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I think there's no such thing as weak scents

post #1 of 25
8/2/06 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
Hi, I just wanted to comment on some scents are very fleeting such as Polo Blue,Black XS(which I recently purchased and love!),Gai Mattiolo Uomo,Gigli Man,some Gendarme,Roma Uomo,Bulgari Aqua,etc. So maybe some people are a bit hesistant to buy a fragrance that they like but held back because of poor sillage. I recently used up Gai Mattiolo,Roma,Gigli Man and now a brand new bottle of Black XS. These scents are what I would call light scent and some people commented on their poor sillage. The trick is just use them liberally all over your body like a body spray. Yes this is wasteful but if you like the scent so much perhaps you wouldn't mind doing it. Yesterday I sprayed a whole bunch of Black XS on my body,then I put my undershirt,spray some more on my undershirt,and before I walked out of the room, my girlfriend could smell me from the kitchen and she said Black XS is sooooo yuummmy, smellss soooo good! It didn't over powered her nose, not a single bit! The same with the other scents that I mentioned earlier.

So if you love the smell of Polo Blue etc just spray a whole bunch and bring the bottle with you,spray some more before leaving your car or carry the bottle to the office,gym,etc and go nuts. Those light scents you just can't overapply, trust me, I've tried them!
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post #2 of 25
8/2/06 at 9:22am
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I can't even take more than 2 sprays of Black XS lol...
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post #3 of 25
8/2/06 at 10:18am
Thread Starter 
I guess my point is, don't let poor sillage keep you from buying a scent that you like. Black XS, got three compliments on the first day that I used it.
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post #4 of 25
8/2/06 at 10:29am
But you gotta understand some people think It's quite bad to carry a bottle (mainly if It's a big one) all over the way...
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post #5 of 25
8/2/06 at 10:52am
A great technique to get more "oomph" out of your light scents is to apply, let the juice dry for a minute or 2, then reapply again over same spots. This creates a higher concentration of fragrance in a few places (same as normal application of a stronger scent) rather than just spreading the same low concentration over a larger area. The point of letting it dry and reappling is so that you don't just drench an area have it run.

Try it - it works!
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post #6 of 25
8/2/06 at 1:32pm
Hi,

We tend to forget that after a few minutes the wearer do not recognise that scent but everybody else arround you can - so overspraying can be taken as - dont go near me pleeEEASE.


Laurent
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post #7 of 25
8/2/06 at 7:21pm
I don't know whether this is an issue of inconsistent production or personal experience. For me, 2 sprays of polo blue will last 6 hours and be quite noticable, at least to me. I did exactly that last night and 2 sprays was almost strong enough to force me to wash it off before I went to bed. Our noses pick up different things at different levels I guess. I tested some Basi "in blue" (I think that's what it was called) today, and I could only faintly smell it. I had the girl spray the paper stick 3 more times and It BARELY made it any stronger... 5 mins later, I went back to the paper and could detect no scent at all! I guess I'm lacking in the nasal receptor department that picks up some of the smells in that frag. Polo blue for me, presents itself quite prominently (did I spell that right?) and for quite awhile!

Who knows? Don't forget that your nose will "get used to" a fragrance after you apply it and won't be quite as noticable to you as it will to others!
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post #8 of 25
8/2/06 at 10:33pm
As much as I love Lorenzo Villoresi's Uomo, I have to spray it every 30 minutes. Yes I was able to use up a 50 ml bottle in about a month.. now I have the 100 ml bottle. I take with me and it's on my LV Taiga messenger bag and spray it in my cabrio every 30 minutes. I have to go to the men's room and spray it on and more importantly, spray it on my handcherchief. Yes, there's no such thing as a weak scent. You just have to be creative, right?
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post #9 of 25
8/3/06 at 8:59am
Thread Starter 
aubregene,exactly! I carry my bottle with me to work,when hanging out at the mall with my girlfriend and friends, actually my girlfriend also carries hers too! We just love smelling each others scent. When I'm at the office I always ask my closest colleague if my scent was too strong or if it had disappeared. But, I found out that you can't never overspray with Gai Mattiolo Uomo,Gigli Man,Armani Mania,Bulgari Aqua,Polo Blue,Gendarme and G.I.T. I love G.I.T and one time I sprayed a whole bunch on my body, I think it was about 6 times, put on my undershirt, sprayed some more, put on my dress shirt, and sprayed some more, I think it lasted about 45 tops. I tried G.IT when I went clubbing, none of my friends could smell it.

Creative correct! So don't let poor sillage stop you from buying a scent that you like!

On the downside, maybe this is a big conspiracy among the manufacturers so that we use more of the juiceand buy it more often that we did back in the 80's or early 90's. Also interesting is the fact that my mother is a die-hard parfume fan just like me and she agreed with me that today's scents are getting weaker and weaker,even some eau de parfum. Her friend bought Agent Provocateur Eau De Parfum and her friend asked my mother if she could smell the scent, my mom told her that she couldn't smell anything! They were hanging out at the mall and this is from an eau de parfume!
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post #10 of 25
8/3/06 at 1:12pm
Nothing's weak, if you cover yourself in half the bottle. I suppose it all depends on what you want out of a fragrance. I don't spray myself more than 5 times, even for the Manias, Bulgaris etc of this world. For me its about being enveloped by the fragrance, not shouting my presence from the hilltops.

I'm sure the rest of the fragrance line would help sillage/longevity - using the after shaves etc.
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post #11 of 25
8/4/06 at 8:17pm
I still say Carven Vetiver is weak, by any standard.
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post #12 of 25
8/4/06 at 9:24pm
You have just explained what you do with scents that diasappear quickly. By way of contrast you could have sprayed on some Joop, Chrome, Issey, Eternity, Photo, A*men etc before leaving your house, and still have them on you when you got home (or in some cases, when you got home the day after as well).

Does this not prove that there is indeed such a thing as weak scents? Not to mention the very weak scents?
Renato
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post #13 of 25
8/5/06 at 2:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by abimanyu

Her friend bought Agent Provocateur Eau De Parfum and her friend asked my mother if she could smell the scent, my mom told her that she couldn't smell anything! They were hanging out at the mall and this is from an eau de parfume!

This is one fragrane I can use 1 spray of and feel that it can be too much at times. Agent Provocateur is also quite sharp initially. That friend must have some kind of stealth skin.
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post #14 of 25
8/5/06 at 8:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trumpet_guy

I still say Carven Vetiver is weak, by any standard.

Ditto. But it was the first one I tried double dosing in with success (i.e. spraying on as per normal, waiting a minute, then spraying exactly over the points I'd previously sprayed). The staying power increased quite well, but I use it up at twice the rate.
Renato
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post #15 of 25
2/21/07 at 8:09pm
the lightest/least long lasting scents i've smelt on me before are Vera Wang for men and Cool Water Deep.
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post #16 of 25
2/21/07 at 8:56pm
when you think you cant smell yourself anymore...alot of it has to do with your nose growing accustomed to the smell...

for me the object i try to achieve with my fragrances is to be slightly noticable when standing next to someone....not to announce to the world that "A*Men is in the house"
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post #17 of 25
2/21/07 at 10:06pm
I think that the title of this post is silly. It's like saying there's no such thing as heavy scents or no such thing as sweet scents. I'm thinking of writing a post called "There's no such thing as a Lavender note". It would make about as much sense.
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post #18 of 25
2/21/07 at 11:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by yepyep

I think that the title of this post is silly. It's like saying there's no such thing as heavy scents or no such thing as sweet scents. I'm thinking of writing a post called "There's no such thing as a Lavender note". It would make about as much sense.

I don't think that you interpreted the thread right. He is saying there is no such thing as a weak scent because in his experience the weakness of a given scent can be compensated by using more of it. There is no way to counterbalance a lavender note so that it no longer exists.
I agree to a certain extent with the original poster of this thread. I disagree in the sense that there are obviously some scents that are weaker than others, but I agree in the sense that I think the vast majority of scents (99%), even ones that are said to be weak by many on these boards, are far more detectable than we realize, especially if we take the originial poster's advice and spray like crazy.

p.s.- Black XS is to me a pretty strong fragrance... spraying like that isn't miserable and suffocating to you?!?
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post #19 of 25
2/21/07 at 11:20pm
Absurd theory. The fact that you have to use more proves that it is weaker.
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post #20 of 25
2/21/07 at 11:29pm
Weak scents? 4711 anybody?
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post #21 of 25
2/22/07 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Giraffe

I don't think that you interpreted the thread right. He is saying there is no such thing as a weak scent because in his experience the weakness of a given scent can be compensated by using more of it. There is no way to counterbalance a lavender note so that it no longer exists.

How about spraying yourself 10 times with Le Male, including over where you sprayed Grey Flannel? That'd be pretty effective.

Driving a ferrari does not mean that the civic doesn't exist, but it'd be pretty hard to look at a civic when a ferrari is screaming by. Does that mean that the civic has no horsepower? No. Does that mean that it's weak comparitively? Yes.

There are weak scents. There are strong scents. Saying that you have to use more of a scent to even smell it proves that there are weak scents. We're talking comparitively here. On me, Versace Metal Jeans is a weak scent, compared to Chanel pour Monsieur Concentree. Since Metal Jeans was only $20, though, I can't justify NOT buying it because it is an excellent fragrance, just a little weak.
- Rich
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post #22 of 25
2/22/07 at 1:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by _R$_

How about spraying yourself 10 times with Le Male, including over where you sprayed Grey Flannel? That'd be pretty effective.

Driving a ferrari does not mean that the civic doesn't exist, but it'd be pretty hard to look at a civic when a ferrari is screaming by. Does that mean that the civic has no horsepower? No. Does that mean that it's weak comparitively? Yes.

There are weak scents. There are strong scents. Saying that you have to use more of a scent to even smell it proves that there are weak scents. We're talking comparitively here. On me, Versace Metal Jeans is a weak scent, compared to Chanel pour Monsieur Concentree. Since Metal Jeans was only $20, though, I can't justify NOT buying it because it is an excellent fragrance, just a little weak.
- Rich

I think that the original poster is simply trying to say that if you apply a lot of a scent that the effect is no longer weak and that the scent is in fact easily detectable to those around the wearer. Obviously some scents are weaker spray for spray than others.
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post #23 of 25
2/22/07 at 8:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aubrgene

As much as I love Lorenzo Villoresi's Uomo, I have to spray it every 30 minutes. Yes I was able to use up a 50 ml bottle in about a month.. now I have the 100 ml bottle. I take with me and it's on my LV Taiga messenger bag and spray it in my cabrio every 30 minutes. I have to go to the men's room and spray it on and more importantly, spray it on my handcherchief. Yes, there's no such thing as a weak scent. You just have to be creative, right?

LV at 43 is supposed to be a master perfumer but if I'm paying LV prices I'd love to get some silage and longevity out of it. I wonder what LV would say. Uomo in NYC is $90.00 for 3.4oz and if you buy it in person you get to pay nearly 10% in city and state sales tax.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp

Weak scents? 4711 anybody?

ZZ, I think in 1792 people were using 4711 to de-louse themselves. If they could afford it and most probably couldn't. Cologne back then was a way to cope with the bad vapours which I'm sure were picked up on clothes and selves due to the amount of pure unadulterated excremement that was everywhere. Not to mention heavy rains which often caused coffins to start reappearing at ground level. I don't know if I could stomach the odors of 1792 London, Paris or Cologne.

The original poster also had the idea of using more area. Go for every pulse point on the body then Armani Code comes up to code. Nope! I'd rather spill a bottle of Armani Code on my pants than Farenheight. a bottle of Farenheight 3.4oz I would report to the emergency room.
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post #24 of 25
2/22/07 at 9:26pm
For some EdT's, it doesn't matter how much you put on, its not going to have much sillage. I've tried...

TNMA
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post #25 of 25
2/23/07 at 12:11am
The title of this thread made me think of another thread entitled something vaugely like "What do people mean when they say a scent is sweet?" I mean, come on! I'm sorry if I sound insulting to the people who posted these two threads, I'm not insulting you, I just can't fathom what these posts are trying to get at.
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