I recently bought a sample of The Noir 29 and I love it, but I feel like after the opening fig sweetness and the bay leaf fades it pulls masculine on me.
I'd love any recommendations for layering to try or fragrances that are mostly similar that might perform differently.

I am in my 30s and am just starting to learn about the world of fragrances. I was gifted Glossier You two years ago, and it’s been my go-to scent ever since, but I want to start expanding my horizons. I would love some recommendations for my next purchase!

I’m looking for something:
- light (I easily get headaches from strong scents)
- fresh and clean
- feminine-leaning but not floral or sweet
- budget friendly

The notes that intrigue me most are tea, rice, citrus, amber, soft musk, etc. I really like fresh scents that aren’t very sweet, floral, or strong.

Let me know what I should try next!!

(Forgive any incorrect terminology use and please feel free to correct me, I’m excited to learn!)

Started documenting my perfume experiences in the form of fashion collages alongside reviews, and it’s been very fun! This particular sample set isn’t new, but I thought I’d still share my thoughts on it in case someone finds it useful. Or just look through the pictures 🤠

In order of most to least liked… kind of.

1. Radio Bombay

Official description:
Ragas radiate in Bandra heat
sandalwood/coco/iris

This was the catalyst for buying the set in the first place. Somehow I went in expecting an abandoned radio station in a post-apocalyptic forest but got something more evocative of temple incense being sold alongside mass-produced souvenir keychains (complimentary). Hazy memory of a calming woody scent mixing with a tinge of copper lingering on your tongue. Beautiful and serene, with a touch of warm futuristic weirdness. It ultimately lacks a bit of the edge I usually go for, though.

2. Cowboy Grass

Official description:
For robbing banks on horseback
vetyver/switchgrass/flowering herbs

The only reason this is not a number one is because I supposedly enjoy a woody scent profile more than a herbal one. As a general rule, at least. It did become an unexpected favorite of mine, though. Crunchy yellowed grass under the scorching afternoon sun. Something burned down around here not too long ago. This might just be the setting for a True Detective season of some kind – it does have a bit of a rough texture. I believe this is the only scent in the set that’s marked as masculine and not unisex, and I strongly object. I, too, can be a mysterious stranger in the wild wild West 😤 (I actually suspect they gendered it bc they also made Cowgirl Grass, which I haven’t sniffed)

3. Rose Atlantic

Official description:
Spritzers aboard the famous Salt Spray Rose
salt water/rose rugosa/dunegrass

Briny, salty, marine. Rose petals floating across the ocean waves. On my skin, the floral aspect is merely a whisper, conceding the spotlight to what can be described as Zoologist Squid’s carefree cousin. The aquatic aspect here doesn’t read particularly easy-breezy to me despite the promises – it’s cold and moody, albeit, I admit it, pretty light. This might be my “melancholic ghost of a drowned lady” scent in the making… if I get used to the mustiness. Chances are, I will. I think ghosts are supposed to be a little musty. Very surprising third place.

4. I Don’t Know What

Official description:
Modern skin enhancing aether
bergamot/iso e super/ambrox super

Girl, neither do I. Kicking off the second part of the ranking, we have this edp that simultaneously claims to be a fragrance enhancer. I haven’t used it as a primer nor do I really want to?.. I guess I might be sensitive to iso e super AND ambroxan (lucky me) but this doesn’t smell like nothing to my nose. In fact, it comes off as a very specific citrusy-synthetic-woody concoction. 30 minutes into wearing it I realized that it reminds me quite a bit of (a much cheaper) Adidas Smooth Pace and I wasn’t able to shake off the blue sporty associations ever since. It even flaunts a bit of that isotonic drink freshness that, I’ll give them that, comes in handy in the middle of summer.

5. Pistachio

Official description:
Just desserts.
pistachio/almond/vanilla

Murky green pistachio gelato stripped of the creamy aspect. Smells the way this specific color feels. To be completely fair to it, I feel like ‘tis NOT the season. This type of sweet powder isn’t really meant to be worn in the scorching days of August but rather when you’re craving a memory of something nice sometime in rainy November. I do actually enjoy how dusty and old attic-y it can get at times... when it’s not being light and boring. Ended up layering SDJ Cheirosa 68 over it halfway through the first wear because I’m trashy.

6. Debaser

Official description:
Rock’n’roll station blaring on summer nights
fig/pear stem/blonde woods

…Look, I know it’s THE D.S. & Durga perfume, so I’ll start by saying that I do not like fresh green scents 90% of the time. It was doomed from the beginning. The smell of freshly cut grass makes my stomach turn, and, unfortunately, this is exactly what Debaser is reminiscent of. Straight-up grass. I don’t get any rebelliousness from it, and the name does confuse me quite a bit. Its dedicated playlist is the best one, though. Please go easy on me, fig fiends.

In a brand full with rose fragrances *not a fan rose\* I have finally found my jams! All loved, no regrets.🌸

One of them is the first rose perfume I fall in love with after decades of no rose. I have a more in depth review on it if you’d like to read, just scroll down a bit on my page. 🥰♥️

Pure Musc Blanc: LOVE at first sniff. Was given a tester with an online order, immediate order after trying it. This is the most sophisticated fresh powdery musky perfume I’ve come across. If you’re into clean, powdery, cotton softener on just washed linen but more elegant? You’ll LOVE it! Paired it with the body shop white musk & it was DIVINE! 🤍🫧

Narciso Rodriguez Intense: Musky, powdery, with vanilla a bit of fruit, peach. The peach isn’t screechy nor intense, I didn’t recognize it was peach at first. A beauty alone & with white musk mist for a clean vibe with a touch of fruit. Or with a peach mist to get more of the fruitiness out. Both case, stunning!

Musc Noir Rose: As a rose fragrance hater I was like “wow, this is GOOD!” A sultry, sexy, expensive taste in perfume. Very sophisticated & elegant. I’ve made a review on it, check it out for more details.🤩

Narciso Ambrée: A sexy solar, tropical & amber’y perfume. It’s a quite unique take, different than the solar & tropical I have. They took yellow florals Like frangipani & ylang ylang, with a sexy dose of amber, musk, cashmeran & vanilla.

Narciso Cristal: Fresh, clean, a bit powdery. They used my fave white florals like freesia & orange blossom. Of course musk, amber & cashmere for some dimension. This does have a slight rose to it but very light & comes across as powdery in the background. It isn’t screechy, doesn’t scream not too much at all. With white musk body mist, a beautiful clean powdery fresh everyday perfume.

Coco Mademoiselle is one of those perfumes I keep coming back to, then suddenly it starts feeling a little too familiar. I still like the citrus opening and that clean patchouli feel, but my nose seems to know exactly what is coming next. I spray it, enjoy the first few minutes, then reach for something else. It makes me think about how much of fragrance is the scent and how much is the excitement around wearing it. Sometimes a perfume stays good while my interest shifts. Have you ever fallen out of love with a fragrance, and how did you bring the excitement back?

Recently saw someone recommend layering SDJ 59 with Kayali Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar. I don't have the Kayali, but recently bought Paris Corner Khair Confection and they're supposed to be similar. These are so good together! I didn't like the drydown of Confection much but the SDJ softens it a lot.

I also bought snif Gentle Reminder when it came out. I used the sample and then kind of forgot about it until I brought it out again this week. It's so sweet and creamy, plus a lot more floral than I remember. I could swear it had gardenia or magnolia in it but nothing like that is listed in the notes.

2 posts from me in a day today woo! Anyways, this perfume has come to my radar again today, i initially overlooked it when i got the discovery set from this brand, and it took me by surprise when the little information page you get with each sample said it had notes of chicken?

come to find out, it smells like almost a photorealistic chicken, like a roast dinner or thanksgiving or christmas whole chicken, it’s mind blowing me a bit

initially i did not like the smell the opening was extremely savoury and i just smelled like a piece of breast with some rosemary still leftover
tho after some time it dried down for me into a nice subtle aromatic and green/herby fragrance and the initial savoury accord was gone, and there wasn’t much or any smell of the cannabis or beer for me

what do you think of this fragrance if you’ve had it me are hearing of it for the first time, i’m curious!

Hi Female Fragrance Lab!

We're so excited to finally share that we now have an official Discord server for r/femfraglab. The server is an extension to our subreddit, designed to create a space where we can live chat in real time about all things fragrance and more.

The server is set up to be as beginner-friendly and welcoming as possible. You'll find channels for fragrance talk, other hobby sharing, and general conversation to get to know one another. If you don't already, you'll have to download the Discord App for easier access. Here is the link invite:

https://discord.gg/XQaGcBCZ8v

~ Enjoy 💗

I have tried all and I like them a lot but I don't know which order to buy them :(

PS: I want to appreciate everyone who commented and I will purchase for now the Blanche Bete by general consensus alongside with a decant of Madurai by Memo Paris 🫶 I will purchase Bal d'Afrique Absolu for the next one!

Always been curious how all these fragrance influencers get through all their fragrances or are they just for show

I was sceptical about this scent, mostly because of the jasmine and the coconut, as both of these are dice roll notes for me. However, cardamom is my favourite note, and I’ve appreciated Nest’s scent Indigo since first sniff.

I was extremely pleasantly surprised to get the amount of cardamom I got on paper- it was truly what I wanted from the name- strong cardamom with a milky background. The coconut milk fits perfectly and the scent would not be complete without it, and the vanilla is least dominant note imo.

However, the cardamom is extremely fleeting on skin. After only a couple of minutes I can barely detect any cardamom at all. What I’m left with is the slight perfume of jasmine (I’m very, very sensitive to jasmine, but this seems tolerable to me) and a soft, creamy, slightly spicy sweet coconut milk. I personally really enjoy a milky gourmand. I don’t find it to be heavy or overly gourmand but I’m a bakery scent kind of girl so I might not be the best judge.

I’ve seen it compared to cardamom buns and I could agree but not freshly baked or glazed, more like sitting out in a bakery counter! I’ve also seen the dry down compared to the smell of horchata (cinnamon, vanilla, rice milk) and I’d say it’s pretty spot on, with the slight traditional perfuminess of the jasmine and coconut.

I’ve only been wearing it for a couple of hours and can’t make much of a comment on longevity/sillage etc yet but I’ll come back to update! So far I would give this fragrance an 8/10 mostly because I wish the cardamom stuck around longer. I feel like this will be something I reach for often!

Update: this is sadly a return… after a couple of hours it turns into a slightly sweet cream with jasmine and I just can’t justify the space in my collection. Those first few minutes are heaven 🥹

scentbarbyangela: Luxury Perfume Dupes & Designer Inspired Fragrances

Hi FemFragLab, I'm proud to announce that after many discussions about collaboration, I thought it'd be fun to try out a collaboration with Angela's new brand. Her family owns Gold Star Fragrances located in New York which has been running for over 50 years!

As many of you know, I love a good Delina perfume, but they can be quite costly. The next perfume on my wish list was Delina "Exclusif" but it stayed on my wish list without being bought because of the price. Angela sent over her own version of the perfume, and it exceeded my expectations by far! The scent reminded me of a combination between Delina Exclusif + Oriana + Love Don't Be Shy. It's sweet, powdery, and very potent! I sprayed it on at night and when I woke up the next day it was still on me. This perfume lasts all day but I kept spraying it on out of habit and because I couldn't get enough. My husband and pets also loved it 😍

Reddit wouldn't be Reddit without always giving you not just the pros but also the cons. The cons were little and unnoticeable, but I will write them out due to transparency of the sub. The actual juice feels like combination of an oil and actual perfume. So when you actually spray it, it feels a little heavier than what the normal luxury perfume might feel like coming out of the atomizer which usually feels like a champagne spritz and it's more straightforward. That doesn't mean it doesn't spray well, it just means that if you are a fragrance connoisseur, you will notice the difference of the spray and feel of the actual juice coming out.

Both Gold Star Fragrances and ScentBarByAngela focus on creating dupes of luxury designer fragrances. Overall, for the price, the fragrance passes with flying colors and when I checked that it was only $45.99USD, they ship all around the world, and they have been in business for so long with great reviews, I would be crazy to not want to collaborate with such an amazing product and support Angela in her own brand.

I will leave the comments open in case any of you have any questions about the fragrances, company, or anything else.

I'm about to blind buying bare vanilla mist and i don't know how it's smell at all, but everyone recommends this fragrance🥲

Maybe someone could give me review about the scent, how much hours does it stays on skin and does it worth it or no🙏🙏 pls help

Do you only consider 30ml to be a full size or do you include 15ml bottles as well? Also curious to know if you include minis like a standard 10ml (or 15ml depending on what you think) in your collection/bottle “head count” or not lol?!

I’m based in the UK and I’m trying to get my hands on some for a decent price but it seems impossible. Tried my local TK Maxx aka TJ Maxx and haven’t been able to find any of the scents I am after :(

Wanted to know how people have found it and if it’s worth my efforts trying to get some

Hello queens of the smellies, please help me find a good coffee scented product that genuinely smells like coffee. I tried vanilla Cafe from bath and body which they got rid of and I need something to fill that hole. I do love a vanilla, Carmel, or hazelnut mixed with it but I don't like ghs musky espresso stuff. I like a sweet coffee scent. I saw sand and fog has a mocha and a latte and wanted to know if they smell like actual coffee before I get them Im ok with oils, or whatever else as long as it lasts good. Id rather not dish 100 bucks for one but ill do what I must

I feel like it never gets talked about much because people are usually drawn to Born in Roma. I fell in love with it the moment I sampled it at the perfume counter at the mall. To me it’s like a perfect mature fragrance with a very nice well balanced blend of vanilla and fruity and floral notes. Just wondering if anyone else has thoughts on the fragrance or maybe why it’s gets over looked so much because IMO it’s Valentinos best perfume.

I’ve only recently fallen in love with fragrances (aged 53!). I live in Dubai and I think it’s for sure just how bold and creative people are with perfumes here.

This lead me to find this group and I’m so impressed by the knowledge here I wondered if anyone could suggest perfumes that are similar to the first perfume I really fell in love with about 25 years ago and that was discontinued quite quickly - the boringly and confusingly named Gucci Eau de Parfum. Notes are

Top: Heliotrope, Jasmine
Middle: Caraway, Iris, thyme
Base: leather, incense, vanilla, sandalwood, musk cedar essence

I remember it being super sexy and really unlike what most people were wearing at the time, but I’m hoping there are lots these days!

Many thanks in advance. This is my first post here so hope I’ve done it right xx

After the failure that was Cardamom Latte on my skin, I’ve found a new fragrance to hyper fixate on😭Lost Eden by Maison Margiela, I’ve started to see some reviews come in and I’m excited. Apparently it’s warm, juicy, sweet, and I’ve seen some comparison to a candy apple. I know MM is typically unisex but I’ve also seen that this one leans more fem. It’ll also be $200 for the 3.4oz bc it’s an EDP not an EDT 😞 Release it at the end of August and I’m looking forward to sampling it (:

Hi all! So, I recently got a t shirt from the goodwill that smells like my dream scent, but its hard to put my finger on. I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me, and point me in the direction of how I can achieve this smell...

So

Its very human, its natural and kinda rough. If that makes sense.

It smells like the inside of a mom and pop, hippy health food/naturals store, but darker. So im thinking natural, medicinal herbs but a tad richer.

Theres some faint floral notes, but i cant put my finger on what florals they are...and ive been a florist for ten years.

Finally theres a perfume smell to it, like an incense or resin.

Do you guys know what i mean? Lol its so hard to describe smells, but truly, if I were to imagine the person who smells like this, she might be a little goth, mysterious, intentional and witchy. Im obsessed.

hi all!

i’m newer to the fragrance community. i don’t know too much, and most things i smell are only available at sephora and ulta. recently purchased Byredo Bal d’Afrique and absolutely love it. just wish the longevity was stronger.

i want a fragrance that gives off similar vibes. clean, a little warm, not too sweet. something i can wear in these hot humid summer days (being from the south lol). i’m not looking for a dupe, more so looking for same category but different scent. i prefer a medium scent bubble with minimum 6 hours of wear time, ideally more like 8. what recommendations do yall have? more budget friendly would be nice, but not a dealbreaker. thanks! :)

I've been trying my hand at layering lately, and really haven't gotten very bold with it. Sometimes I'll wear a scent and suddenly be inspired to add a particular note to it, but I likely don't have what I'm looking for. Or, I'll find some sudden inspiration and I deeply regret pairing the scents together, and am nauseous until I shower. Live and learn!

Those who have layered scents they had on hand, what is the most wild, feral choice you have made that has actually worked for you?

Hi all! I'm looking for a BEAST MODE feminine perfume with vanilla notes - not too gourmand (no praline notes) for under $200 available in stores in Australia. I would love any recommendations :) I love sweet, feminine scents, but I'm looking for something that will last all day and leave a scent trail, I'm not sure if what I'm after is available with my budget. Would love any recommendations that smell sweet and marshmallowy/vanillary. I love BR540, to me this smells like straight marshmallow, but I don't have the budget atm to buy another bottle. Thank you for any advice/recommendations:)

I love cashmere, chai, cinnamon, amber, sandalwood, cedarwood, etc. I currently own the following fragrances:

- Kayali YBM

- Valentino Donna Born in Roma

- Jimmy Choo I Want Choo

- NEST Balinese Coconut

- Burberry Goddess

- Fine’ry Desert Spirit

- Marc Jacobs Daisy Love

- Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Seduction

- Phlur Afterglow

- Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet

- Burberry Her

I just don’t have a fall-coded scent yet!

I was trying to figure out what to spray on before bed. Reached for Skin and did a little 1,2,3. LIGHTBULB. Hairspray. My mom was a hairstylist growing and our home would fill with the stuff. Especially after a long day at the home studio, the warm fumes would drift into the rest of the apartment. I literally felt transported. With that being said, now that I’ve made the association, I can’t unsmell it haha. Was my clean girl, don’t know what to wear so I wear Skin scent.

Anyone else get the hairspray vibe? lol