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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To find the scent of lavender pungent and unpleasant.

23 replies

DramaAndBullshit · 17/06/2026 19:22

This is kinda light hearted, and I acknowledge I have a sensitive nose, but I find lavender scented things really stink. I was given some handwash and holy crap the scent is so strong, it’s sitting on my bathroom sink and I avoid using it because I get these wafts of the smell for hours afterwards.

So
YABU lavender scented stuff is lovely

YANBU lavender stinks.

OP posts:
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DilemmaDelilah · 18/06/2026 09:35

I love the smell of real lavender. DH associates it with the smell of (artificial) lavender scented urinal blocks, so he hates it. Each to their own.

MrsShawnHatosy · 17/06/2026 21:42

concertinacornflake · 17/06/2026 20:20

Real lavender is a nice smell, but synthetic can vary widely.

L’Occitane Lavender shower gel and body lotion are lovely - quite a light fragrance.

CoastalCalm · 17/06/2026 21:40

I love the smell of my lavender bushes when I get out the car as planted all down driveway but the artificial smell is too strong

Cushionseams · 17/06/2026 21:40

Quickqueensquirrel · 17/06/2026 19:29

Years ago I used to think lavender had a pretty smell to it.
I had no objection to it at all.
Then I became pregnant with my first child and I went to visit my mum.
She had hanging in her kitchen a little wicker container that was stuffed full of dried lavender.
I think it was meant to be making the room smell nice.
One whiff made me vomit, and it was a long time before I could bear to smell it.
Fast forward my husband maintains a beautiful garden and he loves lavender, it's everywhere.
It doesn't make me sick anymore but I still don't like it and avoid anything that says it is lavender in it.
You are probably being unreasonable OP, but if you are, then so am I.

I once felt that way about doughnuts.
Wish I still did

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 17/06/2026 21:39

I do like the smell of real lavender but I find it does need to be in relatively small doses. For me it’s not nice infinitely, like an orange sent or something.

SqueakyFromme · 17/06/2026 21:29

MrsMoastyToasty · 17/06/2026 20:06

I can't stand the smell of lilies. The bloody things always seem to be in wedding bouquets and funeral floral arrangements.
They also give me really bad hay-fever.

Agree. They’re sickly smelling and have an almost decayed smell to me

FinallyHere · 17/06/2026 21:21

StabiaGirl · 17/06/2026 19:25

YABU to conflate artificially scented lavender with the real thing.

This. First post nails it

Mycarsmellsoflavender · 17/06/2026 21:15

YANBU. There’s a story behind my username. ‘D’H (now ex-H) borrowed my car with my permission and decided it smelled mouldy so tipped a whole bottle of synthetic lavender fragrance into one of the rear footwells (without my permission or knowledge). Next time I went to drive it, I couldn’t bear the smell - it made me feel nauseated. I tried sponging down the offending footwell with soapy water but to no avail. We ended up swapping cars and then a few months later he crashed the lavender-scented car and wrote it off. So the car has long gone and so has the husband but the MN username has stuck. Pleased to report that the car I have now does not smell of lavender.

Thebigonesgetaway · 17/06/2026 20:56

No I don’t like lavender either, I dislike the smell. I don’t even like the garden stuff, but the dried stuff, the essential oils and the fake stuff is horrible.

Original poster
DramaAndBullshit · 17/06/2026 20:51

StabiaGirl · 17/06/2026 19:25

YABU to conflate artificially scented lavender with the real thing.

Artificially scented is absolutely much worse, yes, but I even find sachets of dried real lavender too much.

Flowering lavender in a garden is nice, yes, but in any concentration, to me, it’s ick.

OP posts:
offtodreamland · 17/06/2026 20:20

If I had to choose only one scent to smell for the rest of my life, lavender would be a top contender. So from my point of view, YABU, but of course scent is a very personal thing. I've gone to trouble growing other strongly scented plants before (tuberose, night-blooming jasmine), only to discover that they smell awful to me, despite being favourites of so many others.

concertinacornflake · 17/06/2026 20:20

Real lavender is a nice smell, but synthetic can vary widely.

PetiteParakeet · 17/06/2026 20:18

Not unreasonable at all since it’s all subjective! I like the smell of lavender, but am ambivalent about a couple of other flower scents and discovered when I grew indoor Paperwhite Narcissi that I really dislike the scent.

MrsMoastyToasty · 17/06/2026 20:06

I can't stand the smell of lilies. The bloody things always seem to be in wedding bouquets and funeral floral arrangements.
They also give me really bad hay-fever.

AbsoluteHoot · 17/06/2026 19:36

I’m with you on lavender scented soaps or creams 🤢

But actual lavender I find delightful. We have a lavender path in our garden and I love it.

ShrimpBoil · 17/06/2026 19:34

I'm like that with roses- love the real thing, can't stand rose scented stuff.

SkippitySkoppity · 17/06/2026 19:33

YANBU.

I like the scent of a lavender plant in a garden. But that's where it ends. I hate lavender pillow sprays, I hate sachets of dried lavender, I hate lavender handwash. Just stay outside, lavender, and we won't have any problems.

curtaintwitcher78 · 17/06/2026 19:32

I agree with PPs. Artificial lavender fragrances are vile. Real lavender is gorgeous. I'm watching mine flower right now and can't wait until the garden stinks of it.

BeMintFatball · 17/06/2026 19:30

You are being unreasonable. I touch every lavender plant I pass. Also , really soothing for adult daughter who has poor mental health.

Quickqueensquirrel · 17/06/2026 19:29

Years ago I used to think lavender had a pretty smell to it.
I had no objection to it at all.
Then I became pregnant with my first child and I went to visit my mum.
She had hanging in her kitchen a little wicker container that was stuffed full of dried lavender.
I think it was meant to be making the room smell nice.
One whiff made me vomit, and it was a long time before I could bear to smell it.
Fast forward my husband maintains a beautiful garden and he loves lavender, it's everywhere.
It doesn't make me sick anymore but I still don't like it and avoid anything that says it is lavender in it.
You are probably being unreasonable OP, but if you are, then so am I.

Blueberries0761 · 17/06/2026 19:28

I don't mind the smell of a small amount of pure lavender essential oil in the evenings, as it can help sleep, but I don't like artificially scented lavender products.

NoWordForFluffy · 17/06/2026 19:26

StabiaGirl · 17/06/2026 19:25

YABU to conflate artificially scented lavender with the real thing.

Exactly what I was thinking!

StabiaGirl · 17/06/2026 19:25

YABU to conflate artificially scented lavender with the real thing.