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!!!

Dona

Look out for Parfum d'Empire Cuir Ottoman - I love this after spotting it in a Marseilles parfumerie. It suits DH and even my eighteen year old son has been known to use it. He has pretty sophisticated taste for his age liking Mechant Loup initially because of the name but it has become part of his personal signature now.

"Cuir Ottoman, inspired by 'the erotism and the mystery of the East', is a leather perfume extraordinaire, forceful, elegant and extremely sensual. The powerful impact of the leather is softened by a bright and sweet orris note and ornamented beautifully by jasmine, herbs and incense. A sweet, balsamic leitmotif is always present in the background, perfectly balancing the potent brutality of leather. The scent, which is slightly animalic, resinous and warm, does indeed evoke the Ottoman splendor, dirt and sensuality. Mysterious, alluring and full of character"

Apologies for the repeat posting but having browsed the site mentioned by KiwiGirl- Surrendertochance, i am intrigued by Comme des Garcons Odeur 71 with the description -

"The ultimate anti-perfume, it combines the cloned aromas of everyday electrical appliances with the essences of various woods, willow moss, and angelica grains. With notes of dust on a hot lightbulb, bamboo, metal, electricity, lettuce juice, incense, wood, moss, willow, elm, bay leaves, bamboo, and hyacinth"

surrendertochance.com/comme-des-garcons-odeur-71/#ixzz2BcWBP7Xj

Has anybody smelt this or used it?

I have Cuir Ottoman somewhere Mig - will try that later.

Budding and full fledged perfume lovers, do you want to line up your favorites at the moment. I have hundreds of perfumes and almost unlimited choice, but my favorites (clearly a winter wardrobe!) right now are the following:

L'Air du Desert Marocain, Tauer (a blast of incense)
Miriam, Tauer (lovely crisp aldehydes with a soft heart - a modern classic)
Loretta, Tauer (The Tuberose - modern Poison)
Antaeus, Chanel (herbs, woods and leather)
Yatagan, Caron (dry herbs and woods)
Eau des Iles, Maitre Parfumier et Gantier (dry herbs, woods and smoke)
Bal a Versailles, Jean Desprez (for when I want to feel really feminine - the couture-wearing grande dame who peed in her pants)

I also had a brief fling with La vie est belle from Lancome (a light gourmand) - I considered buying a 30ml bottle yesterday at the duty free, but decided not to. I might score a sample somewhere and that might be enough for now.

Sorry if its bad form to crash but could anyone recommend a perfume for a 17 year old girl's Christmas present. I don't tend to wear much myself and wouldn't want to accidentally buy something that smells old ladyish! TIA

Welcome Jetstar. I'm a perfume lover but have much less knowledge than many of the other posters on here. Could you give us a potted description of her likes/dislikes generally? What perfumes does she already have?

Givenchy Dahlia Noir is a perfume my StepD was given by us and she really likes it. It is not too 'old' for a younger girl but is defibitely evening-y so she may prefer a daytime scent instead. Some of the Annick Goutal range are light and young although they are not the most inexpensive. What type of price range are you thinking of?

Funnily enough Juicy Couture's first perfume - 'Viva La Juicy'was rated really highly by the perfume guide (4 out of 5) written by Luca Turin so if she likes that style of packaging, that may be a good one.

Here are my Winter perfumes-

Caron Secret Oudh
Jean Charles Brousseau Ombre Platine
Parfumeries Generale Felanillla
L'Artisan Parfumeur Mechant Loup
L'Artisan parfumeur Mure et Musc
Mugler Angel (sorry!)
Parfum D'Empire Cuir Ottoman
Jean Despres Bal A Versailles (pure sex)
Gardenia (Chanel) which I mix with other scents
Serge Lutens Musc Koublai Khan
AbdesSalaam Attar - for mixing
Demeter Whisky Tobacco - pinched from DH
Givenchy Pi- pinched from DH
Guerlain Vol De Nuit
Victor Et Rolf Flowerbomb

I also have bottles of plain musk oil that I use to temper brighter scents.

Jetstar - Marc Jacobs perfumes are always fun for a young girl and stocked by most department stores. I don't know many teenagers who wouldn't enjoy these scents and their packaging. Get her a matching shower gel or body cream too for layering.

Victor et Rolf 'Flowerbomb is well thought of by my DD and I wear it too.

Stella McCartney 'LILY' has had good things said about it and I do like her 'peony and amber' mix and match scents which also come in solid form.

Could you have a mother and daughter shopping trip where you both try scents and then you can take note of her favourites?

Ooh inspiring list Mig. I may need to spend some quality time with MKK and Musc Ravageur - I omitted Malles from my list (because I like too many of them). And may need to buy a Spanish Leather by Geo F Trumper.

Jetstar I recommend giving a teen either a shopping trip or a gift card (and possibly a perfume guide - Perfumes by Turin and Sanchez or Le Snob Perfumes) instead of pre-choosing something. If you go shopping together, here are some sleeper gems at the mainstream perfume department: Allure Sensuelle by Chanel, Baiser Vole by Cartier, La vie est belle by Lancome and any of the Jardins perfumes by Hermes (perhaps also 24 Faubourg - I loved it when I was a teen). If the place where you shop carries L'Artisan Parfumeur, I'd have her sample Mure et Musc and Chasse aux Papillons. For light florals that are classy but don't feel old ladyish, I'd go for Annick Goutal.

When I was 17 I loved Dune by Dior, Amazone by Hermes and Obsession by Calvin Klein. Dune is a mean girl dressed up as a nice girl so definitely not a blind buy - and it doesn't smell the same any more, they have watered it down.

I had two minis (Edp and Edt) of Dahlia Noir but have given them away. For a mainstream release, they were not bad.

Thanks Kiwi and Dona, loads of fantastic info there as always. I shall henceforth blame DH if I ever smell bad .

I tried Tobacco Vanille this morning but it's a bit sweet for me. I really fancy trying Eau des Iles and Bal a Versailles next (although I expect DH to dislike the latter!).

Feminite de Bois and 1740 are still up there at the top for me.

Spanish leather is lovely. We've been long time fans of West Indian Limes cologne, shaving cream and soap. Lovely when weather is sultry....

Yes Dahlia Noir warms beautifully on the skin and smells less mainstrean than one would think.

In my teens I wore my Mothers Dorissimo, Shalimar type perfumes- I always preferred Orientals and the Diorissimo was too flowery for me. I used to mix Jovan Musk with florals to make them dirtier when I was 15. My first grown up purchase was Vol de Nuit- not a typical first choice at that age.

Spanish leather is lovely. We've been long time fans of West Indian Limes cologne, shaving cream and soap. Lovely when weather is sultry....

Yes Dahlia Noir warms beautifully on the skin and smells less mainstream than one would think.

In my teens I wore my Mothers Dorissimo, Shalimar/Opium type perfumes- I always preferred Orientals and the Diorissimo was too flowery for me. I used to mix Jovan Musk with florals to make them dirtier when I was 15. My first grown up purchase was Vol de Nuit- not a typical first choice at that age. I did like O De Lancome though and still wear it in the Spring-last years special edition called 'O' de Lancome 'Azure' was stunning, really light but with a depth on the dry down mimicking the darkness of water as you dive deeper.

Todays perfume is secret Oudh- imagine a creature of the woods has rubbed its bottom on a scented log....

oops....Posted too early.

Interesting description Mignonette...

My winter faves are probably currently:

Lancome Hypnose
Burberry London (the original one) - warm and orangey
Chanel Coromandel (thanks to this thread)
Tom Ford Tuscan Leather (ditto!)

I'm generally a green/fruity/floral person which is why this thread has been so great in getting me outside my comfort zone! My cheap-and-cheerful year-round "wallpaper" fragrances (when I can't be bothered to be imaginative) are:

L'Occitane The Vert
Next Just Pink
Hugo Boss Woman

Current winter favourite is Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan. Also loving Must De Cartier, Tom Ford's Black Orchid and Violet Blonde and YSL Elle. Once I receive my Frederic Malle samples, I expect to add a few of them to the list.

Perhaps slightly off topic, but could anyone recommend the best place to sell perfumes? I have quite a few sealed bottles of Amouage (men's and women's) that were being thrown out by my DH's old employer when they changed the bottle style. I've tried listing them on eBay at very reasonable prices but although the samples sold well I've only managed to sell 2 out of the 50+ bottles that I started with.

That's a shame *Lthewife'. Would have thought now would be a good time of year to put it on ebay.

PM me with details and maybe I'll buy and try one out if you can let me know the names of what you have. I'm always up for new scents...

I've sent you a PM mignonette. I just don't get it, I know they are a somewhat niche brand and the newer scents are causing more of a stir than the older ones, but I'd have thought someone somewhere would have been interested. On the plus side I did manage to make a lot of friends and family very happy last Christmas!

People often go for the more 'obvious' niche fragrances such as Fracas. Amouage is a serious perfume though-I do not get it either as they are very desirable brands. Maybe use different wording in your description rather than just the name, then it is more likely to come up in searches.

Ebay is odd- my DD sold a Westwood handbag for one third more than she paid and an Outnet Marc Jacobs T shirt I bought her for £22 went for £79! Yet brands that have a little more niche value and are better quality goods can linger.

LtheWife Amouage perfumes are great but also quite expensive - a friend is trying to sell his bottle of Gold but I guess he has had no luck. I think that the problem with people who are really into niche perfumes is that they prefer smaller decants to full bottles (to stay on budget and to cater for changing tastes - if you already have dozens or hundreds of perfumes you won't need a full bottle of anything).

Not sure what the Basenotes ad policy is but people do sell and swap perfumes on Basenotes, Fragrantica and Makeupalley. Worth a try?

Do you happen to have Jubilation 25 or XXV?

I finally read the Sophie Dahl article on gourmands in Nov Vogue. Well, there are lots of new mainstream gourmands at the moment. Nothing wrong with them imo, but it may be that many of them are easy to love entry level perfumes and people who become very interested in perfumes often more on to more challenging genres. That said, my most experienced perfumista friend (who has smelled everything and owns many rare vintage treasures) is a dedicated gourmand lover and addicted to ethylmaltol .

Yes you're right DonaAna Amouage is expensive, but I'm surprised by the lack of interest when I was trying to sell for less than 50% of the retail price! It's a good point about preferring smaller decants though.

I had looked into basenotes and fragrantica previously but it would seem most there are very wary of new users turning up and selling their wares. I can't say I blame them, but as I'm not "into" perfume enough yet to contribute in a meaningful way to discussions I suspect I'll be viewed with suspicion too.

No Jubilation I'm afraid (and if I had I may well stockpile it for my own use!). They changed the bottle style across the range when they introduced Jubilation and DH's previous employer no longer needed the old bottles so got rid of them.

Sorry L, perfume after-market is a bit tricky. Many people who are into expensive perfumes buy sparingly and swap a lot otherwise we'd be bankrupt. Hope you will find good buyers, as Amouage perfumes are really great. People also usually do not like blind buys and need to sample first. While I know a few places where I can sample Amouage (and I actually have many of them in sample sizes), I guess many other people don't - that might be a part of the problem?

Any Chanel 5 lover should definitely try Amouage Gold Woman!

Wow you guys, thanks for the welcome and so many great ideas (choosing will be the hard part now!)
I am buying for my god-daughter who I don't see as often as I used to when she was small ;) Her mum suggested perfume and said she has had lots of different kinds and prefers lighter scents and mentioned CK.
I have bought her perfume once before but I just went into a local perfume shop (now closed down) and asked the assistant for help - luckily she did like what I chose (can't even remember what I chose now - something with nice packaging!) I would usually spend up to about £40 and I like the idea of layering with body lotion too!
Thank you for all your help :) it makes me think that I might also buy some perfume for my niece (15) too!

Happy if we could help Jetstar!

I'm wearing Coco EdP today. Normally, I feel Coco is too strong for my life (and warm Italian temperatures!), but it is the perfect November perfume. I think I bought my current bottle last November - no coincidence! I try to get half sprays, as otherwise I feel radioactive, but just now I'm swathed in a perfect, majestic veil of its rose-jasmine heart. It feels like wearing brocades and fur. Not too sweet, not too spicy, just magnificent.

Ditto DonaAna have been feeling sniffly and sickly today and Coco has been a comforting spicy blanket for me!

I'm wearing YSL Nu, the Eau de Parfum.
It's a incense one.
They brought it out a long time ago, before the current woods- incense wave.
It was ahead of the trends, so they discontinued it and re-issiued it recently.
Mine is the old version, don't know if it's changed.

been in bed with a migraine since Tues so no perfume except a bit of comforting Louve on my pillow last night.
Dona I love dirty perfumes but prefer to wear gourmand too, I think due to my tendencies to headaches. Saying that I have a bell jar of Ambre Sultan and T.C which I love! I'm addicted to benzaldehydes for their almondy nature rather than candyflossy ethylmaltols.

Mignonette Comme des Garcons Odeur 71 sounds weird!

My lucky scents order came this morning. I ordered very specifically to see if I could find something similar to Louve (roses and almonds) that had more longevity and cheaper!:

Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum - ohh, no - has awful burnt plasticy note overlying the sweet candy floss. NO. just NO

Farmacia SS. Annunziata Cara - this is lovely. Very lovely. Smells like a vanilla meringue with some almondy top notes. Would buy this to wear in bed! My harshest critic, Flea the lilac ragdoll cat, adored this on me - he has a very sweet tooth and always shares a Mr Whippy with me so I think he was looking for his icecream!

Huitieme Art Poudre de Riz - has a very syntheticy top note, like fabric conditioner then turns to a fairly harsh white floral (supposed to be tiare but theres no way this smells like tiare). Didn't like it. Too synthetic smelling

I'll report on the other 3 tomorrow. Off for a comforting spritz of Louve!