get:

Creed Millesime Imperiale. A screeching, high-pitched citrusy aquatic. I can't imagine why anyone would want to smell like this.

Guerlain Vetiver. It smells exactly like a dentist's office to me. I thought I must be crazy to make that association, but when I mentioned it here, willpower expressed his agreement. There's also a review at BN that says that. I do not want to smell like a dentist's office.

Fragrances I like that don't get much love:

Secretions Magnifiques. Of course I understand why it doesn't get a lot of love; I wouldn't honestly suggest that people try it except as an experiment. But for whatever reason, I enjoy it a lot.

Lipstick Rose. This has to be one of the most panned fragrances in the Frederic Malle lineup. It's often described as frivolous or girly. I don't get that it all. I think it's a wonderfully lush, sweet, powdery rose.

Diptyque L'Autre. Again, I really do understand what others object to in this. But to me, the fragrance is more complex and interesting than its detractors give it credit for being. There's a sweetness underneath the strong, medicinal curry notes that really adds a lot of charm. The sweetness reminds me specifically of Froot Loops.

In response to HORNS's selections:

I definitely see where you're coming from on GIT. It's not in my top ten or anything, but I do think that it's a perfect specimen of its kind, even it its kind is pretty common.

I don't know why Voyage doesn't get more attention. For some reason, that just didn't make as big a splash as Hermes's other recent offerings, e.g., the Jardin series, Terre, or the cologne series. I've recommended it more than once over at BN.
 

Thomas

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Interesting thread!

Scents that I don't get:

GUERLAIN: nearly anything they make. It took me a long time to come around to this realization, because everyone seems to take Guerlain as the end-all be-all of great perfumery. But - excepting Vetiver and Pampelune - none of it works for me. Not the classics, not the recent additions, none of it. I must have tried a dozen of their scents and just cannot love them. Too 'perfumey'.

Rose 31: Bought a split blind and wore it. I wanted to love it, I was swept up in the hype, but it wore thin on me and disappeared within a few hours. Ended up swapping it away to someone who raved about it. ah well.

The Dreamer (Versace): REALLY? this is what prompted the calone + tobacco hatefest for me.

This list can go on for a long, long time, but I'll stop for now.

Scents I <3 but are unpopular or neglected:

Oud 27. OMG <3 Rough opening but after that, purely mesmeric.

L'Autre - I feel is unjustly maligned. Everyone gets the curry opening and turns away quickly before it develops into its true nature.

Shaal Nur: Getting hard to find but Vetiver + Vanilla + Incense, and light enough for summer wear. Should be the star of Etro's line, but instead others just sleep on it and go with Messe de Minuit. HORNS, you might like this.
 

HORNS

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I'm really loving my sample of Oud 27 but I think this has a large part to do with what my scent memory is. There are these mirages of memory to me when I wear this scent and when I get close to recognizing it - poof, it is gone, only to keep me on my search.
 

Thomas

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I'm really loving my sample of Oud 27 but I think this has a large part to do with what my scent memory is. There are these mirages of memory to me when I wear this scent and when I get close to recognizing it - poof, it is gone, only to keep me on my search.


Funny enough, Oud 27 is one of the very few times I've tried it from a sample vial and then bought a bottle. I think it is just that good.
 

HORNS

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Another one that I've tried on my chest and then wrists a few times is Kiehl's Original Musk - I just don't like it because it has such an old fashioned barber shop smell to it.

One that I have always loved but have read what seems to me many negative reviews is Giorgio for Men. I don't know if it has been reformulated because the one I use is my Dad's and it is a bottle that dates back to the latter 1980s.
 

Thomas

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Another one that I've tried on my chest and then wrists a few times is Kiehl's Original Musk - I just don't like it because it has such an old fashioned barber shop smell to it.
One that I have always loved but have read what seems to me many negative reviews is Giorgio for Men. I don't know if it has been reformulated because the one I use is my Dad's and it is a bottle that dates back to the latter 1980s.


I have like two bottles of the Kiehl's but hardly ever wear it. It's nice for softening up a harsh scent like Avignon. I think I wanted it mostly because it was getting scarce in the big bottle. *sigh*

As for GFM - it's disliked simply because it's Fabio in a bottle. You have to really have presence to carry it. As far as I can tell, the current juice isn't markedly different from the 80's production, but I'm going off memory here since my original bottle vanished probably during college.
 
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HORNS

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Thomas

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Here's a general Something I don't Get: Scents that are priced above $2.5 / ml. Actually, $2/ml is my ceiling, anything above that is something I am just not feeling, and I don't care how much anyone raves about it. Not ******* Happening. Xerjoff, By Killian, Clive Christian - Not ******* Happening.
 
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HORNS

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Here's a general Something I don't Get: Scents that are priced above $2.5 / ml. Actually, $2/ml is my ceiling, anything above that is something I am just not feeling, and I don't care how much anyone raves about it. Not ******* Happening. Xerjoff, By Killian, Clive Christian - Not ******* Happening.


Math. :embar:
 

Thomas

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LAWL. I was talking to a visiting perfumista a week ago and I told her that my general philosophy about these things is that I wanted scent to be a daily pleasure, not something I secreted away and use only for Special Occasions - because I tend to say "oh, that's not quite special enough". And I know that if I spend above a certain point on something, it automatically becomes Precious and To Be Hoarded, which is something I'm trying to avoid in all facets of my life. Hence, the ceiling.
 

HORNS

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Kilian is such a scam.
 
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HORNS

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HORNS

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I'm not really a big fan of any of the Caron fragrances, which is a shame because I've always loved the name "Tabac Blonde" and was disappointed when I smelled it.
 

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