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Do you believe in love at first sniff?

post #1 of 27
5/8/10 at 3:16pm
Thread Starter 
I know, corny title aside, I'm curious about this, so I thought maybe we could do a bit of an experiment. Pick your top 10, regardless of whether you own this, want to own it, can't afford it, or used to own it, just your flat out top 10. Then, see if upon first smelling, you loved that fragrance. Pretty simple. But to clarify, and make this more telling, "like" doesn't count, I mean, did you love the fragrance initially as much as you do today. My list is as follows:

(In no particular order)
Guerlain Vetiver Pour Elle............... YES
Bond no. 9 Bleecker Street.............. NO
Dior Homme Cologne...................... YES
Armani Prive Oranger Alhambra....... NO
Serge Lutens Chergui....................... NO
Biehl Parfumkunstwerke MB02............ YES
Parfum d'Empire Eau de Gloire............ YES
Amouage Dia for Men......................... YES
Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Garrigue.... YES
Frapin L'Humaniste............................... NO

Only 40% grew on me, which I find surprising, considering I've found that those that have grown on me, my love is stronger for, than those I liked from the beginning. So how about you guys?
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post #2 of 27
5/8/10 at 3:30pm
1) Amouage Lyric Man ----------- NO
2) Amouage Reflection Man ------ YES (but then no, and then finally an even bigger YES)
3) Les Nez Let Me Play the Lion---NO
4) MPG Bois de Turquie ----------YES
5) Narciso Rodriguez For Him -----YES
6) L'Anarchiste -------------------YES
7) Prada Amber------------------NO
8) Fleur du Male-----------------NO (I hated this on my first sampling)
9) M7----------------------------NO (hated this one, too, at first)
10) Erolfa------------------------YES
11) V&R Antidote ---------------NO (really liked but got a weird cat pee note my first few samplings)

My love for them now is not directly related to how I felt about them initially. My top 3 consists of Reflection and Lyric Man and Bois de Turquie, and while I did love BdT and Reflection immediately, my love for them has grown over time, as has my love for Lyric.
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post #3 of 27
5/8/10 at 3:56pm
Bois du Portugal- no
Virigin island water- yes
Royal english- yes
Vintage Tabarome- yes
A men pure malt- yes
Le male- yes
Millesime imperial-no
Angel men- no
tabarome millesime-yes
Burberry London- yes
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post #4 of 27
5/8/10 at 4:22pm
Thread Starter 
No way. I don't believe it. I was at work today thinking of a topic to start that I don't think had ever been done before. Got home and went at it, without looking at the boards. AND David you started the same thread! This is like winning the lottery, I swear.
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post #5 of 27
5/8/10 at 4:27pm
Amouage - Ubar ( No, but yes on the second wearing )
Comme des Garcons: Luxe - Champaca ( Yes! )
Commes des Garcons Stephen Jones ( Yes! )
Frederic Malle - Carnal Flower ( Yes!
Frederic Malle - En Passant ( Yes! )
Gucci - L'Arte di Gucci ( No - loathed it. )
Neil Morris - Gandhara ( Yes! )
Parfumerie Generale - Tubereuse Couture ( Yes! )
Patou - Pour Homme ( Yes, liked - took a few wearings to love. )
Serge Lutens - Tubereuse Criminelle ( Yes! )
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post #6 of 27
5/8/10 at 5:19pm
Serge Lutens Chergui - YES
Serge Lutens Gris Clair - YES
Chanel Allure Homme - YES
Body Kouros - YES
New Harleem - YES
A*Men Pure Malt - YES
Guerlain L'Instant Pour Homme - 1st wear no.. second YES!
Le Labo Rose 31 - YES
Black Aoud - NO
Green Irish Tweed - NO
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post #7 of 27
5/8/10 at 6:11pm
Zino -- YES
Tea For Two -- YES
Dzing! -- YES
Dzongkha -- NO
Black Aoud -- NO
Back to Black -- YES
Gris Clair -- YES
Eau d'Hermès -- NO
Idole de Lubin -- YES
Encre Noire -- YES
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post #8 of 27
5/8/10 at 6:49pm
Égoïste - YES
Opium pour Homme EdP - YES
Dior Homme - YES
Dior Homme Intense - YES
Fahrenheit - YES
Platinum Égoïste - NO
Jaïpur Homme - YES
Allure Édition Blanche - YES
Lagerfeld Classic - YES
Habit Rouge - YES

... only one no, so I'm a BIG believer in love at first sniff!
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post #9 of 27
5/8/10 at 7:23pm
Fougères used to give me trouble. The admiration for the others was instantaneous.


New York -- YES
Shalimar -- YES
Habit Rouge -- YES
Chergui -- YES
Bvlgari Black -- YES

Azzaro pour Homme -- no
Le Troisième Homme -- no

AdP Colonia -- YES

Encre Noire -- YES

Jubilation XXV -- YES
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post #10 of 27
5/8/10 at 8:50pm
Not in the case with the Guerlains, except for Heritage: an imporved version of Zino and Dali. All the rest took my time to decide if I liked them.

On the contrary, I did fell in love with Rochas Lui adn Globe, as well with a local blend inspired by Zino. The point being, there are brandy and pipe notes in the top notes that makes it what I guess SL's are like, syrupy and sweet. It is the strongest scent in my wardrobe that I would only wear in winter, clad in a herringbone jacket, a suede vest, a viyella shirt, a regiemental tie, matched trousers, brogues, a cap and a duffel coat or a cape, while in the countryside and going for a hunt.
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post #11 of 27
5/8/10 at 9:16pm
Chanel no. 5 Eau Première - YES
Terre d'Hermès - YES
TDC Sel de Vétiver - YES
Guerlain Homme - NO
Neil Morris Red Sky - YES
Creed Santal Imperial - ALMOST (2nd Sniff)
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver - YES (fell in love from the magazine flap - like a frag porno fold-out!)
Tom Ford Extreme - YES (but I was in denial at first)
Comme des Garçones 2 Man - YES
Tiffany For Men - YES

Others that are CLOSE to my top 10 were NO:

Guerlain Derby
Tokyo by Kenzo
Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Coffee
Givenchy Pi Neo

Although some more are YES:

YSL La Nuit de L'Homme
YSL Kouros
Gucci by Gucci PH
TDC Charmes et Feuilles
TDC Oriental Lounge
Givenchy Gentleman

Overall, I seem to be more "fall in love at first sniff" than many folks. But glad to see that I'm not the only one!
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post #12 of 27
5/8/10 at 9:17pm
Green Irish Tweed - YES
Domenico Caraceni - YES
Versace L'Homme- YES
Rive Gauche Pour Homme - YES

Habit Rouge Beau Cavalier - NO
Vintage Tabarome- NO
Royal English Leather- NO
L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme - NO
Rose 31- NO
Kouros- NO NO NO NO

I find since I started in here, there are very few I "trust" at first sniff. I cannot and will not judge something usually on it's opening notes anymore.
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post #13 of 27
5/8/10 at 9:18pm
Yes, I do!

Of the scents I love most there are only three with which I took a U-turn, and they are Angel, Mitsouko and Muscs Koublaï Khan. All others were cases of love at first sniff.
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post #14 of 27
5/8/10 at 9:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redneck Perfumisto View Post

(fell in love from the magazine flap - like a frag porno fold-out!)

LOOOL, hilarious!
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post #15 of 27
5/8/10 at 10:25pm
Going from my rotation instead of figuring out an overall top ten:

Knize Ten - YES
Knize Two - YES
Yatagan - NO
Quorum - oh, hell no
Xeryus - No
Bandit - Yes
Prada, Infusion d'Iris - No
Guerlain Habit Rouge - No
MPG Centaure - Yes
l'Occitane Vetyver - Yes

The only real u-turns were Quorum and Yatagan - Quorum because it takes practice to get it right, and Yatagan because it really wasn't what I was expecting. The other "noes" weren't very impressive at first spray, but turned out to be very wearable in practice.
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post #16 of 27
5/8/10 at 10:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

No way. I don't believe it. I was at work today thinking of a topic to start that I don't think had ever been done before. Got home and went at it, without looking at the boards. AND David you started the same thread! This is like winning the lottery, I swear.

I will take that as a compliment
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post #17 of 27
5/8/10 at 11:37pm
Yes to all of these

SL MKK
FM Musc Ravageur
Amouage Gold
MPG Parfum d'Habit
Montale Black Aoud
Chanel Sycomore
ELDO fat Electrician
MPG Route du Vetiver
PdN New York
Tauer L'air du desert morocain
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post #18 of 27
5/8/10 at 11:44pm
When I first started out with this "hobby," I would have answered yes, but now I'd say that I can tell if I'm going to like a frag after the first full wearing, but I haven't thought that a frag was incredible for a long time. Sometimes I'm very impressed and surprised (as I was recently by Azzaro's Acteur) but that's as excited as I get now. Part of it is that I know I will get bored if I wear it more than once every few weeks and the other major thing is that I have a large rotation which I enjoy and would not abandon for any one frag.
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post #19 of 27
5/9/10 at 2:05am
Yes I do (believe, hallelujah). If it wasn't possible to be transported once in a while by a scent, a piece of music, a painting, photo or piece of design then life would hardly be worth living. I hope there are many 'OMG' moments still to come for me . . . but having said that, it's equally true that it has taken me time to acquire the taste and come to love other things in life (new Steely Dan albums were always a bit like that for me . . . )

Instant:

L'Heure Bleue
Apres l'Ondee
Homage
Yatagan
Green Irish Tweed
Villoresi Uomo
Acqua di Parma Colonia
Hermes Vetiver Tonka
Terre d'Hermes

Acquired:

PdN New York
Patou Pour Homme
Maxims Pour Homme
Jicky
Caron Pour Homme
Santal Noble
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post #20 of 27
5/9/10 at 2:16am
I limit myself to 10 bottles at a time, so rather than post my 10 out and out favs, I'll use these.

Terre D'hermes - NO
Eau Sauvage - YES
M7 Fresh - NO
Joop Thrill - NO
Body Kouros - YES
Mugler Cologne - NO
A*Men Sunesscense - NO
Burberry London - NO
Dior Homme - NO. In fact, didn't like it at all.
D&G The One - YES. First fragrance I ever loved. Now I've tried many more it seems a bit more average, still worth having though.
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post #21 of 27
5/9/10 at 2:19am
  • MFJ
  • offline
  • Gender:
L'Ombre Fauve - No
Felanilla - No
MKK - No
Chergui - No
Ambre Sultan - No
Ambre Russe - No
Cuir Ottoman - No
Cedre (Lutens) - Yes
Red Aoud - Yes
Yohji Homme - Yes
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post #22 of 27
5/9/10 at 2:52am
Dior Homme - No
YSL L'Homme - Yes
Azzaro Chrome - Yes
Azzaro Pour Homme Elixir - Yes
Terre d'Hermes - No
Versace Pour Homme - No
Dior Fahrenheit - No
Chanel Allure Homme Sport Cologne - No
S. T. Dupont Pour Homme Intense - Yes
YSL M7 - No
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post #23 of 27
5/9/10 at 5:46am
I believe fragrances are like songs. Some you love the instant you hear it, some need more familiarity. That said:


Jubilation XXV - Yes
Lolita Lempicka au Masculine - Yes
Habit Rouge - No
Terre d'Hermes - Yes
Green Irish Tweed - No
Guerlain Vetiver - No
Royal English Leather - Yes
Bois du Portugal - Yes
A*Men - No way!
L'eau D'Issey - No
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post #24 of 27
5/9/10 at 6:00am
Oooh fun!!

Italian Cypress - Yes
L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Extreme - Yes
Jaipur pour Homme EdP - Yes
Encre Noire - Yes
Un Bois Vanille - Yes
Musc Ravageur - No
Zino - No
Ungaro II - Yes
Bvlgari pour Homme Soir - No
Kouros Tattoo edition - Yes
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post #25 of 27
5/9/10 at 6:40am
Great topic mtgprox05!

Shalimar by Guerlain - a big NO when I first smelled it, now it is one of my HG scents
Philtre d' Amour by Guerlain - Yes!
Habit Rouge by Guerlain - Yes!
Serge Noire by Serge Lutens - Yes!
Avignon (Series 3: Incense) by Comme des Garcons - Yes!
Vetiver by Guerlain - Yes!
Vol de Nuit by Guerlain - No!
Cumming by Alan Cumming - No!
Sous le Vent by Guerlain - Yes!
Hermessence Ambre Narguile by Hermes - Yes!
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post #26 of 27
5/9/10 at 9:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeNY911 View Post

I believe fragrances are like songs. Some you love the instant you hear it, some need more familiarity.

Perfect analogy- at least it's true for me.
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post #27 of 27
5/9/10 at 10:49am
Chergui: No
Bel Ami: No
Habit Rouge: No
Egoïste: No
Dzongkha: No
Encre Noire: Yes
Equipage: Yes
Concentré d'Orange Verte: Yes
Dior Homme: Yes
Ambre Russe: Yes
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