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Is a key to liking a frag its naturalnes ?

post #1 of 17
4/2/08 at 9:15pm
Thread Starter 
Some say Corinto Rouge is like GIT or Cool Water. The great BN reviewer foetidus,. however, doesn't like CR's synthetic feel. There is also an issue over the synthetic notes in Horizon, apparently, as well. Vetiver de Puig is similar to Horizon, but a bit more natural (and not quite as potent). VdP has a slight sour note that is natural, but pleasant if not over applied. These are just a couple of examples. I'll be getting Corduroy soon, which foetidus also considers too synthetic. My sense at this point is that some are much more sensitive to more synthetic frags than others, and that this is an important consideration when you read reviews and commentaries, but I've never read anyone point this out explicitly.

Agree? Disagree?
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post #2 of 17
4/2/08 at 9:20pm
Not necessarily. I don't think many people will rave about the all-natural smell of Azzaro Chrome, or Davidoff Echo. Those ozonic, synthetic scents have their place in the fragrance world.

Of course, some people don't go for that stuff either (myself being one).
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post #3 of 17
4/2/08 at 10:50pm
Almost every single scent you know or will know has synthetic molecules that make up some of the notes. They replace essential oils, which are considered natural. Natural notes can smell fake or synthetic just as much as the real synthetics. One single molecule can give the note of Sandalwood. That is not too much to base that " it smells synthetic" claim on.

I do not agree with that claim at all.
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post #4 of 17
4/3/08 at 5:44am
I want to say "hell no!", but I DO tend to gravitate towards scents with a high natural content (Guerlain, Lutens, BPAL). That said, there are many scents that cannot be captured "naturally" from the source (lilac is difficult, and truly, most floral essences to not smell like the live flower, to me, at all!). I love natural patchouli, and I didn't know why any house would use a synthetic vanilla (easy to extract its essence) untill I realized that Guerlain, a house known for its heavy use of naturals, uses a synth vanilla, and it is to die for (Shalimar, I am looking at you, dear). There are good synthetics out there: they smell like live flowers, fresh fruit, creamy musks, etc. Most houses use at least some of these to give scents both lift and depth. My problem with "Natural Pefumes" is that they often smell dirty, sour, like herbal remedies, or just... dead. The best nautrals, IMHO are the ambers, (spices, patchouli, vanilla), or simple waters (lavender, rose, etc).

The yuckie synthetics smell like plastic, bug spray, or disintectant. You'll know 'em when you smell 'em!
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post #5 of 17
4/3/08 at 6:58am
^^ lookingglass said it perfectly.

The short answer : No!
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post #6 of 17
4/3/08 at 8:09am
Vanilla is an extremely labor intensive plant to extract essence from and that is reflected in the price. That's the primary reason natural vanilla isn't used. (vanilla extract from the store is considerably different than vanilla absolute, and the costs are significantly different as well)
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post #7 of 17
4/3/08 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnvYuS View Post

Almost every single scent you know or will know has synthetic molecules that make up some of the notes. They replace essential oils, which are considered natural. Natural notes can smell fake or synthetic just as much as the real synthetics. One single molecule can give the note of Sandalwood. That is not too much to base that "it smells synthetic" claim on. I do not agree with that claim at all.

Amen. I think that we hear this complaint so much because it sounds objective ("It's synthetic"), and some people think this sounds better than a more honest, subjective answer ("I didn't like it"). Then, looking at it from the other direction, it becomes self-reinforcing ("This must be highly natural, since I like it so much").
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post #8 of 17
4/3/08 at 11:51am
Synthetic most of the times means:
harsh,
badly blended,
simple,
Crisp,
sharp,
pungent,
linear,
'cold',
rather than 'a compund obtained through controlled chemical reactions'.
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post #9 of 17
4/3/08 at 12:26pm
id say that it does, because even highly synthetic smells that we like tend to smell natural, imagine - what do you like better, an ozonic that smells of the fresh sea breeze, or an ozonic that smells like plastic burning ozone death ? it is the "naturalness" that we seek, we just dont know what actually goes into making it so
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post #10 of 17
4/3/08 at 2:45pm
Comme des Garcons produces "anti-perfumes" that are studies on syntheticity and takes it to an art form (especially the Odeur series). Sure, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it has many, many admirers.
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post #11 of 17
4/3/08 at 4:17pm
Some synthetics can heighten a scent and play it up more. For example adding aldehydes to bring out the floral notes.

Nevertheless, there are some scents synthetics can't simply replicate. Try smelling jasmine or vanilla absolute and then try sniffing its synthetic fragrance counterpart. There's just no comparison as the natural scent is much deeper and complex.

I partially agree with lookinglass that natural perfumes can smell too raw and earthy. However, this may be due to the fact that we're so use to the commercial perfumes with the ozone, airy like notes.
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post #12 of 17
4/3/08 at 4:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by irish View Post

Synthetic most of the times means:
harsh,
badly blended,
simple,
Crisp,
sharp,
pungent,
linear,
'cold',
rather than 'a compund obtained through controlled chemical reactions'.

ooo, good one.
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post #13 of 17
4/6/08 at 4:33am
It does make a difference to some people and I really prefer natural notes in combination with synthetics, if used at all. If a fragrance is completely synthetic, I might think it smells good a few times, but quickly tire of it and set it aside. Some smell downright vapid or nasty. I don't think the vanilla in Shalimar Light is natural smelling, either. Someone mentioned that she doesn't mind it, because that's what she's used to. In my case, I'm not used to synthetics unless they are there to enhance a fragrance, like aldehydes. I don't think we need to make a qualifying statement in every review, if someone says they don't like something, because it smells too synthetic, think "fake." This wouldn't appeal to me, either, but it may not bother you. Either way, it's helpful information.
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post #14 of 17
4/6/08 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't come across a frag I consider too synthetic to use. And some frags that are very natural have a cloying quality, so to me it doesn't matter, at least in my limited experience. The much more experienced foetidus, however, seems to think it's quite important, whereas to me it's an issue of whether a frag gets to be too much (and sometimes I have to spray only below the knee), but I don't register naturalness or syntheticness in my mind when assessing a frag.
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post #15 of 17
4/6/08 at 2:40pm
I don't mind that the perfume is made of synthetic ingredients, as long as they smell natural. I hate synthetic, medicinal, artificial smells. I can't stand them. I bought a bottle of z-14 and Grey Flannel, and I am giving them for free, just because they smell artificial to me.

.
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post #16 of 17
4/6/08 at 5:41pm
I'm with Lucius. While I don't care too much if my fragrances are made with synthetic ingredients, most that smell too synthetic give me a headache.

Case in point - Coco Mademoiselle.

While I own it, like it, wear it sometimes, the opening "orange" is more of the horrible "HUG" plastic juice bottle than real orange. You know "HUGs" right? They're all food coloring, corn syrup and a little fruit flavoring. That's the opening of Coco M. to me. And sometimes I want to smell all artificially perfumey, but usually I don't. That's what I'm willing to spend money for.
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post #17 of 17
4/8/08 at 6:58am
every colonge has synthetic elements. there is no two ways about it....to me synthetic fragrances are those which we cannto relate too...like ultraviolet man or FCUK kinda fragrances...neverthless..i like them coz they are unique....as long as they are not harsh on my skin, im fine with any frgrance...i'd like to believe theres no such thing as a bad frgrance...just one of those days...and if yuo have someon to educate you (like in BN) then it might be all the more helpful in understandin a fragrance and appreciate the thought...
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › Is a key to liking a frag its naturalnes ?