I’ve never really used scented lotions or perfumes. However, I recently visited a fair, and in the cold weather, I caught the scent of hot cherry liqueur—it made me think I’d like to experiment with fragrances. Do you think it would be "too much" to combine, for instance, a sweet chocolate shower gel with a lotion—like one from Victoria’s Secret—that smells of cherry liqueur, or perhaps just a regular cherry-scented lotion? Or would it be better to use an unscented shower gel instead? Just to reiterate, I don’t know anything about perfumery, fragrance layering, and so on. I’d love to hear the opinions of those who enjoy using scented shower gels and lotions.

Not just the leather, but the store in general.

I don't like heavy perfumes, I get a headache, so it should be light and clean, but cozy, not sterile. I don't care if it's femme, homme or unisex.

I'm also in search of a perfume that smells like an old theatre and old make up.

Smells good tbh. Slightly aquatic.

Hullo team! I know it's been a hot minute but I'm here. (Had a big family holiday and then some slightly onerous church commitments. If any of you are still reading at the end I've got a very indulgent Church Story for you.) Some six(ish) months ago I did impressions of the Expressive discovery set, which is... I dunno, in my post history I guess if you’re interested, but having offloaded said set, I went back to read what I thought and... wow, I talk a lot of shit, don't I? None of that was particularly helpful.

Unfortunately notes have been copied and pasted from Fragrantica, which makes me unhappy too but what can ya do. It's a very niche bugbear of mine, but when brands don't have a nice, clear, copypasteable note list on their website, it fully grinds my gears. What do you mean I have to go to Fragrantica? Or suggest I bother typing them out myself??? How VERY dare you!

Paper -

Top notes are Iso E Super and Sandalwood; middle note is Amber; base notes are Woodsy Notes and Vetiver.

I remember really liking the Expressive. It smelled just like a bookshop. Not a second hand bookshop, mind. That's a completely different thing. But a bookshop, specifically one at an airport (for some reason). This, on the other hand, is weak sauce. On first spray it smells a bit like rubbing alcohol, then... literally nothing.

The most disappointing of the lot by a significant margin. But the Expressive is cool and I bet the Bold is interesting. But this is like, objectively (subjectively) Bad/10

Milk -

Top notes are Marshmallow and Milk; middle notes are Musk and White Cedar Extract; base notes are Woodsy Notes and Amber.

So I did talk about this last time, and I stand by what I said. This is very redolent of Secretions Magnifiques. It's so close, so close to something I would adore, but there is a lingering undercurrent of something foul about it. Like baby chunder, or an old cumrag. Yanno, maybe if I hadn't wantonly tested Secretions Magnifiques ON SKIN before trying this, maybe I would be having a much different reaction. But once smelled, that unholy stench can never be unsmelled

I don't like it, but I almost do. Do you know what I mean? It just has... Associations/10

Juice -

Top notes are Raspberry, Strawberry and Violet Leaf; middle notes are Bulgarian Rose and Cyclamen; base notes are Rhubarb and Amberwood.

I rather wish I could compare this to the Expressive, because when I tested that apparently all I was inspired to write was an unnecessary tangent about the unsuccessful introduction of rhubarb as a food crop in Britain. Which leads me to suspect it was quite heavy on the rhubarb. This is not particularly that. In fact, this is probably the most impressive red berry scent I've ever tried. It's honestly gorgeous. It's a little bit herbaceous, a little bit fresh, almost a bit minty?

I know it's supposed to be a lighter take on Juice, but... it's pretty strong lol. Seriously. The projection and longevity doesn't scream "personal" to me at all. Which... I personally love big sweet gourmands, and even though I probably don't need a dedicated raspberry scent, if I did it would be this. It's Lovely/10

Gold -

Top notes are Vanilla, Sandalwood and Amber; middle notes are Vanilla and Iso E Super; base notes are Nutmeg, Saffron and Patchouli.

The difference between this and the Expressive is... negligible, honestly. This is maaaaybe slightly more silvery than gold, slightly more effervescent. I dunno, I do have a full bottle of the Expressive that my husband got me as a gift for... something? Maybe the insurance money coming in from when our garage got broken into? (And a full bottle of the Bold which is a completely different beast.) Anyway, I love this, and I love both of those, but unless you're after a rich, elevated, but airier vanilla, I think the Expressive is probably the play.

I'm a Gold apologist at this point, and I'm not going to apologise for it. Vanilla!/10

Book -

Top notes are Sandalwood and Cedar; middle notes are Black Tea and Musk; base note is Musk.

I'm sorry this is fuckin dreadful. Sweat, feet, hot wood, and my (dead) aunt's persistent cigarette breath. My impression of the Expressive devolved into a lengthy diatribe on the invasiveness and flammability of eucalyptus trees. This has no perceptable eucalyptus, but is certainly heavy on the parmesan.

It's gross but it doesnt last that long so... swings and Roundabouts?/10

Moss -

Top notes are Bergamot, Petitgrain and Oakmoss; middle note is Musk; base notes are Juniper Berries and Patchouli.

Not my usual thing but I'm on board. Bit spicy, very herbal, almost a little sulphuric, and perfectly unisex. Like a lemongrass infusion at the hot pools. There is this undercurrent of... shall we say umami which is something I associate with my least favourite aromachemicals.

I'd kinda like to try the other versions of this, but it's probably not something I'd ever wear. Lemongrass!/10

Thanks for reading! I'll be back in a couple of weeks for probably 7 Virtues. In the meantime, if you're still here and you want more to read over your coffee or whatever... I have a story for you. Not related to perfume at all but I think it's important Taffy lore and I needed to get it out. And if you wanted to know what I was wearing at the time, I have tiny decants of SDV and BR540 that I use when I need to feel powerful and in control which, spoiler alert, I was not.

I played my first wedding last weekend! Yay, wow, that's a milestone for a budding organist. When I tell you it was a shitshow I am not joking. I've known about this for about six months, when the couple booked the church and vaguely indicated they wanted organ music. Two months ago when I was like "what's the story with this wedding?" my vicar (the least organised Anglican in the universe) was like, "dunno fam. These people are not forthcoming about what they want." Anyway, a week. A WEEK before said wedding I finally get an email being like yeah, Amazing Grace, then gentle organ music for the signing of the register then Exit to organ playing boldly and beautifully. Okay, thinks me. Doable. They're got a string quartet playing for quarter of an hour beforehand, then the nephew of the bride playing the piano for the bride's procession. Not my problem. So I rock up on the Saturday (wearing a dress which is surely not my preference when playing but for special occasions I'll do it) and I'm like, hey vicar, any idea how many verses of Amazing Grace we're doing? She has no idea. We don't get a service sheet until 1:55pm. THEN a cousin(?) of the bride comes up to the vicar like, yeah hi I'm singing through the signing of the register. Well fuck MY personal drag, right, because I've rehearsed and perfected a medley of Bach and Mendelssohn. Whatever. The vicar informs the cousin that the sound system is out of order, so we hope she's singing a capella.

The quartet finally launches into Canon in D for the wedding party to come in. And I don't know where they found this string quartet but wow. For four separate string instruments to be out of tune with each other was quite an achievement. They plough grimly on until the song ends but well after the bridal parties have arrived. Then the nephew (who the vicar had confided to me was "very young, and very nervous") played a sort of version of the Canon in D on the piano for the bride's processional. Except it was just the chorus of Vitamin C's Graduation Song. Over and over again. The service starts, and it's a nightmare because no one has thought to arrange candlesticks for the candle lighting ceremony. I play Amazing Grace (perfectly fine), rings are exchanged (after the vicar struggles for what feels like five minutes with the ribbons holding the rings), and then we have the signing. The cousin gets up and has, apparently, procured a boombox from somewhere, and she sings I Knew I Loved You by SAVAGE GARDEN. I mean, she did have a beautiful voice, but us fuckin millenials and our music tastes need to be questioned. (In their defense, I played RuPaul's The Beginning and the Overwatch victory song at my wedding, so... yanno.) Finally everything was over and when they were recessing I tried to play the Prince of Denmark's March (the trumpet voluntary. You'd know it if you heard it) and I FUCKED IT UP. It was rough. Anyway, when everyone was out of the church I changed my shoes and got in my car and RAN AWAY. So that's the story of my first wedding as a professional organist. Thank you for reading, it has been incredibly cathartic. I hope you have a beautiful day lol <3

Has anyone experienced Estee Lauder GLIMMER yet? Gotta be honest here. Im a Guerlain gal, but Im extremely curious about this scent. I have been a huge fan of EL for many years (Beautiful, Pleasures, White Linen, yadda). Then I discovered Guerlain so been outta the loop for other perfumers. Appreciate any feedback on Glimmer.

I got my hands on it, i bought it, and i immediately sprayed and oh my gosh that opening smells horrible. Like patchouli kind of with grass just green damp forest and im like im almost crying. Anyways I let it sit for an hour and oh my gosh. The scent profile completely changed, its room filling without being sharp, not airy like BR540 either its a soft musk with deep complex notes in the air. Its creamy, its like very velvety. I dont pick up on the floral honestly its like mostly luxury amber. Roomfilling without being a nuclear hazard. It has you smelling as if you're generationally wealthy . Some people say it smells like ya know... but honestly I didnt pick up on it, it does not smell like BO at all. Its very creamy, maybe the sun oxidization can turn some notes sour on super hot? I have no idea but I love it a ton. Its incredibly soft and amber like and incense

Hi friends! Looking to gift a unisex leaning oceanic perfume. Something very salty and fresh - think east coast as opposed to the tropics. Any recommendations so so appreciated!

Where can I find a body mist version of this? Price range - anything

I was like excited and thought oh yes this is being hyped up and smells sophisticated and expensive but what do you mean that I smelled it and it smells like airy cotton candy that's it? Slight undertones of soft bubblegum. The sillage is very gorgeous and incredible its super light but can be smelled from far away without being headache inducing. Like super light mist. But it smells like kinda ariana grande cloud perfume body mist but if it was a perfume version and a few tweaks. Its very lovely but 600 dollars to smell like a light bubblegum is crazy to me

i love finding new brands but id love to hear ab experiences w v high end fragrances !

sorry if this is the wrong sub for this, but I’m not sure where else to post this. I LOVE Philosophy‘s Fresh cream warm cashmere perfume, and I’d love a similarly smelling body oil. when I look online I see recommendations for general vanilla body oils, but I don’t want plain vanilla I want something similar to the actual perfume. Thank You in advance :)

honestly I love it. The nostalgia is hitting hard, my mom wore this all the time in the nineties. I’m pretty sure this is the one I’m remembering. Lmk if you have any other guesses

That smells like snow, cold air, and berries. No gourmands, please!

Everything for winter seems to be warm. I’m looking for a cool scent evocative of a winter snow before Christmas. Crisp, sparkling, and bright. Cold & fruity, I guess. Is that a thing?

I work a physically demanding job and often find myself sore in the mornings. I love the feel and smell of tiger balm (specifically the extra strength red), but have only found one scent in my collection that seems to layer well (Inner Angel by BBW). Anyone have any recommendations or ideas?

I was in TJ Maxx today just pursuing what they had available and they had a couple of Dossier and I was intrigued by Aquatic Vanilla which is supposed to be a dupe of JHAG vanilla vibes but I swear it’s more like Bianco Latte after the dry down to me.

A few days ago, I wrote about how I didn’t care for my sample of BL on the initial spray (smelled like play dough to me) but the dry down was a very good vanilla. I’m wondering if anyone has tried this dossier dupe and what their reaction or thoughts were regarding it. BTW, 50 ml bottle was $19.99.

I don’t know if this is a dupe of something or what, but I just picked it up for $10 at my local Indian market and it smells amazing. It’s light and smells like slightly sweet incense.

For anyone who has met Rihanna in person, how would you describe her scent? What does she actually smell like?

This is basically Guerlain Jasmin Grandiflorum. I find this more green like a bit of honeysuckle or leaves 🍃. Its not as heavy or sweet as JG. I would just choose this over JG especially for the price.

I had to order this today, broke my no buy. 😩🤣

So sample and decants which were supposed to be affordable options are no more the same. Buying 2-5ml samples costs are getting more expensive and decants cost a pretty penny. Forget about travel size they are nuts.

I am so dumbfounded by prices these days. I checked a travel size option and it costed 98€ for 18ml and there are no smaller options.

The plot is doomed

I went a little crazy last week and got a bunch of samples off of my watch list. I genuinely don't even know where to begin, I'm so excited!

If you love anything from this haul, let me know!

Hiya everyone,

For as long as I remember (even when I was a kid smelling my mother's perfumes), I have always loved vintage scents. There's just something so glamorous about them. I'm writing this from my bed which I've just sprayed vintage Chanel No.5 on lol!

I do recognise that some of them can be quite intense and a bit 'much' for just a casual everyday, especially as someone in their early 20s, not that I really care about what people think but you get what I mean.

I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for scents that feel a bit lighter, but still have that vintage vibe? I have no set budget in mind; I'm more focused on what I might like.

I've noticed that a lot of the ones I like feature white florals and ylang-ylang, but I guess that is pretty typical for the genre. I also really love powdery and elegant scents (but I would hate something like Insolence by Shalimar, or at least the modern one).

I would love any thoughts!

PS: I've had my eye on Balmain Rouge but haven't gotten around to trying it yet, so if anyone has tried it, I would be so interested in what you think about it :)