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post #1 of 20
8/5/08 at 3:20pm
Thread Starter 
I've got my first set of samples and I've already tested like 20 and I only like 2!
Based on the reviews and descriptions I've read here I was supposed to like at least half of them, and get swept off my feet by a few.
My biggest disappointments were un jardin en mediterranee (nothing like the name) and puro lino (cheap soap!)
I can't even get myself to like geir or l'homme sage (too sweet and cloying, where's the freshness and meadows and green?! it's all flowers!)
only 1 I really enjoyed was bvlgari black and 1 I found ok was versace man eau fraiche (similar drydown to l'eau d'issey without the irritating top notes)
Now my question is how should I choose what to sample? Reading reviews doesn't seem to work and I think I would've had a better chance just picking the samples randomly
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post #2 of 20
8/5/08 at 4:11pm
Welcome to Basenotes!
The first thing you have to consider is that there are no hard and fast rules. There's nothing that's "supposed" to happen according to formulas or reviews. Fragrances are like colors--completely subjective.

The only way to find out what you like is to continue to sample. You never know, you may feel the opposite about the next batch. In time, you'll develop a sense of what you may even want to approach or not. You'll also be able to interpret reviews more correctly since those are also based on emotions and personal tastes. And even then, you'll have plenty of surprises.

You might find it interesting that the only 2 that you half-enjoyed from that group are the ones I have tested and have absolutely no interest in. On the other hand, IMO, Geir and L'Homme Sage are great ones LOL...
So don't rush and don't get frustrated. This is supposed to be fun.
RM
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post #3 of 20
8/5/08 at 4:20pm
I'll just link to my post on a similar topic.

Instead of picking samples based on reviews, I think getting sample packs from The Perfumed Court of groupings that are of interest can be more worthwhile. There's a link to TPC and the men's samples section in that post in the link.
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post #4 of 20
8/5/08 at 4:30pm
It's like learning how to drink wine or coffee. As you try more scents and revisit old ones, you might find that you will like more. But to be honest, it's not bad to only like 10% of the scents. Stay picky. And Bulgari Black is excellent of course.
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post #5 of 20
8/5/08 at 4:38pm
Maybe niche scents don't fit you? Nothing wrong with that.
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post #6 of 20
8/5/08 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for the input. Actually, I am saving the niche samples for last, hopefully I won't be as disappointed with them (Serge Lutens, Frederic Malle, Creed... etc)
I also don't know if I should give up completely on a scent that I don't like now. Gucci Envy for example was annoying at first, but the same note that annoyed me (don't know what it is, something green and bitter) is strangely growing on me, and it's the same note that gives the scent its uniqueness.
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post #7 of 20
8/5/08 at 5:49pm
Don't give up. I went through a lot of samples (online and at stores and I am now trading with other BNers). At first I was the same as you. I went through a lot of samples of stuff I didn't like. I thought I was never going to find ones that I liked. I kept sampling and now my problem is, I like too many. There are just so many to choose from.

Don't be afraid to try them more than once. I am going to go back and try some of the earlier ones I disliked. Bvlgari Aqua is one that I now like but didn't like the first 4 time I sampled it. So why did I keep trying? The first time was on paper and I had left the paper in my car. The next day the car smelled so good. However, on me I just didn't like it. What I found is that I was spraying so little, in order to smell it, I had to get real close to my wrist. When I finally put enough on so I could just smell it as I was walking around, I started enjoying it.
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post #8 of 20
8/5/08 at 6:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bittersweet View Post

I can't even get myself to like geir or l'homme sage, ... only 1 I really enjoyed was bvlgari black and 1 I found ok was versace man eau fraiche ...

I'm surprised you didn't like Geir but liked anything by Versace. I find Versace fragrances to be very cloying and loaded with vanilla, but Geir is one of my favorites. Bvlgari Black is just plain fantastic. I'd wear it a lot more if my girlfriend didn't dislike the rubber accord in it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bittersweet View Post

Reading reviews doesn't seem to work and I think I would've had a better chance just picking the samples randomly.

You might need to zero in on finding BN people who ultimately have the same tastes as you. After you sample a few more things, you'll find those people eventually by seeing similarity in their reviews. Some of them will have sampled much more than you have, and you can then use their reviews as a sort of "reconnaissance flight" over the field. You'll also start to watch out for fragrances coming from certain perfumers or houses that have created fragrances you've liked in the past.

Enjoy the sampling period, however. It's the best part.
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post #9 of 20
8/5/08 at 6:42pm
Yes, all good advice here. Maxpower's story about Bulgari Aqua is an excellent example of something that Bigsly harps on - always try some different applications (both location and intensity) to find the fragrance's sweet spot. Some of my "to die for" fragrances were ones that I hated the first time. There's something you can do for weakness and cloying - it's called spraying more and spraying less. Many people think that a frag "should" require X sprays. I've found that when I stop telling the frag what it should smell like, and start paying attention to what it does smell like, I can come to terms with it. Kinda like people. The frag is talking. Figure out how to hear it. Samples usually give you two good wears if you have to use a bunch of it, or several if you have to go light. Most important, look at my sig...
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post #10 of 20
8/5/08 at 7:28pm
Of the ones you do like remember the notes in the pyramid, and find similar fragrances with the notes you like, and sample them. Take your time with fragrances, no need to rush.
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post #11 of 20
8/5/08 at 8:57pm
Just because you don;t like a certain fragrance the first time you wear it doesn't mean that you won't come to like it later on. If you are anything at all like me you'll find that after you sniff many, many samples you might start appreciating samples that you didn't care for on first wearing.

Also, its perfectly ok to hate things that other people love and vice versa. If we all liked the same stuff basenoting wouldn't be anywhere near as interesting.
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post #12 of 20
8/5/08 at 9:56pm
It can take several wearings to actually like a frag.. Try leaving the scent on for around 3 hours.. See how you feel about it then.. When you have a lot of scents to sample.. Its so easy to dismiss a fragrance to want to hurry up and try the next one!!

Try wearing the same scent 3 days in a row.. If you don't like it after that.. Then.. I guess you never will

At least you will have given yourself plenty of time to get to know the fragrance..

Trying frags is no different to meeting people.. First impressions can be important but its not the full story!! There can be more undiscovered depth!!!
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post #13 of 20
8/6/08 at 5:20am
Bittersweet - I actually find sampling to be the funnest part! That way, I get to try all sorts of stuff. I can organize my samples by house, or by dominant notes and have mini-sniffapaloozas.

It's a lot like wine tasting (without the next-day hangover).

Keep notes on what you try. It will help you remember the scent and recognize patterns. Not just stated "notes" and whether you liked it or not, but also the environment, how your nose is feeling, ambient scents, whether you tried something next to or on top of something else. Whatever you think helps. There are no rules.

The link in my signature provides an example. But a lot of folks here use notebooks and Basenotes as a tool.

Hope this helps, and welcome.
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post #14 of 20
8/6/08 at 1:35pm
Yeah, it's rough. I'd say hit the stores to test what you can. Leave the store wearing two scents on your wrists each time. Paper is ok for cutting the herd, but you have to wear to find out if you really like it. (You miss a few this way, but you can always come back) Once you've narrowed the field, you can bring another person to finalize selection. Unless you're lucky, you'll burn them out helping you smell a ton of scents if you bring them in at the beginning.

As you build up your likes then look for a fellow BNer with similar tastes. NOTE: similar not exact!

You also have to realize that as you smell more scents, you'll notice more about them and your tastes will change.

I was in a store last night talking to a young lady and her mom they ended only really liking one scent out of the whole store.

As for my most complimented scents, Creed Green Irish Tweed and Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce. Seriously, head and shoulders above everything else I've tried. Sometimes, it makes me want to stop buying anything else since everyone else seems to love those two.
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post #15 of 20
8/6/08 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
It's getting better already. Yesterday I sampled 4 new scents: Canali (actually quite nice), Sean John Unforgivable (don't like melony scents), CDG 2 Man (Love this warm sweet woody note, if only it didn't get a lot spicier in the drydown), and Parfums de Nicolai New York (I think if applied very sparingly it can be intriguing)
BTW I am spraying them all on my wrists, and I leave them for at least 3-4 hours unless they're intolerable, some I really had to run and wash off because they caused severe nasal mucocutaneous irritation like diesel fuel for life or ck obsession, those will never be given another chance because I don't think my allergies are going to change much over time.
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post #16 of 20
6/10/11 at 3:10am
I've been a bit frustrated too with my niche samples. I've only loved 1, maybe 2, out of the probably 30-40 samples I've tried. I know they are supposed to be a bit more sophisticated, mature, and perhaps experimental, but come on, it still has to smell good. For example, by now ADG is waaay too popular and probably overpriced, but it's simply a huge seller because it's a pleasant scent. I know I'll most likely want to smell like that than say an average Kilian offering.

BUT what I find more frustrating is the lack of people that are into fragrances. I can understand being burned out for awhile, but, where I live at least, I bet less than 10% of guys wear anything consistantly let alone have any idea what the latest Chanel release is. I just don't understand it.
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post #17 of 20
6/10/11 at 3:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stew View Post

I've been a bit frustrated too with my niche samples.....I know they are supposed to be a bit more sophisticated, mature, and perhaps experimental......

The greatest myth.
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post #18 of 20
6/10/11 at 7:57am
Sampling is a game of hit or miss.
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post #19 of 20
6/10/11 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoos View Post

I'll just link to my post on a similar topic.

Instead of picking samples based on reviews, I think getting sample packs from The Perfumed Court of groupings that are of interest can be more worthwhile. There's a link to TPC and the men's samples section in that post in the link.

This is exactly what I have been doing. Good advice.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bittersweet View Post

I've got my first set of samples and I've already tested like 20 and I only like 2!
Based on the reviews and descriptions I've read here I was supposed to like at least half of them, and get swept off my feet by a few.
My biggest disappointments were un jardin en mediterranee (nothing like the name) and puro lino (cheap soap!)
I can't even get myself to like geir or l'homme sage (too sweet and cloying, where's the freshness and meadows and green?! it's all flowers!)
only 1 I really enjoyed was bvlgari black and 1 I found ok was versace man eau fraiche (similar drydown to l'eau d'issey without the irritating top notes)
Now my question is how should I choose what to sample? Reading reviews doesn't seem to work and I think I would've had a better chance just picking the samples randomly

I've had exactly the same experience, I've read loads of reviews on here, done searches, read the posts and I too have only discovered two of circa 30 that I have sampled in the last month.

For the recored they are Aventus and Musc Ravageur.

Quote:
Originally Posted by surreality View Post

Just because you don;t like a certain fragrance the first time you wear it doesn't mean that you won't come to like it later on.

I have found this to be true and the vice versa also.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

Sampling is a game of hit or miss.

Bang on, and much more miss than hit in my experience.
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post #20 of 20
6/10/11 at 9:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Astaroth View Post

You might need to zero in on finding BN people who ultimately have the same tastes as you. After you sample a few more things, you'll find those people eventually by seeing similarity in their reviews. Some of them will have sampled much more than you have, and you can then use their reviews as a sort of "reconnaissance flight" over the field. You'll also start to watch out for fragrances coming from certain perfumers or houses that have created fragrances you've liked in the past.

X2. If someone posts a good review or comment on a fragrance, and they have multiple fragrances highly rated in their wardrobe that I also like, I add the fragrance to my test list.
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