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Is there any note that you are particularly sensitive to?

post #1 of 35
1/7/13 at 10:08am
Thread Starter 
I've sampled a fragrance and one particular note comes to the top, front-and-center above all others.

Occasionally I've sampled a series of fragrances and that very same note comes to the top. It's like my nose has hyperfocus on a particular note, and if it detects it in any decent quantity, it will focus on that note to the detriment of the complexity of the scent.

For me that note is lavender.

Pen's Blenheim Bouquet? Smells like lavender.
GFT Wild Fern? Smells like lavender.
Arden Sandalwood? Smells like lavender.
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post #2 of 35
1/7/13 at 10:10am
Not really in my case.
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post #3 of 35
1/7/13 at 10:41am
Civet and heavy musks make me gag, any fragrance I try that includes those notes and that will be all I smell.
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post #4 of 35
1/7/13 at 10:45am
Vetiver, sandalwood, and Iso E Super, they stick out like a sore thumb for me.
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post #5 of 35
1/7/13 at 10:59am
Almost anything containing apple (though, I don't seem to mind subtle apple notes mingled with many others) and too heavy incense- this one, giving me headaches, often strongones. Aside from that, even the most obnoxiously loud, overpowering smoky, leathery, spicy, powdery, floral, gourmand etc. notes seem to affect me very little or not at all.
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post #6 of 35
1/7/13 at 11:08am
Tonka and tobacco drives me into a sneezing fit!
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post #7 of 35
1/7/13 at 11:20am
Not a big fan of Civet.
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post #8 of 35
1/7/13 at 11:34am
calone, dihydromyrcenol, birch tar, ionones (violet) . . . also dislike these
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post #9 of 35
1/7/13 at 12:35pm
Amber will actually come to the top if I put it on my skin; my chemistry pulls it all to the forefront at the expense of the entire rest of the scent. (Tauer's L'Air du Desert Marocain, on me? AMMMMMBBBEEEERRRRRR!)

The other one I know for sure is musk (or "musk" -- real deer musk, which I smelled once years ago, was not like that) -- almost all perfumes with any kind of significant musk content smell overwhelmingly like soap to me, on or off the skin. Light musk = guest soap, "dirty" musk = old-school Ivory or hand-made unscented lye soap. Spoils a lot of otherwise promising scents.

I don't like the "aquatic" note, which sometimes seems to define the mass-market male fragrance shelves. (Also, aquatic why? What is it supposed to smell like, other than "blue-toned ad copy"? It doesn't smell like any water or water-associated thing I've ever encountered.) There's also fake fruit smells, particularly berry and melon, which will ruin almost anything for me.

I'm really very picky....
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post #10 of 35
1/7/13 at 12:37pm
Patchouli always stands out like a sore thumb to me. I've got three fragrances in which it absolutely dominates.
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post #11 of 35
1/7/13 at 12:38pm
civet, fenugreek and cumin.
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post #12 of 35
1/7/13 at 12:52pm
Silver Mountain Water definitely makes me nauseous. Also rose with other bright notes sometimes bother me a bit too, I seem to tolerate rose with darker notes a little better.
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post #13 of 35
1/7/13 at 12:55pm
Civet. Not very "sensitive" to it, but I just don't care for it. Any fragrance that has more than just a small amount of this note is not anythng I would wear.
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post #14 of 35
1/7/13 at 1:03pm
anise and cumin in excess
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post #15 of 35
1/7/13 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CompassRose View Post

There's also fake fruit smells, particularly berry and melon, which will ruin almost anything for me.

oh yeah damascones . . . red berry etc, usually hate em.

ever notice that apples smell very little, and certainly nothing like "apple" notes in perfume? yeah. that stuff is nasty.
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post #16 of 35
1/7/13 at 1:05pm
One or more synthetic white musks end up being really loud and "screechy" to me (somewhat similar in effect to smelling the chlorine from a pool or, strangely, cat litter). Sadly the note then overwhelms a composition. I've found this in vintage M7, Ambre 114, and the latest version of Guerlain Vetiver. :-(
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post #17 of 35
1/7/13 at 2:00pm
Thread Starter 
Oh, and there's some top note in TF Grey Vetiver that I have a hard time dealing with. I think it's the "lemon" used.
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post #18 of 35
1/7/13 at 2:30pm
Galbanum usually comes off as harsh & bitter on my skin.

And +1 for those wretched fruity-berry notes. Citrus l can stand, but those...blech!
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post #19 of 35
1/7/13 at 2:38pm
I hate cilantro.
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post #20 of 35
1/7/13 at 4:21pm
Vetiver and Mint are not my favorites and make fragrances hard to wear for me.
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post #21 of 35
1/7/13 at 4:32pm
Leather can be a big no no for me. There are a few fragrances where I enjoy it, but many times it just explodes on my skin & becomes extremely cloying to my nose.
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post #22 of 35
1/7/13 at 4:47pm
Orange, mint, tuberose, and sometimes vetiver depending on what it's mixed with.
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post #23 of 35
1/7/13 at 8:52pm
keep calones and aldehydes AWAY
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post #24 of 35
1/8/13 at 2:42am
I'm not sure if I'm allergic or what, but there might be something/some things in 'F by Ferragamo pour Homme Black' and 'Jaguar Vision' that irritates my nose to where I can feel like sneezing.

To perhaps further help pinpoint the type of smell, I just recently got in Gucci Guilty Intense Pour Homme, and it seems kind of similar to the particular note(s) in 'F by Ferragamo pour Homme Black'; BUT, it doesn't go as far as to irritate me. It's like a.. higher quality of that note(s)?

I don't know what it is. Thoughts?
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post #25 of 35
1/8/13 at 2:54am
Tar, if it's in a frag it jumps out and headbutt's me. Not my favorite note at all.
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post #26 of 35
1/8/13 at 7:19am
benzoin + vanilla really attacks me with ultra sweetness and I am allergic to it.

Some of the new synthetic musks cause my sinus to close up. Its an immediate reaction and I know when to withdraw from them but I don't which they are. I don't think they use chemical names of these things when they are disclosed as a note - it will say "musk" and if it is vey new - look out. White musks and animalic musks - no problem. The new synthetic sueded soft fuzzy musks just close me up totally.
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post #27 of 35
1/8/13 at 8:08am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by insomniac View Post

I've sampled a fragrance and one particular note comes to the top, front-and-center above all others.

Occasionally I've sampled a series of fragrances and that very same note comes to the top. It's like my nose has hyperfocus on a particular note, and if it detects it in any decent quantity, it will focus on that note to the detriment of the complexity of the scent.

For me that note is lavender.

Pen's Blenheim Bouquet? Smells like lavender.
GFT Wild Fern? Smells like lavender.
Arden Sandalwood? Smells like lavender.

I hear you and feel your pain OP!! I have the same issue with lavender. I really like it, don't get me wrong, but in strong doses particularly and in other cosmetics or products with fragrance (e.g. shaving soap) I am unable to tolerate it. Makes me sneeze these days which I think could be a sign of hay fever. It's only with a certain type though so I am not too concerned. A few summers ago the lavender in a certain part of my city, I became quite sensitive to the flowers and grass (yet it's never happened anywhere else in the UK to me!).
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post #28 of 35
1/8/13 at 8:11am
Honey is always the first note I smell in a perfume that contains it eg ambre narguile
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post #29 of 35
1/8/13 at 8:24am
Immortelle. Unless used with a very light hand, it dominates and drowns out all the other notes.
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post #30 of 35
1/8/13 at 9:45am
I can't usually tolerate oud, civet, or cumin.
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post #31 of 35
1/8/13 at 10:07am
Whatever the main note and bond number nine fragrances is.
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post #32 of 35
1/8/13 at 10:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaNielsen View Post

keep calones and aldehydes AWAY

ah yes i had forgotten aldehydes. unless they're just barely there, can't do it
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post #33 of 35
1/8/13 at 10:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyBars View Post

ah yes i had forgotten aldehydes. unless they're just barely there, can't do it

Same here.
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post #34 of 35
1/8/13 at 3:53pm
incense
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post #35 of 35
1/8/13 at 4:01pm
Mint.

No me gusta
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › Is there any note that you are particularly sensitive to?