What expensive scent(s) smelled awful & kind of cheap & what one was cheap, but good?

Royal Secret II can be found under $15 but could definitely pass for niche, especially for a Lutens.
Flipside:
Silk by Jalaine is $150 for 6ml but smells like a cheap, sickly sweet Body Fantasies spray.

Daim Blond smells like disinfectant on me.

Jovan Musk doesn't smell cheap on me, and my mum sometimes wears Revlon Ciara, and it doesn't smell cheap on her. As for expensive ones that smell cheap, the list is endless! I'd start with anything ultra-sweet like Pink Sugar or even (sorry) Miss Dior Cherie.

I'm wearing it today so I hope I don't smell like disinfectant. Caron's Yatagan, on the other hand, is guaranteed to kill 99% of all known germs.

Shania is at walgreens but when my cousin wears it it smells divine!!

Sorry again about the lack of responses, Dolly. I suppose it is because we are all different, and a lot of Basenoters love or hate one and the same fragrance, examples include Pamplelune and Merveilles right here on this page. Personally, I did not respond to either of the treads, because each of these two does not excite me much, they are nice and... nothing beyond that!

Now that I have had a chance to try most of the Carons (thanks Tinker!), I can state that Caron people sure did not have my skin in mind while releasing most of their scents, either modern or some decades ago. And they are not cheap, especially Urn fragrances. Look at all the raves about Tabac Blond here and on the Men's side!

In addition to that, I have experienced some hostility from Serge Lutens, MPG, Boucheron, Christian Dior --Shades will tell you I am not lying while saying I have tried and tried and tried to tame Addict, and every time she sees it, she probably thinks "What's so difficult about Addict, my cozy safety blanket?" , POTL, Keiko Mecheri, and many many others, but I feel blessed that Fendi sisters (not rock-bottom cheap, but affordable!), Sonia Rykiel, Les Copains, Elizabeth Arden, older Dana, Yves Rocher, Franck Olivier, Ted Lapidus, Jean Couturier (Marjorlaine, Lilas Mauve, Keora included) and even Bath and Body Works and Coty (modern Sand & Sable for a cool summer night, mmmmm! ) think about people with my chemistry.

Please do not concentrate on the negative aspects of scent testing and wearing, it is all the matter of perception and there is still plenty of fish in the sea of perfumes. Also, it is a lot of work: sniffing, testing, deciding, and sniffing and testing again... If you happened on just one that you like out of 5 or 10, it is better than none.

Please pm me if you would like to discuss it further or try anything from what I have got.

Eau de Marveilles has the same effect as Kingdom for me, i.e nothing. They are barely there except for a faint whiff of unidentified chemical, neither nice nor offensive. Actually that's not quite true - the EdM chemical is not good on me. I can't understand what everyone is on about.

Pamplelune is ghastly - a real sweaty armpit odour. Shame on Guerlain.

Caron's are great for me, thank goodness. There may be a small number that don't work as well as others (Yatagan, this means you), but in the main I adore Caron perfumes and consider it the greatest house in the world. Narcisse Noir, Bellodgia, Perfum Sacre, are my dearly beloveds. If no other perfumes existed in the world I would still be on cloud nine with those three.

I'm definitely in with Sestra about the CARONS. Love them! As far as the other question goes, a very inexpensive perfume like Tabu smells good on me, but most of the Chanels don't. Like No.5 is very powdery and cheap cologne smelling on me, and I can't wear the Coco's.
But, having said that, I don't buy fragrances for the price, I buy what I love, inexpensive or expensive. Thay's why I love samples and decants, because they help me make this determination! One person's poison is anothers elixir, and I don't think price has anything to do with it. There will always be pricy scents that I can't wear, and inexpensive ones that I can. I just wear the ones that speak to me and make me feel wonderful when I have them on!

i once smelled tiffany on someone and thought it smelled like one of those "if you like X, then you'll love XXX..." designer imposters. yuck.

I am equal opportunity fragrance person...that said, the cheapies I like are...

Avon Imari
Avon Haiku
Emeraude
Jovan Musk
Vanilla Musk
Tea Rose
most of the VS scents, even though they do smell like VS scents, and therefore, cheap

Expensive stuff that smells 'cheap' to me:
Betsey Johnson (I hate hate HATE this fragrance)
any aquatic fragrance
most (but not all) recently released fruity florals (Miss Dior Cherie, Bryant Park, and Rock n'Rose notable exceptions, among others)

There are too many disappointing upscale scents to name. So I won't.

But one house that is relatively inexpensive and produces some fabulously rich smelling scents (to my nose) is Bourbon French. Many of the soliflores are divine and can be had inexpensively in a parfum form. The scent Bourbon French, in the parfum form, is a sumptuous fragrance that is reminiscent of Boudoir but with a gorgeous floral heart. And while the parfums are affordable the EDTS are long lasting and for four ounces very well priced.

Mon Idee and Marguerite are also favorites....and I found then through samples

BTW, If anyone wants to get rid of some of that "dreadful" Yatagan...let me know...;-D

Arhianrad:I liked Rock n'Rose too...was pleasantly surprised by it

I've spent a lot of money so that I can smell cheap! So I don't quite understand the difference here.

IA. I tried it yesterday and the first thought that came to mind was Dettol. How disappointing.

I love drugstore cheapies! So much pleasure for next to no money. Two of my current favorites are Jean Nate concentrated cologne and Charlie White. I wear them quite frequently. I also like Jovan musk oil. And some of the Instyle dupes sold at Walgreens are quite nice (they lack the depth of the $$$ base notes, but their top notes are fresh and very true to the originals).

Shalimar in edt is a fragrance that smells cheap to me. It's not actually *expensive*, since you can find it cheap everywhere, but it IS Guerlain. I think Chantilly smells better than Shalimar edt. Some fragrances go very synthetic and plasticky on me - D&G Sicily was one, and Stella Cadente Miss Me was another. Same with EL's Beyond Paradise and Pleasures, which I know are lovely on some people, but smell bad on my skin.

I used to love Love's Baby Soft. So cheap and gentle!

I totally get what you mean!! I have splurged on some decants and samples and blech! some are VERY ordinary. I must say - I can appreciate them. I am fairly philosphical and say - OK not for me, but some of them are just... well... what the?
For example: Some of the Carons - I can understand some are probably heavenly - but goodness gracious me! Or et noir!? Enough said!
But Chloe Narcisse? 200ml for $40 - that stuff is sex on a stick for my chemistry.

Oh! I was just making a joke there. Obviously it wasn't funny. Bye now.

I have real trouble with the SL fragrances. My daughter wears Datura Noir, and the vanilla in that is so sickly sweet it makes me nauseous. I've yet to find a high-end house that I can get along with. Even the Creed fragrances seem 'thin' to me, and just not interesting enough. It is disappointing. I usually end up with department store 'stock' fragrances, and I wish I could find one unique fragrance that not everyone and his/her dog is also wearing. That's the only issue I have with the 'regular' perfumes...they're everywhere. The price isn't important, it's that special smell. Luckily, I do still have some that I can wear no matter what, and the search for the one elusive 'special' smell is always on! :-)

Clemmie