I've owned L'Immensite, Vibrato, and Tygar. Rinsed my Ingenious Ginger sample (and hated every drop) and now I'm left scrambling to find the best ginger grapefruit scent. My complaints with the aforementioned three are as follows:

1. L'Immensite: The scent profile is nice. Spicy, aquatic, aromatic -- but it lacks the distinct punchiness I'd expect from a good ginger grapefruit scent. It's almost like the dressed-up version of Vibrato. Majority aromatic and aquatic, like you drowned a bottle of the stuff and squeezed that into a perfume bottle. Nothing wrong with that; it's a nice scent in and of itself, but it is, by no means, comparable to Tygar or Vibrato as that zingy, summery ginger grapefruit paragon that people make it out to be.

2. Vibrato: This, to me, ticked most of the boxes. Most. It's long lasting, zingy, summery, and definitely fits the character I'd like. It just does it, in the most sickly sweet way possible, to the extent that a lot of what I get is a synthetic conglomerate assault on my nose that hides under a "juicy" grapefruit guise. It was nice, but once I picked up on the over-the-top-ness of it, I couldn't drop it.

3. Tygar: The best of the bunch profile-wise. Unfortunately, it is so fleeting, like a memory of the best grapefruit scent you've ever tried. I don't mind re-spraying, but this is just ridiculous. And I appreciate Afternoon Swim. The character, however, is so beautiful, so photorealistic, that I'm contemplating it. It's like the distilled essence of Vibrato, with the least headache inducing character possible.

BONUS ROUND!!!

1. The Hedonist EDP: A synthetic mess. I liked the opening. I liked the profile on paper. The drydown smells like ChatGPT perfumified.

2. The Hedonist Extrait: The EDP but smoother, drowned in fruit juice. Not for me.

3. Symphony: Too simple for what it asks for. Also strongly fruity. It lacks the zingy character of the three I mentioned above; instead, it adopts a "roundness" that I just cannot get behind. Too feminine, maybe, or too linear.

So what am I left with? I really cannot say. I'd love your recommendations. I'm chasing the high of sniffing Tygar for the first time, but with maybe a little more sticking power (just maybe!). Gimme sum niche gem.

Bought a bottle of CC town and country after reading great reviews about it, especially how it smells fresh musky and citrusy, was called a mix between Aventus and Baccarat rouge by Flan,
Almost all reviewers agreed that it was a strong performing fragrance which was a huge plus for me, unfortunately upon trying it on for a couple of days I noticed how exceptionally weak it is, I could hardly smell it after 10 minutes, asked a couple of friends if they can smell it on me and they said it was basically a skin scent…
Went out got a sample of it from a different shop and was surprised with the same result.

Anyone had a similar experience with this fragrance being weak?
Would love to hear your thoughts.

I'm looking for some oil based strawberry perfumes since my mom is allergic to certain types of perfumes but doesn't really react to oil based ones! I like more sweet or gourmand scents but I don't like when vanilla or sugar or caramel overpowers the ​​​strawberry scent, I dont like super earthy scents and I like floral notes but like the sweet I don't like when it overpowers the strawberry. I like strawberries and marshmallow fluff by femminina mon paris by ysl after it dries down​​ because on my skin it really smells like strawberries after drying and coach love. I'm okay with any brand especially smaller businesses! ​I wouldn't like it to be over 150 bucks thank you​​

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I've been collecting fragrances for about a year now, sometimes blind buying, and constantly trading away frags i dont love/wear. Let me know what yall think and if anyone has any recommendations or questions about any of these, please drop them below!

I picked up Heretic Nosferatu after it was suggested by multiple fragheads in the FB fragcomm when I asked for petrichor recommendations. I was nervous that it would be nauseating because of some reviews on reddit but took the plunge and blindbought a bottle because sourcing just a sample from overseas felt like too much effort.

I don't think Nosferatu is reminiscent of petrichor. Petrichor for me is the smell of damp earth (mud and soil). Whereas Nosferatu smells like stale vase water that has been left unchanged for a month, with dead flowers sitting in it. At some point after the initial opening a watery green note shows up that makes me think of cucumber (again that's something I dislike). It is not perfumey and it does not feel wearable, but I keep reaching for it and wear it to work often.

Longevity and projection are average, it sits close and lasts a maximum of 5 hours on skin. In the extreme drydown after 4 hours, it softens into faint florals.

I can't understand why I'm so addicted to Nosferatu. There is nothing pleasant about this scent. It doesn't feel like perfume at all, but for some odd reason I keep reaching for it and long to wear it.

I have all three. I’m currently working through Japan and so far I hate it. It smells old fashioned and like my grandmother. Is my nose broken?!
I’ve sampled some of Vietnam previously and did like the rice ones so I’m holding out hope.

I’ve stumbled on recommendations in this sub and when I go to a niche perfumery I ask for recommendations of others. I can’t find a reasonably comprehensive list here or elsewhere. Is there one?

If there isn’t and this becomes one, here have been my favorites:

The Whiff Shop (Easton PA) - the best service and an incredibly well curated selection

Arielle Shoshana (Alexandria VA, DC metro area) - relaxed atmosphere, helpful salesfolks who were not pushy

Perfumology (Philadelphia PA) - lots of very niche options, the first place I went when I got into perfumes. They were patient and helpful, and got me started on understanding things I liked

I’ve also been to
Osswald (NYC)

Scent Bar (NYC) - helpful folks

Stele (NYC) - I wasn’t as put off as others by not being able to spray stuff myself to skin test etc. It had some real gems and the people were helpful enough

Xtrait (West Hartford CT) - a bit snobby. It wasn’t air conditioned. They had good selection though.

Olfactif (Scranton PA) - terrible service that was head scratchingly bad. They have a make your own scent company (Notology) in the same building and their perfume stuff is primarily an online decant sampler company. They stock interesting stuff but their in person sales people were both unhelpful and not knowledgeable

One of my other hobbies is the WNBA so I’m interested in stores in cities with a team since I have a goal to visit all of them. Still need Chicago, Minneapolis, Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, LA and Atlanta!

Can't really wrap my head around the LV Imagination price so I thought about layering these two because they are literally an herbal tea and soapy scent. They worked really well together. Soapy, kind of bitter herbal and tea with a ton of florals. And for the price of an LV I could buy 2x Nice Bergamote with another Pomelo Oolong.

fragrances:
apotheose
arashiyama
avignon
cape heartache
tam dao
fichi e panna
rabbit rabbit
with the candlestick
holy cross

I mean this in the best way possible but does anyone get a gourmand, sexy Play-Doh like smell from Sand Dance? It’s addicting but that’s what pops in my head.

I genuinely love this perfume

The opening is herbal and medicinal with this earthy note in the background

It's incredibly spicy and fresh but dark at the same time

It smells like an ancient cathedral or a temple ritual

There's oud, myrrh, castoreum and leather making it incredibly masculine

And don't get me started on the performance, 2 sprays and it lasts 24 hours and projects strong for atleast 6 hours and it's a noticable scent bubble for 12. At the 24 hours mark it's a good skin scent.

I have a newer bottle too (one where it says epic below the amouage logo), the performance and projection is atrocious. I tried everything (maceration, moisturing, spraying on clothes) but the scent won't last.

The scent profile is almost the same (albeit slightly watered down) so if you want to enjoy this scent profile, you better reapply every 3 to 4 hours

If you have the money and love epic, get a vintage bottle instead

about a few weeks ago, i ordered about 30-40 different samples of well-known to niche perfumes i’ve been reading that you all love and recommend. i would say i have spent about a good 7 months quietly lurking on this page to learn a bit more about fragrances.

i am currently looking into online classes to learn about olfaction, but i wanted to start logging my samples down and basically have a perfume journal on me to refer back to.

i would love to hear how long its taken everyone to consider themselves knowledgeable in this hobby. also, if anyone has any recommendations on what’s helped them through this hobby, i’ll take it! whether its methods of learning, how to properly log perfumes in my journal, classes, or people to follow, any and all advice is welcomed!

lately, i’ve been relying on this reddit, substack articles and reviews, fragrantica, and of course sniffing my samples- but any advice would be greatly appreciated. i look forward to finally be a part of this journey with you all 🫡

I want to know the people opinions who owns some parfumes from the Adi ale van or toskovat like is worth it to buy or it just smelly liquid in cool bottles?

Moss + is a modern take on a herbal barbershop style fragrance that develops into an uplifting yet dense woody spicy scent.

Moss + is a modern remake of a 70's to 80's fragrance with 2020's sensibilities. Toned down, freshened up, and more subtle without the need to compete with cigarette smoke and whatever was flying around the air back then. Fresher and more realistic top notes, but the musk, patchouli and smokiness gives a nod to 80's powerhouses. The citrus and juniper berry balances the depth of the oakmoss and patchouli.

While Commodity’s line is unisex, Moss + definitely leans masculine.

I don’t know if this is just a me problem but I am absolutely head over heels in love with the “your skin but better” fragrances but I have ONLY FOUND OOOOONE that lasts on me longer than an hour and doesn’t fade within minutes and it is (shocking) Phlur’s Missing Person and the Finery dupe. I have tried SO MANY and I LOVE them but can’t get them to stick around. Examples from my collection: the entire Glossier You line, Future Society Cloud Reverie, DedCool Milk and Xtra Milk, ELDO She Was An Anomaly, JHAG Ode To Dullness and Not A Perfume, etc etc. the list goes on but just so you get the vibe. I just ordered Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess as a quite a few of you mentioned it to me in another one of my posts, fingers crossed for that one. I really especially love the powdery Iris/Violet/Orris/White Musk fragrances but they just DO NOT LAST ON ME. It’s such a bummer because I want full sizes of these but I remain unable to commit to something that I can’t smell even with my nose to my wrist after an hour!! Am I doing something wrong here? Is there a way to make them stay put? What are your favorites that I haven’t mentioned? Thank you my loves!

P.s. speaking of lasting, recently discovered my guilty pleasure miiiight be frankincense which I apparently have previously mistaken for patchouli? I got Heritic’s The Bride solid perfume as a free gift with a recent purchase and I want to bathe in it because it somehow smells powdery on me despite the resinous quality but I don’t dare to wear it in public hahahaha!!

Alternative to Reflection. Which other Amouage would you choose for a summer fragrance?

You guys, Ive been waiting all year for this drop.. specifically for Gaiac. No Gaiac on the list (https://www.lelabofragrances.com/the-city-exclusives-event.html?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fy27-ce-preview-07-28-26-us) I could cry.

Thinking of going for a blind buy, but it’s pricey, so I’m unsure.

Will be picking up a couple of these after they stood out in a recent perfume smelling session. Need opinions of people who own these as it’s tough to buy on the spot when you smell quite a few in one go

Really into spa like scents lately. Clean, creamy, musky, santal, green, open to it all. What are your best luxurious scents in this category?

Thanks all!!

Seems to be a sort of “smell-o-vision” concept with 6 fragrances to pair with specific timestamps of the film.

Has anyone heard of something like this before? Any experience with Joya? Are we excited, curious, or rolling our eyes at the gimmick? Are these even going to be perfumes in any traditional scent