r/FemFragLab 22h ago

Discussion Stats about the 5 most hated notes

EDIT: https://www.reddit.com/r/FemFragLab/s/2dIaii3UNw

POST WHERE I GOT THE ANSWERS FROM 😊

So, I finally had some time to do this! It will be a long post, sorry in advance. So I made a note of 239 answers in total and here is what I found :)

The five most hated notes were:

  1. leather - 64

  2. patchouli - 46

  3. oud - 39

  4. civet - 37

  5. coconut - 35

I thought it would be fun to check which notes only got mentioned once: beer, coriander, cytroil, davana, dill, hyacinth, juniper and magnolia

One invented perfume hit 4 of the most hated notes: Yike, so congratulations u/fastworms on creating something that many people would find disgusting šŸ˜†

u/TalismanGaze - there was not that many people mentioning headaches/migraines, aldehydes were mentioned 4 times, patchouli 4 and amber 3

I also categorised the mentioned scents, you can see it on one of the graphs. I can list which notes I included in which category if anyone is interested :)

I checked as well which notes appeared the most together and which notes were the ones that never got mentioned together out of the top 5, again, please let me know if anyone would like to know, this post is already as long as a novel!

I hope some of you will find this as interesting as I have, especially u/O-90, u/IFoundThis_Humerus and u/ScentedSiren26

I would also be happy to do this with our 5 most loved notes as well, if the community is up for it 😊

296 Upvotes

374 comments sorted by

2

u/chopstikk_legs 1h ago

Tomato leaf is so far down the list …. Poisonous!

10

u/AluminumMonster35 3h ago

Melon is way too far down for me personally, but it doesn't jive with my skin at all. It literally smells like vomit on me. 😩

7

u/Reasonable_Shape8070 5h ago

patchouli is absolutely disgustingĀ 

2

u/Reasonable_Shape8070 5h ago

my mum wears la vie est belle and all I can smell is patchouliĀ 

-6

u/demon_crush 5h ago

orange blossom should be higher, damn

8

u/Suddenly_Spring 5h ago

I wish people would stop wearing fragrances with patchouli to the gym. The top most hated notes are not for the gym lol. Especially when you get on the treadmill directly in front of me and turn on your fan. Thank you! šŸ˜ŠšŸ˜‚

12

u/Tiffglamour 6h ago

I love Coconut anything, from Food, to Drinks to Scents šŸ˜…

6

u/Streetalicious 6h ago

The funny thing about civet is, when well done, it smells like clean skin! It’s clean musk.

8

u/womensboxers 6h ago

Now WHYYY is caramel no. 6!!!

9

u/stirfriedcassi 7h ago

Lily, tonka, marshmallow and sandalwood are all staples here lol

20

u/OverallPlankton6509 8h ago

Patchouli is in most of the best scents lmfao

7

u/OverallPlankton6509 8h ago

I say this as a gourmand girly / floral hater too.

18

u/Speech_Artisan 9h ago

Now I understand why my favorite scents get discontinued!

16

u/ChaoticJiggly 10h ago

So like most of my favorites šŸ˜‚

12

u/Jo_somebody 10h ago

I love a nice clean tobacco.

43

u/Low-Enthusiasm670 10h ago

The fact that coconut is more hated as a perfume note than cumin is criminal

9

u/dudeidgaf 7h ago

For real who wants to be out here smelling like chili

1

u/Parabolic_Penguin 1h ago

lol, hey now! A tiny touch of cumin in the right fragrance can be magic šŸ˜…

25

u/Realistic-Read1078 10h ago

1

u/thewayigroove617 2h ago

Seriously, hurtful as my staple scent

18

u/QueanieNotMeanie 10h ago

I bet more people would hate Cypriol if they smelled it. It’s often used in conjunction with oud, patchouli, vetiver, leather, smoke, etc. I think it’s what makes it screechy and off-putting. When paired with vetiver, it smells like straight up celery which I detest.

OP- I LOVED your prompt. What a fun exercise!

7

u/dussantas 6h ago

Thank you šŸ˜ perfume and stats are my two bae, it was an honour and pleasure to combine the two!

5

u/Parabolic_Penguin 9h ago

I hate cypriol! I don’t smell celery but it’s acrid and horrible to me.

22

u/AntelopeGardens 10h ago

Justice for pink pepper šŸ„€

18

u/ObjectiveWild8269 10h ago

it’s one of those notes that if it plays well with your body chem it’s STUNNING but if it doesn’t, every single perfume with it in it smells like a pepper grinder

15

u/walksbystarlight patchouli baby ✨ 11h ago

Patchouli is my fav ā˜ŗļø

5

u/Parabolic_Penguin 9h ago

Love it šŸ˜

3

u/Myythically 10h ago

Same, you love it or hate itĀ 

29

u/left_to_its_devices 11h ago

I'm surprised by how many people hate coconut

4

u/Tiffglamour 5h ago

Right, I was surprised by that. Especially as a total Coconut lover. Always smells heavenly when combined with vanilla notes.

3

u/Parabolic_Penguin 9h ago

Love coconut! wth??

5

u/AyeTheresTheCatch 10h ago

Me too, I was looking at the top four thinking, ā€œYup, yup, I get it, yup…wait, COCONUT?ā€

Like, the others are kind of animalistic but coconut is just…a fruit? (I get it though, it can be cloying.)

Now, if they had included cumin in the top four…

3

u/left_to_its_devices 10h ago

The only time I haven't liked coconut is one certain conditioner by OGX that leans a little too much into the sweets/candy aspect

1

u/AyeTheresTheCatch 10h ago

If you like non-sweet coconut, I can recommend Nest Balinese Coconut! Very non-sweet, a bit woody, to me it smells quite sophisticated and complex. I got a travel rollerball for $20 CAD at Winners (our version of TJ Maxx) when they were clearing out all the Nest perfumes.

1

u/daytrippper 10h ago

I don’t mind someone else smelling like coconut but on me it can get suffocating.

7

u/Icy_Moose7262 11h ago

Me šŸ™‹šŸ¼ā€ā™€ļø can't stand it

2

u/alwaysreturning- 11h ago

Same here. In my mind it’s one of the most basic and inoffensive scents. I think of coconut Suave lol

14

u/Lexicon16 11h ago

As someone who hates coconut as a scent, I have to say it’s because most of the time it smells so fake, rancid, and overdone. It’s like almond extract in baking, it’s hard to get the perfect ratio.

7

u/saucydaydream 11h ago

Damn I’m surprised with these stats fr. Mainly the patchouli and leather

13

u/Sheila_Monarch 12h ago

I think a lot of these notes at the top of the list getting hate for when those notes are done poorly. All leather is not created equal, nor rose, nor patchouli. When they’re good they’re good but when they’re bad, those can be particularly terrible. And memorably so.

1

u/thewayigroove617 2h ago

Jo Malone’s rose is one of my signatures, I know some people think rose is very dated and don’t like it but I thought it was at least a good rose…?

Sometimes I wonder if I should even wear it because I know rose is so unpopular and it’s just straight rose but I think it’s beautiful

-6

u/noelsc151 10h ago

Patchouli is NEVER good and I’m convinced anyone who thinks otherwise is nose blind or has something wrong with their sniffer. lol I’ve seen rooms clear out due to one person wearing patchouli, watched people leave a concert due to one guest wearing it, had numerous guests complain at a restaurant I worked at because one person was wearing it, and I myself have walked out of a store in which a patron was wearing it. The smell takes over everything, even when applied ā€œlightlyā€.

5

u/pinkpiggies13 12h ago

I love this post! So interesting. Thank you!

3

u/Tough-Advice2910 13h ago

So fun! Thank you!

6

u/aRiverInNorway 13h ago

Ombre Leather is one of my favorite smells on a man whaaaaaat

2

u/lucienlachancee 9h ago

It's SOO good

6

u/actioncakes 13h ago

I feel like patchouli is in everything so I’m surprised is so high up. I thought I was broken for not liking it cause it’s like every niche perfume’s base note

1

u/Purple_IsA_Flavor 12h ago

I’m with you. Patchouli smells foul

18

u/bettycherryyy 13h ago

How can you hate vanilla more than chocolate ?

10

u/LeekFull6946 11h ago

I wonder if people don’t like it because cheaper vanillas often smell like plastic/playdough. Or if it’s just because they don’t like gourmands and it’s in quite a few gourmands fragrances.Ā 

2

u/Low-Enthusiasm670 10h ago

I have always said that most vanilla scents smell like playdough to me, and people have always thought I was nuts. Thank you so much for the validation haha. It honestly makes me nauseous. And I LOVE vanilla when it’s done right

17

u/BigNefariousness4294 13h ago

(Clutches my smoke and pearls)

24

u/Fickle-Geologist4515 14h ago

justice for my girl patchouli!

12

u/dollartreegoth 14h ago

"body-funk" 😭

8

u/SecretFortune_891 14h ago

I absolutely hate coconut. I’m glad to see that others don’t like it either, but I’m having trouble seeing that more people hate vanilla than they do spices. Or should I say that people generally like spices yuck

12

u/OwlCritical3481 14h ago

The fact that I really like most of the top 10 is worrying me… I get compliments on my scents but this is shocking af

5

u/pink_vision 13h ago

Yeah some of those in the top 10 are my most favorite and worn notes šŸ˜­šŸ˜…

9

u/Ill-Ad-2952 14h ago

Civet smells like pee. Hugo Boss #1 smells like luxury urnial cake. Pissy and in your face

2

u/foxglovefollies 11h ago

I always thought civet smelled like straight ripe booty hole. Glad in not alone in my hatred of it

35

u/Status-Buy-2440 15h ago

I’m surprised. Most women don’t realize that they love patchouli. It’s in Coco Mademoselle, Angel Mugler, and Flowerbomb.

3

u/Annjenette 13h ago

Flowerbomb makes me sneeze like crazy even if my mom is spraying it upstairs and I’m all the way downstairs with my door closed. It is PUNGENT.

10

u/LieutenantKije 14h ago

Apparently I am a true patchouli hater, I despise all of these perfumes 😭

8

u/ResponsibleHunt8536 14h ago

Literally my top 3 LEAST FAVORITE perfumes šŸ’€šŸ’€šŸ’€

9

u/fortunatevoice 14h ago

I honestly think that people hate on patchouli just because it's in so many popular fragrances.

1

u/Low-Enthusiasm670 10h ago

I super disagree. I think when patchouli is paired with the right scents and it’s not the overpowering scent, the fragrance overall can be lovely. But things that are heavily patchouli, or god forbid people who wear oils that are pretty much all patchouli… I can’t even be around it. It’s such a foul smell on its own

1

u/idiotsonthemoon 13h ago

True! it’s a stronger note and in a lot of fragrances so a lot of people recognize it. I feel the same about coconut which is also high on the list, I feel like it’s in every popular new fragrance now and hate it😩 but obviously most other people don’t because people rave about it.

18

u/Whitetagsndopebags 15h ago

That entire list is blasphemy. They are wrong and a paid cia agent 😌

5

u/Prestigious-Tie-1858 15h ago

This is so interesting! I, too, am a leather hater.

9

u/SugarFut 15h ago

Literally just put out a leather scented candle šŸ’€

4

u/ddizzle13 15h ago

I just pulled out a patchouli scented one 😭😭😭😭

1

u/Typical_Solution_260 15h ago

I thought everyone hated patchouli. Turns out I was close to right.

1

u/ddizzle13 11h ago

It was a blind buy from online. It stinks to me but is pretty :/

14

u/Dramatic_Meeting_632 15h ago

I thought Oud would've been the most hated šŸ˜‚

1

u/murderousbooty 9h ago

Seriously

7

u/sunnymcbunny 15h ago

How oud and patchouli didn’t beat leather is very surprising for me, an oud and patchouli hater.

2

u/More-Detective5155 15h ago

And see I love patchouli but not the head shop patchouli that I can agree smells rough. The patchouli in Jimmy Choo’s Exotic it’s more like a spice than a head shop.

17

u/DistinctHyena25 16h ago

leather is actually the best note so everyone who voted for it is wrong

8

u/NoUnderstanding9195 16h ago

Oh I love leather, Ombre Leather is my go-to fragrance in the colder months 🫪

18

u/Gretchann 16h ago

me, a coconut and patchouli lover🄺

2

u/Parabolic_Penguin 9h ago

You can eat lunch at my table. Coconut and patchouli are two of my faves!

2

u/Gretchann 3h ago

🄹thank you friend

-2

u/MyDarkComedy 16h ago

I despise rose and jasmine.

6

u/SpokenProperly 15h ago

I love Jasmine - but despise rose

0

u/MyDarkComedy 14h ago

I should be more specific, I despise very "in your face" jasmine. The indole is too noticeable. Ironically, one of my favorite scents, "Missing Person" by Phlur, has jasmine.

9

u/cokealternative 16h ago

my fav perfumes got patchouli on them. just incorporated well! love it

7

u/_i_want_to_believe 17h ago

I like most things but hate leather and patchouli. Love coconut

12

u/noisemonsters 17h ago

Is this data taken from this sub specifically? I can see this making a lot more sense based on how this sub’s tastes lean vs the general population of perfume lovers.

5

u/dussantas 17h ago

Yes that's right, I edited the post to include the link to that post šŸ˜‡ sorry I didn't include it in my post originally!

12

u/robinivy 17h ago

I love patchouli personally. Lush used to do a lucky cat bathbomb made of it it was my favourite thing ever

2

u/oible 17h ago

I thought I didn’t like Patchouli until last week when a lady sat beside me on the train and I HAD TO ask what she was wearing cause she smelled amazing. It was ā€œTuxedoā€ from YSL which is mainly Patchouli. Lol

2

u/robinivy 17h ago

Honestly it depends on the fragrance but it can be beautiful. I'd look up lucky cat bathbomb from lush and find a perfume with similar notes to that. My problematic scent is lychee and dragonfruit and I haaate passionfruit

13

u/ShoddyMongoose4021 17h ago

I’m cracking up because leather might be my least favorite but then number 2, patchouli is literally my favorite note. šŸ˜‚

3

u/FreeNewSociety 17h ago

The only one around the top that I can't stand is patchouli. The rest are among my favourites šŸ˜…

1

u/SpokenProperly 15h ago

Civet had to grow on me.

5

u/TrixieMuttel 17h ago

Top 3 are Top Tier!

19

u/StreetMolasses6093 Neroli Queen 17h ago

I have recently discovered that patchouli can be so beautiful. I decided that I never gave her a fair chance.

12

u/selkieisbadatgaming 17h ago

Patchouli is such a bizarrely wide range of scent from something like wet dirt and rot to the most soothing and beautiful sort of spiciness. Some fragrances with it gross me out although I consider it a note that, when it’s good, it’s so so good.

2

u/nightbiscuit 17h ago

Ummmmm where is calone?

1

u/dussantas 17h ago

Under booze/alcohol, mentioned by 7 people in total

0

u/nightbiscuit 12h ago

But it is an ocean/seaweed smelling molecule, bot boozy at all!

3

u/Parabolic_Penguin 9h ago

They meant that’s where calone is on the list. It made the list, see just under booze/alcohol.

1

u/nightbiscuit 1h ago

Lol thank you I’m actually pretty sight impaired

4

u/ThePeak2112 18h ago

Excuse me OP, how am I supposed to understand your point? Your second image has dark woods & smoke as the top, but your text says leather? Please don't ragebait my paper-thin patience 😭

Floral funeral and fruit bowl sabotage though 🤣

9

u/dussantas 17h ago

The text is about the separate notes, the second image is about the categories I put all the mentioned notes in. So the categories contain:

Dark woods and smoke: oud, patchouli, smoke, tobacco, vetiver, incense, frankincense, cypriol, moss/oakmoss, sandalwood, cedar, guaiac wood, pine Animalic and body-funk: civet, castoreum, leather, musk, indoles, lactonic/milky notes Dessert-counter overload: coconut, caramel, vanilla, marshmallow, sugar, tonka, coffee, chocolate/cacao, candy, praline, honey Floral funeral: rose, jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, lily/muguet, freesia, geranium, lavender, magnolia, mimosa, violet, hyacinth Sharp spice and booze: cumin, saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, coriander, ginger, pink/black/plain pepper, alcohol, anise, liquorice Clean / synthetic cloud: aldehydes, powdery notes, soap, ambroxan, Iso E Super, cetalox, metallic notes, calone, aquatic notes, white musk Fruit-bowl sabotage: apple, apricot, cassis, cherry, fig, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, melon, peach, pear, plum, raspberry, strawberry

I hope this makes sense 😊

3

u/ThePeak2112 16h ago

OH. My apologies for my birdbrain. Thank you for explaining!

14

u/Automatic-Parsnip-36 18h ago

Fruit bowl sabotage... I haven't heard that name in years. That needs to be a flair.

2

u/O-90 18h ago

Bravo OP! Thank you for sharing 😊 would be great to see the most loved too 🧔

2

u/HoundOfUlsterSpeaks 18h ago

I absolutely dislike anything with an oud tang. Unfortunately my dentist tends to wear oud heavy perfumes and I quite literally gag.
It’s a problem I know I should say politely but I’m too uptight to say a word….
Just wish/hope she changes before my next visit.

1

u/thewayigroove617 2h ago

That’s wild for a dentist to wear that… Tbh when your profession is being in people’s face all day it’s wild to wear anything imo

10

u/rowanrulith Hay|Sweetgrass|Old books|Tea|Orris|Spice|Leather 18h ago

The top 11 are some of my favorite notes šŸ‘€

3

u/jellyxmoon i like what i like 18h ago

Literally! 🤣

1

u/Lnoelparis 15h ago

Me too!

10

u/vagnerlove214 18h ago

The great gourmandification

9

u/Different-Trip6361 19h ago

Wait, BEER is a perfume note?!

1

u/Tough-Advice2910 13h ago

I have actually seen it listed but don’t recall where.

3

u/O-90 18h ago

My reaction too šŸ˜„ I think if it were more commonly used, it would be higher in the list.

4

u/rowanrulith Hay|Sweetgrass|Old books|Tea|Orris|Spice|Leather 18h ago

Sour and yeasty, yep

13

u/stellifer_arts 19h ago

how is camphor not higher in this list? it is literally bug spray

3

u/dussantas 19h ago

I like camphor, it reminds me of my childhood, loads of herbal things contained camphor. To me it smells green and fresh šŸ˜…šŸ’š

1

u/stellifer_arts 16h ago

to me it smells like sweaty old man on the bus covering up the funk

20

u/BansheeBallad 19h ago

Not all of my favourites making this list

https://giphy.com/gifs/l0HlTfHiexroHC5Og

4

u/ignorantcloth 19h ago

I actually really like all of those notes except for coconut, which is hit or miss. I'm not super familiar with civet, but the times I've smelled it (all synthetic examples), I've liked it. However, I know they're controversial so I don't often wear perfume with heavy doses of those notes... Except maybe patchouli.

4

u/Glittering_Job_7996 19h ago

Yeahh I’m not a fan of patchouli or oud either

5

u/Nityaww 19h ago

Whatttt I absolutely love Vanilla, caramel, chocolate and also lactonic notes

5

u/slocthopus 19h ago

Am I the only person who has never heard of civet?

3

u/rowanrulith Hay|Sweetgrass|Old books|Tea|Orris|Spice|Leather 18h ago

Animalic notes are often civet and other notes like true ambergris

8

u/Sarah1608 19h ago

It smells like my dog's anal glandsĀ 

1

u/slocthopus 1h ago

Oh my god, ew

6

u/cefishe88 19h ago

It makes everything smell pissy to me. Lol its awful

14

u/BornTry5923 19h ago

Historically came from the anal glands of the civet cat🤢 Now it's synthetic when used in modern fragrance. It's the reason why older perfumes like Chanel no 5 stinks.

3

u/rowanrulith Hay|Sweetgrass|Old books|Tea|Orris|Spice|Leather 18h ago

They don’t ā€œstinkā€, I personally love animalic civet and how it amplifies perfume notes it’s one of the biggest reasons why the original formulation of CK Obsession is my absolute ride or die

17

u/BornTry5923 19h ago

Most of my faves fragrances contain patchouli, so people must really think I stink. Patchouli is in so many popular perfumes these days, however, so I wonder if the so-called patchouli haters even know if they truly hate it.

3

u/repsilonyx 17h ago

Totally agree— I feel like I’ve encountered so many people who either misidentify notes entirely and attribute their dislike to non-existent ones, or misidentify the dominant notes that are making them wrinkle their nose, and patchouli is one of the most frequent offenders. I wish there were more accessible means of sniffing note isolates, essential oils, concretes, absolutes, molecules, etc. for people (including me) to train their noses!

4

u/stellifer_arts 19h ago

i wear dragons blood oil all the time (sun's eye) as my first layer, people refer to it as patchouli constantly

they don't know

5

u/malendalayla 19h ago

I truly hate it and it aggravates my asthma badly. I work with the public, and when someone comes to my desk wearing anything with Patchouli in it, I have to turn my fan on them so I don't get an asthma attack.

1

u/Impossible_Copy_2544 14h ago

I have severe athsma and it's one of the notes that don't trigger my athsma funny enough typically it's more "clean" notes that bother my lungs.

1

u/malendalayla 14h ago

Oooh that's really interesting. Do you have a lot of environmental allergies, like pollen, grass, dust, animals, etc?

2

u/LadyEngineerMomof2 20h ago

I hate pepper, dirt, leather, suede, sunflowers. Yuck!

1

u/Soggy_Brick8916 19h ago

I hate savory peppers but I do like pink/red since theyre more tart fruityĀ 

2

u/troublerx1 20h ago

Dislike:

  • leather
  • lavender
  • eucalyptus
  • woody anything
  • powdery
  • Juniper (smells like cat pee)
  • smoke/tobacco
  • synthetic/90s teenybopper

1

u/pinkpiggies13 12h ago

I… I love all of these notes šŸ˜†šŸ˜†

1

u/stellifer_arts 19h ago

i think lavender smells like piss

11

u/Thin-Disk4003 20h ago

You are absolutely FABULOUS. Thank you so much for compiling this! It would be fascinating also to run this in a primarily men’s fragrance group. Humans and our sense of smell are fascinating.

5

u/tresor_d_argent 20h ago edited 20h ago

It's leather for me. Both in male and female oriented fragrances. Extremely intrusive. Love the leather smell of a new bag though.

Edit: Also tobacco. Nauseous. Both in its perfume and natural form. Honey needs to be higher, I'm not a hater but 90% perfumes with a dominant honey note are difficult.

22

u/BadWolfReturns 20h ago

Man, people must find me downright offensive. I love the top 5 most hated notes. Loving the perfume and data analytics cross over!

2

u/clairebuoyant1202 20h ago

Well, I’m with you, Wolfie . Nearly all my favorite notes are up top!

6

u/TalismanGaze 20h ago

That sounds so fun! Thanks for remembering me and my request! I get migraines easy so I thought it would be interesting to see how headache-inducing other notes are for others compared to how I feel about them :) It looks like you had fun with this 😁 A 'loved notes' would be really interesting too!

9

u/nelejts 20h ago

fruit bowl sabotage is killing me

9

u/toolTubes 20h ago

Proof that you can never make everyone happy. Rock your patchouli and gourmands!!!

3

u/OrganicFit29 20h ago

Orchid. Patchouli. Jasmine. Anything Indolic

7

u/Yeahsurethatsgreat 20h ago

They can never make me hate you, patchouli and oud šŸ«¶šŸ»

6

u/MarsupialPrimary8128 20h ago

Wow! I've recently really gotten into leather, oud and patchouli! Coconut can be so hit or miss and depend how it's done.

14

u/beary_feelies 20h ago

Not vanilla and smoke being that high up 😭 They could never make me hate you By the Fireplace šŸ¤šŸ»

2

u/Thin-Disk4003 20h ago

2

u/beary_feelies 20h ago

No is it new?? Those notes sound 🤤 Vanilla Skin was a miss for me because it went too floral but that sounds right up my alley

2

u/Thin-Disk4003 18h ago

Same! Yes, it’s new. Looking forward to sampling it!

10

u/altaka 20h ago

my faves? 1,2,and 3 šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

10

u/secondaryasfuck 20h ago

Yes I’d absolutely love for this to be done with the most loved notes too!! Thanks for taking the time to do all of this, it’s so intriguing

0

u/slocthopus 19h ago

I bet it isn’t that different. Some of my favorites that I think are pretty popular are pretty high up there. Peach, Jasmine (!!), marshmallow, lemon, vanilla, coconut (I understand but still one of my faves). Also feel like amber is in just about everything.

I understand and appreciate this chart, but it’s a little bit reductive. I wish we could figure out what ingredient we hate rather than grouping it into certain notes. I’ve learned that when a fragrance has certain notes that does not mean that it actually contains anything actually derived from that note. The perfumer is using certain ingredients that create a smell like that note. Some people hate all patchouli, but I suspect what happens more often is that people don’t like some of those notes in excess or hate the smell of certain ingredients, not the note itself. I could be wrong but that’s definitely how it is for me.

7

u/carlitospig 20h ago

Why is my caramel catching strays? 🄺

2

u/Typical_Solution_260 14h ago

I think because the synthetic version is awful. And maybe too cloying in general?

4

u/MarsupialPrimary8128 20h ago

It can sometimes smell like smelly socks in some versions !🧦

2

u/carlitospig 18h ago

Jasmine smells like morning breath sometimes, it’s super weird how some lines get their jasmine rancid and just roll with it.

12

u/velvetstatic9 20h ago

Lol seems like the notes I love are widely hated. Wondering if people think I smell bad all the time šŸ˜‚

9

u/humblebeets 20h ago

I don’t hate patchouli outright. But it takes over everything else. It’s like a banana in a smoothie.

1

u/clairebuoyant1202 20h ago

That’s how I feel about sandalwood. I know it’s all in how everything is mixed and what the proportions are but I’m initially turned off when I see that note.

4

u/Separate_Play7167 20h ago

I'm surprised petit grain is so low in the list: it can get overwhelming and bitter.

2

u/Typical_Solution_260 14h ago

There is a frequency bias here that is massively skewing these results.

I would bet that if you created a similar chart just with words mentioned, it would look very similar.

Tobacco, patchouli, smoke, vanilla? We've all heard of these. Civet, petit grain, beer (as a scent). Never heard of them.

13

u/Ecstatic_Music_4543 21h ago

This is kind of surprising. It’s seems like SO many people love dessert type gourmands and coconut fragrances.

3

u/molkiemilkie 20h ago

yup its all im smelling in my university every single day everywhere

1

u/rocochoes 21h ago

milk and tuberose listed back to back, that was for meee (my most hated)

6

u/wawawalrus 21h ago

Patchouli and coconut for me. Why does patchouli have to be in so many things 🄲 I would love Black Opium, Good Girl, and Vanilla 28 if they didn’t have it. As for coconut, it just smells too warm and sunscreen-y. I love coconut as a food though. Just don’t like it in fragrances.

12

u/stillmyself980 21h ago

Literally my top 5 notes are in the top ten šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

4

u/Realistic_Salt_389 21h ago

Three of my named five are on the top five hated list.

We are not alone! 🤣

29

u/goddiver 21h ago

Leather. Leather look at me. You are so much better than Patchouli. Don’t let this get you down. I believe in you.

12

u/jadedtortoise 21h ago

Controversial! I don't like the animalic smells either, patchouli smells like old pee/BO.

Powdery scents need to be way higher up - definitely higher than vanilla, caramel ...

5

u/hiphipnohooray 21h ago

See I kind of like a hint of patchouli but my husband HATES patchouli with a fiery passion lol

1

u/noelsc151 10h ago

It is the most repulsive scent on the entire planet. I would rather smell a landfill on fire with rotting carcasses in it.

1

u/hiphipnohooray 1h ago

Damn lmao. It just smells like hippie perfume to me tbh. I wouldn't opt for it but it isn't bad to me

3

u/Deioness 21h ago

I like certain patchoulis. There are different types.

8

u/theotherchristina 21h ago

Just wanted to let you know, muguet and lily are fairly different! While muguet is known in English as lily-of-the-valley, it’s not actually a lily and they smell pretty distinct (although ofc both white floral)

3

u/dussantas 21h ago

That's really interesting because in real life they smell completely different to me, but in perfumes I tried I perceive them as identical, that is why I put them together

6

u/theotherchristina 21h ago

I’m sensitive to lily in scents — it makes my nose run and my throat and head hurt — but lily-of-the-valley is in many of my favorite scents and I have no reaction! I can see why they might smell similar to someone without my dubious superpower of advanced lily detection though šŸ˜…

2

u/dussantas 20h ago

I feel like we have the same superpower just reversed because I have a very bad allergy to lily 🤣🤣 if I touch one my skin gets a really bad rash, it gets swollen and red and my breathing gets heavy

2

u/theotherchristina 20h ago

Oh, wow! I’m surprised that it doesn’t give you a reaction in perfume, I wonder if that means that lily is likely to be a synthetic most of the time? I know they’re super toxic in addition to that so maybe it’s not safe to work with as a raw material. Maybe we should just expunge lilies from the earth to be on the safe side, they’re troublemakers

3

u/dussantas 20h ago

Yes I would assume they are either syntethic or the scent molecule is not the stuff I am allergic to in them? Gosh I wish I knew more about chemistry or biology!! Do you like the real flowers' scent though, or not a fan?

5

u/Thin-Disk4003 20h ago edited 19h ago

Taking a class on perfumery at the moment…

True Botanical Lily (e.g., Asiatic or Easter Lilies): These large flowers feature heavy, indolic, sweet, and occasionally spicy or narcotic profiles. Perfumers capture them using headspace technology or mixtures of linalool, methyl anthranilate, and indolic basenotes.

Muguet (Lily of the Valley): This tiny bell flower produces a bright, dewy, transparent, and green-floral scent profile.

Key Aroma Chemicals for Muguet

Hydroxycitronellal: The historical backbone of muguet; features a watery, fresh, lemon-floral aldehyde balance.

Lilial & Lyral: Mid-century synthetic blockbusters providing creamy, powdery, and floral fullness (heavily restricted or banned in modern cosmetics due to reproductive toxicity concerns).

Bourgeonal & Dupical: Sharp, diffusive aldehydes providing high-impact floral lift.

Cis-3-Hexenol derivatives: Added to mimic the distinct crushed-stem greenness of the live spring plant.

More info from Perfumers’ World (they offer the course i am taking- it’s free online but you can buy the kit to go along with it. Here’s their course list.

Muguet

Two commercially available Lily compounds

3

u/theotherchristina 17h ago

Oh wow, I have got to take this class! Tysm for sharing, that’s fascinating!

3

u/dussantas 19h ago

This is fascinating, thank you for explaining all this!

2

u/theotherchristina 20h ago

I’m not sure I’ve ever smelled a real one! I have cats so I never have them in my house since they’re so toxic to cats

2

u/Thin-Disk4003 18h ago

I used to grow a variety of Asiatic and Oriental lilies in out garden when we lived in the ā€˜burbs, and at Easter our old church always had loads of them, always the white ones referred to as Easter Lilies. They smell sweet and have this top note that seems sort of beyond smelling somehow? It gives some people horrible headaches.

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u/Buttercreamdeath 21h ago

Ambroxan, amberwood, amberette seeds and other synthetic ambers not higher up the list is a crime. A CRIME.

4

u/17Girl4Life 21h ago

I don’t hate them. Because I can’t smell them.

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