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Went from loving a fragrance to hating it in one wearing? Huh?

post #1 of 10
9/21/10 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 
After an extensive sampling and testing phase I decided I loved L'Instant de Guerlain PH EDT and bought a bottle. I wore it maybe five times over the next two weeks and it smelled fantastic every time. I couldn't get enough of it. Then one day (the first time I tried applying lotion before spraying to improve the staying power) the smell just became reuplsive. It smelled impossibly powdery and was just staight up vile, I honestly felt sick for the rest of the day. It lasted forever too, because of the lotion. I figured the lotion must have just done something weird to it and didn't give it any more thought. Then the next time I went to wear it, a few days later... the same repulsive smell, right out of the bottle. Can't bear to put it on me. What happened?

The plot thickens. I also had a sample of Perry Ellis for Men I'd been enjoying immensely and had also worn four or five times. The next time I wore it after losing my taste for L'Instant ... it had the same damn smell. Sickly, overpowering powder. Couldn't wait to scrub it off. What the hell?

Is this a common experience? If it is, how does one safely buy a full bottle? I loved these scents, couldn't stop smelling myself when wearing them. Now I can't bear them. All I can think of is that there's some common ingredient that my nose has decided it hates (they're both full, creamy, sweet scents - maybe tonka bean?).
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post #2 of 10
9/21/10 at 6:44pm
You can't always know with every fragrance. Buying full bottles is really a personal choice. Many people here only buy decants or smallest bottles available, unless it's a fragrance they really love and have been wearing for a long time.

Personally I don't mind having full bottles of perfumes I no longer enjoy, I can always let a friend use them, or maybe I'll come back to them later. If you can't do that, or don't want to waste your money, then just buy decants or the smallest bottle available.

Oh and in general, of all types of fragrances, sweet fragrances can get really cloying or disgusting if you have a bad experience with them, so it's not uncommon at all. In fact I've only had such an experience with sweet -highly synthetic- fragrances.
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post #3 of 10
9/21/10 at 7:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by durf View Post

Is this a common experience? If it is, how does one safely buy a full bottle? I loved these scents, couldn't stop smelling myself when wearing them. Now I can't bear them. All I can think of is that there's some common ingredient that my nose has decided it hates (they're both full, creamy, sweet scents - maybe tonka bean?).

Yes, this happens. I now sample a fragrance around 4 times before I make a decision. I was going to buy Marc Jacobs bang - by the third time I tried it on at the store I realized that although I liked it, I didn't love it.

Sell or trade your bottles.
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post #4 of 10
9/21/10 at 9:13pm
durf, you may be experiencing a chemical sensitivity. I've had this happen in the past and it still happens from time to time and basically what happens is that your perception of the scent is completely thrown off because the sensitivity magnifies that particular aroma so much that it overpowers everything else.

Often times this will fade in time or with repeated exposure. Sometimes just putting the scent away for a few months and coming back to it works. Have you had any illness or anything recently? That can often cause disturbances with olfactory perception, sometimes lasting months or even years.
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post #5 of 10
9/21/10 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SculptureOfSoul View Post

durf, you may be experiencing a chemical sensitivity. I've had this happen in the past and it still happens from time to time and basically what happens is that your perception of the scent is completely thrown off because the sensitivity magnifies that particular aroma so much that it overpowers everything else.

Often times this will fade in time or with repeated exposure. Sometimes just putting the scent away for a few months and coming back to it works. Have you had any illness or anything recently? That can often cause disturbances with olfactory perception, sometimes lasting months or even years.

I think this is dead-on actually. There's some specific note in there (that seems to be in both Perry Ellis and L'Instant) that's just cranked up to 11 and completely overpowers everything else. That really stinks... literally For now I've just wrapped up the bottle and hidden it away, and I'm going to give it a couple of months for my nose to get over it. I could trade it away, but I bought this because I loved it! I want that smell back

No illnesses or anything, this was totally out of the blue.

I'm always tempted to buy the biggest bottle because the ml/$ is always so much better. I'm starting to see that this might not be the best strategy...
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post #6 of 10
9/21/10 at 9:25pm
I've had sensitivities show up randomly months after trying a scent. I've had them disappear after wearing a troublesome scent a few times. I've had some come and go. It's really annoying, and a complete crap shoot.

Hopefully it clears up for you quickly. Also, this is something to keep in mind if someone ever complains about a scent you are wearing being "overpowering" even if you find it rather weak. It's quite possible that they have a sensitivity to it, and that they aren't just being a hypochondriac or what have you. If anything, an experience like this can teach us to be sympathetic to others complaints.
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post #7 of 10
9/21/10 at 9:32pm
take a break from wearing it and come back to it later your nose might return to normal, using a fragrance too much your nose will get bored of it sometimes, overexposure.
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post #8 of 10
9/21/10 at 9:56pm
I think you developed a "chemical sensitivity" type of problem. It happened to me after about half a year into all the sampling, and it took several months before it ended. Lavender really irritated me, and licorice was bad too. Now, I can't deal with any frag that has a strong wood note, whereas lavender and licorice only bother me if they are overwhelming. My guess is that some of us have this sensitivity issue while others never do.
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post #9 of 10
9/21/10 at 10:14pm
My perfume taste sometimes changes pretty drastically with the seasons. So I'd recommend waiting a full year, trying it now and then, before concluding that you absolutely don't like it any more.
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post #10 of 10
9/22/10 at 7:29am
I had a similar experience with Un Jardin en Mediterranee. I loved its dry fig bark, fig leaves scent and enjoyed it a lot in the summer. Then once I have spritzed it more liberally than usually and a cloying melone note emerged. And it never left.

I swapped UJeM away shortly after. Even after half a year whenever I think of it my stomach turns.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › Went from loving a fragrance to hating it in one wearing? Huh?