Brands you avoid for reasons other than product or price?

[SirWill]

Hello,

This may sound odd, but here goes. I have noticed in various threads that several people are against various brands for reasons other than dislike of a product or the price.

I have a similar story. No matter what, I will never buy a product from Ed Hardy or Christian Audigier. Even if it were $1 with a $5 rebate. Even if they were to come out with a fragrance so great that it would make the house of Creed close up shop and Frederic Malle to weep and retire as he felt he could not do better. Even if they made the elusive "panty dropper" fragrance that everyone here is after, the one that makes your crush chase you down, tie you up, and have their way with you for a week. Won't buy it.

The reason? The awful clothing that brand puts out. My god those shirts are hideous. A few years ago my girlfriend and I were in Las Vegas and I came up with a game where we would hit each other every time we saw an Ed Hardy shirt as long as we called it. Think of the "slug bug" game, but for tacky shirts instead of Volkswagens and you get the idea. It became quite brutal. A year later we went back and suspended the game as it was too much.

As a result of my hatred for their clothing, the item that put them on the map, I won't let one bottle of this enter my house. I have reviewed a bottle of one of them on here, I tried it on in a store as a gag. But they won't be getting any of my money.

Do you have an irrational hatred for a brand? Hate Creed for their marketing? Hate Tom Ford for his advertising? Hate Marc Jacobs because the Bang bottle keeps falling over? If so post here, consider it a support group.

[Jazznpool]

Great post! At this point I'm generally not interested in any celebrity fragrances. To a slightly lesser extent I'm not interested in complete designer fragrances. As I venture into niche fragrance when I try a few offerings from a house and find them not to my liking, I am not so enthusiastic about trying other offerings from that house. I just had that experience with Malle's Musc Ravaguer and Vetiver Extraordinaire. The fragrance arena is so vast, I've come to the realization that I'll never smell them all. At this point, I have a very satisfying wardrobe and will be more careful about adding anything. More recently my interest has gravitated toward fragrance houses where their care and concern for fragrance quality is apparent and their pricing structure is not obscene. PdN is a good example. I requested a few Atelier Cologne samples with a recent Luckyscent purchase. I want to sample their entire "absolute" line. The 12-20% strength of their fragrances and their overall approach appeals to me.

Martin

[mrfresh]

Right there with you. I know it's not right, but I too am extremely prejudiced against Ed Hardy and what it represents in my mind. While I love to watch the show Jersey Shore, I am mortified at the thought that by wearing these brands (Affliction included) I will attract the kinds of girls who want a 'juicehead'. I am way too conventional to sport that brand. They make wine now as well, right? Wonder how that is...

[Pollux]

Celeb fragrances, even though the price of Bandera's perfumes is so low that I bought several of them - i hardly wear them, though.

Also, the ones being massively advertised. For example, One Million. Usually they come to be generic perfumes; provided the massive amount of knock-offs available, you smell them everywhere.

[Jack Hunter]

I have been avoiding buying or trying anything from Guerlain after blind buying Guerlain Vetiver and just not liking it due to synthetic plastic notes I kept detecting within it.

[monsieur_sparkle]

Nah, I can overlook the douche factor if the juice is good enough.

[SirWill]

I also avoid celeb fragrances, forgot to mention that one. I was actually visiting my parents one time and my Mom had a Paris Hilton frag and I questioned her about it. My Mom has the usual Chanel frags, a few Bond No 9, John Varvatos for women, and now this. She said as long as she liked the smell she did not care.

[Ken_Russell]

So far few fragrance brands have managed to be avoided by me, perhaps with the exception of Parfums Nikos, one of the few fragrance houses which does not impress and inspire me

[trex57]

This is a vary interesting idea for a thread.
Since I've joined basenotes I have avoided all celebrity scents. IMO its just a money grab for them. I've avoided the Ed Hardy line as was mentioned before. The clothes are ugly and belong only in Jersey Shore. They should be banned elsewhere.
I have not tried any Creed because opinions are so divided( & pricey)
The same seems to be the case for Bond #9, a lot of division over quality(although, I love to get a decant of New Haarlem)
As for Tom Ford, I tried a sample of Azure Lime and I stopped right there. What an ugly scent(IMO). He does sound like a pompous ass in interviews which doesnt help at all.
I wont go near Guerlain because there is just too many of them.
Dior and Chanel, I don't have any interest. They seem too dated with no real fresh ideas.

Please bear in mind that I am still a relative newb and have tried to survey niche. There are so many frags out there that I dont want to try old school frags at this time. Well except for Krigler and Czech & Speake of course.

Cheers Rex

[hednic]

Tom Ford
Bond
Amouage
Polo
Aramis
Acqua Di Parma
Bulgari
Dolce & Gabanna

among many others

[Rumblefish]

Victoria's Secret

[calero]

Creed. Enough said.

[Morning Star]

Benetton - just because they´re stealing native lands in Argentina

Several times I was really attracted to try Colors Uomo, but I stood up to it

[TJMAC]

Mugler. I hate A/B*Men, Pure Malt so much it makes it hard to look at the brand. I do wish to pickup Mugler Cologne though. Probably would have already if it was a dfferent company.

[Riddler]

i don't do designer. any.

i don't do celebrity frags.

i don't do Mugler, because he seems like a narcissitic a-hole, and i don't want to smell like a 22-year old guy who just discovered cologne.

i don't do fragrances that smell anything like what is broadly interpreted as "cologne". basically, if it smells like a magazine insert sample, or smells like a guy in a club who thinks he's too cool to breathe, i don't want it. the list for this is looong... One Million, Light Blue, The One, Armani anything, Azzaro, etc, etc, etc.

i don't do Guerlain because he's severely racist.


Montale, Tom Ford, Le Labo, Serge Lutens, Creed, L'Artisan, Frederic Malle... that's more my style.

[BradW]

Mugler. I hate A/B*Men, Pure Malt so much it makes it hard to look at the brand. I do wish to pickup Mugler Cologne though. Probably would have already if it was a dfferent company.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of A*Men myself, but Mugler cologne is not like that at all.

[dnc]

Agree with OP regarding Ed Hardy - awful clothes, awful fragrance packaging, awfully tacky. If the fragrance was great I would maybe look at buying and decanting into a neutral atomiser.

Aside from that, it would be things like 'Ferrari' or 'Manchester United' etc fragrances.

[TJMAC]

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of A*Men myself, but Mugler cologne is not like that at all.

Oh, I completely agree. Its the name engraved in my head. I think its a fine frag.

[Descartes]

.............

[Nasenmann]

None so far but I probably won't ever buy a Clive Christian because it's just too expensive for me - same goes for other brands in that league.

[subie04]

Wow, I didn't realize there was so much disinterest with Designer fragrances.

[PradaG]

I like, I buy. No discrimination...

[blas]

I have been avoiding buying or trying anything from Guerlain after blind buying Guerlain Vetiver and just not liking it due to synthetic plastic notes I kept detecting within it.

i avoid any fragrances with the "vetiver" note..


Armani
Carolina Herrera
Ed Hardy
Celeb frags
Jean Paul Gaultier
Calvin Klein
Lacoste
Issey Miyake

well i dont want designer fragrances, the only designer house that I respect is Yves Saint Laurent.

[Descartes]

.........

[Al Gae]

Bond. Just ridiculous.

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/251...elling-decants

[kurt0]

Sometimes I actually ENJOY these fragrances from these houses...I avoid...
Armani- I do like ADG and recieved a free sample of Diamonds PH and I like that too, but, it screams fake Guido...this brand and the next one. I wear L'eau D'Issey instead now.

Ed Hardy- The clothes...the people...and the weird designs. Same reasoning with Armani, but I'd get an Armani before an Ed hardy.

Lacoste- Bad memories with this one.

Celebrity scents- these remind me of discounters and Walmart.

Because of great customer service, by sending free samples and such, I really want to get a Mugler scent! As for high end scents...Like Bonds/Creeds...I'm not going to get a bottle anytime soon, but I'll get sample vials if I do enough research and it's up my alley.

[MrFragranceReview]

Celebrity scents and any brands that seem to put out a fragrance just to make a buck using their brand name regardless how crappy the scent is such as Ferrari, Everlast and etc.

[Dorje123]

i don't do fragrances that smell anything like what is broadly interpreted as "cologne". basically, if it smells like a magazine insert sample, or smells like a guy in a club who thinks he's too cool to breathe, i don't want it. the list for this is looong... One Million, Light Blue, The One, Armani anything, Azzaro, etc, etc, etc.

I agree, until I recently found frags that do not scream "cologne!" I wasn't interested. For me, the "cologne" smell doesn't provoke a positive association... especially if it is overapplied, which is unfortunately all too common.

[StylinLA]

Yeah, I avoid the celeb frags. While some of them are probably quite well crafted and not too bad as scents, I just wouldn't want to associate myself with many of the celebs involved. If someone were to ask what I was wearing, it feels wrong for me to somehow seem to associate myself with many of them by virtue of wearing "their" scent.

Unforgiveable is probably a fine scent. And I have no dislike or disdain for Sean Jean. But I just don't want to feel some "fan boy" of anyone by wearing their scent.

edit: I will have to buy Charlie Sheen's new scent though.

[david]

I have been avoiding buying or trying anything from Guerlain after blind buying Guerlain Vetiver and just not liking it due to synthetic plastic notes I kept detecting within it.

It´s a shame you did not boycott this firm for other, much more important reasons. > Jean-Paul Guerlain´s outrageous racist remarks. Quote, " I worked like a nigger to create this perfume - although, I doubt a nigger could ever work THAT hard. " This comment was extremely vicious and definitely not excusable, despite pathetic american basenoters excuses. They should grow up and get a life.........Jean-Paul Guerlain as well.

[Addict]

Great post! At this point I'm generally not interested in any celebrity fragrances. To a slightly lesser extent I'm not interested in complete designer fragrances. As I venture into niche fragrance when I try a few offerings from a house and find them not to my liking, I am not so enthusiastic about trying other offerings from that house. I just had that experience with Malle's Musc Ravaguer and Vetiver Extraordinaire. The fragrance arena is so vast, I've come to the realization that I'll never smell them all. At this point, I have a very satisfying wardrobe and will be more careful about adding anything. More recently my interest has gravitated toward fragrance houses where their care and concern for fragrance quality is apparent and their pricing structure is not obscene. PdN is a good example. I requested a few Atelier Cologne samples with a recent Luckyscent purchase. I want to sample their entire "absolute" line. The 12-20% strength of their fragrances and their overall approach appeals to me.

Martin

Thanks, Martin, this is a line I did not explore yet, at all.

[SirWill]

It´s a shame you did not boycott this firm for other, much more important reasons. > Jean-Paul Guerlain´s outrageous racist remarks. Quote, " I worked like a nigger to create this perfume - although, I doubt a nigger could ever work THAT hard. " This comment was extremely vicious and definitely not excusable, despite pathetic american basenoters excuses. They should grow up and get a life.........Jean-Paul Guerlain as well.

Thanks for bringing this up. I am anxious to see how Dior is treated in the future for obvious reasons. I saw that clip with Guerlain and could not believe he could be so narrow minded and stupid, especially to say such things on a televised interview.

[monsieur_sparkle]

It´s a shame you did not boycott this firm for other, much more important reasons. > Jean-Paul Guerlain´s outrageous racist remarks. Quote, " I worked like a nigger to create this perfume - although, I doubt a nigger could ever work THAT hard. " This comment was extremely vicious and definitely not excusable, despite pathetic american basenoters excuses. They should grow up and get a life.........Jean-Paul Guerlain as well.

Not this shit again. Pathetic american basenoters need to grow up and get a life, huh? Y'know, I can't help but feel that outrageous racist remarks like this are extremely vicious and definitely not excusable.

[Primrose]

I agree with Al Gae.

I will not buy anything by Bond No. 9 because of what they have done to a small, private perfume maker like Liz Zorn of Siovohle, and to The Perfumed Court, a small seller of decants and samples.

Bond sued Liz Zorn for using the name "peace" in a fragrance. How silly is that?

Also, TPC sells samples, which, in turn, might generate sales of full Bond No. 9 scents. Do we see Guerlain going after TPC for selling decants?

SO--no Bond No. 9 for me. Ever.

@StylinLA: Yes, I will sample Charlie Sheen's scent--just so I can say I tried it!

[peppercorn]

It´s a shame you did not boycott this firm for other, much more important reasons. > Jean-Paul Guerlain´s outrageous racist remarks. Quote, " I worked like a nigger to create this perfume - although, I doubt a nigger could ever work THAT hard. " This comment was extremely vicious and definitely not excusable, despite pathetic american basenoters excuses. They should grow up and get a life.........Jean-Paul Guerlain as well.

thank you so much for enlightening me: i had NO idea (i am a total neophyte here) that the man was a racist. i had always respected the Guerlain house: no more.

[WildThingy]

Great post! At this point I'm generally not interested in any celebrity fragrances.

Bang is by Coty U.S., who also host the Adidas line. That doesn't mean they are mediocre or less in quality. But, as it comes especially to celebrities, I would never ever use a Creed offer.

Two reasons:
1) If their marketing ploy regarding royalties and scientists and other well know persons in history is wrong, I could not stand to be identified with that foolish attitude to look back. Trying to borrow some kind of personality from those buried celebs is far below my level. I don't need such foul assitance to be self assured.
2) I don't need to show off with a high price tag.
3) If their marketing ploy is true, and they served kings and queens and they are still proud og it - even worse! Kings and queens and such have been considered tyrants and have been rightfully told to jump in the lake, when mankind developed brains! The Frensh have been more consequential regarding that topic, and, man - how could anybody with a mind deny that!

There is too much about that autocratic (sic!) "master perfumers" that really is a let down and run for your life (style) ...

[WildThingy]

It´s a shame ... Quote, " I worked like a nigger to create this perfume - although, I doubt a nigger could ever work THAT hard. "

I have to applogize - this is really bad. But it isn't the style and concept of the Guerlian firm, is it? On the other hand You have still dayly racism in the US. People live IN it, the paygrade, the jobs, death panalty, the whole system - irregardless Obama, Tiger Woods and other sole exceptions.

[mrclmind]

A lot of incredible artists and composers might be considered awful people on many levels in their personal lives (racists, misogynists, sexists, homophobes, nationalists, etc., etc., etc.) but I am capable of separating my appreciation and love of their work from their personal character defects. I'm far from perfect myself, and if all aspects of my life were made insignificant because of my own personality flaws, or based on stupid things that I have said or done in my past, I'd be very sad.

I don't condone what JP Guerlain said at all. I think that trying to excuse it is folly. However, I'm not about to pretend that the comment he made suddenly negates all his contributions to perfumery. I'm glad that I don't paint my world in such broad strokes as that. My Grandmother said many things that would be considered extremely racist by people of my generation, and she probably should have known better. But she never considered herself a racist, and she was an amazing mother, grandmother and expert seamstress. One thing didn't negate the others. The grandmother of my best friend of 20 years referred to me as "That White Boy you Hang out with" when speaking of me to my friend, rather than using my name until the day she died; but I never held it against her. She was still a wonderful person who said some fairly racist things quite often. I don't think this world is really all that (forgive the term) black and white. While I'm not asking for anyone to cut Guerlain any slack for what he said, I'm fascinated that what he said makes his perfumes insignificant and unworthy.

[DustB]

In all honesty I avoid celebrity scents and any manufacturer who I think is just a marketing campaign instead of a perfume house.

But when BNers say Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely is pretty nice, I ache to find them right and thus find an example that makes me rebel against dismissiveness of celeb scents.

Also I like several fantastic scents by Alain Delon.

Sort of back to the question however, I'm also avoid flankers out of principle rather than product or price. I've got some flankers, but in principle I avoid them. I like straight up first scents of a line on principle. Even better is usually the first scent for men made by a house.

(I digress.)

[laph]

I make a conscious decision not to avoid any brands, even those I've had poor experiences with (I'm looking at you Diesel). Why limit yourselves? Even poor fragrances can be educational.

[Marc Anthony]

What started out as an interesting overview as to why people might boycot a brand has turned out to be what could be considered a racist slur on and I quote "..pathetic American basenoters". I'm not an American but still I find the tone of the mail offensive as I would if it was aimed at any culture; Australian, American, British etc. We all know what Guerlain said was unacceptable and stupid but do we need slag off another group to make a point? I don't think so.

[david]

A lot of incredible artists and composers might be considered awful people on many levels in their personal lives (racists, misogynists, sexists, homophobes, nationalists, etc., etc., etc.) but I am capable of separating my appreciation and love of their work from their personal character defects. I'm far from perfect myself, and if all aspects of my life were made insignificant because of my own personality flaws, or based on stupid things that I have said or done in my past, I'd be very sad.

I don't condone what JP Guerlain said at all. I think that trying to excuse it is folly. However, I'm not about to pretend that the comment he made suddenly negates all his contributions to perfumery. I'm glad that I don't paint my world in such broad strokes as that. My Grandmother said many things that would be considered extremely racist by people of my generation, and she probably should have known better. But she never considered herself a racist, and she was an amazing mother, grandmother and expert seamstress. One thing didn't negate the others. The grandmother of my best friend of 20 years referred to me as "That White Boy you Hang out with" when speaking of me to my friend, rather than using my name until the day she died; but I never held it against her. She was still a wonderful person who said some fairly racist things quite often. I don't think this world is really all that (forgive the term) black and white. While I'm not asking for anyone to cut Guerlain any slack for what he said, I'm fascinated that what he said makes his perfumes insignificant and unworthy.

Thanks for this post. Of course, I love many Guerlain perfumes, and I do not let M. Guerlain´s comments get in the way of that.
I just feel I have the right to call someone an extreme racist, if he or she makes such remarks. It´s called free speech, something us brits do not have a problem with.

[david]

What started out as an interesting overview as to why people might boycot a brand has turned out to be what could be considered a racist slur on and I quote "..pathetic American basenoters". I'm not an American but still I find the tone of the mail offensive as I would if it was aimed at any culture; Australian, American, British etc. We all know what Guerlain said was unacceptable and stupid but do we need slag off another group to make a point? I don't think so.

I do apologise to all Americans, my comment was certainly not intended that way. It was meant in the context ; "despite pathetic excuses from American basenoters" It was not intended as calling all American basenoters pathetic, and if you read the text you will see it was not so intended. Some posts have twisted the context of that sentence around.

[Desmond Hume]

I'd never wear GREED

[mrclmind]

Thanks for this post. Of course, I love many Guerlain perfumes, and I do not let M. Guerlain´s comments get in the way of that.
I just feel I have the right to call someone an extreme racist, if he or she makes such remarks. It´s called free speech, something us brits do not have a problem with.

I agree, I was actually responding to the post that said they would never buy Guerlain once they read your post. I think that might be a bit excessive because of one racist comment made by JPG. However, I am not making excuses for his comment. FWIW, I never took your other comment as an insult to all Americans; although to be fair, not only American Basenoters gave excuses to defend JPG; and many American Basenoters called him out on it, so that wasn't really a fair statement IMO.

What started out as an interesting overview as to why people might boycot a brand has turned out to be what could be considered a racist slur on and I quote "..pathetic American basenoters".

I don't think he meant it as an insult to all us Americans. BTW, that wouldn't be a "potentially racist" comment, but a potentially "Nationalist" comment. Americans consist of all races.

[neo_angel]

tommy hilfigher
Bcus of all the Bullshit he talked aBout Black and latin people

[Trebor]

i don't do designer. any.

i don't do celebrity frags.

i don't do Mugler, because he seems like a narcissitic a-hole, and i don't want to smell like a 22-year old guy who just discovered cologne.

i don't do fragrances that smell anything like what is broadly interpreted as "cologne". basically, if it smells like a magazine insert sample, or smells like a guy in a club who thinks he's too cool to breathe, i don't want it. the list for this is looong... One Million, Light Blue, The One, Armani anything, Azzaro, etc, etc, etc.

+1

With regards to JP Guerlain, I'm beginning to think this was a deliberate and spiteful attempt to stain LVMH's name, if the recent Guerlain launches and repackages are anything to go by. Surely JP Guerlain must have known about such developments well before retiring (and he probably wasn't very happy about it either).

[Grottola]

Once again, just because Jean Paul Guerlain said the "n-word" doesn't mean he is a racist. It doesn't make the perfumes hateful or bigoted either.

Coco Chanel had ties with the Nazis. But guess what? I only care about the fragrances. Just because I'm putting this point across doesn't make ME racist; I have nothing against people of a different skin color - in fact, I don't care what color you are, you're a human being nonetheless.

[CanwllCorfe]

Not really. I tend to avoid celebrity scents, but mainly just because I know they're boring and not worth the time or effort. Along with brands like Armani and Lacoste who I just can't imagine them making anything that great.

[kpointer101]

It´s called free speech, something us brits do not have a problem with.

If that is true, why is there an American talk radio show host banned from entering Britain because of "hate speech?"

[SirWill]

If that is true, why is there an American talk radio show host banned from entering Britain because of "hate speech?"

England banned Fred Phelps as well. I wish we could do that in the states.

[jmcgonigal]

I don't really see a need to not give a fragrance a chance just because of it's brand or original. It's all about how things smell isn't it? Who cares if it's popular, designer, niche, or whatever the case may be. I don't want to limit myself from what could be the greatest fragrance, just because of a name. That' just my view though and respect those who decide to limit themselves based on whatever reason(s) they have.

[kpointer101]

England banned Fred Phelps as well. I wish we could do that in the states.

I wonder who we would ban?

[strifeknot]

A lot of incredible artists and composers might be considered awful people on many levels in their personal lives (racists, misogynists, sexists, homophobes, nationalists, etc., etc., etc.) but I am capable of separating my appreciation and love of their work from their personal character defects. I'm far from perfect myself, and if all aspects of my life were made insignificant because of my own personality flaws, or based on stupid things that I have said or done in my past, I'd be very sad.

I don't condone what JP Guerlain said at all. I think that trying to excuse it is folly. However, I'm not about to pretend that the comment he made suddenly negates all his contributions to perfumery. I'm glad that I don't paint my world in such broad strokes as that. My Grandmother said many things that would be considered extremely racist by people of my generation, and she probably should have known better. But she never considered herself a racist, and she was an amazing mother, grandmother and expert seamstress. One thing didn't negate the others. The grandmother of my best friend of 20 years referred to me as "That White Boy you Hang out with" when speaking of me to my friend, rather than using my name until the day she died; but I never held it against her. She was still a wonderful person who said some fairly racist things quite often. I don't think this world is really all that (forgive the term) black and white. While I'm not asking for anyone to cut Guerlain any slack for what he said, I'm fascinated that what he said makes his perfumes insignificant and unworthy.

This is an outstanding, level-headed view. Many artists I love seem to be cretins in certain respects. This doesn't negate the quality of their art in any way.

[DavidBond007]

I'd never wear GREED

Greed is good, greed is right, greed works. Gordon Gekko says so.

[shadesofbleu]

Come on guys ... Posting "hot topics" is against Forum rule 2.8. This is a controversy has been discussed repeatedly with several threads on the subject closed.

Please refrain from comments made only to stir up controversy.

[Surfacing]

Anything from Gwen Stefani or Avril Lavigne. That doesn't mean I don't give celeb scents a chance. If Keanu Reeves came out with a fragrance, I would go for a bottle

[G.303]

I never plan on purchasing any celeb scents.....I'm with You on the Ed Hardy fragrances also!!!
Gary

[Al Gae]

If Keanu Reeves came out with a fragrance, I would go for a bottle

Coty and Mr. Reeves are proud to present their new futuristic aquatic fragrance. "Whoa" hits shelves this spring!

j/k...

[monsieur_sparkle]

If Ethan Hawke came out with a fragrance I would probably buy it.