help me: i liked everything in the department store

when i say liked i mean that if someone would give me such a scent i probably wouldn't mind wearing it. so i'm a little confused when someone calls a scent a stinker. it is perfume after all so maybe something is still better than nothing. IMO the bad/ stinker scents are those that are cheap/synthetic like the adidas/ jovan musks. i've only been disapointed with drugstore blind buyd. so today at the department store i tried...

polo green: good, not as strong as i thought.
paco rabanne: smells different a little darker/ spicier now than when i sniffed the bottle cap long ago. it smelled like a muted/ pastel green when i first smelled it
xs: not bad. would wear it if someone gave it to me.
some new lacoste: really good, fresh and green. anyone know? sorry for giving so little to go on.
le male: good, also not as strong as i thought.
lanvin l'homme sport: don't like it so much but still not bad. would also wear if someone gave it to me.
z zegna: bingo! this stuff is awesome! would buy for myself. i'm 26 btw so this kinda suits me.
zegna intenso: sweet stuff, would also wear if blah blah...
summer version of le male: pretty good. was 50 off.
adolfo dominguez aque fresca pour homme: this one kinda stunk but maybe it was the cap/ paper it was sprayed on. maybe it was the sa's nose he was sticking onto the cap which i also smelled eww....
alvarez gomez edc: lemon pledgey but still good. i bought it since it was so cheap and on sale.

there were other more unmemorables shoved unto me but i didn't recall them because i had not remembered their names in basenotes discussions. i think they were mostly davidoffs and kenneth coles. i mostly took the whole day sincei had to do some things in the mall too so my nose wasn't fatigued. tested 4 at a time before taking a long break.

anyone else not so picky with scents? so how do you go about purchasing if most aren't bad?

i think my nose has just become less picky in general. i usually ask for samples online and try them at home. i am usually drawn to the strongest. i've tried scents in the department store like just about 5x over the couple of years i've been buying online. i sometimes buy blind when i see something on sale in the grey market dealer stores.

like i remember only liking spanish leather from trufitt and hill. but from memory of the scent i now kinda think i can chill with grafton too along with some others. it's like everything is growing on me lol!

i also rely on basenoters opinions a lot and the guide. i like the descriptions some of you give. like a gentleman has a day at his club was the description i remember of habit rouge. of course i don't like gentleman's scents that much since i am not one. i know i know i probably should have my own taste and whatnot.

do you find lighter scents harder to appreciate? sometimes they are so subtle. whereas an 80's frag is in your face.

even kiehls musk grew on me. it stunk the first time i tried it. it probably still does but somehow basenotes has made me daring the past couple of years.

i should retry rive gauche. i didn't like it the first time a couple of years ago. paco smelled like it now and i liked the paco i recently tried.

i should mention i was, at the back of my mind, kinda looking for a generic youthful sporty type of scent and i kinda wanted to like z right of the bat due to descriptions in the guide. i really do like it. tried the extrem version of it and liked regular z better.

went again today and again i liked majority still. even the ones i found vile when i first sniffed in store years ago. the SA's bombarded me with like 50 scents and it was becoming a punch line how one was even jocking pal zileri. had a good time anyways. i wonder if they get commission for certain scents?

aramis i thought was the most old man smelling cologne ever. today not bad no old man connection.

amen used to be a let down. i really thought i would like this before ever knowing what a gourmand was. today i kinda liked it and i'm putting it on a maybe i'd like to buy it list.

1 million wasn't bad but i remember it was vile when i got a free sample in a restaurant. probably wouldn't buy still.

bleu de chanel and allure homme sport i kinda liked. would buy in the grey market if i don't find a zegna or mugler there.

mugler cologne. i get the rave now.

fleur de male first time i tried it. how could a scent be gay? i'd wear this without hesitation.

pino silvestre this one i didn't like so much. kinda vicks vaporubby but my nose was hella fatigued by this time.

drakkar noir wasn't bad. i don't find it strong anymore since i'm a vca ph wearer.

a woman's scent i liked from a magazine strip, notorious, smelled it today and it is vile.

there are tons more i forget but i must have been shoved everything in the store i also liked the body shop white musk for men and kistna even. found them expensive though at full price.

what did i buy? i bought essenza di zegna since i was looking for a light cologne and it was 50 or 60 off. i liked z but this one is great too. i thought it was the more expensive one since z is the cheaper clothing but i guess they're just the same. also bought 450 ml of eau d'hadrien. it was as expensive as 1 100 ml bottle of creed so i thought it was a good buy. yeah my purchases are kinda dictated by sales but being that i'm not that picky i thought i should take advantage of that anyway. also i'd never buy full price if it can be found on the grey market. the grey market where i live rarely has guerlains and muglers. i've never seen a zegna but haven't looked for them in particular until recently.

i'm also kinda done with my 80's powerhouse phase. i'm more interested in the new things out there. maybe even some serge. i hated most of the line at first sniff same with TDC. i'm also interested to retry rive gauche and habit rouge if i haven't said that already. i found rive vile like spray on brut deo. habit rouge i did not know how to describe it. not vile and very far from it but i did not know what the hell i was smelling.

i'm also stopping buying blind and relying on basenotes recs. i've bought blind for a long time maybe a couple of years if the companies don't send out samples.

bahaha! i was certainly abused by those SA's. they were like sharks i tell ya. anyways i think i'll buy a men sometime at the end of the year.