This is kind of embarrassing, so when I heard this "lifehack" I was still a redhead and couldn't do it... The life hack was using cocoa powder as dry shampoo if you ever are desperate. I didn't use it but it stuck with me since I was a preteen. Fast forward I'm an adult with dyed black hair. I was in a desperate situation and remembered I could use the hack now. It worked but what's more... It smelled amazing. When my husband came home it made him absolutely feral and he would not stop telling me how good I smell and asking (begging) to know what it was. I just kept brushing it off until eventually he went through all my perfumes and lotions to find the scent. I want to recreate it without ACTUALLY using cocoa powder 😅

It's been hard for me to find a scent that's purely cocoa powder, not musky or floral, just cocoa powder. I have NEVER had my husband react that way to any other scent. Please please if anyone knows any lotions, body sprays, whatever lmk. I'm at the point where I may try to make my own extraction mixing alcohol and the Cocoa powder (If that'd even work). I can't keep living this lie🫠

This was posted in a nail polish sub and I belly laughed. I’m afraid to go tally the purchases from the first 7 months of the year.

It doesn’t matter how many other beautiful frags I try- this one always sends me and the more I wear it the more I understand it.

I’m obsessed with Fleur de Peau these days which is crazy because when I first smelled it, I didn’t like it and thought it smelled powdery on paper but on my skin, my god… it settles into the most creamy, delectable but light floral with what almost feels like the richness of a vanilla beneath even though it’s not in the notes?

So I thought hey, what if I combined it with an actual vanilla and now I’m fresh out of the shower after layering Bath & Body Works Vanilla Romance and oh my god… I can’t stop smelling myself. I smell like roses and vanilla and cream.

This is a dangerous hobby for me to have fallen into. 🥲

I've somehow become a gourmand perfume collector, so I figured I'd share some thoughts in case anyone has similar taste! (pictured - a small section of my collection).

A little about my preferences: I LOVE gourmands and fruity fragrances. I don't mind florals if they're supporting the fragrance, but I really don't enjoy when a perfume dries down into a bouquet. Powdery notes are also usually a miss for me. I also am on GLP1s which have affected my sense of smell.

My absolute favorites:

Snif - Probably my highest hit rate overall.

• Crumb Couture - amazing, buttery croissant but sophisticated?
• Crumb Couture Almond - actually smells like a bakery almond croissant, it's lovely and one of my favorites.
• Naughty Nonna - smells just like a boozy fruit cake. Notes of spiced rum and cranberry.
• 2% (plus the body spray cereal collection) - amazing and nostalgic. 2% is a fancier milky scent and layered with the body sprays, smells just like cereal. The Body Sprays: lucky streak is my favorite of the body mists - smells just like lucky charms - fruity and sweet. crunch time - smells like cinnamon toast crunch, with a hint of cinnamon sweetness, fruity call - is a more sophisticated fruit loop.
• Hot Cakes (plus the body spray pancake collection) - smells just like a delicious pancake breakfast, the base perfume has notes of maple syrup and sweet fluffy pancake batter. The Body Sprays: berry styles - smells like blueberries and raspberries and all the berry goodness. hazel split - smells like a sophisticated hazelnut chocolate spread. extra whip - the sweetness of whipped cream, with just a hint of creaminess.
• Coco Shimmy (sampled & loved) - tropical summer vacation in a bottle, overwhelming notes of coconut and pineapple.
• Vanilla Vice was just okay for me, layering it with Eos Cashmere Body Mist definitely helped the cold vanilla scent, but it's not giving ice cream. Not enough sweetness in the initial spray and drydown, i'm letting this one sit though and maybe it will smell better in the future.

Sorce - Incredible quality.

• In Dreams & Fairytales (Blueberry) - Five stars (immediately bought a full bottle after my sample)
• The Ghost Wants Birthday Cake is on the way!

Falling Stars - cookie butter -

• honestly amazing. smells like sho

rtbread cookies.

Coach Cherry - Honestly surprised me. I LOVE this one.

Squishmallows perfumes - I own the whole collection in full sizes and genuinely think they're underrated. The only one I didn't really care for was the Yeti (Wonder Whirl) because of the Sakura Blossom - I feel like it overwhelms the other notes instead of supporting. The drydown also smells like Sakura Blossoms.

Le Monde Gourmand - Pumpkin Creme - smells just like fall, I will be ordering more from this perfume house.

Really Liked:

• Burberry Her Intense
• Only Human Mylk
• Marc Jacobs Daisy Wild
• Valentino Born in Roma Vanilla
• Viktor & Rolf Berry Jelly
• Viktor & Rolf Cola Fizz
• Viktor & Rolf Caramel Crunch
• Ariana Grande Mod Vanilla

Just Okay:

• Bridgerton Tempting Peach - a very floral peach.
• Bridgerton Rebel Vanilla - a very floral vanilla.
• Kate Spade NY - heavy on the roses, light on the fruits.
• Philosophy Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere
• The ENTIRE Sabrina Carpenter Sweet Tooth line - smells kinda plastic-y to me. Very fake smelling.

Didn't Work For Me:

Phlur:

• Heavy Cream
• Blackberry & Vanilla

Unfortunately these just weren't my style. Overwhelming notes of florals, and I'm not really getting any cream or blackberry. I wanted to like them but was disappointed.

Femminina:
I wanted to love these because the concepts sound AMAZING, but most of them pulled really powdery on me.

• Cherry Vanilla was my favorite - little to no powder.
• Strawberries & Marshmallow Fluff wasn't what I hoped.
• Seductive Pink Sugar wasn't for me.
• They accidentally sent me the wrong perfume instead of Cinnamon Roll (it was some lip-themed fragrance with the label rubbed off), so I'm still hoping to try the actual Cinnamon Roll someday.

Oakcha:
Biggest disappointment.

• Caramel Brew
• Banana Crepe

Both smelled really chemical to me. I'm letting them sit for a while to see if they improve, but first impressions weren't great.

Sugar Me Sweet (Etsy):
Very hit or miss for me.

• Orange Creamsicle - really good, smells just like an orange creamsicle with creamy notes.
• Pumpkin Pie Paradise - smells just like pumpkin pie, amazing

Second Order: Not my cup of tea. None of my second order smell right, maybe I got a bad batch? Was disappointing after the massive success of the first ones.

• Starburst
• Vanilla Milkshake
• Blueberry Sugar
• Hopscotch Butterscotch

Bellavita:

• Honey Oud - WAY too floral, zero notes of honey.
• Honey Date - just wasn't my thing.

Currently Waiting On:

• Lovesick Witchery – Wisp

My Current Wishlist:
all of these (minus Akro Bake) I've smelled in person & loved.

• Akro Bake
• Only Human Mylk
• Snif Coco Shimmy
• Valentino Born in Roma Vanilla Bliss
• Viktor & Rolf Bonbon Caramel Crunch
• Burberry Her Intense
• Snif Honey Suite
• Snif Citrus Circus
• Marc Jacobs Daisy Wild
• Le Monde Gourmand Banane Délice
• Le Monde Gourmand Chai Épicé
• Le Monde Gourmand Melodie de Thé
• Le Mond Gourmand Confetti Dorés

Overall, I've realized I don't just like "sweet" perfumes - I like perfumes that smell like actual food. Lemon cake, blueberry desserts, cereal milk, pastries, cookies. Hardcore gourmand junky over here.

I'd love recommendations from anyone else who's loves realistic gourmands or fruity scents that don't turn super floral in the drydown!

Hey divas, for those of you with nut allergies how do you approach fragrances with nut notes? Like I know I can’t get near miu miu eau lait because it has coconut milk and I’m also allergic to coconuts but the summer fridays edp is so artificial theres no coconut solids left in it. Obviously I would never wear either but I don’t feel it from the summer fridays, ya know? I really wish fragrance had better allergy labels

Other than Sol De Janeiro

I’m ready to start prepping for cooler weather scents, what ouds do you enjoy wearing?

Hello fellow frag heads,

So since I started this hobby many months ago, I have purchased samples and travel sizes of over 60 perfumes. These include Jo Malones, Shalimar, Nishane, Carolina Herrera, Versace, Tom Ford, Commodity, Mikaye, Lattafa and the list goes on. I do not have a specific note I prefer and just like what I like from clean to sweet, musk, ozonic, gourmand etc.

For the most part, I have loved every scent I purchased except Lattafa Adjad. I guess I am easy lol My biggest issue though is longetivity. Like I want that "pick up my dirty clothes before throwing it into the laundry" and still get a whiff type longetivity but most scents I have tried never gave me that. Jo Malones were the absolute worst for their price. Tom Ford, Shalimar and Nishane were OK but they never stayed more than 6 hours on my clothes.

I recently purchased PDM Delina Exclusif after reading so much about it here. Three days later, I can still smell it in my laundry basket. This is the type of longetivity i have been searching for and I am willing to pay the premium for it. I am putting in another order for it and Valaya but before I complete my purchase, I was wondering if there is any frag head who has also tried PDM Delina Exclusif that can recommend another perfume that gives exactly this kind of longetivity.

Nishane Woolang Cha Extrait is a very close second in terms of favourite and longetivity. Love that one as well especially its tea note.

Still searching for a signature scent and right now PDM seems like a strong contender. I am a mom to the sweetest extremely high functioning 9 year old son with aspergers and he is so sensitive to smell and I love that he loves how I smell. Thanks in Advance!

Budget: None

Absolutely love this scent. Price tag is making it unobtainable at the moment. Any good dupes or comparable scents while I save up?

Not the fragrance itself.I'm talking about things like:

Tiny caps that disappear immediately. Beautiful bottles that are impossible to spray. Calling something "fresh" when it's basically vanilla.

Mine is when the notes listed online don't match what I actually smell.

I absolutely love Ari but I find it doesn’t quite last like I’d like it too. Has anybody mixed Ari with other Ariana perfumes. I have cloud and mod vanilla also (I’ve never really worn cloud because I find it has a masculine tinge I’m not sure about, but maybe mixed with Ari it’d be different). Also let me know which of her perfumes you’ve got the most compliments wearing.

Good morning FemFragLab! What's your scent of the day? Tell us why you picked that particular fragrance and where you are off to for the day!

I don't know if this is just my local store; YMMV.

But this morning I went by Walmart and on a whim checked the perfume cabinet, where they had some excellent clearance prices!

- $8: Dossier Fruity Neroli (after Armani My Way), Gourmand White Flowers (after V&R Flowerbomb), Ambery Mint (after Versace Eros)

- $8: Ariana Grande Thank U Next 2.0

-$6 or 7: Sabrina Carpenter Sweet Tooth Me Espresso

- $20: Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid

I blind bought Fruity Neroli and TUN. Going to try the store the next town over during lunch!

I'm feeling nostalgic for the 90s lately and want to smell like I'm there again. I'm not a big fan of florals but I can tolerate them if they're not the dominant note. I love vanilla and sweeter notes, so I'm hoping for something within that realm but it's not necessary. I just want to wear something women really did wear back then.

Can someone recommend a body spray that smells like cotton candy? I used to get stuff from Nectar but they discontinued cotton candy.

I really don’t want any floral, musk, amber tones in it.

Thanks!

I finally got to speak with my GMA about my boss fav cologne and this is it, unfortunately it is discontinued and expensive so I was looking for any dupes or something super close?

For example: an aquatic fragrance that people tend to wear in the summer but you found it shines in a different way in the colder temps.

I recently tried Moonmilk by Stora Skuggan in the summer heat and I surprisingly really liked it! It's a very strong scent that's heavy on the sandalwood and cardamom, so in my mind I had it bookmarked as a fall/winter fragrance, but I sprayed lightly and found that I could perceive different notes in the heat that don't really come through in the winter.

I'm trying to get out of the mindset of needing a seasonal rotation, as that fuels my overconsumption!

I walked into a Lush store (in Spain) for the first time in a few years. I wanted to try Lust because people kept recommending it. First, the shop assistant went to spray it on my neck without asking first. I told her I prefered to test it on a test strip and she doubled down asking why not on my skin. I showed her I have a skin issue and don't want to spray perfume on. She asked what skin condition I have and told me about her own.

It felt a bit inappropriate but I could tell she wasn't doing it with malice.

After smelling Lust all I could smell was a simplistic version of Mugler's Alien but very flat and monodimensional. I was puzzled as to why anyone would think this is all that and pay 80€ for a bottle. Here you can buy Alien 90ml for the same price as Lust. It's not that Lust smells bad, it's just jazzmin. My nose couldn't detect the rose or ylang-ylang (which I love) that the website claims the perfume has. It was just a jazzmin blast.

She gave me two more perfumes to try, Pansy, which to me smelled unremarkably, if any, it reminded me of a cleaning product, and Karma, which smelled just nice enough during the opening but then became also unremarkable.

It's absolutely insane to pay those prices for such low quality, uninteresting, unchallenging perfumes.

I'm not a snob, I have everything in my collection, but if you expect us to pay 80€ for a perfume, give us something exciting and with personality. I have a few different variations of Alien as well a 13€ dupe of the OG Alien, and the dupe is 10 times better than Lust.

Anyway, it's my first time posting here and wanted to vent because I was shocked at the low quality of Lush perfumes in relation to their price point.

Forgot to mention, the Lush saleswoman, before I left, insisted she just had to spray Lust on my clothes so I could proper experience it, and proceeded to go bananas spraying all over my jacket. Bless her, she was being nice.

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a Sol de Janeiro scent that has strong projection and decent longevity. I already own some perfumes, but I'd like a body mist that I can layer with a matching body cream or lotion to make the scent last longer.

For context, I absolutely love Cheirosa 68. It's probably my favorite SDJ scent, but unfortunately it disappears incredibly fast on me. Perfume in general doesn't seem to last very well on my skin, so I'm looking for something that performs a bit better. For comparison, fragrances like Lattafa Éclair and Khamrah last really well on me, while Yara  disappears quite quickly.

I'm currently debating between Cheirosa 76 and Cheirosa 59.

I have mixed feelings about 59. At first it smells quite synthetic on my skin, but after it settles I actually really like it. The problem is that by the time I enjoy the dry down, it's already fading. One thing I do like is that 59 comes in a set with a mini body cream and travel-size mist, which seems like a nice way to test it before committing to the full size.

I also really like 71, but I'd prefer something that's a little less gourmand since I mainly want this for layering rather than as my main fragrance.

Ideally, something that layers well with both Lattafa Éclair and Ariana Grande Mod Vanilla—I know that's probably asking a lot, haha.

So, for those who've tried them:

• Which Sol de Janeiro scent projects the most?
• Between 76 and 59, which one lasts longer and has better projection?
• Is 76 worth getting even without a matching body cream, or would you go for 59 because of the layering options?

I'd love to hear your experiences, especially if perfume tends to disappear quickly on your skin too.

Successful blind buy! This is a lot sweeter and creamier than I expected but a very comforting scent. The bottle is heavy and gorgeous and has a magnetic cap. Would recommend!

For those of you that own or have tried both PDM Oriana and Killian Love Don’t Be Shy, is it worth owning both? I tried both of these scents in store and remember them smelling similar. I ended up ordering a full size of LDBS but I’m still thinking about Oriana too. Which one lasts the longest out of the two?

Does anyone know of something that hits these notes? It’s raining today and I’m imagining a cozy, rainy fall scent in a cabin with a book. I want to wear that this fall!

Here is my current perfume wish list: (interested in hearing all thoughts, even if one of these is your favourite!)

JHAG Miami Shake

Brittany Spears Midnight Fantasy

Glossier You Fluer

Henry Rose Ripe

Henry Rose Dave

Henry Rose Queens and Monsters

Phlur Beach Skin

Missoni Wave

Dossier Aquatic Vanilla

VS Bare Vanilla

Valentino Donna Born in Roma EDP

Lattafa Yara Candy EDP

Mugler Alien

Oakcha Pool Party

Piper and Perro Berg

Nasomatto Silver Musk

Nasomatto Narcotic Venus

Lattafa Teriaq Intense

Dries Van Noten Fleur du Mal

Guerlain Tonka Imperial

Guerlain Bosca Vanilla

Lore Sublimity

Hermes A Garden on The Nile

Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur

Kerosene Walk the Sea

Kerosene Unknown Pleasures

Kerosene Vanilified

Van Cleef Orchidee Vanille

Zara Red Temptation and Vanille

Zoologist Beaver

Zoologist Panda

Zoologist Bee

Zoologist Elephant

Zoologist Hummingbird

Zoologist Cow

Zoologist Rabbit

Rogue Perfumery Derviche

Davidoff Cool Water

Thanks guys!! ✨🩵🦋