Something smells bad! Oh - wait - it's me!

[mrs-b]

I am constantly amazed how different certain scents smell on different people. I have a girlfriend who wears Tuscany, and I swear it bears NO resemblance to how Tuscany smells on me! On the other hand, Allure by Chanel smells wonderful on me - and that's a hard perfume to carry.

Paris by YSL gives me a THUMPING headache, and Angel by Thierry Mugler - hailed by some as a classic - smelt like an incontinent cat was somewhere about the one (and only!) time I wore it. Anything powdery or musky smells vile on me and a bottle of Joy parfum was 300 of the most wasted dollars I've ever spent - and that was in my 20's!

The same friend who wears Tuscany so successfully can also wear Organza by Givenchy very successfully. So successfully, that I tried it myself. Sadly, on me, it smelt as though somebody's maiden aunt had wandered into the room.

So - what smells bad on you? And what do you wish you *could* wear....but can't?

 

[valeria101]

.
I do musk & male stuffs. I mar flowery scents beyond recognition - there might be exceptions, but, I have stopped trying ...

 

[arkieb1]

I can't stand the smell and am basically allergic to most perfumes.... so it doesn't matter how they smell on me, I get a rash, headache and need to throw up with almost everything. I use hypersensitive washing powder, hypoallergenic toilet paper etc too.

 

[Austina]

A lot of classic perfumes smell like cat pee on me.

My favourites are L’air du temps and Angel, they’re the only ones that last on me.

 

[PintoBean]

Marc Jacobs daisy pickles on me!

 

[anne_h]

Regular perfume is too strong now and gives me a headache. The only stuff I wear now is from Roger & Gallet, their line is very light and fresh. My favorite is Ylang.

Anne

 

[House Cat]

Most scents are terrible on me and seem to smell the same. I am extremely sensitive to all perfumes and can smell them from a mile away.

Chanel no. 5 makes me sick. I don’t know if that perfume is incredibly strong or if it’s typical buyer bathes in it but it leaves a cloud /trail wherever it goes.

 

[Maria D]

I learned that lesson in high school. It was Jontue cologne. The girl next to me in gym class smelled heavenly (in gym class!). I should have asked her if I could try hers before I went to buy, but after that I learned my lesson: never buy a scent without trying it first. Which makes it really hard to buy perfume because you can only try a couple at a time!

My absolute favorite scent was by Lancome, "Miracle Forever." Regular Miracle doesn't do it for me and they discontinued Miracle Forever. What part of Forever did they not understand?

Lately I've been wearing Flowerbomb by Victor & Rolf.

 

[TooPatient]

I can't stand the smell and am basically allergic to most perfumes.... so it doesn't matter how they smell on me, I get a rash, headache and need to throw up with almost everything. I use hypersensitive washing powder, hypoallergenic toilet paper etc too.

Not quite as bad of a reaction, but I am also allergic. Being around perfumes can knock me out of work for a couple of days.

 

[Gussie]

I am not sure about perfumes but I cannot wear clear deodorant. It has to be the white kind. The clear kind reacts with my chemistry and there is a horrible reeking body odor. Lol the first time it happened I was blaming my then boyfriend! I *thought* I was way too much of a lady to smell that horrid!

 

[elle_71125]

I have a preference for sweet smelling perfumes (not florals). One that I have a love / hate relationship with is LaVanilla perfume in vanilla grapefruit. Sometimes I wear it and think it smells delicious. Other times, I spend all day trying to find the "cat pee."

I had an "oil based" perfume phase which was very short lived because they all give me awful headaches.

 

[GliderPoss]

I adore perfume but I agree that some just do not work with my body chemistry - Tom Ford Black Orchid for one! Smelt like rancid milk... and all of Chanel give me an instant migraine headache too. I’m currently wearing a few Jo Malone perfumes at the moment and they seem to stay true to the bottle scent.

 

[lyra]

Perfume disappears on me, sadly. I've read that this can be caused by dry skin. I have very delicate skin and avoid the sun completely. I like Mademoiselle by Chanel, Chanel Chance, and some Burberry. But like I said nothing stays. Layering does not help. I prefer something a bit lemon citrus, nothing powdery.

 

[partgypsy]

I don't wear perfume 99% of the time because they smell too strong to me/make me feel like my eyes or throat are itching. However I can wear the Bond number 9 series, in particular "Peace". It smells good on as it does in the vial. I just order small amounts of it online. I have had that thing happen with candles; it smells good in the store but when I bring it home, I'm wondering, what was I thinking?

 

[t-c]

My aunt wore Chanel No. 5 and she always smelled great. I tried a spritz on me at Nordstrom a years ago and it totally smelled old and moldy. I was convinced they changed the formula because it was soooo different. I am reluctant to try any Chanel perfume now.

 

[cmd2014]

Perfume gives me headaches and stuffed up sinuses, and I have to admit I hold my breath and try not to breathe around anyone who is wearing one. My body chemistry also turns most perfumes sickly sweet (like rotting fruit), so I prefer unscented products for the most part. Plus, most workplaces and medical clinics are scent free here due to awareness of people with allergies/asthma, so people don't tend to wear perfume much where I live in any case.

 

[Gabbycat]

My husband and I both react to most perfumes. I wind up with a migraine, and he can't breathe and begins to choke and eyes water. Chanel anything seems to be the worst offenders. I have been able to pull off a few essential oils with no bad side effects, mostly in the citrus and herb/spice categories. When I was younger I always wanted to wear Safari because on my friend it smelled really nice and rich. Wasn't the same for me.

 

[Matata]

Ach, I gave up on wearing parfums years ago for the same reason mrs-b. The ones I liked smelled like cat pee on me; the ones that smelled ok on me I didn't like. When I was fortunate enough to find one I liked and it smelled good on me, my hormones, depending on the time of the month, would wreak unexpected havoc and I'd end up smelling like a garbage dump

 

[foxinsox]

I love Chloe Intense on my twin sister. On me, it's all I can smell all day and it gives me a headache as a consequence. However there was a lovely 4 year period where I was able to wear it like any other normal perfume and I looooooved that time. Now I'm back to being unable to wear it

 

[valeria101]

.
Adding my vote to the 'Too Strong' camp. You will not feel my scent from more than arm length, unless you put your mind & nose to it ... & I am still getting too many 'what are you wearing'-s.

 

[LLJsmom]

I love Chloe Intense on my twin sister. On me, it's all I can smell all day and it gives me a headache as a consequence. However there was a lovely 4 year period where I was able to wear it like any other normal perfume and I looooooved that time. Now I'm back to being unable to wear it

I wear Chloe daily. Very light on me. I also like Daisy from MJ. It’s all very light because I use a rollerball applicator, not a spray. I love issy miyake scents but they make me itch.

 

[foxinsox]

I wear Chloe daily. Very light on me. I also like Daisy from MJ. It’s all very light because I use a rollerball applicator, not a spray. I love issy miyake scents but they make me itch.

I am green with envy that you can wear it!

 

[Arcadian]

Used to be that the house of Guerlain was cat pee heaven. I'm getting older and the hormones are changing. some of them have no cat pee at all (Im going to assume no guerlainaide) and some the cat pee is at a very dull roar...shalimar and the flankers....

And as much as I love the house of chanel, I can't wear all of them either. I do live for the exclusive line though. much of their mainstream offerings don't do much for me (except coco mad but its a bottle from 2009)

Andy Tauer, much respect for the house but I find them unwearable . I'm insanely jealous of those that can pull them off!

THe funny is, I have more issues with natural perfumery in terms of allergies Its a genre I still really like though (well I like ALL of them)

some of my favorite houses

Strange Invisible perfumes
https://www.siperfumes.com/

Providence Perfume Company
https://www.providenceperfume.com/

Hiram Green (moon bloom is amazing)
https://hiramgreen.com/

Teone
https://teone.com.au/

Sovohle. they use an organic cane spirit
http://www.soivohle.com/

Aftelier parfums (they have a saffron chocolate hair and bodyoil thats TDF!!!)
https://www.aftelier.com/default.asp

but for the most part I know what wears extremely well on me. I just like to try different stuff. I mean to be honest I'll try just about any perfume at least once. Except Surplus (made from the artists own poo...no wonder the name!)

 

[Violetphoenix]

This thread is so funny!! Will get me laugh all day I can relate to some of the above comments lol

 

[doberman]

My husband is a musk person, so I often wear Musk Nomade by Annick Goutal. I may or may not throw a drop of body shop white musk oil in there too. I also like Coco and Quelque Fleurs which my daughter says is old lady perfume. Hey, if the shoe fits... Work days I never wear perfume, however I have had people tell me I smell good which I attribute to my Vanilla Bean Noel body lotion.

 

[lalala]

I love this thread!

I used to wear Michael Kors all the time.. from ~2004-2010 and received SOO many compliments on it (I even had an ex boyfriend reach out to me and ask what it was so he could buy it for his gf ). Now it smells weird on me. Maybe they changed the formula. Maybe I'm getting old.

I loved Versace Bright Crystal when my fiancé bought it for me about 5 years ago... hate it now too.

I bought Angel by Thierry Mugler many years ago based off of online reviews. Literally the worst smelling perfume *on me*. I gave it to my mom. She loved it.

Gucci Guilty is one of my favorites but fiancé hates it.

I also loved Juicy Couture when I was younger. I feel too old to wear it now.

I recently bought Chanel N5 L'eau, which is a lighter version of the original. I LOVED the way it smelled on me in Neiman's and over Christmas vacation (back home in TX). Then when we returned to MO and I've HATED it. Not sure what that's about.

I like Flower Bomb by Viktor & Rolf but don't love it enough to make it my "signature" scent.

I'm currently in a lull and need to find something!

 

[FinleysMom]

I recall when the cologne POISON .... was all of the rage! My roommate at the time loaded up on it. I swear she smelled like RAID! Listening to a radio talk show during which the previous guest (female) had left the studio. The Two male commentators observed a "smell" shortly afterward...I assumed that the female guest must have been wearing Poison! Nasty stuff!

FM

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

My mom has been wearing most classic Guerlains and Chanel 5 in extrait all her adult life. They all smell fabulous on her. Her favourite is Shalimar and I know at least 15 friends and colleagues of hers have bought Shalimar because it was so lovely on her. It never worked for them. Neither does the guerlinade for me.

 

[mrs-b]

Seriously - what is it about perfume and cat pee?? Does anyone remember that truly heinous number from the 1980's - Georgio? Good LORD, that was horrible! Restaurant after restaurant banned it, and I remember it was one of the few perfumes that smelled bad on EVERYBODY.

And Poison was right up there, too.

@lalala - good to know I have a partner in the utter corruption of Angel! There is nothing angelic about that horrible smell on me. It doesn't give me a headache, as such - it just makes me want to go take a shower. Immediately.

@LLJsmom - Chloe is a tricky one. My best girlfriend wore it for years - now it gives her a migraine. It's a strong smell, and very particular. Not one that I can carry.

I am far better with the florals and the greens - any of the spicy, musky browns turn hideous on me within minutes. I *am* going to try Dune again, tho - it's an intriguing smell.

 

[Elizabeth35]

Oh god--Georgio. I remember that---truly heinous.
I had Chanel No. 5 in high school from a boyfriend. Hated it then and hate it now.
DH likes when I wear Michael Kors Island but I am not loving it lately.
I have liked some Issy Miyake scents.
Also like Aqua di Parma--the classic one which is actually a mens fragrance. Go figure.