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My Endless Amount of Questions Thread

post #1 of 19
7/31/09 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
What are some good resources that give the different types of colognes and different samples. I see people quote "Turin" a lot.. is that just a book that I can buy? Or is it on a site somewhere..
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post #2 of 19
7/31/09 at 6:08pm
Have made a topic on this... check the Reference section for categories.
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post #3 of 19
7/31/09 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
Ahh okay thanks

I can't believe I never saw that section before!

Hey I have a semi-question thing.. when people talk about scents for different seasons.. I know heavy, spicy scents don't work in summer but is pretty much everything fair game for fall and winter?
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post #4 of 19
7/31/09 at 11:29pm
I agree with you that the really heavy spiced scents don't work in really hot weather for most people, but I also think it's very individual. There are no rules to what to wear and when. You'll discover soon enough that some scents will actually stand out more in hotter weather or at lower temperatures. I always find that my girliest, flowery scents come alive during the summer and tend to save my really spicy ones for winter.

In the end I think it's a question of your personal tastes and preferences. I'm sure you'll have a good time experimenting with what works best with the different seasons. Have fun!
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post #5 of 19
8/1/09 at 10:40am
As you collect fragrances, you may find that the question of what you "should" wear in certain seasons is completely overridden by what you crave. That's true for me.

But I tend to crave what I see as the smells of the seasons - clean flowers and greens in spring, sharper brighter flowers and greens in the summer, wood and smoke and leather and musk (which I associate with fur and leather) and food in the fall and winter. Amber would be logical in the winter, but I'm an amber-hater.

I wear teas all year, but they're cleaner and brighter and more citrusy in spring and summer, smokier in winter. Citrus all year, but the brighter and bubblier ones in spring and summer, and the ones anchored with mineral or wood or evergreen smells in the winter.

By my "smells of the season" theory, heavy sun-soaked florals would also seem logical in the summer, but the only time I can consider facing them is the depth of winter. And I seldom want them at all.

Crayfish
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post #6 of 19
8/1/09 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the feedback! I can't believe you hate amber!! I love amber.. at least I'm pretty sure. It's in a lot of fragrances that I love. Which I guess is a good thing cause that would make most of them suitable for colder weather.. at least the basenotes.
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post #7 of 19
8/1/09 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe View Post

I can't believe you hate amber!!

Actually, I don't think that I actually hate what you and most people smell as amber - I think that when I smell the ingredients that make the amber smell, I smell something totally different. Fragrances that list amber as a primary ingredient (Edited to say: I guess I mean, primary _note_) generally smell to me like sharp green olives. And while green olives can be a quite nice smell, it really doesn't go with the other notes that are usually in these fragrances.

Someone once told me what the term for this is - it's not "asnomic to amber", because I can smell _something_, I just smell it, er, "wrong".

I'm rather curious to find out if my problem is only with the modern aromachemicals used to produce the smell, and if I'd have the same reaction to "real" amber, but then that raises the question of what "real" amber is, and I get confused between amber and ambergris, and then I just go back to my policy of avoiding fragrances with amber in the notes list, because it's just about guaranteed that if it's in the list, I won't like the fragrance.

Crayfish
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post #8 of 19
8/1/09 at 3:34pm
Thread Starter 
To tell you the truth.. I don't know if Amber is what I like or Bergamot. Both of them are quite prevalent in a lot of fragrances that I love.. along with Lavender and Violet Leaves. I'm still trying to nail down what notes I enjoy. I can look at the pyramid but I'm not sure which ones are strongest.
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post #9 of 19
8/1/09 at 3:49pm
Might want to go to Khiels and smell individual notes...they have most of them
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post #10 of 19
8/1/09 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advice I'll definitely do that.. too bad I don't live near any of them The closest one is about 2 hours away. I go down that way every now and then though to get my sister from the airport when she visits
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post #11 of 19
8/1/09 at 4:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe View Post

To tell you the truth.. I don't know if Amber is what I like or Bergamot.

Ah! Bergamot, now, I like. Not in tea (which could be a way for you to nail down the note - it's in Earl Grey tea), but I like it in perfume.

But it would also go very poorly with green olives.

Crayfish
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post #12 of 19
8/1/09 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah to me amber doesn't smell like olives at all! If I did.. I'd hate it most ardently

I did a quick run through of fragrances and I've found the following notes in ALL of them! This should make finding ones that I like easier:

Cedar, Sandalwood, Violet Leaves, Lavender, Amber, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Bergamot, Cardamom, and Ginger. Most of them are common base notes.. which isn't surprising. If nothing else for a cologne, I'll almost always love the drydown.




EDIT: What are your ideas on what a "rainy day" fragrance should smell like?
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post #13 of 19
8/5/09 at 6:01am
might want to try Varvatos if you like vanilla notes
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post #14 of 19
8/5/09 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
Ahh yeah I have tried that and LOVE it
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post #15 of 19
8/5/09 at 7:41pm
You sir, need to try Creed Original Santal.
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post #16 of 19
8/8/09 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 
I shall definitely try to keep my eye open for samples

I bought L'Homme today and it's pretty warm actually. I could probably use it for fall.. I'm still open for suggestions though. I wanna get around 3 or 4 more. I want something reaallly deep and warm for winter.. it gets pretty cold up here
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post #17 of 19
8/8/09 at 7:37pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CanwllCorfe View Post

I shall definitely try to keep my eye open for samples

I bought L'Homme today and it's pretty warm actually. I could probably use it for fall.. I'm still open for suggestions though. I wanna get around 3 or 4 more. I want something reaallly deep and warm for winter.. it gets pretty cold up here

Don't spin out of control with your purchases!
Anyways for amber, try: Ambre Fétiche
for bergamot try: Mandragore
both are from Annick Goutal
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post #18 of 19
8/8/09 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewfoo View Post

or bergamot try: Mandragore

Bergamot?

_Bergamot_?

I've been wearing Mandragore lately, and wondered why I liked it so much. And for some reason - I guess because I bought it early in my perfume-freakery career when I didn't really know about notes lists - it didn't occur to me to _look at the notes_.

There's bergamot in there?

I've got to try more bergamot fragrances, then. And sage, too, which I see is also in the notes and that I was surprised to see recently in another fragrance that I really liked. And what's this about star anise?

Thanks for kicking my brain on this one.

Crayfish
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post #19 of 19
8/9/09 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewfoo View Post

Don't spin out of control with your purchases!
Anyways for amber, try: Ambre Fétiche
for bergamot try: Mandragore
both are from Annick Goutal

Haha don't worry I WANT 3-4 new ones.. but since June I've sampled around 40 colognes and ended up with 2. I'm quite picky

Why do coupons, store offers, and sales NEVER count for fragrances?
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › My Endless Amount of Questions Thread