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Gourmand Scents - how & where to wear it/pull it off?

post #1 of 16
11/30/12 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
I love a lot of the gourmand scents, but i'm having trouble figuring out how to wear it. Should they mostly be worn during the colder months? Night time? special dates? How about the first date? would they offend people? I'm having difficulty imagining myself wearing them, considering the way i dress i'm more fit for like aventus and fresh scents most of the time. Anyone have any tips on how i can pull off the "look" with gourmand scents? like suggestions of the scenarios which i'd wear it and maybe the kind of clothing / colors / materials that would go with it?

FYI the gourmands i have on hand (mostly samples) are TF tobacco vanille, Guerlain Double vanille, Diptyque Eau Duelle, New Haarlem, A*men, bond so new york, killian Love, and killian back to black.
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post #2 of 16
11/30/12 at 3:22pm
You should experiment and see what you like for yourself. After all that's what the samples are for. A lot of people prefer those for cooler weather but there are no hard and fast rules for fragrances. You could wear gourmands and orientals in warm weather as they bloom beautifully revealing interesting facets.
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post #3 of 16
11/30/12 at 3:35pm
I own a few gourmands and have samples of many more, and in my opinion they are very versatile in the colder months. I've worn Pure Malt to lots of casual things, as well as New Haarlem. As for Back to Black, I save that for special occasions or a night on the town when I want to look and smell my best.

Overall though, just wear them out and try them in different situations. Women and men alike love them, so don't worry about that (others on BN may disagree with me).
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post #4 of 16
11/30/12 at 4:22pm
In my personal experience, everyone seems to like gourmands, perhaps more than other categories, save for shower clean type scents. Id keep most gourmands to colder months, though I find I can get away with most scents as long as I'm light on the trigger and mist rather than using concentrated sprays
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post #5 of 16
11/30/12 at 4:58pm
I wear them all year round without problems.
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post #6 of 16
11/30/12 at 6:47pm
I have two rules regarding gourmands:

1) I never wear them indoors where there's a potential that the air will be stuffy and hot.

2) I don't wear them in formal work/office settings.

I think they're fine for the office or work, but not, let's say, for a serious meeting or something of that matter.

Other than those two rules, I think it's fine to wear them whenever.
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post #7 of 16
11/30/12 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advice guys. I will give them an run and see how it goes, haha. For the most part i think i should be ok, im just afraid of specifically Tobacco vanille & killian back to back since they're so strong. i think i'll start with just one spray to the chest for these.
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post #8 of 16
11/30/12 at 8:29pm
I enjoy my gourmands all year long. I simply use less sprays during the warmer months. I have actually notice that I get better projection and longevity from my gourmand fragrances during the higher temperature months. I actually receive more compliments during those months also.
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post #9 of 16
11/30/12 at 11:17pm
Where them whenever, wherever. Just be cautious with the amount of sprays. Because they tend to be sweet, they also get cloying fast. When you overspray aquatics, they tend to be strong, overpowering, yet pleasant still. With gourmands, they become strong, overpowering, and unbearable.
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post #10 of 16
11/30/12 at 11:39pm
With allot of gourmands it also helps to just spray the wrists and not the neck area. That way you can escape the cloud and you get less fatigue.
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post #11 of 16
12/1/12 at 12:37am
Thread Starter 
Adrem that makes a lot of sense! In your experience is it ok to add 1 more shot to the chest inside the clothes? or is that too much you still get fatigue? If i do 2 shots is it better for just wrists, or one inside the shirt, and one on one wrist and then dab to the other?
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post #12 of 16
12/2/12 at 4:56am
Not my favorite genre, I'm afraid. A firm favorite is Lutens 5 O'Clock au Gingembre. I agree - go easy on the trigger, esp.when the weather is hot & humid. 1-2 sprays under the shirt works best for me.
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post #13 of 16
12/2/12 at 6:53am
A while ago, I would have advised for gourmand scents to be worn only be younger crowds, on casual/intimate/romantic/date/clubbing/informal occasions only and preferably during colder weather, also mainly, if not exclusively, during evening/night time.

But then again, also thanks to the BN community, I simply hardly follow these rules regarding gourmands, thus my advice would be to simply try them out on any occasion, with any outfit, during any season and/or time of the day, in order to see for oneself if pulling them of works or it doesn't.
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post #14 of 16
12/2/12 at 2:38pm
Of course there are no hard and fast rules - whatever works for you and experimentation rocks.

That said - this is what's worked for me:

Evenings - either in the cooler months or in balmy weather when on vacation.
Dates - not first dates; these fragrances divide more than any other class (with the possible exception of chypres). But when you're getting to know someone and perhaps it's time to show a more adventurous side to your character this can be a good symbol.
Occasion - not when fine dining - to many gourmands in the room spoil the broth - not at a dinner party at friends - for the dividing quality of the smell (unless it's a group of fragophiles then roll on the talking point). I'd say that food fragrances have been most succesful for me at either end of the socialising spectrum - black tie and ballrooms or ripped t-shirt and low down and dirty discos. These aren't fragrances to go bowling in.
Dress - well, I wouldn't ever advocating changing your style just to wear a scent - it's the complete package, but generally I'd say as above it's raunchy or classy and not much in between.

Now that's probably made me sound tediously conformist...
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post #15 of 16
12/4/12 at 7:39pm
I'm in the same position as the OP, and I'd have to agree with most of the users' posts thus far.

- Rarely in the heat, never in congested areas
- Not so much for casual wear, rather night-outs
- Better worn sparingly, during cooler weathers.

But still, I find it hard to wear too. I have Hermes Vetiver Tonka, which i LOVE but, don't know when to wear it.
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post #16 of 16
12/5/12 at 8:23pm
I'm finding that I own a lot of gourmands, and am beginning to realize that they may not be..."conventionally suitable" for too many circumstances.

But heck, I really enjoy them, and as the old saying goes, I wear them for myself and my own pleasure, rather than trying to fit in with what most members of the public expect perfumes to be.

Then again, most people consider me eccentric ( a guy wearing any frags at all is considered weird here as it is ) to begin with, which does provide me a bit of license to wear whatever I please.
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