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Please, no more frag descriptions as "fresh and warm."

post #1 of 24
3/16/11 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
I don't know how many times I've read a review where a frag was described this way, yet I haven't encountered such a frag. Some start 'fresh" then get "warm, but the combination together, at the same time, is not something that seems to exist. Today I wore Etra, for example, which perhaps can be said to have a fresh quality, but it's also spicy. I find it to be a bit "cool" overall, however. My guess is that calling a frag fresh and warm is just a way of saying that you really like it. However, I'm open to new ideas, so if you can think of any frag that is fresh and warm for more than a short period of time, please let me know. Also, if you can specify what you mean by fresh and warm, I'd like to hear about it.

EDIT: The closest frag I can think of that I would describe this way is Punjab, yet that has a bit of a disturbing quality and I can't think of any other frag like it (it's irritating if not nauseating to me, actually). Nor do I think this is what is meant when people describe a frag as fresh and warm.
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post #2 of 24
3/16/11 at 4:57pm
LOL

http://www.basenotes.net/ID26126901.html
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post #3 of 24
3/16/11 at 5:12pm
Adjectives are very often subjective and mean different things to different people. The terms personally don't bother me at all.
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post #4 of 24
3/16/11 at 5:36pm

Polo Explorer is fresh (citrus) and warm (amber) from top to base.
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post #5 of 24
3/16/11 at 5:42pm
Warm and Fresh
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post #6 of 24
3/16/11 at 6:46pm
Thread Starter 
Explorer goes from fresh to warm, I guess it can be argued. I'm just trying to call attention to how frustrating such descriptions can be.
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post #7 of 24
3/16/11 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
That's a great example, Buysblind. Let me quote from it:

"Calm, comforting, and fresh...

...it does not change much at all from beginning to end...

...it is soft and cooling.

...it's cool and refreshing and warm and comforting..."

The question here is, what are other frags? Room temperature? Lukewarm? I remember reading a report of a study in which the researchers found that when people are praising something they tend to be general, whereas when the criticize they tend to be more specific (IIRC). Whatever the case may be, I created this thread as a plea to try to be as specific as possible. If you think violet leaf is "cooling" or "fresh," that's fine, but remember that not everyone does. There are some frags that are clearly meant to be "fresh" in some sense, such as Bobby Jones Cologne, which features a golfer on a green bottle and is a grassy scent, but even in that case, it can be said to be wet/damp grass. Calling it "fresh" or "cool" doesn't really distinguish it from a lot of other frags that are apparently also trying to do something "fresh" but are clearly different, such as the citrus/woody type of "freshness."
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post #8 of 24
3/16/11 at 7:37pm
"Fresh & Warm" sounds like something out of a baked goods commercial with the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

You could place gourmands under that definition.
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post #9 of 24
3/16/11 at 7:41pm
Not sure I see any reason to place limitations on the discussion of something as subjective as fragrance. Those of us who aren't all that great with the recognition of particular notes or compounds are pretty much stuck describing them based on our overall impression, using terms others can relate to.
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post #10 of 24
3/16/11 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 
I understand that, so I'm just trying to provide some food for thought here. Perhaps this will help a little, because I think we can all agree that "fresh," for example, is very subjective. For instance, some find the traditional "barbershop" fougere to be "fresh" while others think of it as "old man," and in a sense, the opposite of fresh !
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post #11 of 24
3/16/11 at 7:50pm
I really have a great difficulty trying to understand your point here. You're talking about subjective opinions here, and words with flexible definitions. And you yourself admit that a fragrance can start fresh and dry down warm, and should be described as so instead of saying it's "fresh and warm" at the same instant?

I suppose we dislike a few expressions, but I Don't understand why you're making a big deal out of it.
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post #12 of 24
3/16/11 at 7:51pm
A lot of people I think just repeat language they have heard other members use. Think of it as flattery. I suppose some fragrances might be fresh and warm as opposed to spoiled and cold. I see nothing wrong with the categorization as long as it is true.
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post #13 of 24
3/16/11 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bokaba View Post

A lot of people I think just repeat language they have heard other members use. Think of it as flattery. I suppose some fragrances might be fresh and warm as opposed to spoiled and cold. I see nothing wrong with the categorization as long as it is true.

+1... As long as it actually means something I'm ight with it.
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post #14 of 24
3/16/11 at 8:32pm
Thread Starter 
Even if everyone agreed that a particular frag was "fresh," that is really not very helpful because a huge number of "men's" frags start out with top notes that can be viewed (at least by many) as "fresh," whether that be fougere, sweet citrus/spicy, grassy/violet leaf, melon/aquatic, traditional cologne, etc., whch is why I pointed out that if you call one frag fresh, as if this was a great accomplishment and rare, does that mean that almost all others are stale? If a frag is "warm," does that mean most others are cold, lukewarm, room temperature, etc.?

"A lot of people I think just repeat language they have heard other members use."

Right, I'm just asking BNers to think about this before they write up their reviews. I know I wrote up some reviews as a newbie that I now regret (and I'm changing them as I go through them again), and I wish someone had pointed this out to me back then.
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post #15 of 24
3/16/11 at 8:42pm
What about Clean and Hot!!!
Gary
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post #16 of 24
3/16/11 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone know of a stale, cold frag? LOL.
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post #17 of 24
3/16/11 at 9:12pm
Hmm... does that mean stale and cold is off the table, too?
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post #18 of 24
3/16/11 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

Anyone know of a stale, cold frag? LOL.

LOL.. great minds think alike!!!
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post #19 of 24
3/16/11 at 9:44pm
The concept of this thread is fresh, and the content is warm.
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post #20 of 24
3/16/11 at 9:55pm
How about: The metaphysical olfactive sorcery elicts a phrygian catharsis paired with hermaphroditic versimilitude?
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post #21 of 24
3/16/11 at 9:58pm
Dude... you just blew up my thesaurus...
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post #22 of 24
3/16/11 at 10:02pm
I have a better idea. Rather then opine or complain about reviewers who use phrases you don't like, why not simply note who uses such phrases and ignore that person's reviews? I realize there's a collective value in having a variety of opinions about any given fragrance, but the reality is that the overwhelming majority of reviews aren't helpful in learning about the fragrance in any meaningful way. I'm not saying this to be insulting, but if, say, a newbie writes a review chances are their opinion will be different a few months after writing the review, so the review is essentially worthless. So I'd say don't get too worked up about poor language or descriptions - just ignore the offending review and move on.
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post #23 of 24
3/16/11 at 10:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JickyMan View Post

How about: The metaphysical olfactive sorcery elicts a phrygian catharsis paired with hermaphroditic versimilitude?

Your mom does WHAT???
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post #24 of 24
3/16/11 at 10:12pm
My Momma smell good, hellz yeah
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Please, no more frag descriptions as "fresh and warm."