Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Are there any perfumes you absolutely hate?

352 replies

Darklane · 15/12/2020 21:15

Just that really.
Reason for asking, I ordered blind ( stupid I know) a Liz Earle perfume. Even wanting to try them, no chance of testing at the moment, so picked one that loads of reviews said was gorgeous, favourite perfume, ever, signature scent, always getting stopped & asked what it was etc. The description sounded ok. It came & I hate it, it actually makes me feel sick when I smell it, couldn’t wait to scrub it off. It’s so persistent though!

OP posts:
FeltCarrot · 16/12/2020 18:47

Any perfume that I can smell from 5 yards away, but particularly Poison. I used to work in a small office with a woman that must have bathed in the stuff. I had to ask to be moved because it made me ill.

LadyEloise · 16/12/2020 18:54

Angel.
Oh dear God. The thought of it gives me a headache.
And Tweed.
.

Original poster
Darklane · 16/12/2020 19:22

@Deathraystare

Funnily enough I love the Liz Earle scents though I gave number 20 away to a friend but I think the one you mentioned is no.15 which I love!!!!

Presumably you bought it in a store. If you had bought via QVC you could have sent it back!

I did buy it from QVC, luckily, so back it’s going. Thought it was the safest way with not being able to test.

There are SO many that we seem to hate it’s a wonder they make any money flogging them.
I find it really hard to find any of recent ones that I actually like, though live in hope. Most smell so horrible, on me anyway, that I’ve had household products that smell nicer.

OP posts:
JMAngel1 · 16/12/2020 19:24

Spritzing Angel right now Grin

OrangeVelour · 16/12/2020 19:25

Aromatics Elixir. It gives me a headache just thinking about it.

mathanxiety · 16/12/2020 20:51

Angel by Thierry Mugler
Cabotine des Gres
Sunflowers

MondeoFan · 16/12/2020 20:52

J'adore

Absolutely awful, loved the advert and couldn't wait to use it. Hated the way it smelt on me. Like a £2.99 perfume

Lucked · 16/12/2020 20:58

Angel, No 5, Youth Dew, Aromatics, Red Door and Prada Candy. Actually I find lots of Prada scents that are meant to be musky smell off to my nose.

I am growing to strongly dislike Elie Saab la perfume which I have, it is very screechy

Surprised Alien is getting quite so much hate

usertemp1010 · 16/12/2020 20:59

I was in a supermarket the other day and a woman walking round had so much perfume on it was vomit and migraine inducing. It actually made me angry that she could affect me so much. I know people don't intentionally wear perfume to upset others (obviously!) but it did occur to me that if we'd been in a restaurant and sat next to her it would have affected my entire experience. (Not that I've been to a restaurant in a while of course in tier 3) Hmm

GGioia · 16/12/2020 21:56

Noa- cacharel, Joop, Angel, Tom Ford Orchid, Carolina Hererra Sublime, Signorina, Miss Dior, Paco Rabanne One Million, Hugo Boss Orange, Davidoff, YSL manifesto 🤮🤮🤮🤮

Plussizejumpsuit · 16/12/2020 22:10

@20mum

It is astonishing people feel free to contaminate the air they and everyone round them must breathe. These are not people who would deliberately blow smoke over others. They would not inflict their own choice of music at all times and in all situations and into the ears of all people near them. They would not go unwashed for weeks so that people had no choice but to smell them. And yet they inflict the artificial smell of their personal choice onto people who are made sick by it, who are allergic to it, who are distressed by it.

Better to just use unscented soap and water. If you don't stink, you don't need to try to cover it up. (The same with a stench-filled house, better to clean it than to attempt to mask it)

This is just peak mumsnet! Ffs
CommanderBurnham · 16/12/2020 22:51

Poison
Angel

Red Door makes me heave.

heathergem · 16/12/2020 22:52

Poison

FestiveFannyGallops · 16/12/2020 23:25

Obsession. Makes my asthmatic airways clamp shut. I've never understood why Chanel no 5 is such a classic. Smells old and fusty to me.

RollneckJumper · 17/12/2020 00:11

Hugo Boss - Hugo 'Deep Red'. Makes me gag!

Are there any perfumes you absolutely hate?
Thismustbelove · 17/12/2020 00:31

Darklan Is it No. 15 by any chance?

After reading non stop rave reviews about No. 15, I I went into Boots last weekend to try it. It was so sweet. It was awful. I went back to the counter and the assistant said 'I can't believe you don't like it, its our most popular LE perfume. Sweet? Sweet? It isn't sweet at all'.

She then suggested I try No. 100 their 'masculine' scent. It was much much better but not worth the price tag in my opinion. However the two samples I tried certainly had longevity. I had to wash them off!

As someone who found No. 15 cheap smelling and sickly sweet, I'd suggest No. 100 if you want LE.

Thismustbelove · 17/12/2020 00:34

I despise the scent of Eternity. It makes me feel nauseous. I also hate Coco Mademoiselle.

Hellofayearsofar · 17/12/2020 02:38

Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle. I had read so many wonderful reviews on this and having loved Fracas by Frederic Malle, I decided to order it. Fortunately they send you a tester to see if you like the perfume and it was absolutely horrific. I sent it back straight away. Ladies in a nursing home is what they should call it.

LightDrizzle · 17/12/2020 02:52

So glad lots of people have mentioned Chanel No 5.
It looks and sounds so elegant and classic that I want to like it but every time I try it...nope! It’s horrible and aggressive.

largeprintagathachristie · 17/12/2020 04:53

Angel. And it was so popular. That synthetic chocolate smell, and so strong. A colleague wore it from 1994 to 2000. Liberally.

Tartyflette · 17/12/2020 05:34

Jo Malone lime basil and mandarin smells like warm piss on me.
I bought Escentric Molecule 00 after it featured in a Mumsnet 'Swears by' email and a poster said she followed someone who was wearing it around a playground to find out what it was. (Unsniffed - almost always a mistake.)
Now, i don't hate it but it is just plain odd on me. Like dusty pepper, or peppery dust.

MackenCheese · 17/12/2020 05:55

Chanel no 5. Makes me feel sick!

BBCK · 17/12/2020 06:10

goldielockdown2
I love some of the heavy ones mentioned here so I'm glad they work for me but I was very disappointed by Shalimar. Since it's a great classic I was hoping I would smell 'grown up' and sophisticated but it smells like old bedding mixed in with curry powder and a bit of cat wee on me sad

I echo this. I keep trying it but it’s vile!
I do love a strong perfume and have worn and liked most of the hated ones, but have to agree about Alien.

Liv2015 · 17/12/2020 06:19

Alien, thought I'd try in when I was in debenhams once... it lingered on me for days!
Someone at work liked Marc Jacobs decadence, it didn't help that after every break she'd whip it out her bag for a couple of sprays! It could be smelt for ages after she left. Awful.

TheSilentStars · 17/12/2020 06:28

@Hellofayearsofar

Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle. I had read so many wonderful reviews on this and having loved Fracas by Frederic Malle, I decided to order it. Fortunately they send you a tester to see if you like the perfume and it was absolutely horrific. I sent it back straight away. Ladies in a nursing home is what they should call it.
Fracas isn't by Frederic Malle. It's by Piguet and has been in production since 1948.

Your final sentence is ageist and nasty.

Swipe left for the next trending thread