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What famous fragrance was a disappointment the first time you tried it?

post #1 of 44
6/12/08 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
For me:
Le Male
Live Jazz
XS for men
Kouros
Obsession men
all these had a particular "note' I hated, I have been looking for that note, it could be Vilolet Leaf, mint, corriander...?
other disappointments:
Aigner black
Egoist
M7 Fresh(not M7 I love that)
Gucci pour homme II not the 2003 which is pretty good.
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post #2 of 44
6/12/08 at 11:29am
I had great expectations of:

Antidote - Victor and Rolf
Gucci PH 2

...And they came crashing down around me when I first smelled these.

I had also imagined something quite different when I first sniffed Musc Ravageur.
Excellent scent, but perhaps not the monster many tout it to be!
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post #3 of 44
6/12/08 at 11:32am
  • KMF
  • offline
  • Gender:
BdP
JHL
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post #4 of 44
6/12/08 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimitri View Post


I had also imagined something quite different when I first sniffed Musc Ravageur.
Excellent scent, but perhaps not the monster many tout it to be!


My feelings about MR also. Just not what I was expecting.

D&G Light Blue pour Homme and The One for Men - I had such high expectations based on the women's versions.
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post #5 of 44
6/12/08 at 11:39am
Versailles.

Hideous
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post #6 of 44
6/12/08 at 11:41am
Musc Ravageur
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post #7 of 44
6/12/08 at 11:44am
Hammam Bouquet.
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post #8 of 44
6/12/08 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
It all goes to prove that we have all very different perceptions of fragrances, maybe the same is true with the sense of hearing, taste...
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post #9 of 44
6/12/08 at 12:19pm
L'Heure Bleue, but then I fell in love with it when I tried the vintage. Fleurs d'Oranger, which I now like. Fracas, which I now think is o.k.
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post #10 of 44
6/12/08 at 12:50pm
I’m still trying to determine whether or not I’m disappointed in Guerlain’s Derby (new formulation). I’ve been wearing it from a 5ml decant for a few months, and when I first tested it I was pretty amazed and was sure I was going to love everything about it. The opening in particular is stunning and unique and reminds me of (this is strange) an old cork bulletin board I had in my basement bedroom as a teenager, which had such a strong smoky, woody scent that my entire room smelled like it. It was very cool down there even in the summer, so that’s where I’d spend most of my time, reading. (and entertaining girlfriends)
Many fond memories….
BUT….
This opening fades pretty quickly and the drydown, so far, I find to be an uninspiring and lackluster blend of fairly generic spices I find very familiar, formulaic, annoying, and which I associate with “serious 80’s” men’s fragrances in general, which to me, represent all that is not chic. Specifically the carnation, which is one of my favorite notes generally speaking and one that I love in Equipage and CdG Red: Carnation, but which in Derby seems much too flat and cinnamon-like and not fresh and floral enough. This not only cheapens the entire fragrance, but in my opinion robs it of the vitality of the opening, and brings it into the realm of the serious and stuffy, again, the anti-chic.

So, even given how much I love the opening, I can pretty well say it’s a disappointment.

I've never smelled the original.
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post #11 of 44
6/12/08 at 12:57pm
Musc Ravageur and Chanel Egoiste.. Cannot understand the hype at all!
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post #12 of 44
6/12/08 at 1:05pm
Mainstream and some BNers said L'eau D'Issey was a great aquatic. Instead, I got way too much citrus, a headache, and some Bath & Body Works soap in the dry down.
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post #13 of 44
6/12/08 at 1:21pm
I thought BdP was a real disappointment - here was this legendary scent, but Heritage is just so much nicer and lasts longer too and is so much less expensive.

I do kind of understand why people would be disappointed by Egoiste too - I like Egoiste Platinum much much more.

L'Eau D'Issey I never liked anyway.

JPG Le Male is vile from top notes onwards...
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post #14 of 44
6/12/08 at 1:43pm
Musc Ravageur, Relax, Cuiron Pour Homme, Richard James, Yang and Égoïste are ones that immediately spring to mind.
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post #15 of 44
6/12/08 at 1:47pm
Fragrance name I was disappointed in.

No mention as to why I was disappointed.
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post #16 of 44
6/12/08 at 2:00pm
Macassar
Mitsouko
Metal by PR
Minotaure
MKK
Miss Dior
Messe de Minuit

and those are just the Ms.
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post #17 of 44
6/12/08 at 2:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimitri View Post

I had also imagined something quite different when I first sniffed Musc Ravageur.
Excellent scent, but perhaps not the monster many tout it to be!

Agreed, too.

My skin amplifies the vanilla in it to 10 on the richter scale, and everybody knows that isn't a good thing
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post #18 of 44
6/12/08 at 2:21pm
Green Irish Tweed (I rank it below SMW, MI and Himalaya as fresh modern Creeds go) and Bois du Portugal (too stuffy for me).
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post #19 of 44
6/12/08 at 9:55pm
BDP
GIT
LDDM
Musk Ravageur.
Narciso Rodriguez
VIW
Geir
MI
Tabac
Many others
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post #20 of 44
6/12/08 at 10:18pm
Jean Desprez Versailles pour Homme and Creed vintage Tabarome. Neither dealt me the blow I was expecting, but the vintage Tab started to come around one evening while I was in the crowded stands of a night's professional baseball game. Suddenly the smell was magic. But it hasn't climbed back up to that moment since.
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post #21 of 44
6/12/08 at 10:27pm
Jicky.

I have since come to appreciate it, but it took a few wearings. I thought it smelled like a decomposing funnel cake.
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post #22 of 44
6/12/08 at 10:55pm
  • Taz
  • offline
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Too many to list. Off hand:

M7 - I suppose it was my mistake. Was looking for oudh.
Montale - Oudh Lime - my expectations peaked everest and my realizations shrunk down to Mount Royal.
Musc Ravageur - tous mes espoirs ont été ravagés
Diptyque Philosykos .. I'd rather have some herbal tea.
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post #23 of 44
6/13/08 at 12:00am
Green Irish Tweed - 2 years ago. I was horrified by the top notes (I've since learned that I don't like sharp violet leaf).

Davidoff Relax - I loved all the descriptions of emerald kingdoms and marshmallow clouds, but there was a speed stick note that ruined it for me.

Patchouli 24 - I was looking for Bulgari Black extreme, but instead i smelled a chemical fire doused with cough syrup.

M7 Fresh - I was excited to get this one because of the stellar reviews and the beautiful bottle, but something in there made it completely unwearable for me.


Happy Endings


Rose 31 - At first all I could smell was alcohol with a light lotion scent. I think it took some time for the oils to settle in my bottle. Now it's one of my favorites!

MI - The first few times the saltiness in the top notes were too much for me and I felt like I had been out to sea for a week with no fresh water. I got in touch with the amazing dry down and I've used it as my champagne of fragrances ever since.
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post #24 of 44
6/13/08 at 1:34am
Hammam Bouquet originally made me ill- Now I love it.

Egoiste has always confounded me. I want to like it- can't.

Jazz was a disappointment but not offensive or anything.
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post #25 of 44
6/13/08 at 5:30am
Noir Epices, Bandit, GIT, Beyond Paradise.
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post #26 of 44
6/13/08 at 6:07am
Piper Nigrum - Did not like this at first.
Philosykos
Silver Mountain Water
Messe de Minuit - Man it took me a long time to embrace this juice. The first time I smelled it I wanted to hurl the bottle across the room.
Tea For Two

Best,

Otto
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post #27 of 44
6/13/08 at 7:10am
Penhaligons English Fern.

Something minty about it.

Gave the two 50ml bottles I had away.
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post #28 of 44
6/13/08 at 10:29am
Habit Rouge- just awful.
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post #29 of 44
6/13/08 at 12:41pm
With the exception of Datura Noir, which I love, I have to say the whole Serge Lutens line. Thats not a perfume, house its a show and tell company.

Geir Ness
Amouage
Bond No. 9
Anything CK, Hugo Boss, Versace, Escada (accept for the original)
TM Cologne, BMan
Guerlain Heritage, Derby
Clive Christian
Diptyque's line

Actually more often than not I'm disappointed but it makes every "find" that much more valuable.

Cheers,
Al
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post #30 of 44
6/13/08 at 12:48pm
1.Kouros
2.Egoiste(Sample)
3.1913


Everything's better now.
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post #31 of 44
6/13/08 at 12:59pm
Dior Homme...but that was mainly because I was expecting it to be a monster based on the reviews I had read
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post #32 of 44
6/13/08 at 1:03pm
Habit Rouge
Yatagan
Rose Poivree
Boucheron Pour Homme
Rive Gauche
Haamam Bouquet
Knize Ten
Guerlain Vetiver
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post #33 of 44
6/13/08 at 1:25pm
M7, easy. :\\
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post #34 of 44
6/13/08 at 1:38pm
ambre sultan....MKK
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post #35 of 44
6/13/08 at 4:42pm
A lot.
Most notably: Le Male and Gucci PH original
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post #36 of 44
6/13/08 at 5:35pm
M7 is the biggest disappointment I can think of.
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post #37 of 44
6/14/08 at 1:53am
Bandit by Robert Piguet
Caboachard by Gres

Both smell like very old mouldy carpet , with a dash of carpet freshener on them , with the added bonus of Bandit having extra burnt tyre notes in it .
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post #38 of 44
6/16/08 at 11:37am
I thought Green Irish Tweed or Terre d'Hermes were disappointments the first time I tried them, but I eventually came to like them a lot. Although I didn't dislike them at first, I just had unrealistically high expectations for both of them based on BN posts.
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post #39 of 44
6/16/08 at 1:02pm
Based on reviews I thought MB Individuel and Le Male would be great. Too sweet.
Everyone seems to like Issey Miyake and TM AMen except me
Versace Man Eau Fraiche... will someone please take mine?
Bond No. 9 Eau D'New York says it's unisex but it is only for the ladies.
Both of the Bvlgari Blv series and John Varvatos smell very funky to me... like a nursing home
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post #40 of 44
6/16/08 at 1:51pm
The whole Different Company line a mere disappointment. Perhaps the biggest.
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post #41 of 44
6/17/08 at 7:15am
Thread Starter 
Agree with you with all except John Varvatos!, BTW what are your favs, as we seem to have the same taste/
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post #42 of 44
6/17/08 at 8:24am
Kouros - I expected to smell some ethereal male sexiness that I would love to wear. Instead I got piss. I I tried to wash it off twice and could still smell it. Strongly.

Also - nearly all of the Bond No. 9 frags have disappointed me, with the exception of: Bleecker Street, Central Park, and The Scent of Peace.

I found A*Men and A*Men pure coffee to be quite disgusting. The note that makes Mugler Cologne great makes these unbearable.

Dirty English smelled like C.O.B.O - Cologne over Body Odor.
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post #43 of 44
6/17/08 at 9:49am
Sorry to say, but Black Aoud left me a little flat the first time I tried it. Which I suppose is understandable because I wasn't used to the oudh, but I do love M7, so I was hoping I'd take to it. I've only tried it once though and still have a good amount left in my sample, so future wearings are in order.
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post #44 of 44
6/17/08 at 10:52am
Ungaro III. eh. Didn't rock my world the way I thought it would after having read so many positive reviews on this one. Smells good, lasts forever. But...eh.
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