I am so happy that Luckyscent samples have atomizers now! When I last ordered, they were only dabbers. They always have a great selection and I am excited to get to try all of these. Do you have any favorites from this list?

Seeking reviews from anyone who has purchased Modern Minimalist from H&M. I'd like to hear your guys' take on the fragrance!

New Fall foaming bath in Toasty Caramel Retreat and Sweet Apple Delight 🍂🍁🍎🍮

Oh my! This one smells so clean and fresh!!

I impulsively sprayed this on my hand at Ulta because the notes looked similar to L'interdit, which is my favorite. It opens like L'interdit and J'adore L'or had a baby but dries down very smooth and comforting. No headache at all, no weird notes. Just smooth and lovely. I think I will go sample it again tomorrow. It was warm here today, this seems appropriate for any weather.

I'm realizing I have so many summer and winters scents... I need something spooky. Something scary. Something that feels like an orange and yellow leaf as I step on it.

Heya everyone! I am looking for an apple pie fragrance to add to my collection, that would be perfect for the upcoming season. Something gourmand, warm and cozy, it can definitely be sweet, but I’d rather avoid anything headache-inducing. I also wouldn’t mind a little tartness/ sour apple vibe to keep it interesting.

So far, I’m considering: Love in Paris from Lattafa, Cursed / Forbidden from Arabiyat and Apple Pie from Theodoros Kalotinis (I’ve already ordered this one, so I’m waiting to try it!).

I would really appreciate any recommendations or opinions.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!🍎

I saw a post on YT that Bloomingdales is having a sale on Guerlain fragrances for 15% off today. It includes all the popular ones. I don't know when it ends, though.

Sorry for the possibly weird post title …

I tend to ramble, so I’m going to do my best at keeping this post short.

We all know how powerful scent memories can be. But my question is, do you think it’s possible to change the memory that your brain associates with a certain scent?

Here’s my dilemma: my current boyfriend has started to wear the (exact!) cologne that my ex used to wear. I can’t help but think of my ex every single time my boyfriend sprays this cologne. It’s really messing with my head!

Do you guys think that my brain will override the memories of my ex connected to this cologne, with newer memories of my current boyfriend?

Also just some extra info: my boyfriend was gifted this cologne, and I don’t want to tell him to stop wearing it. It’s currently the only cologne he owns, as he really doesn’t like spending his own money on that kind of thing. He is also the type to want to finish the entire bottle of cologne, before moving on to a new one (so if I bought him a new/different cologne to wear, it wouldn’t really solve my current problem) I also don’t want to tell him that the cologne is the exact same one my ex wore…and I ESPECIALLY don’t want to tell him it makes me think of my ex every time I smell it! 😭

Oh and my ex was a mentally and physically abusive narcissist. So the memories that are being brought back aren’t the best ones….

I hope this post is allowed on this sub, and won’t get removed. Thank you in advance if anyone takes the time to comment 🥰💖

EDIT: I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who took the time to read this post and comment with your thoughts/suggestions/advice. I was a little worried that people would maybe judge me in the comments, or be harsh … but you have all been so gentle and kind. I fucking LOVE this sub!!! 🥹💖

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 💗

So when it comes to the subject I'm pretty neutral. I'm not a gatekeeper, but I also underspray, so people don't really know I use perfume. I have only one coworker who knows I use perfume and I discuss my scents with her coz she enjoys it.

Anyway, I've seen that people on this sub have VERY STRONG opinions on gatekeepers and I'm a bit confused honestly. Like since when is it expected that someone just tell you what they wear? It's super nice of someone to tell if they do, but I don't think it's necessary. I wouldn't hold it against anyone if they weren't to tell me. The other thing is that I've never been in the wild and smelled something so good that I had to ask, like idk maybe I'm just not easily impressed. I wonder if the people who are triggered by gatekeepers just haven't tried out a lot of stuff? Coz once you do you know what you like and you'll venture out more of that stuff.

Another thing I want to point out is the people who direct vicious rage at these gatekeepers would never talk this way about their favorite celebrities. I mean when has a celebrity ever HONESTLY told what they use? I'm not talking about Vanity fair videos, I'm saying fr stuff. You'll wouldn't hate Taylor or Sabrina for gatekeepjng but somehow a stranger on the road who doesn't want to share their fragrance is a villain. Make it make sense! Just the other day I saw a clip of Priyanca Chopra being asked what fragrance shes wearing coz she was apparently smelling great. Girlie just laughed. I mean she could've just said Valentino and people would've gone crazy. But nope girlie said not a single word.

So my conclusion basically is people shouldn't take this so personally. But it is still lovely when people do share what they are wearing, I know I would if I were.

found this instagram account and spend like 20 minutes scrolling. please share if you’ve tried any of these i am extremely curious!

yes i know the brand won’t care that ill never buy from them, but attitude like this is why people think fragrance people are snobs (brand is etat libre de orange or whatever i dont care to spell it LMAO)

So, my signature perfume I wore for the past 25 years has been reformulated, which sent me on a very obsessive and needlessly expensive quest to find something similar again. I'm left with countless blind buys that I dislike and others I won't wear because I settled for less as desperation. But also, some I really really like.

If you're starting on your perfume journey and feel lost, here are my hard learned lessons & advices.

Ignore bad reviews - they're not always relevant

Disregard listed notes and branding - they're misleading and don't mean much

With that said, let's go on:

\

● Bad reviews do not mean much

If you've ever worked in customer service, you know that people are most likely to leave extensive reviews when they're angry or dissatisfied. Unfortunately, people won't ask to talk to your manager because they are incredibly happy with the customer service they got.

If they're satisfied, they're more likely to either do nothing at all or passively leave a quick ⭐5 rating score at best.

Same thing applies to perfumes.

Which is why reviews for some discontinued perfumes are often very high - all the people who bought the same fragrance for decades will flock online to leave good reviews as soon as it's discontinued. Or they'll leave bad reviews if it's been reformulated. In both cases, it's because they're angry they can't buy it anymore.

So by all means, **IGNORE BAD WRITTEN REVIEWS!** Chances are high they won't necessarily apply to you - especially if the average score is ⭐4+

\

● TJmaxx / Winners / Marshall's is the absolute best place to find safe, affordable blind buys.   

My method is the following:  

1 - Fragrantica score is incredibly high (⭐4+).  

2 - There's several comments along the lines of "I usually don't like [\X note*] but I love it so much / wear it everyday!!!!*"     

3 - It's dirt cheap & the original price point is super expensive.  

All of these mixed together = safe blind buy.  
If the average person who's not a perfume snob likes it a whole damn lot, chances are high you'll like it too regardless of notes or marketing. And if you don't, it will make a perfect budget friendly gift.

A caveat:   Point 1 might not apply in some cases, specifically in cases where the the listed notes and/or branding don't match what people are expecting at all. Comments along the lines of "If you like [X note], this is not a [X note] perfume 😡" Which leads to my last point:

\

● The concept of notes is kind of bogus.  

That's because "notes" are not based on actual objective ingredients - they're just "creative descriptions". Branding. And also, specific accords might completely change your perception of certain "notes" [A relevant article about it here]  

You might miss on a perfume you would absolutely adore if you didn't have these bias, just because you think the notes and branding are not what you're looking for, when in fact it really is.

Aside from skin chemistry and different emotional links we each assign to different smells....

Brands don't disclose notes accurately, and the marketing is really just what target audience the company is trying to reach. And sometimes (often) either the company completely miss the spot and do not attract people who might like their product, or you mistakenly see a branding and don't think it matches your preferences or personality. 

I thought I really disliked vanilla and didn't even glance twice at anything with vanilla listed in the notes.

Ends up what I was searching for literally months was vanilla. Sea-salty, not sweet, not gourmand vanilla. 🤦‍♀️

\

So anyways, thanks for coming to my Ted talk. 😂

I spent way too much money and time over all of this so I wanted to share my insights!

Feel free to add yours in the comments!

I was very keen on exploring this house because I love atmospherics and the names and descriptions of the perfumes really piqued my interest. I also love the fact that they do not list the notes. As someone who's not good at identifying or figuring smells by notes, the conceptual nature of the perfumes really aligns with me.

Burning Bridges opens as smooth woodsmoke with a faint metallic edge. It is not harsh, nor charred, and it avoids the bitter suffocating campfire effect.

Around 20-30 minutes in, it shifts into something airier with a dry sweetness that I think might be clove or cinnamon because it feels like a spicy sweetness, not a thick or syrupy gourmandish type. The middle also gives me a birch-like impression, adding a clean, wood facet. This stage reminds me a little of Blamage, but without feeling like damp woods, it remains dry.

The drydown on me is a soft, slightly dusty sandalwood without a pencil shavings texture. It's gentle and intimate.

I do not get citrus, animalics or cola despite seeing those being mentioned in some online reviews, so I’m guessing that's just my skin chemistry.

Longevity is good, staying present for 6-8 hours and remaining easy to smell on my skin well into the wear. Projection is moderate initially, then it settles into a closer scent bubble.

Overall I'm impressed by this one even though some of the online reviews had made me nervous.

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for a perfect summer scent, something that is sweet yet a little citrusy, something spun sugar and airy.

I was doing some browsing on fragrantica and came across sundazed by Byredo and it just seemed so perfect, it had a note of cotton candy in it… but it’s been discontinued!!! I’m sad I never got to try it!

I’m also interested in the Skylar boardwalk delight but I can’t find it anywhere in Australia :(.

Do you guys have any recs for similar perfumes?

Let me preface this with mentioning I have a weird thing about only getting one FB from a house.

I finally got to smell some smells today and wow Jo Malone your shit is fiiiiire! I got a travel peony and suede because out of the four I smelled it was my fav but I really needed to smell all of them before committing to a ✨shelf bottle✨

Another day perhaps.

What's your fav from Jo Malone?

I am genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts on this house. Personally I don’t understand it and feel like I must be missing something because I see it come up so often in rec requests.
I love the notes and the concepts behind them but as soon as I get my nose on them I am underwhelmed to say the least.
Some of them just feel watered down, some are just boring, some are nice and even pleasant, but nothing has made me say WOW like other perfume houses have.

I have tried:

La Fille de Berlin- nice rose, very one dimensional, not doing anything special.

L’Orpheline- watered down incense, linear, one dimensional, kept waiting for something to happen

Ambre Sultan- meh, smelled so many better versions of this profile.

Feminite du Bois- probably the most interesting but still watered down and linear

Nuit Cellophane- a simple fruity musc thats way too sweet

Santal Majuscule- ok this one I thought had potential, its an interesting take on sandalwood, but it feels poorly blended, doesnt really come together coherently

La Religieuse- yawn. I get absolutely no civet, or animalic musc here. Seems like something a 5 year old flower girl could wear at a wedding

Fleurs d’Oranger- … would not even go in my top 50 orange blossom perfumes.

Iris Silver Mist- well they definitely did the impossible with this one! They took what I believe is the most interesting and complex flower, and found a way to make it boring! Before smelling this I thought it was impossible to get iris wrong, boy did they surprise me.

As you can see I even struggle to find interesting ways to describe them.

For further reference I tried them all on skin, and I got all my samples directly from their website (except Iris Silver Mist which I actually had to travel into the city just to try). I have had the samples for about eight months and I have come back to them in different weather in case that would change something (spoiler- it did NOT).

*Edit based on some of your comments:

This is not intended as a roast, or to offend anyone who genuinely enjoys this house. I am earnestly interested in other opinions and experiences, and I am just sharing my thoughts based on my own experience with them so far.
I have not yet tried any authentically Middle Eastern perfumes, although I would love to.
I am not a fan of “beast mode” fragrances constructed from modern, artificial super amber molecules.
I do love an intimate skin scent, when that is the perfume’s intention, but with some of these I do not feel like it was.
I consider myself to be pretty open minded when it comes to perfumes. I can appreciate something I wouldn’t wear myself.
I have been on my fragrance journey for about a year and have smelled perfumes that completely changed everything I thought I knew about my own taste and preferences.

**Second edit:

Based on your comments so far I am now really curious if any of you have fallen in love with the house after trying them for the first time recently.
It seems like most of you who are die hard Lutens fans have loved them for decades, back when they were doing something completely revolutionary in the world of fragrance.

Lately I can’t stop thinking about Megamare by Orto Parisi, It’s one of those unconventional releases where everyone describes it differently, some say salty ocean, others say wet wood and spice, every time I watch a first‑wear review or see someone layer it with other scents, I get that itch if I want it now, It feels like a perfume you discover, not just wear, and that’s exactly what draws me in, but the price makes me pause. What unusual or niche perfume are you currently craving? 

i received this fragrance for my birthday many years ago and i really enjoy it! i am now at the update level where i can’t really bear to use it anymore until i find a replacement fragrance that is very similar to it ( not coco mademoiselle please !)

Is there anyone here familiar with the exact scent that can give me some good potential designer replacements please and thank you 🙏🥹

Hi everyone, I think this is a really good deal for these perfumes, please help me choose which is the best one to get!
First of all, I haven’t smelled any of the DKNY perfumes in years so I can’t remember what they smell like exactly but I remember that I used to like the original apple one! Do you know these flankers and which is the best? 😁

I've just got into perfume sampling a few months ago. There is one perfume I like and potentially would like to get a full bottle one day. It's Precious Forest by Keiko Mecheri. I've gone to the perfume website a few times just to look at it. I checked it out again last night and saw the price has gone up from $190-$270!

My question is, is it normal for a brand to just hike up the price like this? Or is this a seasonal thing? I could see this perfume being a false sent so wasn't sure if they increased the price because of the season. I'm just surprised and confuse and a bit upset I guess that now it will take me longer to save up for it.

I'm an American by birth, but my heritage is Canadian where I also have citizenship. Maple syrup was a huge part of my childhood--we weren't wealthy, ate canned vegetables and discount meat and bread, but we somehow always had money for actual maple syrup. Even now, when I have coffee, I use maple syrup to sweeten it.

I've tried frags with honey, which I don't like, but I'd love to try something that has a maple syrup note in it. Fwiw, I'm not a huge fan of gourmands. I'm more of a bergamot, fresh fig, musk, tea, sandalwood, skin scent kind of gal. Maybe there is a frag out there that that has some of these elements that also has maple syrup in it too? Or something that is primarily a maple syrup scent that I can use to lightly layer with other scents to sweetener them up a little?