Budding perfumistas walk this way- Part 2 of the Worst Perfumes ever

[shoeprincess2]

As the first thread is nearly full, I've set up Part 2

Scanning down the list of celebs (many of whom I've never heard of) I notice that Kate Moss is a Bluebell fan. Maybe she needs a new bottle....?

And my 76yo stepmum's fave (Houbigant Quelques Fleurs) gets a mention from everyone's favourite burlesque star Dita von Teese.

Just found the time to scan through the original thread.

The worst perfume I have ever tried was the swarovski Aura one, not sure what the top note was but it is horrible.

Also Chanel chance didn't smell nice on me, but that could just be me.

I really want to love Dior Hypnotic Poison as well, and it smells great on the tester, but every time I sample it, it doesn't smell the same on my skin, it smells sort of gone off, or just soapy.

I would like to try some more fig perfumes, I love Philosykos and the Jo Malone one is ok, although it doesn't last on me. Premier Figuier is on sale on QVC, has anyone tried it? Would it be safe to buy without trying?

Thanks for the celeb perfumes link YouOld, very interesting.

Cointreau- M and S do a great perfume called Per Una Exquisite and a lovely older lady next to me in the shop told me with conviction that it smells identical to Quelques Fleurs. Your stepmother may like it. It's beautifully packaged too.

Qwertina I don't usually buy blind. Even if I know I like all the listed notes, the composition, longevity or some molecule used (for example: musk in the base) may be slightly off. That said, Olivia Giacobetti who made PF is a great perfumer. But if I were you, I'd take my time, order a PF sample, the L'Artisan sampler or a fig sampler from Surrender to Chance and work my way through them savoring the different figgy nuances. But I may be too fussy about perfume

You inspired me to spritz on some PF. This seems greener and less mulchy and jammy than Philosykos (am not wearing them side by side though). It has a good dose of galbanum which I love. A great fig - a favorite along with Ninfeo Mio. Did I say I love green figs?

Elle.com has a couple of really good articles on perfume - on sillage / presence and why some people find certain notes pleasant and others don't. These are exceptional, as many magazine articles about perfumes seem to be written by people who really don't know much about perfume.

I'm wearing Premier Figuer Extreme and it is gorgeous. I bought the little sampler thing direct from L'A P (£17 bargain). There are 5 different scents among them P F Extreme ....I am slowly working my way through them. I would be hesitant to buy without trying so this might be what you are looking for. I m pretty sure that I will like at least a few of them alot so money well spent. And post Xmas next year I shall be poised for the sale to buy a bigger bottle.

Some of the fig ones can be a bit coconuty.
The creaminess of the coconut is used for the milky sap of the of the green fig.
There is some science about this which I don't recall now.

Anyway, Ninfeo Mio is the least coconuty, I think.
there's also Figs et Garçons, which is quite nice, very expensive though.

Thank you for all the suggestions, I shall be ordering samples, it is my birthday soon... How different is the P F Extreme to P F? Is it stronger smell? Looking for something for spring/summer.

No takers for the Bluebell [hopeful]?

Don't know Qwertina - but can do a side by side. I think PFE is supposed to be sweeter, but cannot remember.
A fig sampler would be a great treat!
PF is long-lasting for L'Artisan, I can still smell it on my wrist.
The base is unexpectedly mature/powdery/sandalwoody, you may or may not like it. I loved the opening but the base is somehow too ladylike on me. I associate this base with well-groomed women in their 50s and 60s.

alas qwertina I am also the owner of an unwanted bottle of Bluebell. But I will eBay mine. As for the different between the Extreme and the regular I can not tell you as I have only smelt this one. There is a coconutty aspect to it which I hadn't immediately identified as such but I wonder if that is why I thought " This would be great in the summer" when I first smelt it .

I will sell it on ebay by the looks of it, although I'm a bit put off by a few non payers and piss takers from when I ebayed things before.

So, my list of perfumes to try: PF, PFE, Ninfeo Mio and perhaps Heeley Figuier, which is pricey so I would have to totally love it.

I love Quelque Fleurs! Dita von Teese and me - not often seen in the same place . Quelque Fleurs is my evey day perfume, and I think it smells beautiful. It reminds me of the bit in 'I Capture the Castle' where Rose and Cassandra go into a department store for the first time and smell a wonderful, richly-scented perfume, and look longingly at nylons and jewellery and women in little, simply cut black suits.

Am cogitating whether I can bear to spend £££ for a full bottle of Shem-el-Nessim. I'm not really a perfumista - I like to commit to a couple of scents and just wear those. And my style in perfumes is old-fashioned, rich feminine florals (so unlike my style in clothes, which is rather severe). I really love Shem-el-Nessim, but it is sooo expensive. But I yearn for the commitment of a full bottle...

Premier Figuier is my favourite perfume of all time. I rather love the sandalwood notes at the end, which don't smell mature to me but rather sophisticated and a bit naughty.

Qwertina great list! I love Heeley perfumes. They are expensive, but so chic. All about understatement - really great modern niche (samples here). They would merit much more attention that they get (imo, Heeleys are more interesting than say Tom Ford Private Collection).

Niminypiminy Shem-el-Nessim is a superb perfume, distinctive, and unique. One of the reasons why I love perfume. Go for it!!! It's really unforgettable. I'm seriously considering a full bottle. You can smell the quality of the raw materials - this is no ordinary juice.

Haberdashery I have sandalwood phobia - it smells great on most others but am not fond of it on myself. Fig+coconut+sandalwood is actually testing my limits - all of them notes that I find difficult. But PF is a great perfume, something I can admire even if I don't love it.

Want to have a fruity perfume recommendation from a fruit phobic? I love the fun and humor of Pulp by Byredo. Not worth a FB, but really fun to sample. It's like Carmen Miranda's crazy hat. Another perfume that is slightly Carmen Mirandaesque is In Love Again by YSL.

Good luck with eBaying Bluebell. I'm sure there will be takers, fingers crossed! I have a sample of it and that's enough for this lifetime Are you ladies aware of the Penhaligon library sample set? It's quite affordable. I love quite a few Penhaligon masculines - Opus and Sartorial for example - but the ladies tend to be too twee and traditional on me.

Dona Ana the first day I wore my sample of Shem-el-Nessim, DS1 who hasASD and is hyper-sensitive to smell, came up and whispered in my ear 'I love your perfume mum'. That's the kind of compliment money can't buy

I think I've found a perfume house that still uses the real 'thing' and not synthetics.
Caswell and Massey,it's apparently the oldest in the USA. I've never hear of it before.
I took a leap of faith,after quite a bit of research. DH is thrilled with his birthday present (today,so first time to smell!).

Happy New Year all Mumsnet perfumistas.
You perhaps know this already, but I've just found out that www.escentual.com has 20% off a large number of very nice scents at the moment.

Harbinger great explorations! I love hearing that your DH has received such an unique gift. I've never tried them. I have a feeling my neighborhood profumeria might have them, they have less known classic masculines there - Washington Tremlett, Geo F Trumper etc.

I'm wearing Sables by Annick Goutal today. The weather is as crisp and cool and clear as it gets in Rome. The perfume I'm wearing forms a perfect contrast: it is like maple syrup with a delectable slightly bitter herby edge: dark, slightly sinister and decadent. Puredistance M is a more opulent take on immortelle, a smooth sweet-talker laced with a bit of sexy cumin. Sables is one of those perfumes that keep me addicted. There is nothing quite like on the high street - it's slightly scary, temperamental and not necessarily love at first sight, but very rewarding. The magnificent 1740 Marquis de Sade by Histoires de Parfums also has a the same feel. The main note here is immortelle flower which smells a bit like syrup and bacon If you want to sample a great budget immortelle, Immortelle de Corse by L'Occitane is wonderful (but very light).

Niminy your son is right. Listen to him. It's worth the plunge.

I wanted to like Nuit Etoilee by Annick Goutal, but it was just a bit "meh." So I will stick to Eau du Sud and Les Nuits d'Hadrien for summer. I am still loving my Coromandel and have received many compliments on it. Most people still think that Ivoire smells like sweaty knickers so I am now using L'eau d'Ivoire which is lighter (but not as nice IMO). And Vol de Nuit for the evening. What else might I like? I also like, but no longer have, First, DKNY Woman, Grains de Soleil by Fragonard and Bel Respiro.

Nuit Etoilee was meh/blah on me too - so translucent I really didn't get it. But I have a very experienced perfumista friend who owns hundreds of bottles who really likes it. I have a FB of Eau du Sud and Ninfeo Mio is an AG I really like.

Mrs Schadenfreude Ivoire is difficult for modern people to appreciate as it includes at least two notes that can be brainy and difficult - aldehydes and galbanum. (Bois de Jasmin has an article in Elle about crowd-pleasers by the way - worth reading.) Both can be tart and bracing - people who grew up on tacky celebrity juices won't get them. Your taste is classic and classy, you like some great classic colognes, stand-out gourmand/orientals (so you get along with vanilla, amber and patchouli in Coromandel and the velvety sweetness of Vol de Nuit - have you tried Angel?). Bel Respiro is a light green. First is a standout aldehydic floral. I think you could explore the classics - perfumes with green notes and galbanum (No. 19 is the easiest to find, but there are many others), classic and modern aldehydics (classics: No. 22, Rive Gauche, Caleche, Arpege; good modern aldehydics: Le Labo Aldehyde, Miriam) and chypres (Mitsouko, Femme, more ideas here and here). I'd order some samplers from Surrender to Chance, or if you live in a place where it's easy to find good perfumes (did you live in Paris?), sniff around a bit. I'd go to Annick Goutal, Frederic Malle and Jovoy for example, and also the Guerlain boutique.

If anyone else wants to learn some classics and experience some of the greatest perfumes of all time, StC does some great curated sets that really help you to cover a lot of ground. I'd recommend this one (you can find about half of them easily in just about any perfume shop / department stores - the rest are more rare). Not as a very first purchase (it's important to find something that you really like first), but if you already know that perfumes are your thing and want to learn more, this would be the next step.

Sables is swoon-worthy.

You're a fearless woman, DonaAna.
Sable's a monster.
I thought I could get away with it a few years ago and even bought a bottle.
Benn sitting on my dressing table ever since.
It's wearing me when I put it on. I can physically feel its presence around me.

I'm wearing Lonestar Memories today; I absolutely love the smoky leather, although L'Air du Desert Marocain is marginally my favourite.

CointreauVersial- agreed. We must have similar tastes in perfume.

I'm wearing Tabac Blond today Cointreau ......may have to set up another swap!......too heavy for me I think...