Fragrances you WANT to like

I really wanted to like Byredo's M/Mink but as much as I've tried to warm up with it, there's still the desweetened beeswax note that makes my stomach litterally contract. Said that this is still one of the most daring compositions so far...

The only one I have encountered that I really, really want to like -- but just do not, I confess -- is Mitsouko. Otherwise, I am content with the idea that something can be of superior quality and I still do not have to like it.

One that comes to mind is Charriol Platinum.

Jicky! I remember seeing the bottle in an old Neiman Marcus catalogue when I was very young and I wanted it. I read the description and loved the idea of it, unfortunately it smells awful on me. A friend gave me samples of different concentrations and I still can't pull it off. I will continue trying until the samples run out.

Lately I wanted to like Candy. The description sounds great and I love "dulce de leche" and caramel. However, it is all cloying powder on me. I have a 5ml decant, so I can try again maybe when the weather is cooler.

Dior Homme - I want to like it but I'm just not a fan of Iris
Azzaro PH - I can appreciate it, but always feel very old fashioned wearing it

Sycomore--I respect it, but it just doesn't appeal to me.
Jardin apres la Mousson--I like all the others in the Jardin series, and I loved the adorable ads with the elephant. But I don't like the fragrance at all.

I want to like Guerlain's Idylle. I generally love Thierry Wasser's work - I was a fan well before he joined Guerlain, thanks to Dior Addict. I had such high hopes for Idylle, but it just doesn't thrill me at all. Almost everything else he has done? Love! But not Idylle. I need to sample some flankers, perhaps, but I tend to think that it's just centered in a bad spot for me to love.

Alas, I feel I should like, but cannot:

Chanel 5
Cuir de Russie
Miss Dior
Jolie Madame
Femme Rochas
Mitsouko
Jicky
Coco
Chamade
Norell
Tabac Blond
Bandit
Sous le Vent
Le Temps d'Une Fete
Amouage Lyric Woman
Parfum Sacre
Climat

French Lover/Bois d'Orage - I love the superdry, herbal beginning. But then there's a woody amber that raises its ugly head. (Was it Tania Sanchez who said the same? I don't have the book with me)

cacio

Certain CDG
Must de Cartier
Givenchy Gentleman

This being said, I do not dislike these aforementioned scents, but my love for them could be more intense

Dior Eau Sauvage ...nice v uplifting beginning. Then I smell 'wet cardboard'.

Chanel no.5 ...

Everytime I see it I try it on... and everytime I fail to even minimally like it. I *almost* hate it ... I guess aldehydes are not my thing. It just smells too artificial for me.

Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet

I definitely see how this might smell great on someone else, but on my skin (at least out of a sample vial), it just smelled like Sprite/7-Up and pepper. An atomizer might help that, but now the weather's a bit cool for me to want to revisit it.

Diamondflame,
I agree about the Eau Savage--I've tried to like it.

And I love Turin/Sanchez's Guide, even if I don't agree with them. But one that Turin really loves is Missoni, and I have tried it many times and can't stand it. I give up.

Oh
No5
No19
Tabac Blond

I have tried really really tried, edt parfum and no love from either side.

Chanel's Coromandel garners almost universal praise on BN, but I confess that it just smells like a mess to me. Will keep trying but I don't hold out much hope of a reversal. I have a similar difficulty with No 22 (the aldehydes!). It's a shame because I love most of the rest of the Exclusifs line, and I want to love them all.
Some SL's I find very difficult to love. I like aspects of them, but often not the whole. Feminite du Bois for instance is lovely apart from the waxy note which, try as I might, I cannot get past.
At the other end of the scale, I really like the much-maligned Beauty by CK. It's mostly detested on BN, but I think it has its virtues. Gives me an idea for a synch Friday - 'A fragrance I love that almost everyone else hates'. Have we had that one?

Jicky and L'Heure Bleue. I like other "guerlainades" (sp?) such as Apre l'Ondee. I love Mitsouko and Chamade. But these -- I dislike them so much that I can't even sniff them long enough to figure out why. (I have a 10 ml decants of each, sigh...) I'll keep these around and try again, someday. Maybe.

Habit rouge. *shudders*

I've been thinking about this a bit and the only fragrances I ever really want or actually try to like are gifts of perfume. Like arwen_elf, I recently put some effort into liking Prada Candy more than I do because it was a gift from my husband, but I had to admit defeat after a few full wearings.

But there are lots of fragrances that I'm surprised I don't like (either because of the notes or positive reviews) and so maybe I "should" like them in that sense of the word. I don't feel any obligation to like them, however, and probably won't go out of my way to try them again (there are so many perfumes I love effortlessly, and I prefer to give them my attention.) And it's not that I don't "get them" btw - I find that a bit insulting. I know them well enough, I just don't like them very much. They include -

YSL's Y - seems to be every chypre-lovers favorite chypre, so as a chypre-lover myself I'm puzzled by all the rave reviews it gets. I've owned it forever and never wear it - I just find it dull.

From Guerlain, there's Shalimar, Jardins de Bagatelle and to a lesser extent Mitsouko. I own them and never wear them. I don't hate them, but I just don't find them very appealing.

24 Faubourg - to me, it's like a clone of clone of a clone of Ysatis, so that bugs me because I love Ysatis and I generally like Hermes fragrances, too. It's another one that I don't hate, but it bores me so I never wear it. It's on my swap list.

Others that my own preferences and experience indicate that I'd enjoy more are Ma Griffe, Poison, Organza, Boucheron, Habanita, and Youth Dew Amber Nude - all pretty "meh" as far as I'm concerned.

I was going to say Habit Rouge too.

Also Iris Silver Mist. I want to love it! But I don't. I keep trying, though.

Guerlain Vetiver

I really want to enjoy No. 5, but just cannot. I ordered a sample of the vintage from Perfumed Court, so maybe that will change my feelings about it. I rather hope so ( or do I? then I'd have an urge to have a supply of vintage on hand! )

No. 19
Bandit
Lolita Lempicka

Basically all blind buys that turned out to be failures. Special mention to
Aqua Quorum. Liked the colours of the bottle, the name, everything, then it was just meh. None of the summery joy the bottle promised.
Declaration Bois Bleu. How bad can a flanker of Declaration be? Surely it's brilliant for summer? Almost put me off Declaration.
Rochas Globe. A discontinued rarity, not too expensive, and I like Rochas, it must be good. Neat bottle too. What is that mustard/stew smell?

Lots of so called classics: Azzaro PH, Aramis, Antaeus to name a few. Just can´t wear them as much as I´d like to.

Fahrenheit.....I've wanted this to work with no luck.....Dior Eau Savauge and Extreme.....Not nice to me at all.....Gary

No 5
Shalimar
24Fauborg

Rochas man, i really dont know whats up with this one..
one day i sample it, it smells good.. im like ready to buy it..
sample it again woosh overwhelming sweetness kinda repulsive change my mind again..
might just get a bottle for the heck of it lal

Xqizit,

Felt the same at first try, but the more I wear it, the better I like it. Dry down is wonderful and comforting. More of a female frag in my opinion. lil mo

Mitsouko. I wish I got the magical experience that others do, but sadly, it is a disaster on my skin.

I blind bought this from colette before it was released worldwide and my mother received it in London. She phoned me in Qatar and told me what the hell I was thinking buying this horrible, horrible perfume! I grinned from ear to ear knowing it must be as daring and challenging as the reviews and literally could NOT wait to smell it. Fast forward two weeks later, I opened the package and sprayed on my wrist. At first, I got the immediate similar "civet" note that I get in Oud 27 but more synthetic. I really, really enjoyed the opening. However, it got bad after that...quickly. It literally made my stomach churn. I kind of enjoy Secretion's Magnifique nauseating vibe but M/Mink was that...tenfold! I have no idea what causes it but every time I TRY to like it, I go through that phase all over again. I must have wasted 10ml just trying to like it LOL!

I expected to love the Tauers, and I really wanted to love them. So far I like them well enough, but don't love a single one of them.

Mitsouko - and yes, I've tried the vintage juice in at least three concentrations. How can Purure be so awesome yet this just not impress? It's well constructed, sure, but I don't love, love, love it. Same with many Guerlains, though L'Heure Bleu is just flat out bad on me, which leaves me mystified.

Dank basement or otherwise known as Bois d'Orage by Frederick Malle

Shalimar, Mitsouko, YSL Nu, D&G Sicily.

l'Instant de Guerlain - two wearings of chocolate Playdoh on the drydown

Until last night Knize Ten would've made this list, but after enjoying Charles Street and Tuscan Leather, I now appreciate its brilliance.

Kouros and Safari by Ralph Lauren.

Shalimar. If only I could take out the note I don't like, I'd be left with something wonderful: bergamot, citrus, vanilla, darkness...

Chanel No. 5, just as well though, my husband's mother's signature scent.

Angel. I love powerhouse scents with monster sillage and projection. I love patchouli. This smells good to me on other people. My husband loves it. But every time I go near it, it turns into rank, sweaty evil, and not in a good way.

I have a sample of Angel Violette, and it's downright amusing to juxtapose sweet violet with rank evil. But I can't wear it.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: I can haz all of your Mitsouko?

The scents I wish I could like are Dzing! and Tea for Two by L'artisan. I can see the cleverness and the artistry. However, the former is just dirty animal bedding on my skin and the latter smells like a freshly opened pack of cigarettes. (I know and have smelled these on other people - on whom they work marvellously - and this just makes me envious of the buggers).

For me, Tea for Two is a comforting scent that reminds me of smell I was quite familiar with from a very young age. My father was a cigar and pipe tobacco smoker and L'Artisan's creation is reminiscent of those fantastic fragrances.

L'Homme Sage
Straight to Heaven
Ormond Jayne Man

Bought these when I was young and impressionable and now I just find them incredibly unpleasant - I suspect there is some cedar / wood thing going on that I have become very sensitive to. Lots of love and dicussion for all three and I feel like the kid standing at the edge of the playground wishing I could play, too.

Eau Noire is another one, but that's cool - I have made my peace with immortelle, just not my thing.

I'm not worried about the whole A*Men franchise - I don't want to like them.

PS It would also be nice to like Tobacco Vanille beyond the first 20 minutes or so and then I could really feel like I 'belong' but I guess that sense of inclusiveness I crave will forever be denied me.

Same here. While I'm an immortelle freak, I found Eau Noir to be unbearably cloying,

Narciso Rodriguez Musc Collection. I enjoy the top notes, even if a little soapy/hairspray, watered down Grey
Flannel, mouldy mushroom, but the sillage of it vexes me a little. Not sure what to make of this one yet. On one hand I can see and greatly enjoy its qualities, on the other hand it's a little meh.

I want to like puredistance m, but on me it fastforwards to BOish smell and thats not what I want.

Azzaro PH comes off as an old, strange air freshener.

Creed bois de Portugal smells Oh so dated.

Dior Homme Intense still smells like lipstick, but Im not done with it yet.

Oh and I actually like 1 million and most Boss frags.

Life is too short to let others decide what smells I like ;-).

I was very naughty and bought Tea for Two AND Safran Troublant the other day... I find both unapologetic in their desire to please with a simple, sweet warmth. My skin teases out the vanilla in almost everything so these wrap me up in a cocoon of guilty comfort. Delicious.

I was very naughty and bought Tea for Two AND Safran Troublant the other day... I find both unapologetic in their desire to please with a simple, sweet warmth. My skin teases out the vanilla in almost everything so these wrap me up in a cocoon of guilty comfort. Delicious.

I wanted to like Rose 31 as everyone seems to love the scent. For me it come across as a cumin heavy chemical mess with vetiver and that Iso -super note and there is little rose. I had a couple of samples and tried it many times and it still comes across to me as a unbalanced chemical disaster with total disharmony amongst the notes. I guess you cannot love them all.

Terre D'Hermès;
Rive Gauche;
Dior Homme;
Narciso Rodriguez For Him;
Shaal Nur;
Vetiver de Guerlain;
A* Men;
Santos;
Azzaro PH;
Black XS...

Chanel no.5

I'm opening an orphanage for all the poor unwanted No. 5's out there!

Portrait of a Lady. Seriously, I tried so, so hard. But... I can't. *hangs head in shame*

Aventus. I have tried it a few times. It didn't leave much of an impression afterwards except "generic department store frag". But I keep feeling I should try it again, I have a strong feeling I might be missing something about it still, what people around me noticed while I wore it that I didn't. I want to like it, I like the idea of it and the bottle looks cool...

Cartier Roadster...I'm a mint-head and I've really wanted to like it each time I've smelled it...it IS growing on me, but I still can't quite enjoy it.

Oh how I wished to love at least one Amouage so much so I bought the sample set of 10 from Harrods.

I admit I must be a philistine as everyone but Jubilation XXV has been overly dense and illegible to my nose. I'm going to do the Sniff and Talk with Amouage Gold for tomorrows florals to try to educate my nose but I don't hold out much hope and think the remain of the set need to find a new home

Santa Maria Novella Peau d'Espagne is too herbal, spicy and medicinal. I think it is a masterpiece, but I can not make myself like it enough to buy a bottle.

I really, really hoped Derring Do by Ineke would be it. The notes read perfectly and the reviews universally fantastic so I ordered Ineke's beautiful sampler pack and...
Ack! What the...? Where are all those attributes dollars&scents described so poetically? The citrus that included grapefruit, the freshness, the metallic petrachord? Sigh... On my skin, the whole thing started ick and stayed ick. So much so that I thought I must have received a bum sample. That seems pretty unlikey. Sorry, Derring Do it's me, not you.
The search for the grail continues...

Bit on the fence about Lush's Breath of God but have not worn it much.
Did not find enough love for Lush Dirty, Etat Libre d`Orange Sex Pistols, Nautilus Aqua and Ferre Bergamotto Marino.

Musc Ravageur - no can do ! I really want to love it but I can't.

PG's Cuir Venenum. I kind of love it already, but it has this slightly disturbing edge to it that I can't shake off. I want to be able to move past that so that I can wear it, because I think it's a GREAT scent.

I do sometimes feel embarrassed by my opinion of Mitsouko. I know it's this legendary fragrance and highly regarding by perfume buffs, but I l-o-a-t-h-e it. I loathe it so much I don't even WANT to love it! And every time I say that to a perfumista, I brace myself...