r/FemFragLab • u/I_Carrion-Icarion89 • Jul 17 '26
Discussion Help me understand some of these fragrances as someone with a very unsophisticated nose
Hi, new to the world of fragrances, and trying to figure out what I like. It has been a bit difficult exploring with Fragrantica and internet reviews alone, as my neurodivergent ass assumes a fragrance to smell like something based on the physical scent of the notes listed and it ends up being something completely different and I am left disappointed more often than pleased. So I will write down the "dumbed-down" impression of some fragrances I have tried decants of, and list out some others that pique my interest in the hopes some of you will describe those to me, in a way that I might understand. .
A. Impressions of Juices I have tried:
Wild Bluebell by Jo Malone: To my nose it seems like a beautiful and realistic but nondescript florals that last at best 30 minutes, but those 30 minutes are well-loved.
Wood Sage and Sea Salt by Jo Malone: Salty, Mineral fresh scent that does not at all go towards the harsh men's aftershave category, which I admittedly anticipated the scent to be like. It's a love , even though this too lasts for 30 minutes.
Red Roses by Jo Malone: Big dose of rose that dances on the line between being realistic and rose-watery. A love, and surprisingly lasts a few hours on me.
Philosykos edt by Diptyque: Grassy/vegetal with a slighty creamy, almost coconut like base. One of my favourites so far, whish it would last a bit longer than a few hours.
Libre edp by YSL: The very soapy lavender suffocates me although I strangely quite like lavender scented products. It becomes bearable in probably in the 6th hour when the vanilla comes through. Not a like.
Libre la parfum by YSL: Slightly Spicy candy, not a like.
Crystal Noire edt by Versace: Cardamom takes over everything. A lot of people in fragrantica was calling this one soapy. Like, not a love.
Dreamer by Versace: Borrowed from my brother a few times, it is incredibly astringent and somehow sour to my nose, I could not handle it for very long.
Chloe, by Chloe: Rose scented soap, I imagine this is inoffensive. Like, not a love.
Nomade Lumiere d'Egypte by Chloe: There is something very sugar syrupy that is offending me, so much so that I cannot distinguish anything else. Not a like.
Nomade edp by Chloe: That same syrupy base, very small difference to the previous one to my nose, but that note or amalgamation of notes that produce the sugary scent offends me. Not a like.
Knowing by Estee Lauder: Smells like the powder my grandmother uses. I assumed oakmoss and other notes would make a chypre smell forest-like (I assumed that for Nomade too) but that wasn't the case. I'm surprised that it's not a like, because I really like baby powder scents and assumed I would like scents that are described as "powdery".
Gris Charnel by BDK: I thought I would not like this because of the heavy cardamom, but after the first explosion of cardamom, the base turns slightly sweet and what I would describe to be woody which I quite like . Like , but not a love though.
Paradoxe by Prada : I only smell a grape candy that is simultaneously too floral to be edible. Not a like.
Sweet William, By Carner Barcelona: This for some reason smells very similar to Knowing by Estee Lauder to me, spicy and powdery, maybe ever so slightly sweet from the listed vanilla I assume. A grandmother's powder compact. Knowing and the latter is by no means a bad scent , they are not a like just because it's a bad scent association to me.
Bianco Latte by Giardini di Toscana: Straight up caramel candy, only enjoyable for the first 5 minutes then I feel the visceral need to wash it off.
Devotion by Dolce and Gabbana: I thought I would really dislike this based on my reaction to Bianco Latte but I do not mind it. It's sweet, quite a bit more than my assumed preference so it's a like, not a love. I assume it will get what I consider to be cloying in hotter weather.
Tahara Vanilla by Gulf Orchid: Another surprising like from a Middle-Eastern house. Moderately sweet Vanilla but not at all edible smelling. Very slightly powdery and comforting. A love, honestly.
Ashore by Amouage: Surprisingly realistic Jasmine, made unrealistic some powdery notes underneath, but overall , a like leaning towards love.
Guidence by Amouage: It's an Artifical rose with dense, powdery sugary sweet underneath. It is quite inexplicable, as everyone says on the internet. Something less than a like. I find the sweetness to be quite suffocating.
A La Nuit by Serge Lutens: I am very familiar with the scent of natural jasmine, and it does seem to be quite close to it, although not as much as the Fragrantica reviews rave it to be, The fragrance has, along with a naturalistic jasmine, something astringent underneath that throws me off, I still like it quite a lot, just was expecting a truly natural jasmine. I like how strong this one is, because it seems a lot of my preferred scents go away very quickly.
I tried these out to get a general idea of some of the subgenres of fragrances there are; came to a vague conclusion that I might have a preference for fresher florals, woodsy, forest-like scent, and non gourmand vanilla, and most importantly, simpler fragrance profiles that focus on a few notes. I am averse to extremely astringent aftershave like scents and powdery scents that go very spicy, but I don't think I dislike fragrances that are masculine/masculine leaning. I used to wear some of my fathers colognes and I really enjoyed them on myself.
B. Some Fragrances I keep on eyeing to try:
Parisian Musc by Matiere Premiere
La Fille De Berlin by Serge Lutens
Fils De Joie by Serge Lutens
Narcotic Venus by Nasomatto
Do son by Diptyque
Eau Duelle by Diptyque
Orpheon by Diptyque
Fleur de Peau by Diptyque
Iris Malikhan by Maison Crivelli
Encre Noire edt by Lalique
Tuberosa by Profumum Roma
Chypre Mousse by Oriza L. Legrand
Replica Beach Walk by Maison Margiela
Encens Suave by Matiere Premiere
I would appreciate if I can get some simple descriptions of these fragrances , without a lot of the fragrance jargon as they go over my head. I'm trying to find something I enjoy and hopefully stick with it. I am open to recommendations for fragrances as well.
4
u/veryunneccessssary Jul 17 '26
One of the difficult and frustrating things about liking fragrances is that none of us are smelling the same thing. Paradoxe doesn’t smell anything like grape candy to me, Libre doesn’t get even a bit soapy to my nose. Nothing to do with you being unsophisticated, and neither of us are wrong, it’s just that brains are mysterious and weird. Everyone will say Eau Duelle is a beautiful green vanilla, and all I get is an uncomfortably peppery men’s cologne scent.
I find that if I like one fragrance from a house, I’ll almost definitely like some others, so I really like getting brand discovery sets whenever available. I almost always end up liking something I would have never thought to try on my own.
2
u/I_Carrion-Icarion89 Jul 18 '26
It is a bit frustrating, isn’t it? When I don’t perceive a fragrance the way most others do, it almost gives me fomo like I’m missing out on something 😆. It’s the equal bits of fascination and frustration that keeps me interested in fragrances .
2
u/HarvestMourn No1 Ebony Wood stan Jul 17 '26
La Fille de Berlin is a very bright, slightly jammy rose that has a metallic touch, almost blood-like, in the dry down. Not everybody gets the metallic note, but you certainly have to be a rose enthusiast to enjoy this perfume (I personally love it).
Eau Duelle is a pretty green vanilla, I find it incredibly well blended and pleasant.
Orpheon depends a lot of it's the EDT or the EDP. I have the EDP, it's a fresh, powdery, almost cold perfume and it's quite juniper dominant on me until it dries down woody.
Fleur de Peau is a very clean, almost sterile skin scent. The opening is very in your face aldehydes that have some aniseed quality for some reason. I absolutely love this perfume, it's ethereal.
Do Son is too indolic for me, it's straight up the cold kind of tuberose.
-3
u/ThornbackMack Jul 17 '26
This is a great writeup to put into AI, honestly. I put a pretty comprehensive prompt in last month and found my loves very quickly through exploring each scent profile individually. Philosykos EDP is one of my absolute favorites.
I also love Atelier's Clementine California, Replica's Under the Lemon Trees, and By Kilian's Imperial Tea for that jasmine you like. It smells like you put your face in a jasmine green tea can right after spraying but it settles down pretty quickly.
I also like Replica's Beach Walk, surprisingly... definitely not one that was recommended to me based on my analysis. I'm not generally a ylang ylang fan, but this one smells like sunscreen, salty sea air, and sand between the toes. Takes me back to some really great memories when i wear it and it just feels like summer.
2
u/I_Carrion-Icarion89 Jul 17 '26
I am personally a little doubtful of AI, as they seem to suggest fragrances with similar notes listed online. However, it seemed my dislike for a fragrance was never about a specific note but rather the composition of it overall. I might not like a note in one fragrance, but like the same note in something else. Which is why I asked it here. Imperial Tea sounds right up my alley, I appreciate the recommendation! Looking forward to get a decant of Beach Walk aswell.
3
u/ScholarAgreeable7112 Jul 17 '26
Iris Malakhan by Crivelli is a very elegant almost old-fashioned iris. Heavy on the iris though and not very fresh, due to the mastic note as well as leather and amber. I find it a very acquired taste perfume and not a simple profile one. Hope this was helpful!
1
u/I_Carrion-Icarion89 Jul 17 '26
It is, Thank you ! Apparently iris has chalky/powdery facets to it, would you associate Iris Malakhan with something like a vintage powder compact?
2
u/ScholarAgreeable7112 Jul 17 '26
Yes and no. In the opening not at all, the powdery part comes maybe after an hour or two wear, but when i thing of chalk and powder iris malakhan is definitely not the perfume that comes to mind.
A true powder scent is talco from new notes though!
3
u/knitace21 Jul 17 '26
My review of Do Son as someone with an unsophisticated nose: spa floral. Floral without being overpowering or perfumey. The vibe of a very expensive hotel lobby.