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I actually recognized a perfume

post #1 of 39
4/6/09 at 6:59am
Thread Starter 
So I was at work at my cubicle and someone came into my area not sure who it was, becuase I was busy doing something else, but I smelled someone wearing Tom Ford Black Orchid, I recognized it becuase I have sampled it on myself and cannot forget it.

I wanted to jump out of my seat and find out who was wearing it, but unfortunately could not, I can tell you it had high sillage becuase it filled our entire room which is huge even after they left!

I was just proud that my nose is getting better at recognizing smells
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post #2 of 39
4/6/09 at 7:15am
I got excited when I recognized somebody wearing L'Artisan's Veleur de Roses!

I didn't approach her right away and ask her though. I wasted until I got to know her (she works in my office), then when we were comfortable with each other, I asked her and I was right!

She was surprised that i knew what she was wearing b/c not many people know about her fragrance.

I now have an office fragrance buddy! It's a good feeling.
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post #3 of 39
4/6/09 at 8:52am
I recognized Dior Addict on a gal in the grocery store and I immediately approached her. I was stoked. It's not like Addict is real difficult to pick out, but you know...someone was wearing something and I knew what it was!
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post #4 of 39
4/6/09 at 8:58am
I thought my buddy Randy was wearing Acqua di Gio the other night, so I asked him. And at first, he said yes, but then he changed his mind and said it was DG Light Blue for men.

I'm convinced I'm smelling Acqua di Gio in the locker room at my club all the time, but many of them probably are not. It's that sour lemon aquatic accord that jumps out at me.
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post #5 of 39
4/6/09 at 9:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by denec View Post

So I was at work at my cubicle and someone came into my area not sure who it was, becuase I was busy doing something else, but I smelled someone wearing Tom Ford Black Orchid, I recognized it becuase I have sampled it on myself and cannot forget it.

I wanted to jump out of my seat and find out who was wearing it, but unfortunately could not, I can tell you it had high sillage becuase it filled our entire room which is huge even after they left!

I was just proud that my nose is getting better at recognizing smells

Black Orchid is so strong, isn't it? I think it usually smells fantastic when I get a whiff of it on someone (depending on the circumstances, of course) - but the overall structure of the scent is so distinct.

Of course, Bath & Body Works copied the base notes in their Black Amethyst scent, so you could've also smelled that on someone.
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post #6 of 39
4/6/09 at 10:53am
The other night I could have sworn one of my customers was wearing one of the Diors (Cologne Blanche or Bois D'Argent I forget which one is which but I KNOW it smelled just like one of them), so I asked-- and of course got the usual shithead blank stare that some people are so fond of giving-- I think I'm going to just stop asking people. Everytime I think somebody is wearing something obscure they either claim to be wearing something else or just clam up and refuse to play the game.
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post #7 of 39
4/6/09 at 12:48pm
The other day an old lady walked into a shop I was in and brought a huge, massive, unbelievably ginormous cloud of Opium with her. The only scent I smell regularly is Amber Romance by Victoria's Secret that one in every five girls at my college wears. Aside from that, the only fragrance I ever smell is my own.
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post #8 of 39
4/6/09 at 1:32pm
I'm sad to say that after years of sniffing stuff I've only once correctly id'ed a perfume in public. Not for lack of wild guesses, though.
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post #9 of 39
4/6/09 at 3:19pm
As we say back home in Australia, would you like a medal or a chest to pin it on?

Sorry... couldn't help myself. No offense intended.
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post #10 of 39
4/6/09 at 3:22pm
I swear I have thought that I smelt someone wearing Black Aoud more than once before, I'm about 99.9 % sure that it wasn't, (even though it is in a wealthy area), the woman smelled like she was drunk off red wine and tripped into a rose bush. Lol.
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post #11 of 39
4/6/09 at 3:24pm
I was able to do this a few times: Chrome, Curve and Preferred Stock.

Each guy was surprised I was able to tell.
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post #12 of 39
4/6/09 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surreality View Post

As we say back home in Australia, would you like a medal or a chest to pin it on?

Sorry... couldn't help myself. No offense intended.

Trebor suddenly has competition.
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post #13 of 39
4/6/09 at 3:57pm
I'm surprised because i figured most people on here would be picking out frags pretty frequently. I still do it all the time and it boggles people's minds, which it shoujldn't since the commercially recognizable scents are pretty common if you pay attention.

Now if someone walked in with some of the BN'r faves, i might be stumped but give me a couple year. . and a couple thousand dollars. . .and i'll get there.
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post #14 of 39
4/6/09 at 3:59pm
I'll confess, the absolute worst is when you think FOR SURE somebody is wearing Green Irish Tweed, but you know it's just best not to even ask.
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post #15 of 39
4/6/09 at 4:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Indie_Guy View Post

I'll confess, the absolute worst is when you think FOR SURE somebody is wearing Green Irish Tweed, but you know it's just best not to even ask.

So true. That's one where I choose to stay far away.
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post #16 of 39
4/6/09 at 4:11pm
I think I recognized my friend's sister wearing Dzing. She seemed the type, whatever that means -- unfortunately it was the only time I've ever seen her, don't know if I'll ever see her again, for that matter, and lastly, you know--friend's sister... off limits etc.
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post #17 of 39
4/6/09 at 8:36pm
for some reason its hard for me to recognize scents from other people
many times ill go up to someone and ask them what they are wearing and find out its something I own
poop
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post #18 of 39
4/6/09 at 9:01pm
Ever since seeing the movie, I've wished I could identify scents like Al Pacino's character in Scent of a Woman. That's actually one of the things that got me interested in fragrances in the first place.

Alas, I've never been able to pick out a fragrance on someone passing by with enough certainty to ask. It's reassuring that few others here seem able to do this, except with really distinct scents. Maybe my nose isn't broken after all.
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post #19 of 39
4/7/09 at 2:32am
People seem surprised when I say "you're wearing Dunhill Desire" - like that synthetic-smelling mess of a scent is a hard one to identify!
My list of identified scents include: Cartier Declaration on a man in his 60's, CH by Carolina Herrea (pretty easy to identify, with its dominant mandarin note), and Miss Dior Cherie on numerous girls passing by.
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post #20 of 39
4/7/09 at 4:22am
couple of weeks ago my friends were speechless, well he walked in the café & our group get annoyed about how horrible he smells, & I told them that he get that stink from using XS Black PH on M7 Deodorant Spray.
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post #21 of 39
4/7/09 at 6:35am
Now i am totally at a loss! I always thought it was natural for one to recall scents when smelt in the air or on others (even given "body chemistry" factors - a new one i also learned here on BN). Once i have owned (or become familiar with) a scent, i always remember the smell, even on others.

I suppose that makes up for my not being able to identify most notes without reference to BN first.
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post #22 of 39
4/7/09 at 8:13am
This whole thread has boggled my simple newbie mind. Are you guys saying that you have a hard time detecting what frags people on the street and at work wear in general, or that you have a hard time detecting the higher end/designer frags??

For example, I think its very easy to tell if a woman is wearing Cool Water, Pleasures, Narcisso Rodriguez, Issey, etc. . .they are so commonly worn that its only a matter of time before you can call it.

The irony for me is that i have limited ability to distinguish the ingredients of a frag that i smell. So i can name a scent, but suck at breaking its components down.
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post #23 of 39
4/7/09 at 11:44am
I recognize fragrances all the time. It's pretty unremarkable for me to be able to distinguish fragrances, because I'm constantly spraying them at work and people usually ask me 'which is which?' when we've sprayed a few, and I have to set to telling them apart quite often (incredibly difficult if they are citrus-aquatic things, because those mostly smell the same)
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post #24 of 39
4/7/09 at 12:31pm
In London I was sure I smelled someone wearing an aoud based perfume and I was in heaven and thought about proposing to the guy. But I just landed and looked like a mess...but smelling aoud made me so happy and grateful to be in a big city where people wear scents.

If you wear aoud and you were at heathrow station... hi
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post #25 of 39
4/7/09 at 1:17pm
This happened to me back in 1985 while I was the fist half of Twelfh Grade. A teacher was wearing something that smelled alot like Giorgio for men. I asked & that was it "Giorgio". That got me to want to get a bottle (I did for Christmas)
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post #26 of 39
4/7/09 at 4:16pm
This is really cool when it happens at first....Congratulations.....On the other side of the coin....there will be times that you notice a scent that you can't stand......This happens to me often.....I always notice this one female scent that I can't stand.....I will not name the scent because I do not want to say anything negative about a fragrance.....I'm not about that at all.
Gary
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post #27 of 39
4/7/09 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by G.303 View Post

This is really cool when it happens at first....Congratulations.....On the other side of the coin....there will be times that you notice a scent that you can't stand......This happens to me often.....I always notice this one female scent that I can't stand.....I will not name the scent because I do not want to say anything negative about a fragrance.....I'm not about that at all.
Gary

Yeah. Mostly I recognize people having really bad taste in fragrances, wearing way too much, or both.
I actually like A*Men appropriately applied, but a dude was in my office last week wearing WAY too much. People in other offices were commenting after he left.

-Slim
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post #28 of 39
4/7/09 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by G.303 View Post

This is really cool when it happens at first....Congratulations.....On the other side of the coin....there will be times that you notice a scent that you can't stand......This happens to me often.....I always notice this one female scent that I can't stand.....I will not name the scent because I do not want to say anything negative about a fragrance.....I'm not about that at all.
Gary

That happens to me all the time. there are many people that come into my office all day long and I play a game with my boss called "name that scent" it is sometimes fun but the worst part of the 'Game' is smelling a scent you can't stand..I know everyone's nose appeals to different scents but the one scent I smell the most and can detect in a heartbeat is Pink Sugar from Aquolina...The cotton candy smell lingers in my office and gives me a headache....
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post #29 of 39
4/7/09 at 5:37pm
I think Gucci Envy is nice enough but not to be over-applied on a stinking hot Melbourne day... this guy must have spraid half a bottle on himself, to go to the gym for crying out loud. I didn't just recognise it, it nearly put me in a coma
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post #30 of 39
4/7/09 at 6:54pm
I once got an extremely flattered and interested response when I walked by a girl and complimented her on her Lolita Lempicka. It really is pretty fantastic when you recognize a scent on someone (especially when you're right. )
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post #31 of 39
4/7/09 at 7:47pm
I worked with a guy who wore WAYYYY too much AdG, so it was kinda hard not to know what he was wearing. We're talking 20+ direct sprays, or at least that's what it smelled like.

I successfully identified a co-worker wearing Versace Man Eau Fraiche, two co-workers wearing Armani Code, and another wearing KC Reaction. Basically if they sell it at Macy's, someone in our building is wearing it.
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post #32 of 39
4/7/09 at 8:12pm
Lian... I wish it had been me.

And no, for what it's worth, I don't pat myself on the back when I recognize AdG on 30% of the guys I walk past on a daily basis...
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post #33 of 39
4/7/09 at 8:26pm
I could easily tell when a date was wearing Prescriptives. Every woman I pointed it out to was shocked I could tell. Not that difficult - that's a distinct smell.
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post #34 of 39
4/8/09 at 7:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrd4t View Post

It really is pretty fantastic when you recognize a scent on someone (especially when you're right. )

I agree

I try not to guess when people are wearing cirtusy scents though because some of them smell very similar.

My boss loves D&G Light Blue and she wears it often...The other day she asked me how her new perfume smelt...I thought to myself (new perfume? It smells exactly like Light Blue!) So I asked her if she bought a new bottle of LB and she said no with a disapointed look on her face...She told me it was I Love Love Cheap & Chic by Moschino...I did not want to hurt her feelings by telling her that they both smell exactly the same on her because she thought she bought a "new different scent".

I guess some fragrances are easier to dect when they have a distinctive note or quality to them.
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post #35 of 39
4/9/09 at 12:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xXjEnNyXx View Post

I Love Love Cheap & Chic by Moschino...I did not want to hurt her feelings by telling her that they both smell exactly the same on her because she thought she bought a "new different scent".

I thought they were both very similar as well, but since we stopped selling I Love Love, not one customer has 'switched' to Light Blue, or Roxy Love, which are both incredibly similar.
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post #36 of 39
4/13/09 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gblue View Post

I thought they were both very similar as well, but since we stopped selling I Love Love, not one customer has 'switched' to Light Blue, or Roxy Love, which are both incredibly similar.


They are very similar and IMO, I think citrusy scents are the hardest to tell apart. I still try to guess the scent...I just guess in my head and then ask what they are wearing that way I know if I was wright or wrong
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post #37 of 39
4/13/09 at 7:20pm
there are three that I always pick up on old spice,english leather and drakkar not that they are bad scents its just that they have been over done thru the years in my opinion
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post #38 of 39
4/13/09 at 8:27pm
A lady came through my line at the grocery store a few nights ago, and she definitely reeked of Angel. It didn't really work for her (I could smell her body odeur under it!) but I was still proud of noticing.
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post #39 of 39
4/23/09 at 4:21pm
A lady came into the office this morning and i literally smelled her as soon as she walked in. I knew it was J'Adore, so I asked if ahe was wearing J'Adore and she said yes...It felt good to recognize a perfume I own on someone else.
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