CB I Hate Perfume

I have a sample of "Winter 1972" - a very unusual scent (worn very close to the skin) that captures the perfume of melting snow, dirt and wet wool mittens! A very inspired creation... but perhaps one with limited use. As far as the concept and execution are concerned however, it is very interesting indeed.

I have not sampled any of the other CB I hate perfume fragrances.

I got my hands on a few testers at a discount store and had fun smelling them. I didn't buy any, though. For the most part, they are playful compositions that strive to smell exactly like their names suggest. In general, don't look to this line for an artistically sophisticated fragrance. However, you might find something amusing and worthwhile. I didn't find Play-Doh, which is one I might consider buying.

I have never gotten over missing the reasonable samples. Once the price went up my interest went off (and I do realize they were larger samples, but still). Eventually someone sent me a number of them, totaling about $110.00 or thereabouts, and there wasn't a single one I wanted (or had really wanted to try).

I did like Black March quite well for its perfect evocation of a hyacinth bulb in black, wet earth. I wouldn't wear it, but I enjoyed smelling it and eventually finished the sample by scenting a lightbulb.

Have always wanted to try the patchouli and also the Cradle of Light, but when the price of a sample makes me roll my eyes I find it easy to lose interest.

OMG! I have Burning Leaves and I LOVE IT!!!! Now that Fall is approaching I am truly looking forward to pulling it out as a staple. I only use it in September, October and November. I am SOOOOOOO not usually that picky about wearing my frags but this one is special and I take such delight when the time of year comes around for me to spritz away with it. It goes back into seclusion when the holidays ring my bell.... and then I sulk and pout for awhile while I go through my withdrawls.

It is sweet and smoky at the same time. Can be loud or soft spoken depending on your application process. I prefer soft and a spritz or two usually does the trick for me. My only caution would be that it is an unusual fragrance. You may not always get compliments on it. On the other hand, people will start thinking about toasting marshmallows around you... and they will not know why. In the end, they will blame you for their sudden rush of happiness and you will walk away from them quietly, yet humbly, fulfilled.

I own Revelation and the (in)famous Musk, have sampled many of the others in his studio. Everything is well-done, many are unusual (definitely not a first date scents). I think I also need Violet Empire. These are scents that take you places and make you feel intensely, for better and worse.

I always go for the high concentration. With my funky chemistry, the water based ones don't stand a chance, but the oils last forever and have a surprisingly robust sillage.

My original review is here: http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/200...emptation.html

I own the musk as well and love it. Great on its own or layered to deepen other scents.

The others are almost avant-garde performance art; olfactory time machines. I can't really think of them as regular scents and don't find myself reaching for them that often. They are beautiful though and I wish Chris B great and continued success..

I find it interesting that he at one time worked for Demeter. And like the OP I too want to smell each and every scent. I am extremely anxious about Thunderstorm from demeter but it was created by CB.

Along with a coworker, I ordered all of them (25 or 27) from The Perfumed Court. It cost us around 35$ each, which is great to try so many different ones.

I liked a few enough that I plan to buy them at the end of August. I only tried my half so far, but I will definitely buy Rose Tea, Fir Tree and another tea based one (russian caravan tea or cedarwood tea).

Fir Tree I might get as a house spray though.

They are great, and they will great on your skin since they contain no alcohol. I definitely recommend ordering a batch of samples from perfumed court.

Ditto on this. These are fragrances meant to be powerfully remind you of pleasant experiences, and they smell pleasant by association with those experiences; they're only vaguely pleasant if they're not associated with memories for you.

The only one that really "got" me was In the Library, a dead-on ringer for the smell of a library (specifically a library in a damp, London-like climate with decades-old books). I've heard lots of "nothing like a library" and "just a sweet vanilla" and "dull" from people from drier climates like California or the Northeast; scent memories tend to be pretty specific.

the CB I HATE PERFUMES store is a couple blocks from my flat here in brooklyn.

i went to the shop last week.....and was pretty dissappointed overall.

the scents are unique, but not that interesting.....they're a bit too subtle in my opinion, they have no attitude....

the only fragrance i thought worth investigating was Winter 1972.

This male's perspective, for what it's worth...
I've sampled several, and so far they all seem to have a similar style: simple, slightly sweet, sort of synthetic-smelling. I can't relate to that style, to me it becomes irritating. I appreciate the CB philosophy but can't get behind the content. But I'll keep trying, I may find something that changes my mind.

I had a bottle (oil-based) of Russian Caravan Tea. It was lots of bergamot but not much tea. As I like bergamot, it was OK, but I wouldn't buy it again.

I like the CB philosophy but haven't found any of them that really "clicked" - though Patchouli Empire was pretty close - they really don't seem to me to be a typical perfume one would dab on "for the day" but something you might put on when you plan on being home and want to be enveloped by a scent.

And I am one of the few that really didn't like his musk.

My experience with this line so far is similar to what other people have been saying. I was so captivated by the idea of these scents, but so far the ones I've tried have been disappointing. They smell a little thin, like you're smelling a familiar scent from far away, and they don't always hold up over time -- they tend to dry down into something vaguely sweet.

Which also makes me wonder about what makes a perfume evocative. Maybe it has to be more powerful, exaggerated, enveloping than just a "photorealistic" representation of how something smells. For instance, although CB's Black March has a really impressively accurate smell of damp earth (a smell I love in nature) it doesn't evoke a lot of emotion in me. But Miller Harris' Vetiver Bourbon, which blends vetiver and an earthy patchouli, really gives me the feeling of smelling dark, fresh earth.

I modelled my screen name on this line, but have in fact only tried Memory of Kindness, which was memory of tomato stems at varying degress of intensity. Didn't get it at all and am in no rush to try any more, sorry!

Here are my full notes on CB, extracted from my "perfume reviews.txt" file. I deleted everything unrelated. Note that since I try so many fragrances, it does take a lot to make it to my buy list.

=== Priority #1 to buy ===
CB I Hate Perfume - Tea Rose (not great, but haunting)

=== Priority #2 to buy ===
CB I Hate Perfume - Cedarwood Tea (I love CB teas but this one has nothing special, buy it only if Caravan Tea isn't better as a "pure tea")
CB I Hate Perfume - The Fir Tree (very reconizable sapin scent, the kind that smells kinda like sweat)

=== Priority #4 to buy ===
CB I Hate Perfume - Revelation - honey and fig tree, I really like the dry down... not a ton though.
CB I Hate Perfume - Under the Arbor - quite pleasant, smells indeed like the sweet sea, and a bit of grapes I think.

=== Priority #9 to buy ===
CB I Hate Perfume - I am a Dandelion (pleasant, lasts long, no sillage, gets dry in the end)

=== Good but not worth buying ===
CB I Hate Perfume - Lavender tea - Good tea but not as great as Cedarwood or Rose. Better than Russian Caravan. I don't really love lavender as a whole I think.
CB I Hate Perfume - Mr Hulot's Holiday - smells like sun screen and aquatic, but don't love it. Good for a bit only.

=== Fragrances I do not like ===
CB I Hate Perfume - Black March (fun for a few minutes, then you get bored)
CB I Hate Perfume - Burning Leaves (smells like humid leaves, similar to black march, then turns into dry wood, which I never like)
CB I Hate Perfume - CB 93 - Disgusting! Smells like herbs and spices, some that stink. Says geranium, but I dunno what that is.
CB I Hate Perfume - Fire from Heaven - too plain, it does smell like fire at some short point, but that's it. Better than burning leaves though.
CB I hate Perfume - Gathering Apples - (maybe good as a home spray, but on skin, it quickly turns into turkish delight, not great)
CB I Hate Perfume - In the Summer Kitchen - smells like a summer kitchen garbage can with old banana peels in it, and spices. Don't like it at all. Did not give it a real try and I Won't.
CB I Hate Perfume - M1 Narcissus (pleasant flower, but it smells exactly like the bars of soap I overused in 5th grade of high school and nothing else)
CB I Hate Perfume - Memories of Kindness (tomato leaves, too simple, get tired after a bit)
CB I Hate Perfume - To see a flower (like Black March, but more flowery... then it turns into plain black march dirt)
CB I Hate Perfume - In the Library - sucks, doesn't smell much and if anything, smells a bit like dry mushrooms. Not unpleasant, but not pleasant either. Oh I get it, it smells like mold, on a dry book.
CB I Hate Perfume - Patchouli Empire - Patchouli and tea, not good enough but not unpleasant
CB I Hate Perfume - Russian Caravan Tea - A good tea, but too dry, kinda like their other dry scents, such as Library.
CB I Hate Perfume - Wild Pansy - Good and not unpleasant, but not strong enough and not very interesting.
CB I Hate Perfume - Winter 1972 - earth note, more powdery and dry than usual, nothing else!

Thanks for those really helpful reviews!! I tried Memory of Kindness and stopped there, thinking who wants to smell like tomato stems? Have never been inclined to explore further, though I sort of nicked their name...