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Am I picky or just a rookie still?

post #1 of 9
11/26/12 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
So I'm still new to this but I've been fascinated for the past month or so. To go along with my old bottles of ADG, Cool Water and 360 Red, I've recently purchased these 4 bottles:

Tom Ford Grey Vetiver (Love it)
Terre D'Hermes (Love it)
D&G PH (decent)
Burberry London (still waiting to be shipped to me)

The problem is when I go to a dept store to test stuff I've heard great things about (Nuit de L'Homme, Le Male, Egoiste and platinum Egoiste, Polo Green, Prada Amber PH, 1 Million, A*Men) I end up being VERY underwhelmed and in some cases (Polo Green, prada amber PH, A*Men, Le Male) completely turned off.

I really liked Pure Havane and YSL L'Homme had the right type of sweetness for me ....and some others were nice enough but nothing as far as "WOW beautiful instant buy"

I know I need to get over to Neiman Marcus to check out some niche/exclusive frags (Creed house, Amouage, Malle, Heely, Bond no 9, Sycamore, Tom Ford TV, etc) but I was expecting more from a lot of these designer frags.

Any ideas? Hard to distinguish which notes I like and don't since I'm a newbie. I'm interested in Boss Bottled, Tiffany and Gucci PH II but that's just based on what my brain thinks from reading.

THANKS!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and I also HATED Marc Jacobs.

I realize most of my quick little tests are done on paper strips and involve almost only top notes but still....

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and I also HATED Marc Jacobs.

I realize most of my quick little tests are done on paper strips and involve almost only top notes but still....
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post #2 of 9
11/26/12 at 2:53pm
I think what you are experiencing is natural with many people. You'll find your place so enough.
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post #3 of 9
11/26/12 at 2:59pm
Quote:
The problem is when I go to a dept store...

I'd say one of the worst places to sample a fragrance is *inside* a dept store - there is invariably a confusing mess of smells in the air.

My approach is to spray what I want to test on my wrists, two frags at a time, and then get out of the store into the fresh air. Walk around for a while, have a smell every now and then, and get a feel for how they're developing. Doing it that way, I often get a very different impression of a fragrance than what it first smells like in the store.

Of course, there's also the thought that many modern fragrances really are just dreadful!
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post #4 of 9
11/26/12 at 3:10pm
Actually...I think you're right on. When I first started (not that long ago), I LIKED just about everything. There were a few I disliked right away, of course, but I could find something that I liked in almost every frag. I had to remind myself (and I still have to do this), that you don't buy for LIKE, you buy for LOVE. It's perfectly find if there are a number of frags you simply don't like. Take a look at the ones you DO like, and see if there's a common thread.
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post #5 of 9
11/26/12 at 3:35pm
Well considering aside from the Polo Green that I truly love (but the one you smelled is a different fragrance than the original vintage stuff I am talking about) I dislike all the same ones you do... So consider me in agreement. Nothing wrong with having good taste. ;-)

All kidding aside, even if you disliked the vintage Polo Green I personally love so much as well as the current version that is just fine by me... If we all had the exact same taste the world would be a pretty boring place. I think it's great you are sniffing a whole bunch of different scents and calibrating your tastes... You are off to a great start, IMO.
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post #6 of 9
11/26/12 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

I think what you are experiencing is natural with many people. You'll find your place so enough.

Hednic is right, Your were your supposed to be right now. Your not going to like everything that even others fawn over. Just take it slow and keep sampling frags, keeping in mind or buying samples of the ones you like or might think you like ,but can't find. It's a scented journey not a race.
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post #7 of 9
11/26/12 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 
Very well put per usual, gentlemen. I'll try to be excited, not frustrated, about finding what I truly enjoy. I think it all comes down to being anxious to gain knowledge & experience which brings out the impatience in me.

Oh and I hope people don't think I'm a kid given my username. A nickname at work. I'm actually 27 (hope this avoids teenager frag recommendations!)
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post #8 of 9
11/26/12 at 7:19pm
Abort!

Abandon ship, run, never look back.

You're about to enter a dark place from which there is no escape.

Grey Vetiver and London are lovely, now take them and go.
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post #9 of 9
11/27/12 at 10:39am
Of those fragrances you mentioned other than Prada Amber, A*Men, and La Nuit (still not FBW at the moment for me)...I too was underwhelmed!!! The same can be said for Egoiste but this may be one that I may need to sample on my skin and get into the dry down, because like A*Men I read that this is really where this fragrance takes over.

Good luck with your fragrance woes....
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