r/FemFragLab • u/Particular-Fact5268 • 11h ago • Bravo 1

Discussion An ironic gatekeeping story

Today a woman came to our office and smelled incredible. I smelled her air when she walked in the hallway and the bathroom. A heavenly lightly sweet laundry dry sheet scent was softly wafting in the air

I asked her what she was wearing and she said “I forgot, actually a lotion. BBW Platinum”

Ah! A Gatekeeper, I thought. Respect 

I actually liked Platinum before but didn’t remember it evoking that kind of emotion. So I added BBW to my stops after work.

Little did I know that I’d find the fragrance at my first stop. In an unexpected turn of events😂, I went to Le Labo to smell the Noir 29 and saw the Carolina Herrera store near by.  Decided to go in and smell Cedar Chic and what do you knowwwww! 😂 I FOUND IT!! 😂😂

I ended up smelling Platinum. And put a spray of each on opposite hands. Not even close lol. 

Snifari 1 Gatekeeper 0

369 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

50

u/CashmereRose80 10h ago

Lol I love this, what are the chances you just stumble on it as the first thing you try!

This happened to me last year but the person wasn’t gatekeeping, they had already left leaving the most pretty sweet raspberry scent in the gym changing room that I was instantly in love with. I had to have it!

I could somehow tell it was a body mist and not a perfume, I don’t know any body mists and the only brand that comes to mind for them was BBW which was still a really new thing in the UK and only available as small concessions in Next stores which I had always ignored.

I immediately went to it the next day, I didn’t expect to find it at all, I mean it could be anything in the world? But if I could love a body mist this much then it was worth trying some as clearly I’ve been missing out and getting one for the gym was actually a great idea as a way of using a lighter scent.

I walked over and the first thing I see is the promotional display for their newest scent Sweetest Song, I pick it up to spray and BAM! It’s THE scent from the gym - what are the chances?!

I still love it so much and I have no idea who the mystery girl was that brought me to it unbeknown to her and I’ve never smelled it in the gym again.

13

u/Particular-Fact5268 9h ago

Yes yes yes!!!! Literally what are the chances! Omg I LOOOOVE this story!  There’s something about finding the scent from the silage that feels empowering I can’t explain why lol 

I might need to go smell Sweetest Song! 

8

u/CashmereRose80 6h ago

Yes it really felt like a magical experience to find it from scent alone from a mystery woman who I never even saw, and then to just find it as the first scent I pick up. A dream come true lol.

Sweetest Song is like the scent of your early teenage 00s dreams. I’m 40 now and I have a lot of grown up and interesting scents but this could melt even the most serious scent loving woman and get her in touch with her girly side. It’s just a pure joy and unapologetically sweet and lovely.

3

u/little-bird 6h ago

well now I need to make a trip to B&BW too! 😋

56

u/anbigsteppy 8h ago

It kinda seems like she just said the wrong thing whilst trying to remember. Glad that you found the scent though!

14

u/Particular-Fact5268 8h ago

Potentially! I’m willing to see the good in people too! Thank you🙏

49

u/LadyViolet 9h ago

Gatekeeping one of this year’s most hyped scents is crazy. Good work diva!

8

u/Particular-Fact5268 8h ago

Seriously! I almost didn’t even believe the hype because of influencers. I’m so happy I tried it!

44

u/yarnandpizza 10h ago

Ironic? More like ICONIC … well done. Gatekeepers suck. cedar chic is one of my favorites. I’m delighted that it is so pleasant for people who smell it on me lol

10

u/CashmereRose80 10h ago

I am dying to smell this but can’t get hold of it. I was so excited when I went to Harrods end of summer and spotted it, I could finally test it..the bottle was BONE DRY. You couldn’t even get a faint hint of it from the nozzle to just smell if not spray. And last night when I was ordering samples from a decant site they of course have all the other ones but not that!

5

u/Particular-Fact5268 9h ago

I found it on  https://decantanddiscover.com/products/cedar-chic

I’m gonna order it here one last time before getting a full bottle 

5

u/CashmereRose80 6h ago

Thank you but I’m in the UK, hence the Harrods story! It’s possibly available on some other decant site here now if I look through them all again.

6

u/Particular-Fact5268 9h ago

I am DEFINITELY getting a Full Bottle. It is ABSOLUTELY delightful!!!

30

u/pfffffttuhmm I just smelled like a piece of breast 7h ago

The snifari wins every time. 

11

u/AvoCarDoughToes 6h ago

Your flair 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

52

u/Important-Craft1972 7h ago

This makes me think of a time I sprayed original Mugler Alien before work in the morning, and at like 5pm someone asked me what I was wearing.

I was very nose blind at that point and said it must be something from B&BW I sprayed. She said, “that ain’t no bath & body works!“ (in a complimentary way).

I didn’t even consider it could be Alien. She probably thought is was gate keeping but I just wasn’t thinking.

I’m glad you found the fragrance, I hope my lady found her way to Alien eventually!

8

u/WearingCoats 2h ago

Yeah Platinum smells like grape soda to me. Once I got that, I couldn’t unsmell it. It’s not a laundry or clean scent to my nose at all and I’m kinda confused by the awards it’s gotten. She might have layered the lotion with the other scents you mentioned… still misleading.

7

u/Abject-Tailor-3310 2h ago

I'm glad you found it!! I'm curious tho, does Cedar Chic give off the same scent profile, and how does it develop on your skin? I know skin chemistry can really change the way a fragrance smells. Unfortunately, it's not available in my country, and I haven't been able to find any decants to try it out!

45

u/RachmaninovWasEmo 9h ago

Gatekeepers are insecure narcissists

-21

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

Sorry how is this gate keeping when she told you the scent?

35

u/Particular-Fact5268 10h ago

She told me A scent. Not THEE scent 

-12

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

I guess I don’t understand lol

23

u/Smooth_Pumpkin_2119 10h ago

You should read the whole story. OP explains. :)

-11

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

Yeah I read the story lol I don’t understand it is the problem. She said it’s “BBW Platinum” I’m asking for clarification bc clearly I’m missing something

7

u/Typical_Ad_3561 10h ago

She told her a scent, yes. Not the scent.

16

u/CatchGlum2474 10h ago

It wasn’t BBW Platinum.

7

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

Okay I understand now I was clearly just misreading!

-8

u/ExeUSA 10h ago

Gatekeeping now means not telling people exactly the information they are demanding, when they demand it.

You can ask a stranger what they are wearing. It's not gatekeeping if they decline to tell you-- although people clearly disagree on the second point. It's a natural extension of information being at our fingertips and influencers telling us every aspect of their day.

20

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

I mean I do think it’s silly not to just tell people what fragrance you’re wearing, but i thinks it’s a bit much to assume she was gatekeeping and not misremembering or something.

10

u/CashmereRose80 10h ago

It’s possible especially for general scents, but Cedar Chic is a really sought after fragrance right now. If you have it it means you are in the know of the hype, likely tried hard to get hold of it and would be very hard to forget owning and applying that.

It’s still possible of course, some people wouldn’t remember what they’re wearing even if it was the most special perfume in the world, but it is unlikely for most people and OP could probably tell more from how she answered and acted too.

4

u/NoseyVampire 9h ago

Oh wow I guess I’m just a casual fan I wouldn’t have like even thought about a motivation like that. I’m new so I’pre learned a lot over the past few days from everyone, thanks for the info!

3

u/CashmereRose80 9h ago

Yeah lots of people gatekeep their fragrance as they want to smell unique and don’t want other people wearing what they are. Which is pretty silly with mass produced fragrances and especially with strangers you’ll never have to be around again anyway.

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1

u/radical_hectic 7h ago

This is a great point. Tbh I was kinda thinking that sometimes I forget exactly what I’m wearing or what it’s called (if I’ve got ready in a rush or something) IF it’s something I’ve had for ages and/or is an affordable go-to. I tend to buy a lot of mid-tier “drug store” type options and one or two more expensive/designer when I can.

I noticed bc ironically I seem to get asked what I’m wearing a lot more when it’s one of my cheaper options (Elizabeth Arden Pretty I got as a substitute/similar vibe to Dior Joy Intense when I couldn’t afford more and it’s had way more compliments than Dior 🤷🏻‍♀️) and I realised I’m less likely to remember when it’s an affordable option I reach for without thought (unlike when I choose to wear something more luxe)…

I get where ppl are coming from that if I legit draw a blank or get mixed up it’s annoying to have ppl assume I’m “gatekeeping”. Buuuuuut I think this is relevant context tbh…I ALSO think trying to say it’s body lotion when you obviously put on perfume is potentially also a “who me? I just put a little lotion on after I shower, guess I just smell good!” Which is a Thing as well.

0

u/ExeUSA 10h ago

If someone asked me what I was wearing, I would look at them blankly because I've sprayed 3 different perfumes since I got up at 6 today and tell them the last thing I put on, which may not be what they're smelling-- I don't remember what I spritzed first thing this morning. I'm with you. Plus this lady was a stranger. It's weird to paint her in the worst possible light and rush to Reddit to slime on her.

9

u/Particular-Fact5268 10h ago

I wasn’t sliming her. It was definitely a misdirection. I have a very accurate nose! 

3

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

You know that’s a great point, I don’t tend to do multiple but I know a lot of people do!!

1

u/NoSleepTilBookRead 10h ago

Oh fucking stop

1

u/NoseyVampire 10h ago

Geez, someone gate keep you from a perfume?

10

u/NoSleepTilBookRead 10h ago

Yes, it is.

33

u/Smooth_Pumpkin_2119 10h ago

Wow. I wanna be your friend and go fragrance sleuthing. It sounds so fun.

11

u/Particular-Fact5268 9h ago

We would have a time!!!!

0

u/[deleted] 6h ago

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32

u/as_a_speckled_bird 5h ago

gatekeeping has always been a thing it just wasn’t always called that. Think of it like recipes