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!!!

[YouOldSlag]

Chanel No 5 is overrated in my view. On me it smells like gone off foundation or face powder. I just don't get it.

[MsArseBiscuit]

None of the Chanel fragrances smell anything other than cheap and nasty on me, I've never seen the attraction of them.

[carlywurly]

Angel is vile on me. Sickly and pungent.

Someone I work with wears Charlie and I have to cover my nose with my scarf (which usually smells of daisy by Marc Jacobs)

[scottishmummy]

don't get schleb endorsed perfumes
Kate moss?
does it smell of fags and lager

[GreenEyesAndHam]

Yeah smells of fags and lager and for best results you sniff it through a rolled up £50 note

[recall]

White Linen - nasty !

[akaemmafrost]

There's three floral Angels. Rose, violet and Lily. Can get then online I had the Rose and Violet ones. I do actually love Angel but it's too common now.

[DonaAna]

There are about a dozen boutique perfumes at Chanel.
My favorite is their cool iris, 28 La Pausa.
I also wear Cuir de Russie and Coromandel during winter.
Chanel 22 is magnificent, Bois des Iles also very beautiful.

I know a lot of people who love perfume. Taste in perfume is highly individual; I do not know two people who have exactly similar tastes. But when you have smelled them a lot of them, you learn to appreciate well-made perfumes and good materials. I started out with timid and boring florals and very conventional orientals, but really love leathery, woody and green perfumes. Some perfumes are more cerebral and difficult - learning to appreciate and love them can take time, as one's taste can evolve.

Face powder has been traditionally scented with rose, violet (one of the first synthetic ingredients) and iris. Now that we smell that mixture we think of powder or foundation, not the raw materials. Because what is used in perfumery is also used to scent soaps, detergents and other household products, we often associate certain perfumery ingredients with furniture polish, washing powder, air freshener, or hotel soap. The first associations of Chanel 5 to a modern consumer is often 'soap' and 'old lady'.

There is a lot to explore beyond traditional floral smells. Most department stores offer a very narrow slice of the huge family of perfumes - nearly all new mainstream releases marketed to women are fruity florals. It's like going out for ice cream and being told that they only have strawberry.

[scottishmummy]

Chanel no5 old ladyish def yes
I like miller Harris,and penhaligons
love perfumes.wear perfume daily

[SorrelForbes]

DonaAna What do you think of the Tom Ford range? I've just bought DH the Tuscan Leather and it's the sexiest thing I've ever smelled!

[MummysHappyPills]

There's a dkny one that smells like nit lotion...

And a tommy hilfiger one that smells like eggs.

[notjustamummythankyou]

I can't bear clinique aromatics elixir. My sister loves it and sprays herself liberally on the stuff, but it just gives me a huge headache.

Also can't stand Red Door and most m&s perfumes - too headache inducing.

Oh and kenzo flower - adore it on others, but it smells like Mr sheen on me. What a disappointment.

[notjustamummythankyou]

*with the stuff.

[Merinda]

Issey Miyake L'Eu D'Issey, the one that smells like watermelon. That one made me faint more that once, and even retch on one occation. Absolutely disgustingly vile.

Love L'Artisan and Annick Goutal

[TheMightyMojoceratops]

Did there used to be a Chanel 21? I have this vague memory that it was the only Chanel fragrance I liked, years ago, but I can't find any reference to it these days. I can't even remember what it smelled like. Chanel 5 is awful on me.

On the bright side, I did discover Katie Puckrick (remember her?) has a blog entirely devoted to perfume reviews! Called "Katie Puckrick Smells"...

[BikeRunSki]

When I was 25 and skint my mum bought ne a bottle of Tresor for my birthday. I didn't think much of it to sniff (old ladyish) and it smelt awful on me. This was the 1990s and a (male) friend of mine's wife used to wear something very heavy, overpowering and cloying - can't remember what it was called, but it was v popular at the time. Envy maybe? I used to make me gag whenever I smelt it. I used to walk to work to avoid it on the metro (like I said, it was very popular).

[DonaAna]

I like many Tom Fords - Tuscan Leather is great. Some say it smells like cocaine
Two, no three of my perfume novice friends were immediately addicted to Tobacco Vanille.
Noir de Noir is a magnificent dark rose.

Tom's perfumes are unisex (=allow women to wear many goregous things traditionally reserved for men and vice versa) - worth exploring.

[YouOldSlag]

Gucci envy was created in 1997 and is sadly discontinued ( I love it). Maybe that's what you meant BikeRun?

[MrsSchadenfreude]

A big YES to the Chanel Les Exclusifs as well. I have No 22, which is fabulous, also love Cuir de Russie and Baies des Iles. I had Bel Respiro, which was OK for summer, but didn't absolutely do it for me, and the Eau de Cologne was lovely, but a bit too expensive for what is essentially just Eau de Cologne.

I am currently wearing Lux by Mona di Orio, which smells like sherbet lemons (but nicer!).

[SorrelForbes]

Dona. I couldn't comment

I bought White Suede for myself. Very nice too.

[notjustamummythankyou]

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[YouOldSlag]

ooh DonaAna, I could read your posts all day.

I am very disappointed with the current high street perfumes and I am increasingly going on line to search for that elusive scent that I can regard as The One For Me. The chain stores are awash with sleb fragrances (not all of which are bad), but I feel that the whole meaning of fragrance is getting lost in the stampede to fill the shelves with as many money making scents as possible.

One thing I love about France are the massive perfume shops where you can try all sorts of obscure and underrated gems.

[notjustamummythankyou]

Sorry! Oops - feeding baby just rolled over on to phone. As you were

[ATourchOfInsanity]

Angel is the worst. A lady at Fenwicks smothered me with it when I was a teen and I was retching by the end of the day. Took about 2 months to get out of my clothes through washing.

My mum used to wear Farouche by Nina Ricci and I would love to find it. Anything other than Yves St Luarent Rive Gauche out there that smells similar (olf maths teacher used to wear that and it has completely different scary memories!).

[LaTrucha]

Very interesting. Dona Ana - Are there any websites you would recommend for sample sizes? I have been years without finding anything I wanted to buy in Boots etc... I live in rural Wales and the idea of shopping for perfume is way beyond me. If I get to a place with good shops, I'm usually running frantically trying to find nice jeans.