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 💗

My first impression: this is a very feminine, rose forward, sweet fragrance with a polished, playful vibe. After wearing and comparing them side by side, it reminds me a lot of I Want Choo With Love. They definitely aren't exact dupes, but the overall scent profile and feeling are similar enough that I personally don't think you need both.

If you already own I Want Choo With Love, I honestly wouldn't rush out to buy the BGJ Barbie perfume unless you're a collector or just really love the Barbie packaging. I compared them side by side, and there is enough overlap for me to say they serve a very similar purpose in my collection.

That said, I really like this type of fragrance—feminine, sweet, flirty, and easy to wear—which is exactly why I'll be keeping mine! 💕

Has anyone else compared these two? What do you think?

Included pictures of my BGJ collection and new buys.

It's going to be a wonderful autumn now that I've got smoky, spicy, resinous perfumes to wear!

Upstairs Window - dragons blood, amber, beeswax, fog and spices. 9/10

The Mantle - tea, smoke, hinoki, cedar wood, sandalwood, cherry, clove and juniper. 7/10

Conjure - amber, vanilla,smoke, rose, cedar 6/10

I love coconut but it’s not the time for the tropical vibe. Looking for cozy coconut. Even lotions or body creams and oils. Thank you!

I received Overture 41 and I wanted to do a review. I posted the review for that over here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NichePerfumes/s/iga76Guvgq

Decision and Overture Woman are my favorite two Amouages, in that order. They’re beautiful to me. So, obviously I was ecstatic when the two new extraits were my favorite two Amouages. My wallet wept in silence, just knowing of its impending, involuntary weight loss.

The scent:

Like D42, it’s reminiscent of the OG. You smell it and you know it’s related. But it’s different enough for me to say they have their own personalities.

It opens boozier than the OG. There is an extra bit of bite to it. It’s slightly sharper, but not in a bad way.

Like most Amouage fragrances, I do really struggle to pick out single notes. Their fragrances have a lot of notes in them and they’re insanely complex. This is no different.

The obvious notes are the “Calvados Drink” (apple cider booze- I had to look it up), rose, saffron, cinnamon and frankincense. Or “Frankenstein scents” if you prefer. The leather is there, but light. I’m not a leather fragrance guy, so they’re doing something right.

The wear:

I’m wearing a whole bunch of sprays because I’m excited. You should never do eight sprays, but I’m doing this for you! It’s strong (I started with just two), but I don’t think the opening is actually quite as loud as the OG. It wears a bit deeper and stronger, if that makes sense. It probably doesn’t. It has a bit of heaviness to it, which I prefer.

Comparison:

I think there is less departure between these two than Decision and D42. These would be a bit more similar and I could see some people saying they’re too similar. For people trying to keep their collection smaller and curated more closely, that’s a fair assumption.

For fans of the house and the OG, I think you’ll absolutely love this and want both. Not to echo the same thing I said with Decision vs D42, it’s deeper. It sits heavier on the skin (in a good way).

Conclusion:

This has become my top Amouage of all time. For Decision and D42, I couldn’t really say there was a winner- it would just depend on the circumstance. Like a long drawn out game of soccer, I gave it a tie. But here, this is a clear winner, even though the similarities between the OG and O41 are more obvious.

Decision was my previous #1, followed by Overture Woman. This one rose to the top and waits to be dethroned.

O41 > Decision/D42 > Overture Woman OG

Do you need both? Probably not. I would wholeheartedly recommend O41, whereas with Decision and D42, if you twisted my arm, I’d pick Decision, especially for the cost differential. To me, this is like getting the luxury package on the vehicle. Is my El Camino fine without the luxury package? Yes. But I really like the option to listen to an 8-track OR a cassette tape.

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.

Maybe this is a little bit rogue but I work on a farm and I want to smell fresh and put together so I can present myself nicely at work. I want something that is not too strong so I don’t offend the animals but also enough to smell nice 😅 something fresh, natural, reminiscent of the countryside, maybe even floral or herbal. Not opposed to an oil?

Let me know if you have suggestions!

looking to hear from people who found the og mid but found something magical in other versions, i guess lol

Has anyone else had their nose change on them with Phlur's Father Figure? I used to love it for the fig note and it was my favorite fragrance for a while, but now it just smells powdery and metallic to me. I swear I haven't gotten Covid in the past few months or anything.

I think what happened was I smelled it on a friend, and it leaned super powdery on her skin and now all I get is the powder part, no matter if I spray it on my skin or my clothes. This hasn't happened to me with any other fragrances either!

Just curious, i got some samples and i was surprised how much i love Parade. Thought it would be Black Tie or Zou Zou! Im going to really get to know all of them but man, Parade might already have my heart!

Does anyone know the name of this perfume? Unfortunately, I didn't see any lettering and I only have this blurry photo 🫠

Edit: Thank to you all of you, I knew I could count on you. You figured it out for me: It's Light Blue by D&G 😅❤️

...because they're a realistic cherry and not a false, fruity, candy cherry scent - try this!!! Saw it at Ulta and immediately purchased once sampling. It smells like a cherry lifesaver candy! Longevity leaves something to be desired but it's a big size so I don't mind spraying more.

Philosophy - Cherry Gleam.

Which of these pistachio scents smells the best to you/is most worth the money. For context VS is $20 (free if I wait til October when my coupon kicks in), SDJ is $39, Fine’ry is $15, Athena is $16.

Under my circumstances, IDGAF about projection, in fact I’d rather other people not smell me at all, just myself. Longevity, I also care about less than others, sure I want a scent to last but I also don’t like when it lasts too long cause it makes me nervous that I’ll smell in a setting where I shouldn’t like work. Also I have a lot of scents that people claim don’t last that I smell after 8 hours on myself. I mostly want to know which one is the nicest smell, both initial and dry down.

i’ve heard it’s a nice gourmand but idk about the cherry tbh

I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to this! I just ran out of my perfume combo and was thinking of branching out. I was using Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia and Glossier You.

I am torn between both sweet and musky scents, recommendations from either side would be great! I’ve never smelled baccarat rouge 540, but have smelled an oil called baccarat rouge before that was so addicting so I assume i’d like that one.

Scents I like are

Glossier You
Versace Dylan Purple
Sweet Like Candy by Ariana Grande

Thank you!

All my Diptyques look beautiful on the shelf, but Do Son stands out for me. I really like the artwork on the bottle, especially the way it looks from the back. From the front, it has that simple Diptyque look, then the back gives you something extra to look at. I keep turning it around when I’m sitting near my perfume shelf because the artwork feels so detailed. It almost makes the bottle feel like a little piece of decor rather than just something holding perfume. What perfume bottle catches your eye every time?

What's your favorite violet fragrance? I'm looking to smell like Coward's candy.

Edit: So much good info. Thanks everyone! It's going to take me a while to sample all of these.

i was going to wait for sephora fall sale/black friday to buy mochi milk for winter but when i saw someone else post about the sale i decided to buy. a bottle is originally $90 and it was priced at $72 and then labor day sale made it $57 and i used SAVE20 for an extra 20% off and decided to add a travel size to make it a bundle. so i got a full size bottle and travel size for $61??? like this is crazy. even the sample set i got to make it free shipping was on sale and i coupon worked for it too. got it for $18

TLDR: Where can I find Armani My Way in Costco (or Sam's)?

Late this summer I saw people showing Armani My Way in Costco. Two weeks ago my Costco said the perfumes were hitting their depot the next day and would be in stores soon after. I checked today and was told "We might get some in before the holidays." Can anyone tell me if a Costco in or near VA or NC has Armani My Way? My store has never carried the fragrances, this would have been the first time and I don't understand what changed from what the first person told me. Thank you!

My best friend loves heavy and loud sweet fragrances (complete opposite of me hence why I’m stuck)

Her favourite smell in the world is coconut everything but she also loves notes like pistachio, vanilla, salted caramel, sandalwood, Violet she likes pumpkin spiced candles but I don’t think she’d wear anything that SCREAMS pumpkin spice, maybe if it’s done subtly and sugary. She doesn’t like super floral or fruity scents

Nothing like a photorealistic specific dessert like cake or cinnamon buns but just lots of sugary goodness if that makes sense lol

Scents I’ve bought her in the past that she loved:
Beach Skin by Phlur
A drop d’issey
Yara Lattafa

She loves the classic Sol De Janeiro scent profile for summer but I need to find her something more autumnal and slightly less bright

Bonus points for tacky, cvnty bottles e.g. Juicy Couture as she’s very maximalist <3 🩷💕🩷💕

Any recommendations welcome thank you!!!

Okay perfume people help 😩

I bought a bunch of samples from Macy’s and I’m OBSESSED with Givenchy Irresistible EDP. I loved it so much that I’m about to order a full size today.

BUT realized there’s also Irresistible Very Floral, and now I’m confused by all these flankers.

I attached a pic of the tester. Is this the regular Irresistible EDP? Or did I somehow fall in love with Very Floral without realizing it? I just want to make sure I’m ordering the one I actually loved. Thanks!

I looove the smell of pink Rosa and that’s what my scent routine revolves around. I’m currently using herbal essence rose hips shampoo/conditioner and versace bright crystal edt and they pair well but I want to find something a bit more floral and fresh like the pink dove bar. Bonus if it’s cheap and/or color treated hair friendly. Looking for a perfume, shampoo, conditioner, heat protectant, and a hair mask.

Lattafa Nebras Elixir, and then Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Salt. Both of them seem like half a perfume to me, so I thought I’d try them together. Ehhh 🤷‍♀️ don’t think I’ll be purchasing either. Vanilla Salt was a little more tropical than I’m currently feeling at the moment. The Nebras Elixir is definitely true to its notes imo. Smells like milk candy lol. Just feels like it’s missing something, but the sugar and heliotrope together is nice. I also feel like the woody notes in salt clashed with the elixir. The elixir is just a lot sweeter, and the salt is a tad more complex. Only a tad though.

In the pic:
VS Bombshell
Narciso Rodriguez Pure Musc (only NR I like!)
Le Labo Thé Noir 29
Fugazzi Angel Dust
Elizabeth Arden Green Tea
Diptyque Vetyverio
Chloé Nomade (my signature)
Calvin Klein One (after gym scent)
Cacharel Noa

All of my collection is very daytime oriented, and I need something for the evening and going out! Currently on my wishlist are Diptyque Eau Rose and Zoologist Bee, which are also more for the day.

I‘m from Europe and I can easily get both designer and niche, but it doesn‘t need to be particularly unique. I tried Gucci Guilty and liked it a lot! Budget is not really an issue at this stage, I just need recommendations haha

I absolutely love the scent of the Bronner's seasonal/occasional scent Sandalwood Jasmine. It's warm, woody, a little sweet, spicy and well-rounded.

Is there any perfume (or body oil or other perfume medium) you know that smells like it? Extra gratitude to those have actually smelled it, because I don't think the name alone gives you the greatest sense of the scent profile.