I'm Sorry Iso E Super. I Didn't Really Mean It!

Well, after bashing Iso E Super for a year or so, here I am apologizing. It's not so bad. I actually kind of enjoy it. I especially appreciate how it's often used instead of musk, allowing perfumers to create ethereal and transparent scents without feeling too thin or lifeless (in the absence of musk).

After all this time, even after smelling Iso E Super in isolation, I never realized that Terre d'Hermes employs more than one cedar/wood substitute. In fact, the reason TdH bothers my nose isn't the Iso E Super at all - it's some of the other flint+wood+mineral notes that are too scratchy for me in combination.

While certain fragrances, like Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules, are just ridiculous and smell like household bleach, Iso E Super is a necessary aroma-chemical in modern perfumery, and it is often used in artistic and complementing ways, playing a necessary part in many of my favorite fragrances. In fact, I've realized that I love, and have no aversion to, certain Iso E Super-laden fragrances. In fact I LOVE a lot of fragrances that contain a hefty dose of Iso E Super, such as: Kyoto, 2MAN, Jaisalmer, Bois de Violette, Jubilation XXV, Declaration, Straight to Heaven etc, etc. Other fragrances, like Light Blue for Women, do smell too chemically to my nose, but this is due to a combination of notes, and not Iso E Super in isolation).

In conclusion, I admit that Iso E Super should not be synonymous with a "bad word" or "cheap cedar substitute." Most of the time, it's not even used as a cedar substitute, but in fact in combination with natural cedar (or other synthetic substitutes), to give it a certain edge.

Anyway, I'm sorry for tainting your reputation Iso E Super. All apologies. Consider me a newly converted advocate.

LOL I now realize I was a little harsh, in what I wrote above, concerning Molecule 01. Then again, ask me what I think about Molecule 01 in a year from now, and maybe I'll be jumping on that boat too.... or maybe not...

I've never been totally against synthetics, unless I'm allergic to them, or they impart a feel to a fragrance that feels toxic,cheap or abrasive.

As a note, I admit, I went through a phase of stating, as you quote, that "they (Creeds) are synthetic," but this was almost always to shine some truthful light on someone else's post saying something like "zomg Creed is da BEST becuz it smells naturals and must be 100% naturals becuz Cary Grant and the Queen of So-and-So wore it, and becuz it costs 200$ a bottle."

When I bash Creed, it's usually just in the "value VS cost" sense - to this day, I wear and really enjoy a few Creed scents, regardless of whether they are made of more synthetic or natural ingredients.