A repeat of a poll we did in 2011, 2014 and 2017: tell us about your most-hated perfume, your most recent scrubber, nasty layering combinations you've discovered, perfumes you'd prefer to never smell again, or anything like.
Please, DO NOT read the comments if you're at all sensitive about your own perfume loves. Someone else is bound to hate them! If you do read, be gracious about other people's choices. This is meant to be lighthearted.
Note: the Materico sink is by Jaime Hayon for Toyo; more images here, Toyo site here.
Jo Malone Myhrre and Tonka
I couldn’t get to the restroom at Nordstrom fast enough
Couldn’t get out of my clothes fast enough at home and why did I put a sample in my handbag? Oye
That one smells amazing on my son.
Ya never know, cm8!
Exactly ??
Strange, I’d never have figured Jo Malone to have enough backbone to offend anyone.
Jo Malone Pear and Fressia almost falls on the offensive category for me. I really dislike it!
same! freesia can turn harsh on my in an instant.
The worst was spraying it on clothes. I had to endure the smell the whole day!
Eek I don’t like that one at all either. Wood Sage and
Sea Salt also doesn’t work for me.
Same here! Very few Jo Malones work for me. Sage and Sea Salt is another one I dislike a lot.
Freesia is a big ole NOPE! for me, too. It gets all screechy.
It looks like so many of us have serious problems with Pear and Fressia. I thought it was more loved!
Joining the no fressia club!
Myrhhe and Tonka is one of the few perfumes that after a few wears started to make me feel sick. I wondered if I had applied it too heavily but I don’t think that was the problem. I kept trying to persuade myself I was wrong but it would begin to gnaw at me and only got worse. Aura almost had a similar effect.
Haha, that’s one of the few JMs I like!
Well, you actually inspired me to wear it today because I have an evaporating decant and I really like it! I was reading posts while trying to settle on something for the day. I’m sorry it doesn’t work on you. It’s funny too because Jo Malone has more misses than hits for me.
Another fan of JM Myrrh & Tonka here. For me it’s a comfort scent.
Wearing A Quiet Morning, from a rollerball from a dear NSTer who said she took it with her on many adventures. This means that when I use it, it’s like I’ve gone on those adventures, too 🙂
Scrubbers: my first ever scrubber was Shalimar! My most violent scrubber was Bat. I nearly threw up when I smelled it.
Happy long weekend to many of you!
Aha ha!!!
Bat was one of the few Zoologists I tolerated. Worst one was Camel… On my skin it was spice infused b.o. and urine…. don’t know why … because I know many of you love it.
Dragonfly is the only one I like.
Can’t remember if I tried that one. I think the lighter ones I tried were Hummingbird and Nightingale.
Well, that’s really helping me push the “order now” button on that sample set! ?
LoL
Go for it!!!
Well, I love many of them, including Bat and Camel! Bat won an award, too. So feel bold, go ahead!
I’ve really enjoyed the sample set. All very interesting. But then Bat is my favorite. ? I love how we all have such different skin chemistry and olfactive experiences…
I love Civet and Camel, and admire the ones that I can’t wear ( Moth is a no go for me)
But of COURSE you feel that way, Evil Scent Twin. Camel is my favorite, not just of Zoologist but of 2018, and one of my favorites ever!
???
I always get a kick out of how our skin reads perfume differently.
I cannot wear Shalimar, and, unless I’m mistaken, it was Bat that I refused even to try on my skin after smelling it from the vial – something mildewed and rotten.
It was sweet and fruity on my skin.
Phew, glad to have a similar nose here 🙂
I dislake mostly the whole Zoologist line. I can’t understand the love for it and it’s not the smell, the blends are poor.
I can definitely see some Zoologist perfumes having that effect. TRex made me retch from the sample, can’t bear to try it on skin.
Well, obviously, I beg to differ, but politely. T-Rex has several notes I adore, and the entire blend is so subtle, it really evolves so that I love it even more after about seven or eight hours, when floral notes emerge. I realize these perfumes are unusual, but to me that’s their appeal. And they’re all made, each one individually that is, by an accomplished master perfumer. I still like French style too, but many of those brands just have become kind of boring to me. E.g. Chanel.
Oh please don’t misunderstand, I’m a big fan of Zoologist, I own and love several and have a couple more on my wish list. It’s just TRex that got to me. I’m disappointed at myself for being chicken to try it.
I can see T-Rex having that effect! It’s a LOT. I actually do like it, but only for a few minutes at a time—and after that, it starts to make my head hurt.
Hope you have a good weekend!
Thank you, KellyC 🙂 you too!
Not sure I’ve ever had a scrubber bad enough that I almost threw up. I have had a couple that gave me really nasty headaches, though.
I really dislike Shalimar. It smells like fussy old stinkiness in a rubber bag or something.
I cannot abide Obsession. I loathe it. My roommate had the night off work, and when I got in she surprised me with food and the laundry done. She also thought it was a great idea to spray Obsession on my pillow. I ended up on the couch with no pillow, because I threw it out the back door into the rain to deal with in the morning. It still reeked when I tossed it into the trash. Top notes: rusty ice pick, laughing gas. Middle notes: Nuclear sludge, dirty men’s underwear. Base notes: CK proprietary hate accord and rotted mango.
I was dumb enough to think that old timey Ciara was a good idea. Smells like an ashtray and failed dreams of stripperdom.
Finally, I loathe Coco Mad. Rotten sweet vase water and sickly pressed roses. Same for all those other caramelly patchouli floral grody stuffs.
And yes, I get angry when I smell Cashmere Mist.
I already posted about it a couple weeks ago, but for me Muguet Porcelain makes a much better bathroom spray. It’s actually quite nice when it’s in the air and not on my skin. Wearing it made me visit the single person bathroom at work so I could de-clothe and scrub.
You’d think a sweet little flower like that couldn’t offend, but no. My worst lotv attack was from VCA Muguet Blanc.
It’s really the melon/lotv combo that gets to me in MP. I do love melon in some perfumes, just not this one.
The entire Hermes Merveilles range: eau, ambre, elixir (there are others I haven’t tried) turn to a sour aroma in the drydown ON MY SKIN.
Wearing B&BW SANDALWOOD FIG massage oil as my SOTD.
Fantastic!
Discontinued.
So sad that the Merveilles line doesn’t work for you. Have you ever tried (Robin’s patented) layering combination of Tam Dao and Philosykos, and if you have, is the BBW oil similar?
I have not tried Philosykos but I’m pretty sure I have a sample around somewhere.
Since these perfumes are getting a lot of love, I keep trying them from time to time to check if my tastes changed – but no: not to the point to be a scrubber but I wouldn’t wear any of them by choice.
ME TOO! They are beyond awful on me, but lovely (to my nose) on the paper strips, on others, etc.
The only Merveilles my skin tolerates is the Blue one. I keep trying the others though.
That’s funny. I loooooved Bleue on paper but it was a total scrubber on my skin.
Eau Claire is absolute perfection on my skin.
I cannot smell the Eau on my skin. So I doctored mine up with lavender oil for a lavender soliflore which smells divine.
Me, too, re: the Merveilles range. I still adore them, and spray them on my scarves and clothes, though.
I have owned and swapped Eau des Merveilles at least twice if not three times. I get a cleanser smell from it on the drydown like Eau des Ajax. But I love the opening!
that leaves more Eau des Merveilles for meeeeeeeee!!!!!! 😀
And I’ve never specifically scrubbed a perfume off.
Just wore it, and noted the progression until I showered, or it faded away.
Suppose that makes me a ‘perfume masochist’.
I suppose it does, lol! Nothin wrong with that?
Most of the time, I just spray something more powerful on top of what I don’t like. That just makes me a perfume mess.
I have that same weakness. A few times it has turned out quite badly!
Either you are a perfume masochist, or you have a really strong constitution!
Eau de Merveilles was awful on me when I tried it many years ago. The Ambre seems ok, but I’ve only tried it once. Can’t remember if I’ve tried the Elixir.
I know they get a lot of love, but Portrait of a Lady has a distinct Lysol note on me while Theorema features Pine Sol. Other than that, life is too short to remember all the indie scrubbers.
It was the megadose of ambroxan that made Portrait of a Lady a scrubber on me. I think I must be hypersensitive to it since, as you say, POAL gets a lot of love.
I just swapped my bottle away for the same reason. The ambroxan overdose was like an ice pick to the brain.
While I’m one of those who likes PoaL (as in bought a bottle and even wear it 😉 ), I’m with you on indie perfumes: I could probably count on my fingers indie perfumes that I actually ever liked.
PoaL was one of only two perfumes my boyfriend politely told me to never wear around him. I don’t mind it but it isn’t worth the price to me, so everyone wins!
I will have to check, but this might be Theorema’s first appearance in a scrubber poll! (For which I salute you, btw)
I can’t wear the perfume, but the body butter is a completely different animal. Incense and rose, in a base that is creamy and lasts forever.
St. Clair Gardener’s Glove was my most recent scrubber. The combination of decal + linden just really undid me. Ew. And I love her other scents.
“decal” should be “fecal”–another darned autocorrect
That was a pretty funny autocorrect!
After more than fifty years of perfume wearing the only thing that I have ever had to physically scrub off was one of my own blends that I made with spikenard oil. My tolerance is pretty high and I rarely get headaches. That being said I recently tried JSP Selperniku which smelled initially of blue cheese and Salome smells of pure sex so I would only wear it in the house.
Sotd… Tracy Reese thanks to a lovely friend….a gorgeous freesia and LOTV. I smell pretty.
LOVE Tracy Reese. It’s one of my favorite bedtime skin scents.
You are one of the few who know it! Sadly it’s discontinued. Reminds me a lot of the original Antonia’s Flowers which is why I think I like it so much.
I’m a bit that way with SL Muscs Koublai Khan. I love it but have been told (kindly, by a friend when I asked) that it really does smell like bad b.o. on me, and so I don’t ever wear it in public.
Nothing wrong with having “house scents” ?….. for our enjoyment only.
Salome! such a lovely name for something that smells of pure sex. 😀
Ha! Exactly!! It’s definitely an in the house fragrance for me!!!
Another house-only Salome wearer here! I like it, so does my beloved, but I’m not at all sure what other people might smell.
Hey twin! I am just worried what folks will think smelling it on me! So best worn indoors.?
My worst scrubber was Imaginary Authors Bull’s Blood. Yuck. Sadly, it also had longevity – it got into the shirt I was wearing, and from there into all the clothing I laundered with it. I think it took five or six cycles to get it out of everything. Yikes. Anyway, my SOTM is vintage Diorling EDT, from a tiny spray sample. I’ve never tried the extrait of this (if there is such a thing), but if there is I’d like to sample it someday – the EDT is a very lovely floral leather.
Bulls Blood is awful, IMO. I, fortunately, decided that before it ended up on my skin. . . maybe I sniffed it on yours first?!
The sample I tried was one you gave to me 🙂 so it’s entirely possible that you tried it from the very same sample vial.
Ah yes, I remember that now! We discussed Creme Brulee French Toast. (I think my memory is not what it once was, but I remember the important things!)
We did indeed – good memory! We met up (to exchange perfume samples) at The Original, which is famous (in my household anyway) for its creme brulee french toast.
I agree, Bulls Blood is one of the few perfumes that actually turned my stomach, awful is a kind word!
Bull’s Blood? Nope, no, nuh-uh, no way. 😉
Why would someone make a perfume with that name? Seriously, what is the appeal or draw supposed to be?
Josh’s scents are pretty good at keeping the subtext text, IMO. He doesn’t stray very far from the literal meanings of things in the descriptions.
I couldn’t handle BB, so I gave it to a coworker who was curious about perfumes. He found the sample on his desk and trusted my perfume tastes so much that he recklessly splashed on the BB all over himself, and stunk up the whole office (and spread to a few offices away). The worst part was that everyone assumed it was me stinking up the place, because I was known as the perfume person…I guess it was kind of my fault though 🙂
LOL! Totally something I would do. Probably on both sides — either giving someone else a chance to experiment in a bad place for experimentation, or splashing something strong-smelling on myself in a bad place for experimentation.
But gosh, a fragrance called “Bull’s Blood”? It sounds like something designed to attract large predators. Although I’m sure there are those it works for, I don’t think it would work for me, either.
I have a very very small bottle of vtg Diorling extrait and it is to die for!
I’m envious! Will have to watch my favorite hunting grounds for it.
I totally get it, but luckily Bull’s Blood smells great on my boyfriend.
Any chance you’re related to a vampire bat?
Haha maybe?
There’s probably only a single perfume that makes me want to wretch. I can smell it a mile away and whenever I do, I try to walk in the opposite direction. It makes me queasy. What is it? Dior’s Poison. An accurate name if ever there was one. The flankers don’t bother me at all. I actually really enjoyed smelling Tendre and Hypnotic on women passing by when the scents were launched. I can’t think of a scent I tried and disliked it so much I wanted to wash it off, though.
Back in the day, a couple of years after its original launch, there was an eau de cologne version of Poison that I bet you wouldn’t have hated: it minimized all the most polarizing elements and made the whole thing airy and gentle without being synthetically fresh (this was before Calone came along and wrecked everything it touched).
Or heck, I dunno, maybe you would have hated it just as much or even more. But it was glorious.
I’m sure you’re in good company but I could bathe in vintage Poison. I’m very judicious with my application though.
Me too….I acquired a bottle as soon as it was released back in the day and I loved it. Same with Giorgio….wore it when no one even heard of it. But both needed to be worn judiciously.
I remember when Poison was all the rage, it was suffocating! For me, Poison is in the same category as Angel – I like a whiff of the scent, like when I pass somebody in the street and they leave a trail of the scent in the air or, perhaps, a trace on clothing, but I just can’t wear either of them or be in the same room with somebody doused in this stuff!
Poison smells great at microdoses and at fifty paces away! And it can smell gorgeous on the right person, but I’ve never been able to wear it.
Number one on my list of the top ten most hated perfumes of all time is Poison, followed by Poeme, Eternity and White Diamonds.
My latest scrubber was Escada Sexy Graffiti, although, to be fair, I did not wash it off but just waited until it faded, so I found it at least somewhat tolerable. To me, it smelled like a laundry detergent + something synthetic syrupy sweet.
And today a SA gave me a blotter with a new Carolina Herrera perfume. One of Good Girl flankers I believe, although it could be one 2018 releases. I thought it was realy cloying and threw out the blotter as soon as I left the shop. I don’t think this girl would be any good for me. 😉
“laundry detergent + something synthetic syrupy sweet”
Thanks for the reminder! On me, Acqua di Gioia smells like fruit cocktail in heavy syrup resting on a dryer sheet.
…and many new Guerlains.
Stick that on top of your dryer before you run it and you have a homemade Acqua di Gioia diffuser. . .
I recall trying either Good Girl Gone Bad, or one of the flankers, and thinking that it was over sweetened Kool-Aid. Ugh!
The most recent scrubber on me was Hermes Myrrhe Eglantine. I am sure it smells lovely on others, just not me.
It’s didn’t smell great in me, either.
Also not good at all on me. It makes me sad because eglantines are among my favorite roses and I had my hopes up.
I adore ME! I’m going to wear some today, thanks for the reminder. 😀
What I find more disagreeable than scrubbers is when a treasured fragrance gets reformulated into dreck (thinking of you Diorissimo, Femme and Eau de Rochas).
This might make a good forum topic.
Yes, that offends me, too!
* scrubbers of previously untried fragrances…
Caron Violette Precieuse is another of those reformulations. The vintage is divine, and the current version couldn’t possibly be any sharper or screechier. So sad.
I’ve heard that about many of the Caron reformulations, very sad.
I had a hard time with the original, but in my experience, when they try to make things more modern I often like them even less 🙂
Have you tried the current Youth Dew? I tried it when I was out sniffing with Kanuka, and could hardly find it on the blotter. I had a bottle about 25 years ago, and it was powerful stuff.
When I was first trying many perfume samples, Angel was one that I was very curious about. I had already heard a lot about it. That was an instant scrubber for me. I still have the sample vial, minus one spray — remind me for the freebiemeet to send it off to someone who likes it, or someone who hasn’t tried it yet themselves, and would like to try it.
There have been other samples I tried that must have had a good amount of musk in them that came across as skunky to me. I’ll try to think of names. I’ve tried a few chypre samples, and I appreciate the chance to have tried them. I haven’t gotten used to them yet. I guess I’m too unsophisticated still. 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of white musk, patchouli or chocolate in perfume so I agree.
I think a lot of people here dislike Angel. It’s just so overpowering.
I’ve seen other people mention on this thread that Angel is too much for them, yes.
It’s been frustrating for me that my sense of smell has been working kind of on and off, depending on where the balance between my allergies and allergy medicines is at a particular moment.
My folks can still smell a perfume or cologne from several rooms away that I can’t smell at all if my nose is too dried out. But when my sense of smell is working, I can have a hard time with powerful scents.
It’s rare that a rose perfume registers as “too strong” for me, unless it’s really artificial-smelling. But my folks find most rose perfumes too strong for them. I’m pretty good with jasmine, too, unless my sense of smell happens to be working really well and the perfume is one of those “Death by Jasmine” fragrances. lol
But I have a hard time with some of the perfumes or colognes that smell bitter or medicinal to me, or are just “huge” fragrances.
Each to their own. 🙂 It seems some of the strong perfumes work very well for a number of folks here. More power to them. 🙂
I can wear Angel, and have even in the summer. I do have to be in a certain mood for it, though. Usually patchouli and I get along.
Same for me. Angel isn’t the monster it used to be though. I have an older mini, and it’s much more potent than my 3 yr old bottle.
I wonder if Angel gets more potent as it sits around in the bottle for a while?
SOTD is a few dots of Jasmine from Bruno Acampora (thank you, Oakland Fresca!). So far, not a scrubber. ?
I haven’t smelled anything truly foul for a while, although I have had some pretty bad skin reactions to a few favorite scents–painful enough that I’ve had to be more cautious with what I spray on skin. I never wash them off, though, since that would be a waste of good fragrance. A girl’s gotta have priorities. ?
Update: Jasmine is lovely! Maybe I get a little “body” smell, but not overwhelming. Of course, I followed the advice to be light in my application. In any case, it’s going to get lots of enjoyment from me! Yay!
Oh good, that is such a great scent.
Maybe not exactly a scrubber but a perfume I really disliked and for which I was disappointed how it smelled on my skin was Hermes Un Jardin sur la Lagune. A stale soap stench…
But today I am wearing Atelier Cologne Mandarin Glaciale which is very pretty.
I hated Lagune, too. On me there was a stinky sour BO note.
I was disappointed by Jardin Lagune as well. And had high hopes, too bad.
Yeah, I had high hopes even after poor reviews. It was REALLY strong on my skin and got worse as it developed. Sad
We’re not talking about “meh”s and “not my cup of tea” – right? We’re supposed to share perfumes that we truly couldn’t stand. In the last 10 years I can think of two such. The first one was Oriza L. Legrand‘s Chypre Mousse, and I was so perplexed by my and “public” reaction that I wrote a post about it – not as much a review but rather thoughts on the phenomenon (here’s the link for the leisurely weekend reading if anyone is curious https://undina.com/2016/05/17/chypre-mousse-the-royal-nonesuch-of-perfume/ ).
The second occurrence happened just recently, and I was even more flabbergasted since several people with whom I often share perfume tastes were praising it: April Aromatics Irisistable. I dutifully suffered through 2 testing because a friend of mine shared a sample from the bottle she bought (!), but it smelled just awful on me – from the beginning to the mercifully reasonable 5-hours-later end. I’m even curious to smell it on someone who thinks Irisistable smells good on them – if nothing else, to see them actually wearing it… OK, kidding – to check if I would smell it any different on that person’s skin.
Hi Darling,
On my Irisistible smelled very much like overcooked carrots with some flowery powderiness around.
Irisistible smells beautiful on me. I would like to know what other people think about it when I come close to them. I have read many reviews of people disliking or even hating it!
I would love to smell it on you!!! You know I like my Iris rooty????
I’d love to smell it on you to at least figure out if it’s my nose or my skin that makes it smell bad.
Would you like to get the remaining part of my large sample?
Thank you! ?Emailed you already.
I wore Chypre Mousse to a national chess tournament my three were playing in several years ago and the girls referred to it as my hippie fragrance.
And I put aside a sample of a very rooty, carrot-y orris blend that I made for a close friend for your next package and wonder now if it will also be a scrubber for you ????
I usually don’t mind any iris – footy, powdery, earthy, etc. I don’t know what is not working for me in these two, and I don’t have any resolve to do so :).
Oooh Chypre Mousse! The first time I smelled it I quite liked it, so much that I bought a bottle. I wore it for a few more times. And then one day I felt really sick smelling it. It really made me want to vomit. And since then I just really couldn’t wear it anymore. I finally sold it.
I guess this has to do with some kind of synthetic oakmoss replacement they use. I later had a bottle of Dune (a rather recent one) and the far drydown smelled fake mossy like that Chypre Mousse smell that made me sick. So… I can’t bear Dune either.
Comparing Chypree Mousse to Dune makes me think I should give it a sniff! I love Dune in small doses at a time.
They are very different. I only got that sickly fake mossy in Dune at the far drydown when all the top and middle were all burnt off and there was nothing left but the moss.
Dune will literally make me dizzy if I spray to much. Especially in the heat. I adore it in small doses though.
That’s interesting! I do remember finishing Dune nauseating on me while liking it on my friend.
Ha ha ha, I’m with you on Chypre Mousse. Mals agrees with us as well: http://themuseinwoodenshoes.com/oriza-l-legrand-samples/
… oops, just read your review, and I see you already linked to Mals’s… 🙂
Yeah, she was my inspiration to break the silence.
A poll of meh would be too many comments for anyone to read 🙂
LOL! I would imagine so. 🙂
You should probably save the idea for a really slow day 🙂
One that surprised me (in a bad way) was ELDO Putain des Palaces. Not sure why it smelled so foul on me as the notes sounded good. Definitely scrubbed it off! Good thing I didn’t blind buy a bottle.
I also have a travel version of Pharrell Williams Girl. My hubby doesn’t comment alot, but he told me never to wear that one AGAIN!
I’m wearing some vintage Shalimar today (sorry, Koyel). More for me.
Ha! I know it’s bad if the hubby comments. He’s only ever despised two perfumes, which shall remain nameless.
You’ve made me immediately curious to know what they are.
Spill the beans!!!!
I think you smell great in your Shalimar!
Hehe, I’ll just stand far away from you 🙂
I love GIRL! I recently saw someone else trash it here, so I wore it again just to make sure, and yep, I still think it’s fabulous!
I think I scrubbed Girl off too.
My latest scrubber was Penhaligon’s Empressa. A dupe of Coco Mademoiselle that I cannot tolerate for one second.
My biggest scrubbers: Perris Montecarlo Ambre Gris and the forever winner Eldo Secretions Magnifique. I hate those two with every fiber of my being!
Coco mademoiselle is too sweet for me too.
As much as Chanel is my favorite house and I appreciate all its perfumes, Coco Mademoiselle is overwhelming for me. Sad that Empressa is so close to it.
I felt the same way about both perfumes. I remember reading reviews when Empressa first came out saying that Penhaligons had ripped off Chanel. I csn’t wear eith one.
I have tried Coco Mademoiselle many times to see if it eventually works for me, but definitely it is a “No”. I never expected Empressa to be as close as CM. It was so shocking!
I love your story about SM though. Priceless!
I think I will never have an experience like that with another perfume in my life. I hope not! ?
Ha!!!!
And you already know that Secretions Magnifique smells glorious on me…..the Atlantic Ocean of my childhood….The Rockaways and Jones Beach…..with a touch of cream….. definitely full bottle worthy.??️?️
One day I am going to get a big full bottle for you! But I will make sure it gets delivered directly to you, because the thought of having it close to me it is really terrifying. I am honestly glad that you like it!
And if this comes to fruition I will wear it when we meet up and NOT tell you what I am wearing!!!
Oh my! Fingers crossed it does not ruin our meeting! ??
LoL!!! Ok scratch that idea ??
I think I might be able to wear Coco Mademoiselle now, but when it first came out it was horrifying to my nose.
Unfortunately, it has never worked for me! Have you tried it again recently?
I got a dabber sample of it back in 2016 and liked it, but heaven only knows how old the bottle that it came from is/was.
I’m the opposite, wore it when it first came out, but now it grates on my nerves. I like the intense better, but not on me.
I’m actually rather curious to give the Intense version a sniff. I liked the magazine strip of it that I smelled, but I know that those things are only an approximation of what the perfume in question smells like.
My most recent scrubber was…Angel.☹️Which makes me sad because it is my college bestie’s signature scent and it smells just heavenly (groan, I know, I know, but I couldn’t resist) on her and I wanted some of that loveliness. On her it wears almost like a skin scent if you can believe it. On me it was too sweet and made me queasy. I hate queasy more than I hate headaches.
Another one that gets a lot of love and from the notes I thought would be a great match for my skin was Dries Van Noten. Cat urine. Eww, I gave it away in a freebiemeet. I don’t even have a cat, but I know that smell when I smell it.?
After overnight storms, the skies are blue and it is gorgeous out! Warm enough that I took my flannel sheets off this morning and I might (might!) be able to go down to one down comforter. Tonight is homemade chipotle.
SotD is Hermès Jardin sur la lagune from a sample. It’s okay but really reminds me of Twilly. Mediterranee is still my favorite.
I like Angel on other people, but it’s too big to wear on myself. I don’t like that I can’t get away from it when it’s on me, if that makes any sense?
Angel = instant migraine.
21 DAYS TO AFRICA!!
am standing here looking at duffle that needs to be packed
I never lost any weight
oh well, I will look petite next to an elephant.
Corso Como for my SOTD.
So excited for you! Are you planning on photos? Cause you know we would love to travel with you via Instagram! ?Are you packing perfumes? How many and which ones? Will you wear perfume on safari? Can you do that? Or does it attract the wrong kind of animal attentions…? I hope you have the most fabulous trip EVER! ✌?
Deva, am so excited. Haven’t seen my sister in one year.
I bought a new camera when we went to Burma a few years back as all my original pictures from travel there in the 80s were taken by he who must not be named.
Don’t have instagram.
Thinking of just a roller of something easy. I do hope to get some vanilla fragrances in Zanzibar plus I will hit up Chanel for some back ups on exclusifs. My box of eels etp and etd are lowww.
“oh well, I will look petite next to an elephant“ this made me laugh so hard! <3
I would like to encourage you to not worry about your body size during your trip! Remember that ideals are very much culturally defined, and different folks have different ideas about what is both pleasing and “healthy.”
I lived in Madagascar many years ago, and it was culturally expected for folks to gain weight while they were visiting. It was a sign that they were well-cared-for and happy. Women were especially commended on carrying some extra body fat, as it was a sign that they were healthy and would make good mothers. A few extra pounds can make you seem “friendlier” and easier to get along with!
I wholeheartedly agree that a number on a scale does not denote good or bad health. But I don’t subscribe to the notion that extra fat on a woman’s body makes you a “better mother”. I have been thin my whole life but eat like a horse. I got pregnant very easily and birthed three large healthy children weighing eight to nine and a half pounds ….they arrived in this world with minimal work on my part….pushing for only 10 to 15 minutes each. My OB/ GYN nicknamed me the baby making machine. And I nursed all three of them. ?
You, in fact, are proving my point–these ideas are cultural, not based on science! The cultural ideal for a woman in Madagascar (where, it is worth noting, a huge percentage of the population experiences a “famine season” every year) is to be plump.
It is also worth noting that a “slender” woman of privilege is hardly as skinny as a woman who habitually must starve. And it makes sense to me that a culture would value someone looking well-fed when it is not a given.
Angel is too present for me too to wear, but I like 4 of its flankers: Les Parfums de Cuir and Liqueur de Parfum which are more subtle, smoother, at least I think so, and Angel La Rose – one of my favorite patchouli rose, and Angel La Violette like a violet bonbon.
I love Angel…. had a bottle when it first debuted…..back then it was one of a kind……
I would love… no LOVE to smell again that perfume from 92 (or was it 93?). Even though Mugler’s perfumes smell like no flower has been harmed during their production, I’m positive that the formula has changed, and maybe more than once, to make the production cheaper.
I think it was 93? I am sure it’s been reformulated more than once. I think part of what makes folks not like certain fragrances that were popular in the past is that they don’t have the opportunity to smell them as they were in original formulation and in pristine condition with all notes, including top notes, intact.
I can’t wear Angel either. It is toooooo sweet!
Funny: I hate Lagune, like Twilly (have FB).
Worst scrubber I can think of is Aftelier’s Memento Mori. Smelled like a rotting carcass, I could not get it off fast enough.
For me that would be Aftelier Cuir Gardenia…. rotting flowers.
I tried a handful of hers, not that one, but it doesn’t seem like the house for me. Money saved!
Same here… nothing I really liked or wanted which made my wallet happy.
Interesting! For me it’s one of a very few her perfumes that I like in small dosage. But in general – not my brand either.
There’s a crack in my phone screen, so what I read at first was rotten cat-@$$. Lol. I thought, wow that’s a real scrubber!
Lillyjo, you just made my day… hysterical.
That isn’t too far off!
Omg this is great!!!
I LMAO’ed when I read this! That was too funny lillyjo!
Ooh ooh, you’ve reminded me of how much I hate Aftelier Bergamoss!!
Have you tried Ancient Resins? I have sampled several of her perfumes and didn’t need them but AR is gorgeous.
Habanita. Nothing but headache-inducing bug spray on my skin; I couldn’t get it off fast enough. And if you’ve noticed, the scrubbers are very often tenacious in the extreme…….
I am on the opposite team. I love Habanita. I agree with you that the scrubbers are the most tenacious ones. They are never fleeting!
So many do love Habanita, and it probably smells gorgeous on you. I smelled like I was, I dunno, a tiny human in the center of a massive biochemical defense cloud that would repel all manner of flying invaders. But then, I’m also in the tiny camp of those who can’t wear Shalimar.
LOL
I’m with you on both!
You know, the first time I tried Habanita I had a similar reaction. Then I gave it another shot on a day where I happened to be in a very cranky-depressed mood, and lo and behold, it felt just right. It’s a perfume for when i’m feeling mean!
Now there’s a Community Project – scents for those days when you’re feeling mean!
LOL! Oh, boy. Would it be for perfumes people wear to calm themselves when they feel mean, or to go with that mood? Hmm.
I think it would be more interesting to wear scents that go with that mood. I’m sure there’s already been some form of calming/relaxing scents CP. I’d be interested to know what y’all wear when you’re cranky, and feel no need to change your attitude…..
I second this!
YES! So glad to find another Habanita hater!
Lovely subject…scrubbers!! Does anyone have a fast & effective way to get perfume off other than washing with a lot of soap and water?
I really hate Jean Paul Gaultier for women. Ieww. And Cologne bigarade from Frederic Malle. Very very bad b.o…..
Olive oil sometimes cuts through when soap isn’t enough. Sometimes lemon juice helps, too. (Which I learned from the cooks at a restaurant I worked at–they’d scrub their hands in lemons at the end of the night Friday nights so they didn’t go home to their ladies smelling of fish fry! ?)
Thank you for these tips!!
For Bigarade, it’s the cumin that gives that ‘BO’.
Yes, I’m avoiding that note eversince….
For whatever it’s worth, I have never gotten a cumin note from Cologne Bigarade or Bigarade Concentrée. Cardamom, yes; sometimes I get coriander (seed); but cumin, no. I never seem to get the BO aspect that drives so many away. I actually love the dry, dry, DRY drydown of BC.
I scrub with alcohol swabs first, and then follow that with anti-bacterial soap. Works most of the time.
Sounds good, thanks!
I read somewhere…here??…to layer on fragrance free gel deodorant, let it dry awhile, then follow with some unfragranced Tide liquid laundry soap.
I’ve tried it, and it works!
There’s a link on the site with directions for getting rid of the smell of scrubbers, plus more tips in the comments from NST folks. Someone suggested a wire brush, but she was *not* serious. I’ll do witch hazel wipes on my arms, and then wash them with liquid soap. That seems to work pretty well. It at least cuts way down on the scent. I have to remember, though, that the witch hazel (mostly alcohol) is drying, and put lotion on afterward.
https://nstperfume.com/2007/02/02/perfumista-tip-how-to-remove-fragrance-from-skin/
Thanks!!
The almond shower oil from L’Occitane is extremely effective at removing perfume if you apply generous amounts without water, rub for 20 seconds and then rinse.
That shower oil was actually a scrubber for me, lol. It left a strong ammonia smell on my skin ?
You’re in trouble if your scrub is a scrubber! Wink!
Charcoal scrub / mask works like magic most of times!
I find deodorant works very well, but can be a mess to clean off. My new discovery is my oil cleanser really blunts most perfumes. I rarely rarely scrub though.
Thank you all. I will try oil and charcoal first, as I have those in my cabinet!
Haven’t come across a scrubber in a while, probably because I haven’t been doing any sampling. I’m in the candied spicy goodness of l’Elephant today, which I adore, but pretty sure some people really just can’t stand. ?
This is a big military town with both Fort Lewis and McChord here, plus there apparently is a graduating class this weekend, so expecting some big to-do’s here. I hear Taps every night at 10pm, which I really enjoyed. A big Thank You to the military folks and their families, past, present, and future!
You’re smelling phenomenal.
Yep, I’m one of those people who could never make friends with the elephant. I did trade it to a very kind NSTer for some lovely fragrances, so it turned out great in the end.
OOO the Elephant is creamy and dreamy on my skin and I spray lavishly. There will be a full bottle in my future!
I love hearing taps at night when I’m snugged up in bed.
Smelling great!
Sigh, after much anticipation to smell it, I acquired a mini of L’Elephant at the last swap meet. And wouldn’t you know, it was basically a scrubber on me. I gave it some time hoping it would develop into something I enjoyed, but it wasn’t meant to be. I’m hoping someone will swap it from me at the next meet.
Taps was played at my father’s funeral, so for me hearing it is a very sad experience.
Florabellio!
Yuck
Usual Saturday morning routine, farmers market , compost
Had a lunch of salad,cheese and baguette. I made rhubarb sauce with one apple and some sugar, sort of like apple sauce, but different. Kids hated it, Mr L didn’t like it. Guess what I will be eating for the rest of the weekend?
Omnia today. I was in a rush this morning and this one is at the front. Waiting for some warmer temperatures to break out my big white florals. Looking at your Songes..
You smell superb!! Sorry your rhubarb sauce wasn’t a home run. ☹️
I have been irresistibly drawn to the rhubarb selection near me. I’ll have to try your recipe!
I had to scrub Florabellio also. And I tried it 3 times. Why? What was I expecting?
It is funny to me how many folks don’t trust those first impressions–egad this is terrible!! I think we could all benefit from trusting in ourselves a little more. ?
I keep telling myself that but then I either forget and go the “oh, what is this sample?” route, or think “L and H say they liked it, I usually like same perfumes they do, I was probably wrong before…” Or that dangerous for cats curiosity: “It can’t be as bad as I remember it – can it?” 🙂
Maybe you were expecting a miracle ?
Your lunch sounds delish.
Yeah, Florabellio was really bad on me too. So sorry that your rhubarb sauce wasn’t a hit. Last night my boyfriend and I shared a rhubarb piroshky, and it was wonderful.
1. DS Durga – Mississippi Medicine which to me smell like burned pastic.
2. Byredo Sundazed – Chewing gum for 13-year old children.
Ugh, remind me to avoid Sundazed!
A local group of perfume types was talking about doing a split of Malle’s Musc Ravageur. I have never been much of a musk fan, but I popped into Holt Renfrew to try it out.
Thank goodness I only put one spray on, because it smelled horrible on me, and what’s worse, really cheap. The only reason I wouldn’t call it a scrubber is that it mercifully disappeared after an hour or two.
Musc Ravageur has been reformulated in the last handful of years. I have a travel spray of the original and it is beautiful and amazing. Sadly, I tried some of the recent formulation at a Barney’s and it was awful. They ruined a real beauty. ?
Hmm…mine travel spray is pretty new and (I think) it still smells like my old sample. Oh well—reformulated or not, it still smells good to me!
How old is your old sample? My travel spray is 6ish years old, and I believe it was released a year or so before they changed the formula.
Musc Ravageur reminded me very strongly of one of my relatives who passed away quite a while ago. A scented ghost, if you will. It was kind of creepy.
Scrubbers, huh.
Well my deepest apologies to Arielle Shoshana, but her original scent aka Saturday was one of the few that my husband actually asked me to scrub off NOW (and I agreed). It’s very rare for DH to even notice my scent, so when he asks me to not wear something, I’ll go along with that.
I think my funniest scrubber experience was with Oakland Fresca. We went to an event at Tigerlily in SF, where we met Andy Tauer. He offered his latest attar to us, so of course we both stuck out our arms and got swabbed. We immediately realized this was a giant mistake and plastered “oh how nice” expressions on our faces until we could maneuver our way outside and try to figure out how to get rid of it (impossible) without him seeing. LOL
Oh that’s too bad! And Andy is such a sweetheart!
I would have faked it for him, too.
Oh, and those Beaufort scents with ‘blood’ notes made me queasy. Bleah!
They were truly awful. I’m not sure who is wearing them.
I scrubbed Tauer’s Vetiver dance every time I tried to wear it. And I went through my sample. I just couldn’t stop myself.
Your Tauer story made me laugh haha!
Ahaha. That reminds me of how I felt when I tried his l’Oudh. Thankfully he wasn’t there to see my reaction 🙂
Oh no! What an uncomfortable situation!
It was the olfactory equivalent of burning your mouth at a fine food festival. Kinda wiped out everything else! (You are right! We did go outside and tried to figure out how to remove it!)
That is hilarious! My perfumista friend and I had a similar experience in Tiger Lily and ironically with perfume from the same brand (though, luckily, just with the store owner presence, not a perfumer himself). We were allowed to try the newest back then, gardenia, if I’m not mistaken, perfume from an unofficial tester, and you could see how offended the person who shared it with us was at our dislike for that perfume. I was so traumatized by that experience that I haven’t revisited that perfume again (even though I have a sample at home), and it was just last year when I decided to go back to the store again (that time it was a much more pleasant experience).
Also… I can still do a few more splits from my 4711 vats. I have:
– 4711 Pink Pepper & Grapefruit
– 4711 Myrrh & Kumquat
– 4711 Lime & Nutmeg
– 4711 Mandarine & Cardamom
I’m offering 30ml splits, US only. If you buy one, the price is $10. Two is $17. Three is $24. Four is $32.
Contact me at emc dawt 7 1 1 7 in the land of gee-mayle.
Lime & Nutmeg and Mandarine & Cardamom splits are closed.
Anything with a strong vanilla note is a scrubber on me. I have given away everything that I had that had vanilla. The only one I’ve kept is Bvlgari Black, because I keep hoping I can learn to love it.
This is mostly true for me, especially with vanilla “soliflors”. Wasn’t always the case, but has been the last couple of years. I actually gave away my Bulgari Black.
I rarely wear Black, but it’s because of the rubber note. Too often it’s just too sweet and prominent for me.
I’m not a vanilla fan, but usually don’t have issues with this note and have several favorites featuring it. But one perfume that was getting a lot of love – Tihota – was extremely unpleasant to me. Go figure.
Bvlgari Black gave me a horrible headache the first and only time I ever tried it.
I really like Black but I find it so quiet. I remember a friend saying it smelled like she was in her aunt’s 80’s car with no A/C, though.
There have been scrubbers that I have tested, but I normally wash them off right away and then forget about unpleasant they were, so there really isn’t one in particular that stands out to me.
However, there are a few perfumes that get a lot of love from others that just do not work for me at all, despite trying them several times. One is Seville a’l’Aube (and orange blossom is a favorite note of mine). I seem to smell each note separately with this one and none of them smell quite right. Another one is La Fille de Berlin. I frequently have trouble with rose and violet notes together. They never smell like lipstick on me at all. Everything smells sort of jumbled together in kind of a “meh” sort of way on me.
I decided to wear something today that might make others cringe – DelRae Emotionnelle. Lots of melon. And I like it!
We are evil twins on all 3 fragrances!
I was just thing about Emotionnelle and how I wish I could smell it again. I think it’s gone, though.
SaL is usually lovely to me but every so often I feel like it flattens on my skin.
I had a lot of trouble with Seville a L’Aube too… on me it was super cloying, and I scrubbed it. I think you have to be a true lover of orange blossom in all its forms, even the sweetest.
I love these polls, Robin.
I have few horror stories but one that came immediately to my mind is my samplings of Paco Rabanne Lady Million and CD Sauvage. A note that seems shared in these made me ill, and I wish I knew what the note is, maybe a musk. Also, Ted Lapidus Silk Road which I purchased blind, as it is an incense (and I love everything incense, usually) made me immediately queazy and it went straight to the charity shop.
Today at the library I was wearing Oscar Latin Light, a really stellar summer edition of the early 2000’s, passion fruit on top (very realistic and not screechy) and the drydown is sandalwood with the Oscar DNA. It is very long lasting too and I’m still enjoying it this evening.
That Oscar sounds lovely.
Oh Lillyjo, it really is, I wish I could send you a sample but I’m in the UK where sending any liquid perfume is forbidden but if you come across it on eBay, I think it would be a great buy.
Oh, and my dreaded note is cumin, I’m like a hound when it comes to detect it.
Me too! Cumin… I just can’t!
Bill: I’m so glad I’m not alone in dreading it.
Ditto. And of course it seems to go thermonuclear as soon as it hits my skin.
Ahh, your cumin is my gardenia.
🙂
Yes! It seems to stick around forever.
Ah, yes, so true, it sure sticks around.
Same here. I think all my worst scrubbers involved cumin.
It definitely ruins a perfume, and I’m glad to see I’m definitely not alone.
I have a strong dislike for cumin, and it behaves badly on my skin, but I came across several perfumes where it was listed but I couldn’t smell it – and I liked those perfumes (though I can’t remember now what it was). But in general cumin is my nemesis number one.
Undina, there are several perfumes that I haven’t even tried because cumin was listed. You make me think that perhaps I should give them a chance in case like you, I don’t notice the cumin in them.
Can’t stand cumin in perfume or food.
We feel the same about cumin, Lillyjo.
Sammarco Bond-T. Second test and I still wanted to scrub it. Yes I know it’s said to be a dark chocolate. Indeed for the first few seconds there’s that glint of pure chocolate smell. But all the way to the drydown I just can’t shake the impression that it smells very much like dried shiitake mushroom to me! As an East Asian that smell is too familiar and I really don’t want to smell like dried shiitakes!
I love how specific you are–dried shiitakes, not just dried mushrooms! I had a college buddy who was raised on a log-grown shiitake mushroom farm in Arkansas, and so shiitakes will always hold a special place in my heart, associated with camping around her place, hauling logs to “pay” for our use of services for the week, fiddle tunes, and lots of storytelling!
Bond-T was awful on me too. Not chocolate at all.
Ha! That’s too funny. Once you smell something, it’s hard to un-smell it.
I had a small jar of Lush Dream Cream I got in a gift bag and I was using it in the car one day and my husband asked what smelled like chicken marsala. I totally got what he meant and haven’t been able to use it since!
I didn’t like Bond T either. Some of the Acampora’s seems to have that mushroomy basenote. I adore Sballo though. Especially the oil format. It’s one of my all time favorites.
I’m kicking myself for missing last week’s CP as I have a lot of cheap thrills including a bottle of Yardley Petunia from 1986 which i got for £3 in a charity shop (current SOTD.)
I find Do Son cloying but the worst for me was gucci rush which made me feel sick.
Picnic by the lake today-lovely stuff!
I can’t take Do Son, either. Too much white flower.
My first scrubber was Obsession, many years ago. It smelled great on my sister, but the SA actually looked me in the eye and told me to never, every wear it again. I agreed! ?
Angel was terrible on me as well. I’ve tried several of the flankers, no luck with any of them.
Traversee du Bosphore was just hideous on me, an instant scrubber. So many here love it, but it was a very unsuccessful blind buy that I traded away to a much better home.
I love this poll! Quite entertaining. ?
OMG!! I loved Obsession! LoL!!
My sister smells fantastic in it, too!
Obsession was the first perfume I tried as a teenager and I fell in love with it. Then it was the first full bottle I bought many years later. The reformulations have killed it, and I barely wear it these days, but I still LOVE it!
I’m one of those who likes Traversee du Bosphore but I know exactly how it might go wrong: it’s a very special perfume that balances on verge of love/hate and smelling one note stronger or more subtle can shift that balance.
Wearing LL Lys. Not a scrubber.
I know many love it but Profumum Acqua di Sale almost killed me. I wrapped my sample in plastic, threw it away and had to take out the garbage. I had never done that before (or since). I try to always give away things that are not for me.
Great story
I disliked Aqua di Sale too, but the one that got walked straight out to the trash sealed in a baggie was SL Serge Noire. Pure stinky armpit.
For me, a scrubber was Hermes Parfum d’Hermes. I just couldn’t. And somebody described it as smelling as ‘Robert Mitchum’s jocl strap’ and I just couldn’t shake off the image, so that made the smell even worse for me. This was like 10 years ago? I still haven’t mustered up courage to smell it again 😀
Well, nobody needs that image in their head.
Lol! So true!
Oh, hmm, he was kind of hot….
Not as hot as Burt Lancaster.
Oh my! That was terrible!
Thank you, that really made me laugh!
I wouldn’t care whose jock strap it was! Ew ew ew ew!
My most recent scrubber was just yesterday! I got a decant of Caldey Island Lavender in the mail yesterday from an STC sale. I was so excited to finally try it and when I sprayed it on there was some lavender shortly followed by a very dense baby powder that was super cloying. Is that what other people who love it smell? I did read reviews about the musk overwhelming some people so maybe that’s what I’m getting. I have no idea about formulations.
In other news, I’m wearing a bit of Grandiflora Jasmine today since I could smell its gloriousness on the sleeves of a cardigan I put on earlier.
It’s my bday tomorrow and hoping my plans for a picnic in Greenwood Cemetery aren’t foiled by the cold I seem to have contracted. This is my first upper respiratory infection this year and I’m resenting its timing, lol.
I have read that it’s been reformulated but I don’t know which version you received….never tried it myself. I am happy enough with lavender essential oil when I need a pure lavender fix.
And Happy birthday ???
Thank you!
Yeah, I might just make my own, too. Except it lasts all of 2 minutes. I guess lavender needs other hefty notes to make it stick around.
I have no idea how old their stuff is. It was pretty cheap so I doubt it’s some precious vintage stuff.
If you add it to a base note oil it might last longer.
Happy birthday Elisa! At least you bought something that you do like with Gris Clair. I’m curious if you tried Encens et Lavande?
I hope you feel better today and have fun!
Thank you Petunia? I have in the past, but honestly don’t remember it. I think I also wasn’t all that interested in lavender at the time.
Happy birthday! I just googled Greenwood cemetery and what an amazing mix of architecture and styles. I have never seen a bear gravestone before …how super. This summer I am going to teach a university creative writing course based on the people/times of the Northern Cemetery where I walk. So many life stories and such wonderful , peaceful locations. Get better for your picnic.
Thank you! Greenwood is one of my favorite “parks” here. They also have a very active schedule of exhibits and events pretty much all year round.
We’re going to hit this exhibit tomorrow:
https://www.green-wood.com/heaven-hell-and-purgatory-visions-of-the-afterlife-in-the-catholic-tradition/
Your class sounds fabulous! Reminds me of one of the events I went to last Fall where they did a story telling of some of the people buried there. It was like a soap opera of sorts as the characters were all interconnected in some scandalous way.
Happy birthday for tomorrow!
Thanks Gaynor!
Happy birthday! I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks Sistine! Me too!
Fantastic place for a birthday party! I hope the weather cooperates and your crud disappeares by tomorrow. Happy Birthday, one day early?
Thanks Deva! Supposed to be 89 tomorrow. I doubt the crud will totally disappear but I will be adequately medicated!
Better living through chemistry ??
89F?!? ?
Have a happy birthday and quick recovery!
Thank you!
Happy Birthday! Wishing you well by morning ?
Thanks lj!
Happy Birthday! ????. I hope you feel much, much better tomorrow! Enjoy the picnic and exhibit! Any perfumed presents?
Thank you! From my MIL, I got Provence Sante Linden EDT (she asked me what to get me) and from me to me I got a bottle of Gris Clair.
My brother sent me a coffee grinder and a friend just brought me a few bags of her favorite Vietnamese coffee so I guess the coffee theme is happening, too!
Awesome! Enjoy!
Oh, do get better! I hope you’re able to enjoy your bday.
Thanks! I hope so too! I’m hopeful. I felt better during the day than I do tonight which usually happens with colds and allergies. Ever notice that? I think histamine levels rise at night.
hi Elisa, thanks for the musk warning! powdery musks make my nose go numb, and I’ve been wondering about Caldey Island Lavender for a long time. I love lavender but not musk, so that’s a big ol’ nope!
Have a happy birthday! 😀
I’m so perplexed! I was anticipating a divine, natural lavender smell. I’m sure I’ll try it one last time to make sure it wasn’t some viral interference before sending it to the purgatory bag.
And thank you ?
Happy Birthday weekend!! Hope you are getting Monday off too. A long birthday weekend sounds wonderful.
Thanks pixel! I do have Monday off, thankfully, though it will be spent writing a paper ?
Happy birthday!
Thanks Koyel!
Happy bday!! It’s my bday tomorrow too!!
Almost birthday twins! Sign twins in the sign of the twins☺️Thank you and hope you have a happy one, too!
Happy birthday!
A very happy birthday to you gville!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! I hope you have a fantastic day! ??
Happy Birthday! I hope you’re feeling better.
Happy birthday! Hope you’re feeling better.
Happy birthday! Hope you made it to the cemetery for your picnic. What scent did you choose today?
Happy birthday Elisa P, hope the day worked out!
Happy Scented Birthday Elisa P! I hope your day was a great one! ????
Happy birthday!!!!!!?????
Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone! Y’all are the bestest ?
I had a nice day and went through with my plans eventhough I was still feeling a bit under the weather. I think my allergies were on full blast at the cemetery which is very green and blooming beautifully. We saw a gopher! Never seen one in person so it was a thrill for me. Had dinner at a Peruvian restaurant which was pretty good. Today it’s writing a paper due tonight ?
That is too funny. We always have at least one gopher living in our field. Probably more than one. They are cute little rascals but make underground tunnels. I accidentally stepped in one and sank up to my thigh.
I’m always curious about perfumes that I have liked and worn that suddenly become unwearable. I enjoyed my first bottle of Rahat Loukhoum but now can’t wear my replacement bottle. Likewise Dame New Musk ( oil version) went from a like to a eugh.
But scrubbers …possibly I apply too heavily …Smell Bent 1997 and Olympic Orchids Bay Rum. I have blind buys of both and keep trying them because I want to like them, but no. As a note tonka is iffy and some vetiver smells like sausages dripping in fat to me.
I’ve had that question about notes I’ve changed my mind over. I loved, loved, loved saffron; but for the past two years, I just don’t like it anymore. Hmm.
I haven’t met many total scrubbers, where all I can think is “get this off me”. I’ll try anything once, but I’ve come to learn that I really don’t like musks. White musks smell like washing powder, and I’ve never been able to find the right words to describe the rich over-ripe smell I get from the more animalic musks.
I know that Mona di Orio’s Musc has lots of fans, but it hurt my nose, it was scratchy washing powder.
My most recent experience was Le Labo’s Labdanum 18, so over-ripe, and it would not come off!
Oops, posted only half my comment!
I had a lovely experience perfume-sniffing with Kanuka on Friday. She introduced me to some lines I’d never heard of, very exciting for my small home city. I finally bought CdG’s Ouazazate, which has been on my list of possible purchases for years. Totally not a scrubber!
Yay, I love Ouarzazate!
Nice purchase! My favorite of the series.
So interesting. I love Le Labo’s Labdanum, which to my nose is woodsy and resin-y–almost incense-y–but warm and cozy. I agree, it has decent longevity (like what I did there? Your “would not come off” to my “decent longevity.”!!!)
I wonder if you’d hate Parfum d’Empire’s Musc Tonkin? I thought the Tonkin meant some variation on tonka, which like Kanuka I have mixed reviews about—but nope. It is a warm musky, almost floral scent to my nose—don’t have any, so I could also be mis-remembering. But I did really like it.
“Would not come off” to “decent longevity” is a funny change. 🙂
I would have taken “Tonkin” as a location reference, in southeast Asia. I did a history paper about French Indochina, and Dad’s a Vietnam veteran, so that was my reference.
Then again, my memory of French from French classes of long ago is slowly improving again with reminders here and on perfume bottles. But some of my guesses are still way, way off.
I actually had to scrub two this week! One was Aura – I spritzed it on a test strip, recoiled and threw the strip away and then left Ulta. The scent followed me, and I realized with horror that it had gotten on my hand. Bleegh.
The second scrubber was Rose Magnetic by Essential Perfumes. The grapefruit in the opening was just too sharp for me and drilled into my head.
Aura smells like urinal cake to me. That’s actually its own category of scrubber “perfumes that smell like urinal cake” (Apres L’Ondee is on that list *ducks*).
Oh no! Apres L’Ondee is one of my big favorites! Now, I need to sniff more careful next time I wear it. Hope not to get that urine note! ?
Hahahaha! I think I’m in the minority, probably, so keep wearing and enjoying it!
It doesn’t smell like urine- just those cakes they put in urinals to keep them smelling “fresh”. It’s actually not a bad smell to me. It’s just an unfortunate association.
It’s usually some kind of citrus note that gives me a urinal cake association. Sadly, Robin’s beloved Weleda Sea Buckthorn Shower Cream goes urinal cake on me once I suds it up in the shower. It smells like creamsicle when I sniff from the bottle though.
Oh no!
I know! I’m pretty bummed about it. I wanted to love it and thought I would.
Profumum Volo AZ 686 was the most loud, realistic urinal cake I ever smelled. Truly horrendous.
Aura was prbably my most recent scrubber too. A sweet NSTr sent me a sample in a swap. It’s just awful, it reminds me of anti-nausea medine.
I just visited Ulta yesterday and sprayed both Aura EDT and EDP on paper strips, gave them a quick sniff, immediately disliked them, and kept the strips far away from me. I also sprayed Alien Flora Futura on paper and wouldn’t mind trying it on skin sometime.
My scrubbers are mostly cumin and melon, although JAR Jardenia nearly made me ill in public. Other offenders were L’Artisan Aedes, Al Oudh, SL Serge Noire, Del Rae Emotionnelle, Hermes Muguet Porcelaine and Angel.
Today I’m wearing AC Cafe Tuberosa.
I love Cafe Tuberosa. You smell great.
Yes, you do smell great! My full bottle is on it’s way…
Received a sample of Delizia di Marshmallow from Kyse when I bought a bottle of the Bonbons à la Vanille. The new on is quite nice…sweet marshmallow goodness…might need a bottle of this too. 🙂 look forward to your thoughts on it.
I can’t receive perfume here in Canada (risk of confiscation) but as soon as I get back to SD it’s on the sample list.
I’m with you on both cumin and melon, they are my #1 and #3 least favorite notes. But between them there is #2 – tuberose 😉 We all are so different!
I love this week’s poll and enjoy reading everyone’s comments!
Ginger and certain mineral notes are my nemesis. Sorry to the NSTers who love them – it’s not personal! The scrubbers I had lately are:
1. Annick Goutal le Jasmin EDP, HARD scrub, my number 1 enemy. I got rid of it as fast as I could. I still shudder thinking of it…. no matter how many times I washed it off, scrubbed with Lush coffee scrub, even charcoal mask / wash, it (the ginger) would NOT go, OMG… I still had a headache the 2nd day!
2. Hermes Twilly, ditto the ginger in it. I do like everything else of it but the ginger was killing me
3. Jo Malone Myrrh and Tonka, washed several times then had to use my coffee scrub
4. The new Hermes Un Jardin sur la Lagune, not sure which notes I am not compatible with, it took several washes, coffee scrubs, and a charcoal scrub to get it barely off my wrist. My skin was peeling but the residual was still there the 2nd day!
I think I need to do more research to see which note had caused such a negative reaction! Avoid in future!
AG le Jasmin didn’t smell like jasmine at all on my skin. It was harsh and ewwwww!
SotD = Myrrh Eglantine
SotE = Eau des Merveilles
Yes to Hermes! It’s my perfume house. Wish I could shop there for other things, lol.
Thank you to Barqs for reminding me about ME, I have a spray sample to use up. On me it is a delicate rose with an airy resinous drydown. On others it smells like dirty ditchwater and BO.
EdM is on deck for later this evening, it’s one of my great perfume loves. Funny story about noses and sensitivity — I wore EdM one morning a few months ago. That evening at yoga class my good friend compained that someone smelled of awful perfume. HA! IT WAS ME! I never told her.
Can’t think of any scrubbers at the moment beyond Angel, which smells great on other people, but she wears me rather than the other way around.
Have a quandary, it’s been discussed before, but I wonder how people feel today. I’ve decided to let a perfume-phobic person into my life. Any chances I can change their mind? 😀
Have a super Saturday, NST friends!
I think it depends why they are phobic. If it’s health/toxicity convictions I wouldn’t even try, myself.
But I have a friend who claimed to hate perfume because of what she smells on the street, dept stores, etc. She doesn’t hate scent, though, and burns incense and likes essential oils so I gave her some non- perfumey samples of things- mostly incense or outdoorsy smells and she liked them! She really loves vetiver, too.
Good advice, thank you Elisa! I think it’s both, some concern for health, maybe a little more dislike of strong perfume-y smells. This person love Tide laundry detergent and that’s a strong smell so it all depends I guess, LOL. 😀
It’s funny how you notice that a perfume that’s good on you really isn’t good on others. For “eglantine,” I am picturing the sweet briar — Rosa eglanteria or Rosa rubignosa (sp?). The flowers are sweetly but faintly fragrant. The leaves are described as smelling like green apples. I don’t think my skin chemistry would be great with Myrrh and Eglantine. I really like the more realistic Damask fragrances, anyway. 🙂
Eglantine makes me think of a delicate greenish rose scent. Damask feels like a heavy, heady scent. I like all the roses. 😀
My sweet briar is currently blooming. I like the scent of the flowers, but it is a delicate scent. I love the scent of the leaves, and the leaves have that scent from spring into fall.
I wasn’t saying that eglantine fragrances would necessarily be less realistic — I meant that I like the Damask rose scents that I think actually smell like Damask roses.
And I have my rose references here on the table. I picked several buds so I could enjoy them rather than the deer, and they’ve opened up. ‘Mme. Zoetmans’ has the true summer Damask rose scent, plus being a bit lemony. ‘Ispahan’ doesn’t smell as strong to me, but still has a Damask fragrance. ‘Maiden’s Blush’ is an Alba with a pure Old Rose scent. ‘Fantin-Latour’ is a Centifolia rose, or a Centifolia/China rose cross. It doesn’t smell super-close to the original types of Centifolia, but the fragrance is very pleasant. And I picked a bud from a Bourbon rose, ‘Mme. Isaac Pereire.’ It’s got a strong raspberry-rose scent. It’s not a Damask rose Old Rose fragrance, but it’s very nice. I’m hoping the deer don’t eat all the buds off ‘Koenigen von Danemark,’ because that’s got a lovely Old Rose fragrance, too.
It all depends on the reasons and ability (and desire) to compromise. Because there’s a good chance that person thinks they will be able to change you 😉
ha! Undina, you are so right! It’s interesting what two people will do to change one another. 😀
FWIW, I wouldn’t count on trying to change the mind of someone who is perfume phobic. So you might have to decide how much of an issue that would be in your interactions with that person.
agree, Jalapeno. I think a stealthy and steady campaign of “nose education” might be the answer. Or it could be some fun at the least. 😀
I went commando to smell new (to me) perfumes at Kuhn-Linscomb in Houston this afternoon. Three I decided to try on skin were Agonist Hope (orange, juniper, cedar); Fiele Fragrance Pogostemon (the name alone!—Tonka, vanilla); and the clear winner for today, Abel Cobalt Amber. It’s a natural perfume that reminds me of my beloved MFK Grand Soir, only with a bolt of something in it that revs it up. Notes include cardamom and juniper. It’s a potential buy, but I’ll have to try it again before deciding.
I have heard really good things about the Abel line and it’s been on my radar for a while. Let us know if you sample any more.
Several others were interesting but they didn’t have a tester for Red Santal, which was the one I was most intrigued about.
With a fragrance named “Pogostemon,” I would expect a huge amount of patchouli. I’m glad you found another one that you liked, though. 🙂
The main scrubber memory I have is Une Rose Chyprée by Tauer. I even gave it time to see if it would develop. Nope. I tried numerous things to scrub it off. Thankfully, I gave it to someone who loved it. I think that’s true for me for most Tauer scents. Just don’t work.
Looking forward to a day road trip with a friend tomorrow…getting out of the city.
We may take a road trip tomorrow too. Enjoy!
Have fun! Where to?
URC didn’t work for me either.
URC wasn’t a real scrubber but I didn’t like it either. I kept coming back to it Year after year to see if my perception would change (since it was one of highly praised perfumes) – but no. So I gave up and pass on my sample.
I love URC, but I can see why it’s problematic for some people. It’s definitely a “difficult” scent.
Une Rose Chypree is a perfume that works for me only in the winter. It’s kind of a demanding scent. But when it does work for me, I enjoy it quite a bit.
Most recent scrubber was Sundazed.
My lovely scent of the morning was ‘I Miss Violet’. I went for a walk with Mr. Fresca down to the farmer’s market this AM, and we bought loads of fruit and had dim sum from one of the vendors for lunch. I also bought a pair of very pretty earrings–folded Japanese paper with a thin layer of clear varnish or some such so the little fans hold their shape. The folded pattern reminds me of the scales of red, white, and black Koi. I got two separate compliments on them while shopping–feeling quite chuffed about my $3 jewelry purchase!
Your morning sounds wonderful!
Sundazed is not having good reviews, overall. I will stay away from it to avoid a disaster!
I feel kind of sheepish to admit that I love Sundazed. It smells great on me, and does not have overpowering presence. If there was a travel spray I would already own it.
However, anything Kevin reviews and hates I love, so keep that in mind.
What I love about this perfume hobby is how perfumes that work for some people are not enjoyed by others. Different tastes is what it makes this whole experience and interaction so interesting. A good example that applies to me is April Aromatics Irisistible. It is so much dislike by many and I tried to stay away from it, until a sample fell in my lap. I LOVE it now and it is in my full bottle “to buy” list. If a sample of Sundazed comes to me I will try it for sure and who knows, if I also fall for it! ?
I can add Sundazed sample to the Irisistable sample that I offered earlier – contact me 🙂
Golly it would be dull if we all liked the same perfumes! This AM I am wearing Mure et Musc Extreme–a perfume that has so many detractors! I say, “Ta ‘ell wid’em!”
Couldn’t stand Sundazed-
Ms. Fresca, I really like The Different Company’s “I Miss Violet” as well. So pretty yet tough. Hard to describe, but I love the violet & leather thing going on there. At nearly $300/bottle, it’s gonna stay on my list a while longer while I nurse my STC sample. The notes I cannot abide in perfumes are cumin, anise, gardenia, honeysuckle, peony (sometimes), not crazy about cinnamon (Mitsouko notwithstanding)… I’m forgetting a couple. What I’ve been eating can certainly affect how a frag falls. Lots of garlic or curry consumption can turn a fav into a ghostly gremlin. I’ve so enjoyed reading these comments & hearing about weekend plans! Happy weekend everyone! ?♀️?♀️??
Hi ElleBe! Sounds like you and I share a lot of faves and not faves…
Random enabler sales pitch: $100 is still a lot of $$$ for a fragrance, but I am seeing bottles of I Miss Violet on the web (check out “I Miss Violet” at Walmart), at least in the US, for that amount, for 50 mls. I got mine for a little less— but for the life of me I cannot recall from where I ordered it–it was on sale at the time.
Thanks for the enabling (and my bank account says “Ouch.”) I’ve gotten several lovely things since we last swapped, so I’ll “see” you at the next swapmeet! ?
Not to the point of scrubbing it off but I didn’t like it either. I mean, it was an actual dislike, not just “meh” but not awful enough to wash it off.
Last scrubber I tried was T-Rex unfortunately. I wanted so badly to love it because I’m obsessed with the bottle. I wore it twice but the third time I just couldn’t get past it and TRIED to wash it off. That stuff is potent lol.
Bronze Goddess for me today for an afternoon at the pool. I smell super good.
Your Bronze Goddess by the pool sounds nice compared to my pouring rain. . .
Sorry that T-Rex was so bad. I was curious about trying it, but maybe not now. That bottle is so cute though. Do you remember what was so bad about it (or was it everything)?
BG is a great choice. One if my faves for summer; now if summer would only get here!
Don’t let me deter you from trying the T-Rex! Lots of folks here love it! It was too smoky and charry for me. Like grill smoke, plus the flowers are dense. It’s just A LOT lol. The far drydown is nice but it takes forever to get there for me and I just couldn’t get past the opening.
Thank you! I like smoky but there is limits. I read the notes more closely, maybe the cade?
I had a shampoo from Lush (one of those bars) which featured cade oil I believe. It smelled like a campfire, um, did I just wash my hair with smoke?
I hated TRex instantly as well.
Thanks cazaubon. I’ve been perusing the Etiket website the last while, and am now deleting the T-Rex sample!
It’s a toss up: Aether Aetheroxyde and Histoires This Is Not A Blue Bottle.
Love this poll!
SOTD: Dzing! which (now that it’s afterrnoon) I’ve topped up with some ELDO Une Amourette.
Aetheroxyde -> I can believe that one is a scrubber!
Moschino Toujours Glamour- I love violet and heliotrope and a bit of powder. I don’t love stomach acid. What causes something like that? I had read a couple of negative reviews that mentioned it and I ignored them, but there it was.
I don’t know. But I used to like violets in perfumes, but the last years I’ve been getting ill from it, nausea. I can’t wear my Lolita Lempicka or many Byredos any more, same with Commodity Book and CbG Girl. Had so sell them all.
April Aromatics Erdenstern and Calling All Angels.
I was literally gagging as I ran to the sink to scrub.
To be fair, I think there is simply something in her base that reacts poorly on me, as none of hers suit.
I feel the same way about Mona di Orio scents. I’ve sampled several, and although I can certainly appreciate their quality, none of them actually smelled good on me.
Encre Noir. As a vetiver fan that surprises me.
Wow! Not just that vetiver is my favorite note and I love Encre Noire, but it’s so pleasant for me that I don’t understand how it could be offensive.
I am not surprised. It is an ISO E Super bomb. This molecule, becomes very troubling to people who develop a sensitivity to it. I describe it as a very raspy, shrill, cedar like note. It is in a lot of fragrances and is often used to enhance and lift other fragrance notes. I had to give away my bottle of Encre Noire and several others as well.
I can’t remember the last scrubber that I have worn but Civet came pretty close. I was hoping for something skanky in terms of vintage BaV but got something that just wasn’t close. The past few things that I have tried were nothing special or just a little pretentious (Le Labo).
Wearing L’Heure de Nuit today. For some strange reason, L’Heure de Nuit isn’t discontinued but Liu is. Am I kicking myself for not getting a bottle of Liu when I had the chance? A little bit but I look at it this way, I probably wouldn’t have worn it a lot.
Interesting, I think “something skanky in terms of vintage BaV”: is a great description for Civet! So I can see why you thought that was what you’d get from the reviews. Are you a Salome fan?
Malle’s Outrageous. I didn’t think I could hate a Malle.
Oh that one did NOT work for me either.
I rarely try perfume that makes me literally sick and want to scrub it, but what I remember from over the years:
Imaginary Authors Bulls Blood
Sospiro Classica
Frapin 1697
One of the Un Jardin line, I think Apres la Mousson
YSL Kouros
And a few indie perfumes, can’t remember them.
I had to wash of un jardin sur la lagune. It turned into a huge musk on me, I really didn’t like it, and I’m sad about it.
Demeter’s Dirt made me physically ill. The one and only time I’ve retched smelling a fragrance.
Interesting. Have you sniffed Black March? I wonder if “soily” scents are a no-go for you in general, or just the Demeter version.
I’ve not, and I’d be a bit nervous to sniff.
I think it smells exactly like fresh compost–which is a wonderful scent, imo, but maybe not a “perfume” scent (hence, I’ve yet to buy it, although I sometimes put it in the check-out bin and let it sit there a while).
Really? Next to Tomato, I think Dirt might be my fave Demeter. It smells pretty clean to me, almost floral, with a Ivory soap sort of finish. So interesting!
What’s cuter than a kitten or a puppy? A kitten AND a puppy, of course! ?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx6DL_Qlz25/?igshid=1bne5zs60sfbw
I am reporting from Sorrento. It’s raining and I decided to forego the hike today from Termini to Sorrento so I went with the luggage to the hotel once again. When it clears out, I will go exploring. In the meantime, I am dry and will be enjoying reading the scrubber comments!
Yesterday, I did an optional hike for which we walked from our hotel at Marina del Cantone to Nerano (instead of taking the bus) and then from there to Baia di Jeranto. I stopped short of having to go down a very steep descent / ascent and just enjoyed some quiet time with nature while waiting for my sister and her co-worker to do the loop.
At Marina del Cantone, we stayed at a small B&B (Taverna del Capitano) with a one Michelin star restaurant. What is one to do when presented with this opportunity? For me, I ate 3 meals there: lunch (by myself) and dinner (with my sister and she treated me for very belated birthday) in Day 1 and then dinner again with my sister in Day 2. My sister and I also had a very pleasant snack of fried sardines (picture to be posted on IG at some point).
I am waiting for my sister and her co-worker to get here from their hike and will tell them about 2 choices for an excursion to Pompeii. I know which one I’ll be doing, with or without them, but will give them the “courtesy” of an opportunity to select. I know my sister will go with my choice and the other one can do her own thing in case she wants to explore Sorrento on her own. They’re here – soaking wet ??
Yay for Pompeii!!! Are you going to Hurculanium, too? We hired a car and tour guide to take us to both, and we did not regret it. Pompeii is massive and could easily be a whole day, but more art (and wood!!!) was preserved at Hurculanium, so you get a richer picture of life back in those times. It’s also literally in the middle of town, which is mind-blowing! All that history underfoot.
Have a great visit, either way!
We only have one day and wanted to arrange for a tour the easiest way possible (through the hotel) and with a limited number of tours available through the 2 tour operators, we chose the Pompeii and Vesuvius combo tour door to door from / to our hotel and Ininsisted in booking it right away for me and my sister. The co-worker said she did “research” and Pompeii is just ruins and there’s nothing to see in Vesuvius. In the end, she decided to just do Pompeii and will do it the more painstaking way of walking to the train station, etc. etc.
Only ruins?! I loved Pompeii! I am wondering if there’s a way I can go back and justify it as education credits. . . I’d happily dig up and catalog pottery shards for a few weeks! 🙂
Getting a tour is smart. There isn’t much in terms of “guidance” on your own, so it really helps to have someone explain what you are seeing (and the local trains are pretty sketchy, imo).
Oooooooooh lucky you, going to see Pompeii! That’s on my bucket list!
A bit of a summing up of what I’ve been sampling and wearing lately (these were *not* scrubbers): Late Friday — sample of Jo Malone’s Wood Sage and Sea Salt. Sadly, my nose must have been dried out, because I couldn’t smell it at all. Dad was coughing a little, and when Mom came upstairs she commented that I was doing perfume stuff again. A couple of hours later, my sense of smell improved, and I found the scent pleasant enough in an outdoorsy way. 🙂 For bedtime, I put on Pacifica Island Vanilla again.
Early Saturday: Commando for a picnic at the local VFW hall. We ended up sitting inside the hall, but if we’d ended up outside, I didn’t want to attract curious bees or wasps.
Late Saturday: Jo Malone Vanilla and Anise. I really liked this one. I’m not much for culinary herbs in my colognes, but I like those fragrances that smell like “baking spices.”
I got a number of Jo Malone samples recently, from Surrender to Chance and from a kind NST person (Thank you!). I’m working through them. This morning I tried Midnight Black Tea. To me, it smelled like something burning. I made a mental note that it might be good for this week’s projects of smoky scents. However, I washed it off before my folks got home.
I have several other samples of perfumes that smell like incense or otherwise smell smoky, so I may just do incense and things like Osmanthe Yunnan during the week, as I remember.
This evening, I’m back in the Elizabeth Arden Green Tea. It may become something I wear a lot in the summer. I really don’t want to wear floral perfumes outside in hot weather.
I’m enjoying reading all the comments and will add a few scrubbers of my own
Teint de Neige Lorenzo Villoresi, first fragrance to make me gag
Gabrielle Chanel
Citron Noir Hermès
One of the last Malles, I think Superstitious.
I have a hard time with TdN too.
I’m in Delizia di Marshmallow which is the newest one from the Kyse line…don’t think it’s on her website just yet.
Which, as the name implies ;), is a delightful floral/marshmallow/vanilla.
And we finally watched Wizard of Oz yesterday. My 5 year old said she wasn’t frightened of the witch or monkeys afterwards and there was no drama at bedtime so perhaps we are good.
She muttered a few times last night…”are you a good witch or a bad witch…?” Sigh. Depends on the day…depends on the day… 😉
Love it!!! I remember watching the Wizard of Oz at around 4 or 5 and that witch traumatized me the first time haha!
Scrubbers. Byredo M/Ink, loved on paper, horrid mess on my skin. In fact, nothing in the Byredo line appeals. Serge Lutens, in particular Serge Noir, but virtually none of them smell good on me.
Have you read Kevin’s review of Serge Noire? Hillarious and classic.
https://nstperfume.com/2008/10/09/serge-lutens-serge-noire-fragrance-review/
(And for the record, I kinda like SN, but not enough to buy a bottle.)
Every word of Kevin’s review is true! Love it! I had a very large sample of Serge Noir so I doctored it would a dollop of Virginia cedar essential oil, heresy, I know. Just that slight change rendered it a lovely woody incense.
I kinda like SN, too, enough to buy a bottle, in fact. It’s a challenge for the first hour or five, but at some point in the far dry down I am enveloped in a cloud of the most beautiful incense. Since buying the bottle, though, I’ve found that I don’t often feel like working through those initial hours.
I love the idea of working through 5 hours of a scent to get to the good part! That’s dedication!
I like that it’s sort of weird and hard to categorize, and it’s variable depending on weather, etc. It’s an *interesting* scent to me, but I have never been sure if I’d actually reach for it to wear or not.
Le Parfum de Thérèse for me today. Went to Home Depot and got our flowers for the season, let’s hope they survive my black thumb. 🙂
Good luck plants!
I’m wearing California Reverie on a 98 F day. It’s the absolute opposite of a scrubber – a swooner? At any rate, I smell absolutely divine and my husband is home napping on my lap after being away in Ontario for too long. The puppy is napping, the cat is chilling and everything is right for at least one perfect afternoon.
Have a peaceful and rejuvenating Sunday!
Swooner is a perfect opposite of scrubber! Enjoy your day, it sounds wonderful ?
What a lovely image, sistine. Smell good, and enjoy your perfect day.
My latest scrubber was Laguna. Also, Une Amourette. I tried it again on paper this morning, just to be sure. It reminds me of the worst smells of the seventies. This is subjective to my childhood memories, I’m sure. I’ve officially turned off the furnace! It’s 73 here!?
88 degrees here right now and back to the 70’s tomorrow. I don’t mind! I was looking forward to warm temperatures for a long time. Enjoy your day!
??????????
Thanks! I will be out of work soon and will have tommorow off ?
There were some rather nasty smells back in the 1970’s…
Yeah, it doesn’t smell bad, necessarily, just weird.
Last night when I got home from a really long day of eating and shopping with a friend, I could still smell the Jo Malone Myrrh and Tonka that I sprayed in the morning, so I reapplied it. It was still present this morning, so I went with AG Myrrhe Ardente as my SOTD since I thought it would lay over the JM remnants well. I’m really loving my myrrh weekend! After being out and around people for 9 hours yesterday, I’m happy to spend today mostly at home relaxing.
Enjoy your day of chilling out!
Thanks, it’s been a nice day! Post shower I’m now wearing Laura Mercier Vanille Gourmand. I put on some vanilla hazelnut lotion after my shower, so that set the stage for a vanilla perfume tonight.
This is probably one of my favorite vanilla perfumes.
It’s one of my favorite vanillas too. My bottle is older and quite rich too.
I always enjoy reading the scrubber polls! They are usually very funny. I don’t mind if some of my favorite scents are on someone else’s “Forever YUCK!!” list, since I’m pretty sure that some of the things I hate are beloved by others.
No recent scrubbers… I’ve been kind of conservative in trying new to me things. However these are historic scrubbers for me, and will probably NEVER get off my “YUCK” list.
1. Shalimar in any iteration. It and my body chemistry are simple NOT compatible.
2. ELdO’s Remarkable People. “Starts off as laundry detergent plus generic guy’s cologne. Yuk.” It took me 4 runs through the washing machine to get it out of the clothes I wore when I tested it.
3. Cashmere Mist. “Reeks of baby powder, strong soap, and unwashed armpit funk. GROSS!”
4. ELdO’s Cologne. “This smells like citrus-scented laundry detergent…a met-ton of white musk in here. Might also have a whiff of auto shop floor, too, with something metallic and faintly oil-y.”
It’s sticky, humid, and very warm here today. Feels like Memorial Day weekend to me!
Argh! #1 should say “simply” not simple!
For some reason, I can barely smell Remarkable People. I am so with you on Cashmere Mist. I tried numerous times to make it work. It just suffocated me.
I’m finding many of the comments to be hilarious. 🙂 I think it may be easier to poke gentle fun at yourself from years or miles away from trying a scent that was a big “nope,” but I enjoy having less serious topics here and there.
It’s odd to me that “cashmere” for a description of a scent is supposed to describe something pleasant (well, pleasant for some people). Cashmere the wool comes from Kashmir goats, and goats are not noted for smelling pleasant. I get the soft texture association for touch, but the scent association doesn’t click for me.
Also noting that there’s a plant grown for its flowers in the South with the common name “Cashmere Bouquet” for the smell of its leaves. Apparently the smell of the leaves is quite reminiscent of goats.
I have a list of things that puzzle me with descriptions of scent notes, like, what would distinguish the scent of “pink freesia” from white or yellow or purple freesia? Fortunately for everyone, I just blanked out after that example. LOL.
Have a good evening!
Lovely day yesterday with a friend, doing a short road trip. I took the subway to the end of the line so she could pick me up, and we headed up to The Berkshires. Such a gorgeous drive and so easy from the city. A coffee/breakfast place I remembered was too crowded for my taste (way too many old men in bicycle shorts) and oddly unaccommodating, but everything else was great.
Bought a candle from Brooklyn Candle at a lovely home goods gift shop – Santorini. (Yes, I travel 2.5 hours out of the city to buy a candle made in Brooklyn.) Excited to light it – fig, cassis. They were burning Tuileries in the store, and it was nice. Funny enough, the one called Brooklyn seemed quite gorgeous….orange blossom, neroli, leather. Don’t know if anyone else has experience with these candles.
I miss having a car….
MFK Cologne pour le Matin sounded so promising, and ended up being (at least on me) so screechy. I could not get it off my skin fast enough. Does anybody remember Solarcaine aerosol sunburn reliever spray? Cologne pour le Matin could be a very expensive dupe of that smell. A Solarcaine soliflore, if you will. Absolutely unwearable. I was disappointed almost to the point of irrationality. Put me off Kurkdjian for good, I’m afraid — or at least makes me give a reflexive side-eye to most of his output, despite the rapturous reputation of the house.
I got a pretty strong Lysol impression not from Portrait of A Lady, but from its house-mate Music For A While. Nothing in the description of the notes prepared me for that.
Azzaro Pure Lavender (which smelled neither especially pure nor particularly like lavender) was the only fragrance I can remember giving me an instant headache. Yikes.