Perfume Chat Thread

[Tasha1]

I like sampling as well, but the sky is the limit, I need to make a right choice and stop wanting more and more.
When I buy a flacon, I ask for samples of scents which I would be interested in. Buying samples was a simple way to get acquainted with new stuff during this pandemic. I have 2 perfume friends and we send our samples to each other and share our opinions.

As Zoologist is/was a hype, I watched a lot of reviews on YT, I bought a discovery set, tested and my conclusion was- not my cup of tea in general. Theres is one scent, Koala, made by Baruti (Spyros Drosopoulos) I have been puzzling for a while. I ask myself if all these Zoologist scents wearable or only discussable if you see what I mean.
The funniest thing is watching YT reviews about Zoologist, with all those wows and ahs and ohs and wondering if I am an complete idiot ,who is not able to appraise this brand or my skin is picky.

I love rose-y scents and they are the majority in my collection.

 

[Kimbashop]

Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated. I've enjoyed talking with you as well. I agree that it's fun to try to identify favorites -- I've done this with other notes too like orange blossom, amber or patchouli for example. And sometimes, I end up with not one, but two or three perfumes that become favorites. Or sometimes, I feel like I'm still searching for whatever it is I have in my mind.

I'm not sure I have an absolute favorite rose fragrance yet, but there are a handful of rose perfumes I greatly enjoy wearing. But rose is definitely a note I will continue to explore in a leisurely fashion. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Rose of No Man's Land. That's one of the main goals of wearing perfume -- to enjoy the beauty of the fragrance throughout the day.

Which ones do you enjoy wearing year round?

 

[ultravisitor]

The funniest thing is watching YT reviews about Zoologist, with all those wows and ahs and ohs and wondering if I am an complete idiot ,who is not able to appraise this brand or my skin is picky.

I think the question is really more "If the brand didn't market its fragrances in such a fantastic way, would people think they're as great as they are?"

Similarly, "If Roja Dove didn't purposely price his fragrances sky high to target the people who think 'the more expensive something is, the better it must be,' would the people who like his fragrances still like them as much?"

 

[Tasha1]

Similarly, "If Roja Dove didn't purposely price his fragrances sky high to target the people who think 'the more expensive something is, the better it must be,' would the people who like his fragrances still like them as much?"

Roja Dove is at least wearable, but Zoologist?

 

[ultravisitor]

Roja Dove is at least wearable, but Zoologist?

I think a lot of the Zoologists are actually really wearable. I haven't actually smelled a single one that was unwearable. I just think people have all sorts of ridiculous ideas about them due to the names and the marketing copy for them.

If Zoologist didn't feed people all those ideas through the marketing--if people didn't know what the perfume was or what it was named or what Zoologist has written about it and could only test the perfume from a blank vial--I don't think people would find their fragrances all that out there or unusual.

 

[Bag peace]

I have a perfume question that nobody has been able to answer before now. I wonder if someone on here would be able to explain.
I was gifted a bottle of perfume (Hilfiger Dreaming) many years ago. It was a stronger scent than I'm used to, but it developed nicely on my skin. The odd thing was, it would get stronger throughout the day rather than fading.
I understand that perfumes have a top, middle and base note (and that's about the extent of my knowledge ) but this wasn't like the scent was blooming after a few hours, it was just getting more concentrated as the day went on, instead of fading off my skin.
Does anyone know if that's even possible? Or is it more likely that the base notes were just really powerful and only came through later on?

 

[Tasha1]

I think a lot of the Zoologists are actually really wearable. I haven't actually smelled a single one that was unwearable. I just think people have all sorts of ridiculous ideas about them due to the names and the marketing copy for them.

If Zoologist didn't feed people all those ideas through the marketing--if people didn't know what the perfume was or what it was named or what Zoologist has written about it and could only test the perfume from a blank vial--I don't think people would find their fragrances all that out there or unusual.

I think that YT and IG have a huge influence on people even in the perfumery. How much nonsense is told. How many perfume gurus are trying to earn some money from their YT and IG accounts, how many dishonest reviews. It is sad.

As for Zoologist, I have smelled nearly all of them. Talk to my friend, the same opinion, only she would like to have the Bee scent and me- koala.

I wonder why Zoologist is being constantly reformulated? to be more wearable?

 

[ultravisitor]

I think that YT and IG have a huge influence on people even in the perfumery. How much nonsense is told. How many perfume gurus are trying to earn some money from their YT and IG accounts, how many dishonest reviews. It is sad.

Yeah, I just don't pay attention to influencers in general. I think they're all stupid, whether they're shilling perfumes or bags or whatever. They might be worth my while if they had real jobs, but no. Some of the brands that they shill, like Parfums de Marly, are just terrible.

 

[Purses & Perfumes]

I tried my sample of Zoologist - Camel. Not planning to try anything else from the brand. Still new enough to the world of perfume that I want to sample a bunch of stuff. And a few I really like were not ones I'd really expected to, but sampled anyway, so that makes me even more interested in testing a bunch of different perfumes. For my wallet's sake, I hope that in a couple years I will know my preferences better and buy only a couple samples a year. But for now I'm really enjoying the discovery part of my perfume experience.

Like a few of you have mentioned, I also tend to use some perfumes on a season basis.

When you're new, it makes sense to sample a lot. In previous years, I have sampled quite a bit. Even now, I can occasionally get into a sampling phase if I'm seeking a particular note or fragrance (for example, a dark rose), or if I am curious about a perfume house. If you're relatively new to perfume exploration, I definitely recommend sampling, and glad to hear you're enjoying the experience.

I like sampling as well, but the sky is the limit, I need to make a right choice and stop wanting more and more.
When I buy a flacon, I ask for samples of scents which I would be interested in. Buying samples was a simple way to get acquainted with new stuff during this pandemic. I have 2 perfume friends and we send our samples to each other and share our opinions.

As Zoologist is/was a hype, I watched a lot of reviews on YT, I bought a discovery set, tested and my conclusion was- not my cup of tea in general. Theres is one scent, Koala, made by Baruti (Spyros Drosopoulos) I have been puzzling for a while. I ask myself if all these Zoologist scents wearable or only discussable if you see what I mean.
The funniest thing is watching YT reviews about Zoologist, with all those wows and ahs and ohs and wondering if I am an complete idiot ,who is not able to appraise this brand or my skin is picky.

I love rose-y scents and they are the majority in my collection.

I agree that buying samples is a good way to get acquainted with new things especially during the pandemic, since it was hard to get out and about to the stores at certain times. It also helped to keep the mind occupied and provided a nice distraction. For instance, exploring vintage perfumes kept me very occupied for a good few months!

 

[JenJBS]

When you're new, it makes sense to sample a lot. In previous years, I have sampled quite a bit. Even now, I can occasionally get into a sampling phase if I'm seeking a particular note or fragrance (for example, a dark rose), or if I am curious about a perfume house. If you're relatively new to perfume exploration, I definitely recommend sampling, and glad to hear you're enjoying the experience.

Thank you! Dark rose sounds interesting. What notes are added to make the rose dark? Any worth sampling?

 

[Purses & Perfumes]

I have a perfume question that nobody has been able to answer before now. I wonder if someone on here would be able to explain.
I was gifted a bottle of perfume (Hilfiger Dreaming) many years ago. It was a stronger scent than I'm used to, but it developed nicely on my skin. The odd thing was, it would get stronger throughout the day rather than fading.
I understand that perfumes have a top, middle and base note (and that's about the extent of my knowledge ) but this wasn't like the scent was blooming after a few hours, it was just getting more concentrated as the day went on, instead of fading off my skin.
Does anyone know if that's even possible? Or is it more likely that the base notes were just really powerful and only came through later on?

Hello, jblended. You have an interesting perfume puzzle and I'm not sure if I have an answer, but I'll try to come up with some theories.

Many perfumes have top, middle and base notes, but there are also perfumes that are single note perfumes. Soliflores for example, are scents of a single flower like rose or jasmine. It's not just flowers though; there are also single note perfumes for other notes like patchouli. Usually perfumes composed of single notes tend to smell somewhat the same from start to finish on the skin, and do not change too much or typically go through the evolution of top, middle or base notes.

Now, regarding your perfume question, there could be a few possible reasons. First, the top notes (which are typically not intended to be long-lasting anyway), may have dissipated soon, and you were left smelling the base notes, which could smell more concentrated as time goes by. As perfumes get older, depending on how they're stored, some may lose the top notes and the scent might then feel very concentrated when you use it. I am wondering if this feeling that it was getting more concentrated as the day wore on was always your experience when you wore this perfume, or is it a more recent development?

Another possibility is that there are some components or aromachemicals in the base that you might be sensitive to. For instance, I am quite sensitive to certain aromachemicals and when they present themselves in the base notes, I feel that they are very persistent. Of course, I am not saying that this is the case with the perfume you mention, since I haven't tried it. But it could be possible that your nose is sensitive to something in that perfume.
Sensitivity to certain notes is interesting. For me, sometimes I suspect it leads to anosmia, wherein I cannot smell parts of the fragrance. At other times, that sensitivity can make me feel like the fragrance in question is very potent, even though I've applied very little. Of course, this is all purely my own speculation, and to be taken with a big grain of salt. My apologies for rambling on and on but I have had a long and tiring day and I've noticed I always tend to ramble on at such times.

 

[Purses & Perfumes]

Which ones do you enjoy wearing year round?

If you are referring specifically to rose perfumes I enjoy wearing year round, I would say Portrait of a Lady, Nahema, La Fille de Berlin, possibly Sa Majeste la Rose (need to test this a bit more in the summer) and rose violet combo's like Lipstick Rose.

Other perfumes I like to wear year-round include Une Fleur de Cassie, Chanel No. 19, Chanel No. 22, Vol de Nuit, Shalimar, some of my iris perfumes like Hermes Hiris; Bois d'Argent, Caleche, Patou 1000, quite a few vintage scents, and Coromandel (although I have not been reaching for this enough in the summer). These are the ones that come to mind first, but I'm sure there are more. I am currently seeing which others I can pull from my collection into this group. One of the downsides to having a large collection is that quite unintentionally, some perfectly great fragrances get sidelined simply because I never get around to wearing them with any level of frequency. I am not sure I have found a solution to this issue; perhaps I need a better rotation system.

Are there any perfumes you enjoy wearing year round? Would love to hear from others on this subject too.

@JenJBS, in my view, dark roses include some deeper notes like patchouli, incense, spices, amber, resins, and maybe some oud. I think Portrait of a Lady kind of falls in this category. Some of the Amouage scents might fall under this category. And perhaps Tom Ford Noir de Noir? I honestly haven't explored this category enough though.

 

[Bag peace]

Hello, jblended. You have an interesting perfume puzzle and I'm not sure if I have an answer, but I'll try to come up with some theories.

Thank you for giving me such a thorough answer! I've learned so much from this one response already!

Usually perfumes composed of single notes tend to smell somewhat the same from start to finish on the skin, and do not change too much or typically go through the evolution of top, middle or base notes.

I didn't even know that you could have single note perfumes!
In which case, I'd describe this as one because it smelled the same all the way through, from the moment I put it on to the moment I scrubbed it off in the shower. It just got stronger as the day went on, ha ha.

I am wondering if this feeling that it was getting more concentrated as the day wore on was always your experience when you wore this perfume, or is it a more recent development?

It was like that from the first application. It totally confused me because I've never had a scent do that and, by the end of the day, I was aching to hop in the shower just to lighten the heavy scent. I had to give away the rest of the bottle because of this issue. I already can't take very strong scents, so this perfume developing to a concentrated potency made me very self-conscious and uncomfortable.

Another possibility is that there are some components or aromachemicals in the base that you might be sensitive to.

I never considered that! That could be the case here. I'm sensitive to lots of scents and am actually allergic to plenty of scents. Oud, which is so popular in perfumes these days, gives me an immediate allergic reaction. If I'm walking past someone who is wearing perfume with Oud in it, I will immediately start coughing and develop a migraine (even if I don't smell the Oud, which is often the case, I can guarantee it's in there from the reaction I have).

My apologies for rambling on and on but I have had a long and tiring day and I've noticed I always tend to ramble on at such times.

You're hardly rambling! I would know - my posting history would qualify as the very definition of rambling in any dictionary!

Thank you so much for explaining all this to me.

 

[Vanilla Bean]

Me neither. Although I do have alien goddess (summer coconut-y version) on my tester list!

I love both Alien Goddess and the original. I never thought I'd like a scent as strong as Alien but it is so seductive.

 

[Purses & Perfumes]

Thank you for giving me such a thorough answer! I've learned so much from this one response already!

I didn't even know that you could have single note perfumes!
In which case, I'd describe this as one because it smelled the same all the way through, from the moment I put it on to the moment I scrubbed it off in the shower. It just got stronger as the day went on, ha ha.

It was like that from the first application. It totally confused me because I've never had a scent do that and, by the end of the day, I was aching to hop in the shower just to lighten the heavy scent. I had to give away the rest of the bottle because of this issue. I already can't take very strong scents, so this perfume developing to a concentrated potency made me very self-conscious and uncomfortable.

I never considered that! That could be the case here. I'm sensitive to lots of scents and am actually allergic to plenty of scents. Oud, which is so popular in perfumes these days, gives me an immediate allergic reaction. If I'm walking past someone who is wearing perfume with Oud in it, I will immediately start coughing and develop a migraine (even if I don't smell the Oud, which is often the case, I can guarantee it's in there from the reaction I have).


You're hardly rambling! I would know - my posting history would qualify as the very definition of rambling in any dictionary!

Thank you so much for explaining all this to me.

You are welcome! From what you describe, it sounds like this perfume turned out to be a "scrubber" -- a designation given to those perfumes that we cannot wait to scrub off our skins as soon as possible. And of course, those are the very perfumes that will refuse to depart quickly and will want to linger forever, lol. It does sound like it didn't agree with you, and the best thing you did was letting go of that bottle.

A few thoughts on perfume application when the fragrance is on the heavier side (in case you come across other fragrances that you like that might be on the stronger side). I have some potent fragrances and I will usually spray just one spray, and sometimes even spray the back of my knees, or at the waist, and let the scent drift slowly upwards. I also prefer to dab heavier perfumes whenever possible, rather than spray, since dabbing helps better control the amount of perfume application.

I hope this experience won't put you off fragrances. There are some lovely scents out there that are not heavy (or containing oud), and wearing them can be an enjoyable, uplifting experience.
Oh, and I don't think your posts ramble either. They are always so well written, thoughtful, and well articulated.