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Great scents with pain barriers!

post #1 of 26
4/3/09 at 4:12am
Thread Starter 
I was wearing my sample of Parfumerie Generale L'Ombre Fauve yesterday, thinking how much I detest the opening notes, but patiently sitting tight because the drydown is so amazing and worth the unpleasantness of the first half hour.

Which got me thinking of great scents I like or love that also have dreadful openings, but mellow into something beautiful later, and I came up with the following, though will doubtless think of more by and by:

EL Private Collection (scary galbanum!)
Creed Love in Black (bizarre tarry note)
DSH Cimabue (mad spice frenzy)

So which scents would you put in the category of "no pain, no gain!"
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post #2 of 26
4/3/09 at 5:36am
And to think that L'Ombre Fauve's opening is among my most loved openings
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post #3 of 26
4/3/09 at 6:15am
OMG. Any of the Strange Invisible Perfumes have the weirdest opening notes.
Utter gack. And then, beautiful, beautiful.
The reason is that they are flower extracts without using any hexane or alcohol.
Supposedly, this uber-all-natural perfume is made from water-extracted flower materials.
They take some getting used to, but it's worth it.
P.S. I like L'Ombre Fauvre, too.
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post #4 of 26
4/3/09 at 6:23am
I must admit that Jicky sometimes yields a baby vomit opening that I cringe through, but am willing to undergo for the hours and hours of smooth beauty.
My husband calls it "squirelly" and we even have a term for wearing Jicky.
You don't just apply it.
You "get your jicky on!"
It's kind of a verb: I'm gettin my jicky on! like "get down!", you that old dance term?
we know associate the expression with psyching yourself up for a project or an adventure or a happening where you need that extra special attitude or je ne sais quois to get you through
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post #5 of 26
4/3/09 at 6:31am
Thread Starter 
Unfortunately, even "getting my Jicky on!" wouldn't reconcile me to any stage of Jicky itself, but that's definitely what I do to appreciate L'Ombre Fauve and its mysteriously wonderful drydown!

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post #6 of 26
4/3/09 at 8:25am
This thread seems to have unraveled a threadlet of L'Ombre Fauve love. And I love L'Ombre Fauve in all its stages, from its naughty topnotes to its lush drydown, I love it.
Detested openings: I hate being hit full on with jasmine.
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post #7 of 26
4/3/09 at 12:11pm
This is a tough and important subject. It shows us some masochism that we might want to hide from others, although secretly self-inflicting nasally-speaking. That was a mouthful. I think Parfum de Therese is that for me. The opening has this sour, rotting fruit opening isn't easy to tolerate but the lovely, spicy heart and soothing floral drydown are so worth it.

That is the only one I can think of at the moment. I tend to swap away things that i don't love from beginning til end as I don't get to them often enough. There's just too much to try!

However, on the other end of the continuum, I do wear scents that are fleeeeeeeting. I love the opening, and it disappears within an hour: like my beloved l'Artisans Bois Farine and Piment Brulant.....why can't they make edps?????
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post #8 of 26
4/3/09 at 12:25pm
Good subject, VM, and one I recently ran into with Citizen Queen. Sniffed from the vial and first notes on the skin led me to anticipate a full-on messy powder pileup. I hung on tight and was rewarded with a lush blend of leather and musk as the heart notes matured.

I usually don't run into this pain barrier with eaux de colognes, since they characteristically show their hand early on. The exception for me is Cologne Nature by Patricia de Nicolai. That one has a very subtle melon note in the beginning that threatens to blossom into Melon, which I hate. Then it morphs and I realize that what I interpret as melon/Melon right after spraying is a linden note coming out of its chrysalis. The rest of the ride is pure bliss.
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post #9 of 26
4/3/09 at 2:12pm
I have that no-pain-no-gain thing with several fragrances, some of which include:

L'Heure Bleue (need to get through the menthol and then I am home free)
Fleurs de Rocaille (too much, too soon, and then . . . aah)
Like VMIhc, EL Private Collection
EL Knowing
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post #10 of 26
4/3/09 at 2:40pm
EL Pleasures Delight. It's just a bit too cavity-inducing at first, but then it quickly turns into the most gorgeous sweet patchouli scent & really warms well on my skin. (I turn everything to its sweetest possible variant, it seems).

Another one I thought would have to be in this category is Dzongkha, but I now enjoy the rather bracing opening just as much as I enjoy the rest of the scent. (Yes, I am obsessed with this at the moment, carry on...).
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post #11 of 26
4/3/09 at 4:14pm
Thread Starter 
Oh..... I am finding the answers interesting!, and Nukapai's mention of something initially teeth rotting just reminded me of Kate Moss Velvet Hour, which has a perfectly respectable woody / patch drydown, but is offputtingly sweet at the front end.

Come to think of it, the first hour of L'Air du Desert Marocain is a bit asphyxiating, but softens to a haunting whisper of smoke and spice.

Oh yes, Damien Bash Lucifer No 3 has a weird medicinal opening, then wham - sandalwood heaven!

And the converse problem which Lovethescents raises is my current issue with Kenzo Eau de Fleur de Magnolia, which is like a Roman Candle of beautiful, effervescent citrus, then zilch.
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post #12 of 26
4/3/09 at 7:47pm
Interesting topic. My number one hard-to-get-past smell is raw, sharp cedar. Some of my favorite delights require me to endure this up front, including GENIE DES BOIS, WOOD VIOLET, and TAM DAO.

I never do get past it in BOIS DE VIOLETTE and FEMINITE DU BOIS. They never lose that raw edge for me, it seems.

Any insight on this? Is it too much ISO E SUPER that gets to me???
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post #13 of 26
4/3/09 at 7:57pm
I have to "ADORE" a fragrance from opening to close, or else it is not acceptable to me.
I cannot wear anything that is not pleasing throughout, it is unfathomable to me.
I am curious how so many here are able to do that; I did chuckle at the masochistic allusion made further up in the thread
But honestly, I am curious to know. Would you eat something that started out blech just because it eventually tasted better? Because I associate taste and smell quite closely, which is why I do not enjoy very sweet gourmand scents, I find it hard to wear many scent in that family of overtly sweet smells; I do enjoy these qualities in dessert though.
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post #14 of 26
4/3/09 at 8:06pm
Aoud Cuir De Arabie - everything you've heard about bandaids and rubbing alcohol is true.
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post #15 of 26
4/3/09 at 9:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle87 View Post

I have to "ADORE" a fragrance from opening to close, or else it is not acceptable to me.
I cannot wear anything that is not pleasing throughout, it is unfathomable to me.
I am curious how so many here are able to do that; I did chuckle at the masochistic allusion made further up in the thread
But honestly, I am curious to know. Would you eat something that started out blech just because it eventually tasted better? Because I associate taste and smell quite closely, which is why I do not enjoy very sweet gourmand scents; I do enjoy these qualities in dessert though.

Well, you have a point. I may end up getting rid of fragrances that are less than perfect all the way through. With me, I seem to be more sensitive to the raw cedar smells than I used to be, and it's somewhat spoiling a few of my favorite fragrances. It's hard to let go, though, and I keep hoping that my new sensitivity will go away!
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post #16 of 26
4/3/09 at 9:38pm
I've found that by avoiding most of the top note onslaught, I can appreciate a much larger number of frags.
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post #17 of 26
4/4/09 at 1:20am
Brielle, you make a good point - and for me, the opening must not cross the line to being nauseating or ugly. If it's just a little different from what I would normally go for, I put up with it to get to the treasure underneath. If it's ugly or makes me feel ill, I don't care what the fragrance would turn into.

BTW, it's so funny how we react to different aromachemicals - I seem to love Iso E Super. Absolutely adore FDB (well, the original at least!) and really like Terre d'Hermes.
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post #18 of 26
4/4/09 at 1:23am
Thread Starter 
I know what you mean, Bigsly, and I did that with L'Ombre Fauve to a point - one quick sniff after application to remind myself that I do indeed have a major issue with the top notes, then forget all about it for at least an hour!

I can see Lovethescents' and Brielle87's points perfectly well too, and my only answer to that is that the scents that I persevere with in this manner are particularly wonderful later on, such that the positive points at the end minus the negative ones incurred up front may in fact add up to a bigger number than other scents that are pleasant throughout, but which do not exert the same visceral pull.

One could liken it perhaps to women's fatal attraction to "bad boys"...

Now, I am not saying that there aren't great scents out there with equal points, evenly distributed throughout all phases, but these defective ones are on the same footing because of their comparable score overall, if that makes sense!
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post #19 of 26
4/4/09 at 1:26am
Thread Starter 
And to take up Nukapai's point - belated Many Happy Returns, by the way! - I wouldn't put up with nauseating notes in an opening, but I can and do tolerate "ugly". The opening of L'Ombre Fauve is very ugly indeed to my nose, but I don't know what I am smelling exactly.
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post #20 of 26
4/4/09 at 1:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by VM I hate civet View Post


One could liken it perhaps to women's fatal attraction to "bad boys"...

Hahah! This is exactly the feeling I had with Dzongkha in the beginning; like I'd suddenly developed a desperate crush for something I shouldn't have! My biggest first impression of the scent was whisky, a smell I usually stay away from. But when I took the blotter home I realised that something smelled simply amazing and was completely shocked when it was the "ugh, nasty whisky smell from the shop". So next time, I applied some on my skin and whoosh, I was swept off my feet.

A bit like falling for a hairy, scary biker and well, that wasn't going to lead me anywhere good, now was it? Except it seemed to lead me somewhere that smelled of hot asphalt and leather and the rubber band he'd tied his hair with... and some kind of lovely spicy smell (maybe it was his salty skin?) and, ooh, perhaps he was a veggie hairy biker because I swear I could smell root celery...

Well you get the idea.
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post #21 of 26
4/4/09 at 1:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by VM I hate civet View Post

And to take up Nukapai's point - belated Many Happy Returns, by the way! - I wouldn't put up with nauseating notes in an opening, but I can and do tolerate "ugly". The opening of L'Ombre Fauve is very ugly indeed to my nose, but I don't know what I am smelling exactly.

Thank you for the b-day wishes! xxx
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post #22 of 26
4/4/09 at 6:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle87 View Post

I have to "ADORE" a fragrance from opening to close, or else it is not acceptable to me.
I cannot wear anything that is not pleasing throughout, it is unfathomable to me.
I am curious how so many here are able to do that; I did chuckle at the masochistic allusion made further up in the thread
But honestly, I am curious to know. Would you eat something that started out blech just because it eventually tasted better? Because I associate taste and smell quite closely, which is why I do not enjoy very sweet gourmand scents, I find it hard to wear many scent in that family of overtly sweet smells; I do enjoy these qualities in dessert though.

For the most part, this is my attitude also. However, like others, I have tried to be open to new experiences, and have several fragrances which have top notes I never quite adored, but came to like due to familiarity (example, No.5). I am afraid, though, with this lukewarm feeling, that I may eventually turn off again to these fragrances.
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post #23 of 26
4/4/09 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nukapai View Post

BTW, it's so funny how we react to different aromachemicals - I seem to love Iso E Super. Absolutely adore FDB (well, the original at least!) and really like Terre d'Hermes.

And I love Eau de Cartier, which (I think) is loaded with Iso E Super. I also like Terre d'Hermes a lot. So my problem may just be with cedarwood itself, which I love in small doses and have a hard time with when it's used heavyhandedly. Maybe I should try FDB again. I sure WANT to like it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nukapai View Post

Hahah! This is exactly the feeling I had with Dzongkha in the beginning; like I'd suddenly developed a desperate crush for something I shouldn't have! My biggest first impression of the scent was whisky, a smell I usually stay away from. But when I took the blotter home I realised that something smelled simply amazing and was completely shocked when it was the "ugh, nasty whisky smell from the shop". So next time, I applied some on my skin and whoosh, I was swept off my feet.

A bit like falling for a hairy, scary biker and well, that wasn't going to lead me anywhere good, now was it? Except it seemed to lead me somewhere that smelled of hot asphalt and leather and the rubber band he'd tied his hair with... and some kind of lovely spicy smell (maybe it was his salty skin?) and, ooh, perhaps he was a veggie hairy biker because I swear I could smell root celery...

Well you get the idea.

LOL! For the record, I didn't think I liked Dzongkha the first time I tried it. It bowled me over the second time, however, and then it became a permanent infatuation.
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post #24 of 26
4/4/09 at 11:12am
For years every winter I have put up with the stomach-cramp inducing opening of Paloma Picasso, but I didn't wear it at all this past winter, and only once the previous year. I guess I too have less tolerance for putting this with this kind of behavior in my fragrances.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rtamara41 View Post

we even have a term for wearing Jicky. You don't just apply it. You "get your jicky on!"
It's kind of a verb: I'm gettin my jicky on! like "get down!"

Renee~ you're "gettin' Jicky wit it." (with apologies to Will Smith)
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post #25 of 26
4/4/09 at 11:49pm
I don't like the first minute of Caron Parfum Sacré. But the rest I love.
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post #26 of 26
4/5/09 at 12:08am
Caron pour un Homme - a lavender olfactory assault, or knock to the inner-head

L'Eau Bleu d'Issey Miyake - opening a sealed bin-bag filled with salad greens.

The hearts and drydown of the two above are worth the initial pain.
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