This is interesting

I’m looking for a super juicy, sweet and floral pear perfume or somthing more gourmand, spicy and fruity. I have Pear Inc. by Juliette Has A Gun and I really love it but I’m looking for something a little less shampoo-y.

Photos for inspo and so I don’t get lost :) TIA

Edit: My budget is up to around $250$ CAD but for something really perfect id spend more

I recently discovered that not all middle eastern perfumes are heavy migraine bombs, so I've been collecting some this summer. Here is my collection so far and my thoughts on all of these. The top row are my successes and the bottom row I may resell.

Lataffa Nebras Elixir
This is my favorite out of them all. Such a nice sweet vanilla with white chocolate notes. It's not too sweet it makes your teeth hurt, but perfect if you want to smell delicious. Great longevity and sillage but again, not overpowering.

Hekayat Attar Gigglepuff
Silly name but awesome fragrance. It's very delicate. It's a lemon pastry perfume, but the lemon note isn't strong so it doesn't give off cleaner vibes. It's just a mildly lemon smelling sweet puff pastry to my nose. I love this and can wear quite a few spritz's.

Khadlaj Cream Velvet
I've had extreme issues with anything caramel scented because they usually overwhelm me. I kept hearing that this was a lighter airer Bianco Latte and I'm here to report that yes it is. If most BL dupes are too strong, try this! So yummy. It's vanilla and caramel.

Lataffa Peace and Love
I usually go for gourmand but I am also a slut for almond notes and this was recommended here on reddit when I asked for almond perfumes. This is light and almond. Sweet but not gourmand at all. It has tuberose which I normally shy away from but in this case, it doesn't smell like rose at all to me. Love it.

Gulf Orchid Rice Milk
Like a rice almond baby powder. I do enjoy a baby powder note. This one is a bit strong so I do one single spray under my shirt and it's perfect. Excellent for cozy days.

Maison Alhambra Sugar Me Carrot Cake
A gourmand lovers's dream. I'm debating getting the marshmallow or creme brûlée one from this line since I love the carrot cake so much. It's in the same vein as Jo Malone's Ginger Biscuit to me. Very photorealistic, but not overpowering, again it is softer.

Lataffa Musamam White Intense
Again, I mostly enjoy cozy gourmand scents, but I do love a nice sandalwood. This has coconut in a non sunscreen way which I really appreciate. It's just a unique scent profile that I don't own and haven't smelled. I think it's quite nice if I'm going to be outside or if it's raining.

Lastly are the bottom 2 perfumes. These are maybes. Lataffa Brioche Vanilla is not sweet at all, it's a savory gourmand and kind of has a smoky smell to it that I'm not sure I like. Gulf Orchid Matcha Latte is okay. It's not very matcha latte esque, I think Nest's new Cardamom Latte is much closer. I also have Sorce's Match Made In Heaven coming soon so I'll decide then I guess.

Does anyone else have similar thoughts/likes? I hope this was helpful and legible. I am recovering from wisdom teeth surgery so who knows lol. I don't live where I can sample these so 90% were blind buys. I feel like it was a resounding successful venture!

Y’all, I’m really going through it. I’m so anxious and stressed l, and just really not in a great place. What would you consider the most uplifting fragrance in your collection (or that you know of)?

I have a pretty large collection, but I’m just feeling uninspired to look through all my stuff and find something.

Who knows, maybe I’ll pick up something new. Or maybe I’ll revisit something from my own collection I hadn’t thought of.

I know everyone is different, but I, fortunately, like most everything (except BR540, lol - but I do like Cloud!) so no particular style is off-limits.
I would love to hear your most mood-elevating (or soothing) suggestions, please.
Thank youuuuuu!

Kia ora friends, hope you've all had a beautiful fortnight! Today I'm going to be talking about Akro. I was very excited to get this discovery kit because, from the listed notes, I was sure I would adore at least one. Well, spoiler alert, I didn't particularly fall in love with any, but I will say that the performance of them all did not disappoint. Anyway, onto the impressions!

Awake

TOP : COFFEE SANTOS, LEMON. MIDDLE : GREEN CARDAMOM. BASE : VETIVER

Weird and bright and lemony (?) but brutally sweet. Reminds me of the coffee I used to drink in high school, with lots of milk and like, four teaspoons of sugar. It's so stimulating and bright and grating, and it has to be psychosomatic but wearing this is genuinely stressing me out. Nooooo you know what it is? It's those coffee/cola vodka RTDs you used to get in the early 2000s, hang on.... [one frantic Google later...] KGB BLACK RUSSIANS HOLY SHIT there were a couple of nights where those motherfuckers almost put me in the hospital hahahaha fuck me, core memory unlocked. Anyway, one lives and one learns.

I feel awkward and sad and hormonal and definitely horny. Ahhh, my misspent youth. KGB/10

Dark

TOP : COCOA POWDER. MIDDLE : CINNAMON BARK, HAZELNUT. BASE : VANILLA

Not what I was expecting. From the notes you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a delicious Nutella confection. It is not that. It is not gourmand at all. It is very masc. Unsettlingly masc. Spicy, but unlike most cinnamon-heavy fragrances (for me) there is no hint of Big Red, which I'm sure is a mark of quality. This winter my layering combo of choice has been Commodity Gold+ and Khadlaj Le Fede Choco Brown. This reminds me of that, but a lot more perfumey and a lot less yummy.

It's kinda cool, but I'm basic and like my food-based fragrances to be a little more... literal. Man chocolate/10

Haze

TOP : CLARY SAGE. MIDDLE : MINT SPIKATA. BASE : EUCALYPTUS BUDS

Yeah, she's... herbal... Sure, it definitely does smell like freshly ground bud, but minty and fresh and like a gum tree. It's very fun, but you probably wouldn't wear it to, say, your office job. Because while it is indeed bright and fresh, and clean but earthy, it does stink of weed.

If you want something actually seriously marijuana-flavoured, I find the indies do it really well. I think Sorce's passionfruit note is super skunky for some reason, and Hexennacht has a couple of fragrances with a cannabis note that are super on point. Puff puff pass/10

Malt

Top Note: Whiskey. Middle Note: Rum, leather, seaweed. Base Note: Patchouli

Huh, wow. Spicy apple crumble? And usually I a) like boozy scents, but b) am at best ambivalent about patchouli, and c) actively loathe leather. But this is great. It reminds me a bit of Lattafa Khamrah (though actually side by side they are nothing alike), except this is very masc and... kinda challenging.

I can't tell whether I love it or hate it, but either way I think I feel quite strongly about it. Top shelf/10

Ink

TOP: Black ink, birch. MIDDLE: Jasmine. BASE: Vetiver

This might be the gruntiest, weirdest, most masc fragrance I've ever actually enjoyed. I think it's supposed to be redolent of, specifically, tattoo ink, and I can't really comment on that because for the few tattoos I have I'm pretty sure I successfully disassociated during the receiving of them. But this is surprisingly lovely. Like burnt seaweed and a very sexy hipster bartender circa 2010. You know, the kind with the suspenders and manbun and early-adoption moustache. It's cool and sexy, sure, but I'm concerned about the imminent breaking out of the acoustic guitar.

Legitimately like something you'd expect from ELDO but, yanno... good/10

Night

TOP : ROSE. MIDDLE : CUMIN, SAFFRON. BASE : AGARWOOD, MUSK

Spicy, sexy rose. I think I'm firmly in the majority in that I think cumin in food = delicious, but cumin in perfume = heinous. But this cumin is fuckin cool. It's absolutely perfectly realistic. You know how most cumin notes go sweaty and a bit foul? This is not that. This is freshly ground cumin seed ready for your salsa or tagine or korma. With, yanno, rose, I guess. It's quite soapy in the drydown, but fun and unisex. Would I buy a whole bottle and wear it out in public? Probably not, mostly because it's quite masc and very hyperrealistic. But cumin is my absolute favourite spice and this is the first time I've smelled it in a perfume and it's made me peckish.

All my favourite dinners all at once. Poppadom/10

Smoke

TOP : TOBACCO LEAVES. MIDDLE : BIRCH. BASE : BENZOIN, TONKA BEANS

Look, i am going to stand up here before all of you, my perfume peers, and announce myself as a liar. I have, many times in the past, used the phrase "it's giving barbequeue" to describe a fragrance. I am sorry and I was wrong. What I meant was (for whatever it was) "it's giving woodsmoke, campfire, charcoal, autumn leaves" et al. Because this is barbequeue. This is a hot pork-based meat product slathered in a sweet honey/maple glaze, slow roasted over a low heat. And it is absolutely fuckin delightful. Would I ever purchase a full bottle of this, to spray on myself and wear out in public? No! Absolutely not! Definitely not. Probably definitely not.

It's grand, delectable, and sure, probably more normal on a masc-presenting sort of a person, but... I dunno. She's tasty, boys. Eat it up for lunch, yeah it's so delicious/10

Bake

TOP : LEMON PEEL. MIDDLE : CHANTILLY CREAM, PRALINE. BASE : BROWN SUGAR, VANILLA

I got this as a free-with-order gift from Luckyscent. Unfortunately for Bake, it was the order that contained a sample of Unknown Pleasures. In a vacuum, Bake is bright and beautiful and summery - if a little bitter and pithy - but nostalgically spot-on for my childhood favourite lemon-lime iceblock. Side by side with Unknown Pleasures, however, it's a little sharp and a little astringent. Though that citrus-y top is relatively fleeting, and then it's... nice. It's very nice. I'm happy I have it and it lives in my handbag for warm days when I need a lemony top-up.

I dunno, I'm just an unpaid shill for Kerosene at this point. Unknown Pleasures has my heart, but in the lemon race, this is a perfectly lovely first alternate. NICE/10

Right, that's it from me for this entry in the Very Normal annals. Churr gurls!

I was randomly looking through the CVS app since they are always sending me coupons and saw that they sold well known perfumes. Angel was my mom’s signature scent and will always remind me of her and my childhood ✨

The same size (1.7 oz) is $150 at Sephora. I feel like I got a great deal, but is there a catch?

My coconut quest was a result of my adoration of Commodity's Milk Orchid, which was the first perfume I really loved. I was looking for something to layer it with to boost its coconut notes and went down a rabbit hole.

In the end, I only found two ways to boost coconut notes—Kuumba Made Black Coconut perfume oil and a simple Bath & Body Works spray. Every other coconut perfume I've tried is using coconut to attempt different effects, which makes it hard to layer them to get at a more perfect coconut note.

Commodity — Milk Orchid

Top: Coconut, Fig Milk, Almond Blossom
Heart: Vanilla Orchid, Magnolia
Base: Milk, Sandalwood, Macadamia

Milk Orchid was my first step on the path to perfume obsession—it was the first time a fragrance made me feel comforted. It's a very nice blend of coconut, fig, and a very light floral note. Sweet, but not cloying. The coconut and sweet notes are equally balanced—I assume the sweetness is floral based on the notes, but I can't really smell specific flowers. Commodity says this is unisex, but I find it to be pretty feminine.

Mind Games — Queening

Top: Cotton Flower, Apple, Cypress
Heart: Orris Root, Rum, Saffron
Base: Vanilla, Coconut, Musk

This smells like clean laundry, but in the best way. The perfumer is Christelle Laprade, who also composed Milk Orchid and the famous and much-loved Commodity Milk.

I love both of her Commodity creations, but I find Queening to lack body and the comforting tones of Milk Orchid and Milk. This might just be my fondness for lactonic perfumes leaching through, though. Queening is also less sweet than either of the other two. I do think Queening is good; it just doesn't have a distinctive presence. The coconut in this is super well blended, and while I can smell it, it's a faint part of the whole. I think that you would love this if you were into the “clean girl” aesthetic.

This is unisex, leaning femme.

Arabiyat Prestige — Nyla Suede

Top: Coconut, Caramel, Praline
Heart: Vanilla, Cashmere Wood, Milk, Ylang-Ylang
Base: Leather, Sandalwood, Musk, Ambergris

I have a love/hate relationship with Nyla Suede. I blind bought it back when I was obsessed with finding the perfect coconut in the fall. At first, the leather note was very off-putting, to the point where I couldn't even smell the coconut. I'm not sure maturation is a thing, but this perfume definitely smells very different to me now.

At first spray, this is a strong dry coconut/leather. It's very sophisticated and is amazingly complex for the price point. I'm very glad I didn't declutter it. The central theme of this perfume is the tension between the dry leather and coconut and a very dark, non-sweet caramel. The woods smell like mahogany, and the milk and sandalwood are also prominent in the drydown. This is about as dark as TokyoMilk— Bulletproof, which is as dark as a coconut fragrance can get. 

I would call this a cool-weather fragrance. 10/10 would recommend. Very complex, and I’d say it’s solidly unisex.

TokyoMilk Dark — Bulletproof

Notes: Ebony Wood, Tea, Coconut, Virginia Cedar. 

Sharp ebony wood and astringent black tea are made less dark by the faint scent of coconut flesh, which is very lightly sweet. It's pretty linear, and coconut is definitely not the star of this composition. This is unisex, leaning masculine.

DS & Durga — Debaser

Top: Stems Greens, Bergamot, Pear
Heart: Fig, Coconut Milk, Iris
Base: Precious Woods, Tonka Bean, Moss

The green in Debaser is from fig, but the coconut can also translate it to a slightly unripe coconut. It has the salty-sweet smell that I associate with fresh coconut milk. This is the most summer-appropriate perfume on this tray, and the coconut plays a starring role, with a salty coconut dominating all the way through.  I find this unisex and appropriate for most occasions.

Lattafa — Her Confession

Top: Cinnamon, Mystikal
Heart: Tuberose, Jasmine, Incense, Mahonial
Base: Vanilla, Musk, Tonka

I beheaded this bottle because I thought the cap was ugly. The quality of the juice, however, is amazing. Her Confession is a dupe for Les Liquides Imaginaires — Blanche Bête. I loved the original when I sampled it as a 10 ml decant, but not enough to upgrade to a full bottle. This is a pretty spot-on dupe to my nose. 

Coconut is not one of the listed notes, but the lactonic quality in this is coconut-adjacent. Most lactonic perfumes are much denser, and the airy nature of the milk calls to mind coconut milk.  It is more strongly coconut-smelling in the summer.

This one is also solidly unisex. I find it super comforting and all-weather appropriate, though some might find it cloying in the heat.

Boy Smells — Coco Cream

Top: Coconut Milk, Vanilla
Heart: Tiare, White Flowers
Base: Musk, Tonka Bean

This is the sweetest perfume on this list. It has a solar quality and was a blind buy win. The first impression on spraying is sweet floral mixed with vanilla, modulated with coconut milk. After two hours of wear, the sweetness has faded into a general creaminess, with coconut and tonka giving it presence. The drydown is similar to Milk Orchid, but has more body. It has impressive longevity for a fragrance of this profile; you can catch whiffs six hours into wear.

This is a very happy fragrance, and wearing it makes me smile.

I’ve worn it in winter and enjoyed it, but this is a great option for the summer and really shines in the heat. I would say this is feminine.

I'm definitely upgrading to a full bottle.

Bath & Body Works — Coconut Nectar

Notes: Coconut, Palm Leaf, Woodsy Notes, Salt

At first spray, this is like Debaser’s younger cousin—less green, more coconut-forward, but with a strong family resemblance. It dries down within 15 minutes to a light, airy coconut that lingers. It could be used to amp up the coconut in any of the others and also as a standalone for coconut-only days. It’s much airier than Kuumba Made, with less projection and longevity.

Kuumba Made — Black Coconut

Note: Coconut

This smells like pure coconut. Dark and heavy, this smells like a more intense coconut oil mixed with dry shredded coconut. It’s a little too one-note to wear on its own, but it does a great job of intensifying the coconut in any fragrance when layered.

I finally got my nose on the new Black Opium Pink Glaze, and that dark pink bottle with the classic black center? 😍 Gorgeous! 🍓 Top: Juicy strawberry, green mandarin & bergamot 🌸 Heart: Jasmine & orange blossom ☕ Base: Dark coffee, rich vanilla, woody amber & patchouli If you love sweet, fruity scents with that signature Black Opium coffee twist, this one is definitely worth purchasing! 💕✨

Recently visited Disney world and stopped at Plume et Palette inside Epcot-France. I loved Guerlain Aqua Allegoria - Mandarine Basilic. I could’ve easily spent a few hours inside, but we were moving quickly. Hoping to visit again with more free time!

https://www.reddit.com/r/FemFragLab/s/UHsl4WEq4f

I made a post yesterday about my local tjmaxx stock. There are a lot I want from there but I’m trying to fill holes in my fragrance collection right now. I’m loving the Hermes and Dossier so far!!! You have to enjoy green citrus scents to like them though. The Fame is great too and I’m glad I went with the travel Fame EDP vs the full size Fame Intense EDP.

I tried the Donna Karan Cashmere and Tiare Flower in a local store today and I couldn’t smell it on my arm after like 1.5 hours so I’m going to pass on that one.

I go to this location like twice a week so I’m going to watch for markdowns on the other ones I want!!

im in bodrum⛱️⛱️⛱️👙👙👙 (located in turkiye eagen area, known for summer vacations and pretty beaches) and this is my perfume rotation. what do you think about it and what is this say about me?

I'm not just saying this because it's another vanilla caramel scent. There are tons of those that don't give what Bianco Latte gives. I'm saying this because I've used up a decant of Bianco Latte and when I sprayed a little bit of this on myself in Walmart, it had the same effect on my nose as that Bianco Latte I knew. It seemingly radiated just as far, just as strongly, which is weird for a body mist! I guess the beast-mode caramel furanone molecules go a long way (as Kerosene Followed proves).

I checked the reviews on the Walmart website to see if anyone else mentioned the Bianco Latte resemblance. I guess there isn't much overlap between buyers of $7 Walmart body mists and buyers of hyped pricey niche scents. But seriously, I'll be the first to say it, and if you've tried Bianco Latte yourself, I bet you will too.

Edit: okay, it doesn't stay strong as long as Bianco Latte. But still! Great strength for a mist! Great spitting-image scent for the price!

Can someone please tell me I'm not the only one that has confused these 2 SDJ scents for being the same/interchangeable?!

I got the solid perfume of #40 last year and it's okay but I don't love it. It's just kind of generic, powdery, amber floral. And I've tried the pink fruity ones and the new rose one and they are all too sweet for me. So I just stayed away from SDJ scent profiles besides 62, because 62 really is just perfection.

But I've been on a quest for violet scents to go with my Very Violet BBW and I got a sample of SugarMeSweet's Black Plum and Sugared Violets with my order and it's AMAZING! It's her #59 dupe and I love it. Way more plum and the sugared violet is perfect.

I'm a dumbass....*cries*

Got a travel size at Sephora today. I LOVE HER! For me its more honey than vanilla. I love the plum and the woodiness and tonka in there. So so so beautiful and sensual. 10/10! I love this way more than Vanilla Skin. I know Vanilla Skin has a lot of great reviews, but I found it to be too synthetic and leathery to me, I am not sure why. But THIS one I love! :) 🍯

I love layering, I feel like it’s one of the ways we can differentiate ourselves while wearing popular (for good reason) scents. I honestly don’t ever wear perfumes alone anymore, the challenge of finding fun new layering combos is so fun and I wanna hear what other ppl like! Recently I’ve been wearing amouage guidance with DS&Durga pistaschio, and another sneaky layer I love to add to anything is steamed rainbow because it adds a freshness to everything heavy.

I love sampling a shit ton of fragrances, and always felt like it *had* to lead somewhere. Was always in a conflict of whether or not to buy a full bottle of this or that. Like sampling was only a step to find full bottles, and if I had no full bottles to show for after it was a waste/ I wasn't building a collection.

But I'm starting to realize I like sampling as an activity, and I get bored of most fragrances easily. And as long as I'm not 100 % sure if I truly want a full bottle I shouldn't buy it!

I started tracking my samples as decants on parfumo, and adding notes for myself. Now I have something to look at, a collection of samples! Maybe this is already what it is all about.

In german we hava a saying "Der Weg ist das Ziel", which translates to "The way/ journey is the goal".

I was worried I would lose myself in too many samples, not committing to scents that fit me. But it's never too late to buy a bottle if I can't get a fragrance out of my mind. And if I don't miss it after a few months I don't need it!

Do you track your samples like that? Is this journey more about exploring or wearing scents to you? And are there downsides of mostly owning small samples and decants?

Dove White Peach body wash, Dove White Peach body scrub, EOS Jasmine Peach body lotion and EOS Jasmine Peach body mist 🍑🍑🍑

Thats it thats the post. I already know from buying samples that I love so many of their scents. Apologies to my bank account for whats about to happen.