Funny and frustrating first impressions (Habit Rouge edc, Grey Flannel, Terre D'Hermes)

What are some funny/interesting first impressions from a new fragrance, from either yourself or others?

I'll share my story of today. I got the mail and to my delight had three new fragrances waiting for me: Terre D'Hermes EDT, Grey Flannel, and Habit Rouge EDC (vintage). Latter two were blind buys.

I've been interested in Terre D'Hermes for quite some time, and the person who sold it to me generously threw in a big bottle of Grey Flannel for $2 extra. My only concern with TdH is a "BO" smell that some have mentioned, but I've tested it before and didn't get that at all.

Grey Flannel is new to me, but a classic in its own right. For $2 to cover shipping, I'm in.

The Habit Rouge purchase was more out of curiosity. I sampled the current EDT at an airport duty-free shop, but the tester sprayed so forcefully on my wrist, the smell was overwhelming. After reading about the various formulations, I decided I should make an effort to try HR in its original formulation. I bought a cheap small HR EDC for its history and to further my understanding of scents. I don't expect this to get much of a response from the opposite sex, and that's fine - I bought this for myself to enjoy and from which to learn.

So, enter today. I sprayed them all on my various wrists and eagerly sniffed them. My first thoughts for each:

Terre: Yup, pretty much what I remember from my sample: bright citrus and minerals (and maybe sharp ozone?). An airy aura of translucence, modern and unique. Very nice, I love it.

Grey Flannel: Hmm, interesting. An almost harsh blast of violet hits hard. It quickly cools down to a very clean smelling violet. Somehow fresh, floral and manly at once. I like it.

Habit Rouge vintage EDC: Hmm, very interesting. The nozzle smells extremely stale and pungent, almost offensively so. There's something dirty that puts me off. However, once I spray it on my wrist (another huge uncontrolled blast, damn you HR), I get a complex citrus mixed with something dry and sweet. Truth be told, if I cheat and read the notes I can pick some out, but really it just smelled complex, warm and oddly comforting to me, conjuring the color of dusty orange/brown to my mind. This is good stuff.

Of the three, I like TdH the best, followed by HR and Grey Flannel. TdH will probably be the modern favorite among my friends, followed distantly by GF and HR (surely my friends will smell how dated these are).

I let these dry down for a couple hours. The scents evolve, but I still like TdH the best. I meet up with one of my good friends. She loved Rochas Man and liked YSL L'Homme - I figure she'll probably fall in line with my expectations. Right as she's leaving, I ask for her opinion...

Me: So, what do you think of this? (gingerly holds out wrist of HR)
Her: Mmm, that's pretty nice! [wow, this is a surprise. I was sure she'd think this smells like an old man or something]

Me: Okay, how about this one? (flips wrist over to Grey Flannel)
Her: (scrunches in her face a little) Umm, no, I'm not a fan of this. [okay, I guess I was expecting that...]

Me: All right, final smell here, how's this one? (confidently pushes forth wrist of TdH for validation)
Her: (long pause, then makes super scrunchy face) Ugh, definitely not.
Me: What, really? You don't like it? (gingerly holds forth wrist with diminishing hopes for validation)
Her: (sniffs again, now recoils a bit, much to my horror) No, this isn't good. This smells off.
Me: Really? You're kidding. What don't you like about it? [how is this happening, maybe she's sensitive to Iso E Super, or maybe the citrus burned off. Surely it's not...]
Her: It smells like BO

The magic words are uttered, my excitement is dashed - confidence quickly decays into disbelief and shame.
Me: Oh, wow... really.... Okay. [complete dejection at this point]
Her: Hey! I still like that YSL you have! [yes.. quite the consolation...]

So, not exactly what I expected from these. Of course, I'll give them each full wearings before I actually come to any conclusions.

And the above is slightly embellished, I actually laughed to myself when she said "BO." But it would be a lie to say I wasn't slightly disappointed.

On the other hand, maybe Habit Rouge is a classic for a reason. Sweet dust FTW

Excellent points about sillage, it can smell very different from close to the skin, and I'll have to implement these suggestions to wave and create a waft of scent instead of "freebasing" the frag. I like TdH either way, but the sillage is probably less sharp. I'm not really worried about it, I know I like it, that's enough for me.

StylinLA, I agree a lot of younger guys just go for boring mainstream. I wrote this somewhat as an ironic post - the one modern fragrance got the worst review while the "old man" scents indeed won out. I hope to add more classics.

I remember when I told my twin I was getting Habit Rouge, he kinda scoffed. But then he read up on the EDC, and sure enough, now he wants to try it when he visits. He also questioned my Rive Gauche PH buy (too old school smelling?), although he never fully came around with that one (yet). Personally, I love it.

Cacio, I'd love to try Yatagan. Somehow, I think my blind buying success streak may end if I push my luck on this one, though. Hope I can sample it soon.

Morrison, I'm surprised at how quickly I liked Habit Rouge, especially after my bad experience with the edt. I'm sure I'll only grow to enjoy it more with time.

Oslo, didn't realize Ellena was known for putting dirty notes in some of his scents. Good to know - I like it here, too.