Does the name of a perfume ever put you off it?

[Iwanttoliveinagardencentre]

Would the name of a perfume ever put you off trying it or put you off wearing it even if you actually liked the smell?

I was given a bottle of Insolence by Guerlain some years ago and the name really annoyed me.

It made me feel women wearing it were being compared to a disobedient child.

But maybe it is just me that thinks about the name of a perfume at all.

Dp bought me More Sex by Charlotte Tilbury.
Its nice but if anyone asks what I'm wearing I cant being myself to say it, I'm not a prude or anything but it's just an awful name for a nice perfume

Yes. Good Girl. Sounds like a dog being patronised.

Given that imagery, tone, style are precisely what we’re paying for when we buy perfume - rather than just odorous liquid in a bottle - the name the manufacturers give the thing is obviously crucial.

When I hand over my £250 (or whatever) I’m investing in an idealised (and often novel) story of myself - and every single element of the product; named perfumer, brand, social media, price, meaning and history of concept, rarity of ingredients, visual presentation, stockist, etc, etc has to be exactly spot on to maintain the feeling of being enthralled for long enough to click ‘Buy’.

It’s not just you!

Anything with a celebrity name

Yes, the name can put me off but also the bottle. There’s one that’s shaped like a high heeled shoe? I’m sure it’s very lovely and probably expensive but whenever I’ve seen it I’ve never wanted to try it because to me it just looks cheap and tacky! I don’t want it on my dressing table. I’m probably missing out on a lovely perfume though due to my prejudice about it!

I feel the same about celebrity wines. Why do they think sticking someone's name on the bottle makes it more appealing?

I want to buy the knock off insolence but it's called Abusive!!!

It’s quite tame really but I’ve never liked the name Alien. I don’t like the scent either thankfully.

Also hard agree on the bottles being offputting too!

I love Missing Person by Phlur, but I'm not mad on the implications of the name.

On the other hand, I love the quirky names of some of the fragrances by 4160 Tuesdays. At work, where I'm known for my love of perfume I might get, 'Ooh, what are you wearing today, Drama?'

To which I might reply, 'Actually, it's Tart's Knicker Drawer, dahling'.

It amuses me

The same person (ex husband) who bought me Insolence had previously bought me Hot Couture by Givenchy.

I didn't like the bottle or the name of that one. The original bottle was like a flat rectangle laying back at an angle rather like a picture on an easel. It looked stupid.

Thinking about it the ex husband always bought me what he wanted me to wear rather than what I actually wanted and it wasn’t just confined to perfumes.
Like buying me flashy gold jewellery when I only like discrete silver.

I sound ungrateful but it was all about him making me over to the woman he wanted.

I have seen the adverts for that one and thought no thanks, I’m not a labrador!

Good Girl Gone Bad or some such bollocks, Kilian seem to have lots of daft names. i like the sample but not buying.

Yes. I don’t want to be a copy of someone else.

Blimey!
No alluring feminine mystery there.

When I hand over my £250 (or whatever)
How much? I thought £65 was steep! Completely misses point of thread

Yes!! I hate Good Girl!

Years ago I wouldn’t buy a Chanel or Dior perfume - can’t remember which - because I hated the misogynistic overly sexualised advert.

Also didn’t buy Prada Paradoxe as don’t approve of Emma Watson and found the tv ad incredibly annoying.

Was amused rather than offended by I think Tom Ford one ‘ F….. Fabulous’ .. but I didn’t find it so !!

Strangely I nearly always love perfumes with place names eg Hermes 24 Faubourg, Boucheron Avenue Montaigne., Arden Fifth Avenue, old M&S New York.

Gwyneth Paltrow did a candle called 'This smells like my vagina'
I don't know if she did a perfume range, but I'll be passing thanks 😕

There used to be a perfume called Oui, not sure if it’s still around. I’d never given the name any thought until we went to see Sue Perkins doing stand-up and she commented that it could be a bit tricky if someone asked what it was: ‘You smell nice, what is it?’ ‘Oh, thank you, it’s Oui.’ 😄

There was a Diesel fragrance called Loverdose which smelt lovely but the name made me think of an STI.

Envy by Gucci just sounds so negative and discontented.

Actually it was me missing the point of the thread by not giving examples - but I never remember the names of perfumes I don’t want.

Oddly enough several of my preferred things have similar-ish names though:

Dans tes Bras
Ferme tes Yeaux
Jeux de Peau
La Peau Nue

But there’s no way I’d have been interested in any of them if they’d been promoted through TV or print adverts involving giggling 16 year olds cavorting on a verdant hillside. (Actually any obvious advertising would have put me off.)

Not a perfume, but I saw a bottle of Bathtub Gin in Sainsburys and thought, "No thanks - what if they didn't clean the bath first?"

It’s the shape of bottles that really gets me! Can’t stand it if end up having a tiny naked woman (or just half of a woman) in the palm of my hand whenever I spritz myself. It’s just off-putting!

but the name and advertisement matters as well. I personally strongly prefer a somewhat bland / uninspiring campaign (and appearance) to a sexist or otherwise off-putting one. If it’s simply bland I can project my own story… One reason I used to rather like Pierre Guillaume / Parfumerie General: clean shapes, just numbers and some rather gorgeous perfumes…

(when I tried GG my mother came over to visit and her first response was asking what I had done because something apparently smelled extremely unpleasant to her 🤣 she’s never had that reaction to any of my other perfumes so I took it as a sign that this one wasn’t for me… edit: and my SO described is as smelling “like perfume”, which wasn’t quite the endorsement I was hoping for either.)

Maybe Baby by Benefit (RIP). Was a gorgeous peachy after shower smell but the name either meant
“Yeah whatever love”
or
”Oh fuck I’m pregnant”

Sauvage now just reminds me of the defaced Sausage posters.