The Worst perfume ever!

[anniewoo]

Was in HOF today and as i have no money at the moment to spend (despite their sale) decided to cheer myself up with a spray ( or two) of their posh perfumes. Big Mistake- sprayed Serge lutyens Tuberose Criminale- and it was!!!! Well the smell was criminal- like camphor, moth balls mixed with wintergreen , that awful muscle rub stuff. Jesus wept and it lasts and lasts and lasts. Can't kill it off, despite Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio on my other wrist. You have been warned.....Though i do dare you!!!

Could I ask two things? I absolutely adored Jo Malone Tuberose and it was discontinued. What is the closest scent to this now on the market?

My key perfume since 2005 has been Flowerbomb. I try lots and always come back to it. Given my fondness for JM Tuberose, Flowerbomb, and Coco Mademoiselle, is there anything similar (but perhaps more unique) I should try?

Thanks. This thread is fascinating, I love it!

Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose and Gardenia is very strong tuberose IME!

Dona - another poster further up also mentioned Gucci Envy being sadly discontinued - I loved it and can't wear anything else that feels like 'me'. Could you recommend a different perfume that is similar please?:)

I love glo

I tried one Sarah Jane Parker one and liked. Can't remember.

Nowt wrong with jlo glow though

FreddieMercury- I was that other poster and Envy fan! Have you tried fragrantica.com? When you look up a perfume it gives you the main notes and suggestions of similar scents. It's a fabulous site.

The fragrantica suggestions of similar scents (as suggested by members) are:

Balenciaga l'Essence
C-THRU Golden touch by Sarantis
Ombre de hyacinth by Tom ford
and Boss nuit Pour Femma

I haven't tried any of the above and haven't even heard of some of them, but it's useful to know all is not lost.

Good guesses everyone: my two celeb perfumes are SJP Lovely (a book was written about it) and J Lo Deseo. I like the latter and wear it occasionally - it's nothing special though and falls apart in an hour leaving bitter residue - something that never happens to quality juice. I keep the bottles as a reminder why I moved on - I got fed up with mediocre perfumes and started seeking out things I really like. Once you find things you love, there is no going back to things that are just okayish.

HyvaPaiva, if you love Jo Malone's Tuberose, try Fracas, the great classic by Piguet. I think it has been recently altered, but anyone who loves tuberose should try it (also perhaps vintage versions from eBay etc). I like Malle's Carnal Flower a lot - not the easiest thing to wear. but a work of art. EL is probably also decent quality. But do not buy a full bottle blind! (Everyone: never buy anything blind. Take the time to wear a perfume a few times before you decide - then you see how it reacts with your skin and how you will react to it. I usually get samples or go to the store a few times before deciding on a full bottle.)

Balenciaga's new perfumes are decent and worth exploring.

I had some very humiliating moments with Joop! Homme once . A perfumista friend (who loves strong synthetics - Dry Clean by CdG and Bulgari Black for example) kept raving about it, so I tried it on at an airport and was mortified - pungent synthetic Kool-Aid cherries all the way and not something you can wash off easily - I kept my wrist under the seat during my flight and felt sorry for my fellow passengers. If you love that, try The Dreamer by Versace .

I'm wearing a great drugstore classic today - vintage Tabu by Dana.

I remember wondering why a male colleague was wearing such cheap and nasty aftershave once when in other respects he was well groomed. Then I found out it was Joop! and not cheap at all! yuk.

Some fabulous suggestions there, YouOldSlag and DonaAna. Really appreciate it, thanks.

It's a mystery to me why JH is so popular. I think it's daring and boundary-breaking for men. The friend who recommended it has generally great taste - he knows 100x more about perfume than I do and and has helped me find so many great ones.

But he also likes simple and powerful synthetics - and fabric softener Another synthetic recommendation from him: XS by Paco Rabanne.

C-THRU Golden Touch by Sarantis really intrigues me

And so does this...

HyvaPaiva, many of my perfume collector friends use eBay.de a lot - a great place to find vintage perfumes and also sometimes decants and samples of great niche perfumes. Look! I've found many things there that would have been difficult to find elsewhere.

Yes!
I knew it, I could smell it from here!
Sarah Jessica P Lovely is very much similar to Narciso Rodrigues For Her.
For her is a lovely sexy musk, but if if anyone decides to try it, make sure you try both - perfume and Eau Toilette. The Eau is muskier, perfume has a bit of flowers in.

Chandler Burr wrote a book about the creation of Lovely. Worth reading if you want to know how corporate and marketing-driven the process of making perfume is these days. She was unusually involved in the process - many celebrities just sign the agreement, take the money and have nothing to do with the end result. But I doubt that Lovely was what she really wanted (maybe the next one, Covet, was, but it didn't sell well).

I need to wear Avignon by CdG and Lovely side by side to see whether they have anything in common - SJP claims that they do but it's hard to believe. I love Avignon so much that I have a back-up bottle of it - it's a rich and fantastic church incense - Lovely is a very feminine and squeaky clean musk.

I'm really enjoying this thread and there are some serious perfume experts out there. I love niche perfumes and ones that cannot be picked up ordinarily on the high street. I now have a list as long as my arm of ones to try! Going back the the original title of this thread- it has to be Alexander McQueen's Kingdom. Very spicy and knocked me sick!

Shoe have a sample of Kingdom somewhere and need to find it and try it. (People keep giving me samples they hate - also have Baudelaire by Byredo.)
And if you need a smell that reminds you of raw kidneys, try Dans tes bras from Malle. Secretions Magnifiques by ELd'O is also a great yuck-classic.

Keep this great thread going people! As you see, there is always someone who loves what you hate (many experts think Shalimar is one of the best perfumes ever created... it got a few nominations here) and vice versa...

There are only two smells that make me gag: bleach and Paris by YSL. I know the latter is a great classic too and loved by many, but I got overexposed in 1980s (and a mixture of pickled herring water and Paris sprayed on us in a high school disco did not help).

Has anyone tried this? Sounds great and would love a tester before spending out...
www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Caron/Tabac-Blond-29.html

DonaAna are you there? If so can you tell me about buying perfume 'testers'? I was reading that you can buy full sized bottles sans packaging that were supplied to retailers to be used as testers, but never got used

They are much cheaper and I'm tempted Are these legitimate do you know?

'Givenchy Very Irresistible' is absolutely rank! Makes me want to vomit.

No legitimate seller is allowed to sell testers. They may do that under the table and for old stock, but if the distributor gets to know, there will be problems for the seller (have a friend who works in perfume retail and knows all the importer reps).

Perfume samples are a gray area. You are not supposed to sell mainstream samples, but many of them still find their way on eBay. Niche perfume houses sell samples, because they have limited distributors - they used to give them out for free (and sometimes still do, if you ask them nicely) but so many people are after them these days that perfumers have started covering the costs by selling them.

I have a few perfumer friends and it's certainly not the easiest way to earn a living. Good raw materials cost a lot.

I have a sample of Tabac Blond somewhere. Caron is a great old house but their current offerings vary - some are great, some are a shadow of their former glory. Will try to find it. I love Farnesiana and En Avion (the latter is fleeting though).

I have just bought this it starts floral and settles warm spicy. this has been a fab thread i love perfume

Dona if you can find the sample, can you describe it in your lovely way? I want to get an idea from a real person, IYKWIM, and whether it would suit a 31yo - don't want to be wearing something for 50+ but not 20- either. It sounds lovely and I really want to get something special for myself for Christmas :).

The worst perfume ever is one the has been downgraded to please the accountants.
My mother use to wear Madame Rochas,the new formula smells rather different,it doesn't have the depth/richness/softness.
Cabochard has been messed around with too. I'm just not sure what has happened there!
A perfume I used to love Byzance (Rochas) has I believe been reformulated and I dare not smell it as it would take away all the memories.
Tampering with a perfume seems to make it less attractive.

It's not just the accountants.
'Elf and safety as well.
Lots of traditional components cannot be used anymore for fear of allergic reactions.
Result - pale copies.
I must add that wholly I agree with banning of components because of animal cruelty issues and endangered species.

Wow,no idea about that,what were people allergic to in these pretty well known perfumes? Couldn't they put a warning on as with hair dye?
When you mention animals,that must be for musk?