Hey guys! So I was just thinking about which notes I stay away from and I realized there are two different genres- notes I think generally smell bad and ones that make my body angry. For example, I think strong violet notes are unpleasant to smell for hours at a time but strong dairy notes turn my stomach. Immediate scrubber. My lizard brain thinks there must be rotting food nearby. Or it can be a collection of notes combined together. There’s a common-ish blend of notes including rose and patchouli that without fail give me a piercing headache. I’ve tried 10 different fragrances in this genre because I want to love it but it gives me pain so I’ve had to give up. What about you? Things you wish you could love but your body says NO in no uncertain terms?
Gawd I wish my body was
Same! I was reading the comments thinking, is there something wrong with my nose, is it not refined enough? 😂😂 because nothing gives me a headache or nausea. I also dislike certain perfumes, but nothing makes me literally gag
I think too much tonka makes me nauseous but I’m still not sure tbh.
It's the same for me; lovely in small doses but if the tonka is more prominent, I do feel a tad ill.
Personally ive just smelled tonka bean on too many places in a row im so tired of it where if its big enough for me to detect it the perfume is an instant no
Certain Iris notes, can’t do coconut or licorice either.
Ooooh…licorice is rough. I’ve only had the experience with one fragrance—Penhaligon’s Legacy of Petra. They did it well, but that’s a hard pass for me.
It’s the only reason I won’t try Dior Sauvage Elixir. I seen it has a licorice note so I can’t bring myself to even test it 🤣
Indolic white florals (except orange blossom which I love!) especially tuberose and Jasmine, as well as strong leather or animalic notes like civet 😭 been trying to train my nose to appreciate them but I just can’t do it
Right there with you. Anything indolic at all. Ranges from smelling like baby diaper to straight up 💩 to me.
Same. I can’t stand freesia or gardenia and especially jasmine. Or honeysuckle 🤮.
Same!
Leather, usually when done in a smokey or dirty way
Same, I’ve never smelled a scent that had leather in it that I felt better than “eh” about. Most of them just smell gross to me
This is me too, I got a sample of hundred silent ways and loved as I am trying to find a vanilla that I like.. until an hour or so later could only smell leather which is not a fave.
Leather smells like vomit to me. I once asked someone if they were wearing ombré leather and they said “yeah, smells fresh huh?” And they pulled a bottle out their backpack and proceeded to spray some on me. I fucking HATE ombre leather.
Same. Some perfumes smell less like a leather purse, and more like the whole cow.
Sometimes I get a band-aid smell from leathery fragrances. To my nose they're either too dirty or too plasticy.
The other day while exploring the Vestiaire des Parfums collection by YSL, I sniffed Cuir and was nearly knocked off my feet. I had to take a lap around the department store floor before continuing my experience. 😂 Wretched for me.
Lavender feels like a cheese grater, just scraping my mind
This made me laugh waaaaay harder than it have.
The fact, not the resultant injury.
Tuberose - I actually think the smell is quite pretty objectively, but I have yet to find a perfume with a prominent tuberose note that didn’t trigger a nasty headache.
Years ago, I revisited a 1990's scent, did you know "Sand and Sable" is basically straight tuber rose?
Did you ever try Diptyque Do Son EdP/EdT? That's one of the lightest, prettiest tuberoses I've encountered, and therefore a great option for tuberose-sceptics.
I haven’t tried it, but I’ll definitely give it a sniff in store the next time I’m in there! Maybe I’ll get lucky and actually be able to wear it - it’s a real dilemma actually liking a note that hurts me.
I used to be the same way with tuberose until I tried Durga.
Aquatics 🤢
A lot of aquatics have an overload of calone, makes it smell rotten and sour
It's too bad because I love marine fragrances, but yeah - actual aquatics do not make my nose happy.
Tysm for pointing this out. I never realized there was a difference between the two
Yeah, if you can think of like... Heely Sel Marin vs. Zoologist Seahorse, that's basically the difference.
Same! I keep trying samples with water notes and I just cannot. I can’t even describe what happens in my nose other than a burning sensation every damn time.
yeah same, aquatic/'fresh laundry' notes give me a headache and sore throat/tongue/nose. I had to stop using a shampoo my scalp really liked because of the aqueous "clean cotton" scent :/
Yep, so many fragrances with aquatic notes just get funky on my skin. Fine in the bottle and on paper, sometimes even on other people. Other people have said they don't smell the sour mankiness that I smell on my skin, so it's probably my nose just as much as my skin.
I hated MAC turquatic so much
Agreed. Aquatics and Calone are extremely intrusive for the people around.
Blood and motor oil in some more experimental fragrances put me into fight or flight mode
I feel like you must work in an ER
Which fragrance has those notes? Lol
Oh wait i have heard about blood on secretions magnifique im curious but i haven’t tried it yet
My sample of Secretions Magnifique almost made me throw up! I'm not joking! It was awful, like rotten seaweed. And it has crazy staying power, even after scrubbing my skin 5 times in the shower, I couldn't get the scent out completely.
That’s what im afraid of i literally heard that all the time but i know curiosity will get the best of me at one point lol
I absolutely love it - it smells like a fresh sea breeze on me. I guess a lot depends on body chemistry. I can't wear jasmine perfumes tough - always smellls like pee on me.
Really? You first i heard that it smells good on someone , interesting how skin chemistry works
“Blood and Motor Oil” is the name of my RUSH cover band
;)
Salt. All I smell is freaking blood
Interesting
Whiskey. It makes me queasy.
Better for drinking than fragrance
A history of drinking it and… reverse drinking it is why it now makes me queasy.
Whatever Tom Ford uses in his base.
I’ve worn perfumes daily for decades, and I have never, ever developed a sensitivity to anything—except mid-way through a bottle of Tobacco Vanille, I discovered I started developing migraines upon putting it on. And then I discovered this happens with almost all of Tom Ford’s fragrances.
I’m still very sad about it.
That is tragic!
Tonka bean. It’s almost laughable how overused it is in all of his fragrances. So generic and predictable.
Something too powdery or too yellow floral. I get nauseous and feel like I cannot breathe.
Yellow floral is so disgusting. Think Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers. The most vile creation.
Blackcurrant/cassis - it smells like pee, specifically cat pee. Makes me gag like a cat about to vomit lol
SAME. I'm glad it's not just me. Vilhelm Parfumerie Room Service is one of the worst culprits and just makes me want to vom.
Rose 😵💫
I thought that until I smelled Santal noir, the way it works with the ambrette and sandalwood is incredible
Also rose. It’s just disgusting.
Jasmine or “white flowers” smells like pee on me!
Me too 😭😭
That is tough jasmine or neroli smell great on me but im a guy
I end up with a lot of rose
Rose i dont like it smells too feminine on me and actually over powers everything so i try to avoid it
Lucky for me it does good with my chemistry and I’m a female, I have all sorts of rose, spicy, sweet, dark, jammy. It seems like Jasmine is in everything, sometimes if it’s a very minor note I can get away with it. Immortelle works really well for me too.
That’s really nice sometimes notes can vary depending on how much they use sometimes is more subtle and it’s okay
Oof thought I was the only one with the ammonia/pee response. Oakcha has a dupe of Jo Malone nectarine blossom and honey, smells just like pee to me but everyone else who smelt it loved it.
If grapefruit is a top note, I can’t do it. I wanted to love Remarkable People by ELDO because I loved everything else in it, but that grapefruit kept making my stomach flip.
That might be the issue for me too, especially in the drydown. And you’d think a citrus top note wouldn’t hang around that long!
It’s so disappointing to me that I don’t love it, because that champagne note is lovely and the opening is genuinely somehow fizzy, which I’ve never gotten from a scent before. I would love it if that grapefruit wasn’t so THERE.
Exactly! The champagne note is amazing and very realistic but it only lasted like 5 minutes for me, then it’s just vaguely woody + rancid grapefruit
Same!
Almond, lactonic/milky stuff, and any fruit that isn't citrus.
Almond gets me too. Starts with a headache and if I don’t scrub soon enough, leads to nausea
Can’t do any milk, it’s all sour 🤢
Oud, which is heartbreaking for me, because I’ve heard rave reviews about so many oud scents 😭
Do different perfumers make their ouds with different ingredients, or are they all generally the same?
Most fragrances with a note of oud are probably using synthetic substitutes, as real oud is extremely expensive. Depends on what kind of oud they're using, how they balance it, what other notes they blend it with...some oud smells lovely to me and adds a real depth to its fragrance, sometimes it just downright stinks
Jo Malone has a lovely Oud
tobbaco, hate it in jazz club and the tomford colognes
strong tuberose note makes me nauseous, especially when paired with fruity or gourmand notes.
Fruity notes are awful.
Incense :( so many interesting scents are off the table for me. It totally dominates on my skin so I can’t smell any other notes at all, and it gives me an insane migraine.
Meanwhile I burn nag champa in my house every day with no issue.
What scents have you found that smell strongly of incense? I have Tom Fore Soleil De Feu, it doesn’t have incense directly as a note but the combination smells like a very light nag champa to me with nice piney notes, I actually pair it was a nag champa lotion lol. Incense is one of my favorite smells but I haven’t found a great scent for it.
That actually sounds really nice, I might give it a shot. Two that stick out to me are Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle and Ecstasy by Tiziana Terenzi. I blind bought decants of both but will be giving them away. Nice scents, just not on me - I just end up smelling like a burning church or something. Now before I blind buy anything I look up the notes to verify there isn’t any incense. Although I really, really love Delina Exclusif and apparently there is incense in it, but luckily it does not show up on my skin at all!
Any pepper or incense I hate the smells so much
Fig makes me gag too 😕
I agree with everything. Pepper gets me. I was gifted a bottle of glossier you and it's my worst nightmare. Smells like I just opened a new container of pepper and it flew in my face.
Yes! I smelled it in store and I hateddd it so much not at all what I expected from it
Any kind berries, but especially raspberry. Gives me such a bad headache and makes me feel sick. I love raspberries but in perfume form I've never been able to handle it.
Yuck as soon as I see berries in the ingredient list ....bye ghurl
Ambrette
I do not like it here or there. I do not like it anywhere
You do not like ambertte ham?
Very prominent notes of the following:
Cumin (The main offender. Often smells like sweat/BO, ruins a lot of Serge Lutens perfumes for me)
Metallic notes (they make me uncomfortable, my lizard brain says "nope")
Oud (= whatever is used to mimic oud in western perfumery smells so incredibly bad to me. I've only tried a handful true oud perfumes, but didn't like those either)
Lactonic notes (very gag-inducing)
Pickle sandalwood and grassy notes ... but I struggle with aroma chemicals more than anything
Is it some sandalwoods that smell like pickle? Because I keep a journal of all the perfumes I test and there's got to be like 4 of them that say "Pickle?" And I just thought it was me being weird.
I think Australian sandalwood is one of the biggest pickle culprits.
Apple scents (and sometimes other citrus) ! They make my teeth hurt really bad for some reason.
i dislike citrus too haha
Menthol. It makes me feel so sick.
Clean cotton / fresh linen assaults my nose and has an insect repellent smell
Ugh, yes! I feel like I've sat in a hot tub full of laundry detergent. It seems to turn into a pigpen dust-up that won't go away if I'm in the same room with someone wearing those notes.
Very sad to say — sandalwood. I actually like the scent, but within a few minutes of wearing, I feel nausea. I have a barely used bottle of Maison Louis Marie Bois de Balincourt and it makes me sad to look at.
A close second would be whatever is in Dune — I think it might be the orange peel. Not too sure.
Camphor 🤢 it ruins carnal flower for me
Oh also, the “gunmetal” note in flowebomb. I canNOT with that one
I don’t know what it is with my chemistry, but lots of fragrances with a pine/resin note turn into a weird bubblegum thing once they’ve dried down on me. It’s gotten to the point where if I try something on and I smell Bazooka Joe, 9/10 times there’s a pine note somewhere in there.
Recent culprits: Heretic Dirty Lemon, Olympic Orchids Olympic Rainforest, and Zoologist Squid.
Melon notes
i love melon notes but its all synthetic and it hink thats the problem . theres no natural melon scent
Rose and strong leather
Patchouli makes me want to vomit
Patchouli = no.
Rose and patchouli.
Most spicy notes like cinnamon, ginger, pink pepper, coriander etc. I love saffron though. I also detest loud excessive floral notes. Not a fan of tuberose either. Patchouli if done strongly. Anything citrusy, aquatic or aldehyde. It smells like clorox on me.
The only thing I can wear are sweet gourmands with some mild florals or woodsy notes.
We have opposite body chemistry lol. Sweet gourmands are my nemesis, particularly vanilla and saffron notes. Spicy scents smell amazing on me.
Rose: cat pee Nutmeg: yeasty bread Licorice: like ouzo in a diffuser Gardenia: pee yet again, human this time Cardamom and loads of other spices: BO
Bodies and skin chemistries are weird
Ouzo in a diffuser sounds wonderful, but I'm a licorice apologizer till the day I die
Penhaligon’s Legacy of Petra—heavy licorice
Honey and white florals (minus orange blossom). Vetiver also isn't the greatest on me
lavender. i just blind bought burberry goddess thinking it would be vanilla forward but its mostly lavender, which just smells really sour and sharp on me
I used to hate lavender too but Mon Guerlain Intense changed my mind. I still only like it in certain ways though, it needs to have something to sweeten it up or I find it too harsh.
Something in Tommy girl and ck1 turns like rancid butter on my chemistry. Oud is also a no, sadly.
I’ve loved CK1 from the first day we met. It’s part of me. I would die for that fragrance. It’s amazing how different scents hit individuals. Truly trash / treasure
CK1 is putrid
I have a huge problem with musks going dirty, patchouli (I think) smelling like a hamster cage, and whatever is in the base of Montal Roses Vanille, L'Interdit by Givenchy and allllll the flankers….smells good for 10 minutes then yucky pee pee, the other one is Orchidee Vanille Van Cleef & Arpels the base is super gross on me. I wish I could figure out what in those smells like yucky 🤮 pee gross musk….any suggestions would be so appreciated as I am trying to figure this out.
Fragrances I wear well: La vie est belle and the Soleil Philosophy Pure Grace D & G L'Imperatrice Ralph Lauren Woman Jimmy Choo I want choo and the intense La Vie Est Belle Soleil Crystal Nemat Vanilla Musk Donna born in Roma intense Chloe Love Story Eau Sensuelle Clinique Happy Gucci Bloom Jimmy Choo Blossoms Mancera Velvet Vanilla Alien Goddess
If anyone can help me I would be so grateful as I am having a really hard time finding new scents…. 😞
If you like Gucci bloom, you may like jour d’hermes (if you like gardenia)
Oud, cinnamon, incense - headache, vanilla, caramel, or anything too sweet - nausea
We have the exact opposite tastes in perfume coz those all sound gorgeous to me 😅 I'd have all of those notes in one perfume
For me I’ve noticed Turkish rose (any rose but this is rlly bad for me), powdery notes, amber, patchouli, lavender, pink pepper, dark liquor, grass, cotton candy, marshmallow, and anything too synthetic. I also think iris is bothering me. I loveee jasmine, esp jasmine sambac, but lately I’ve had bad luck with “clean” brands using some kind that immediately turns into a nasty play dough smell. My favorites are gardenia, pear, apple, cloudberry, apricot, brown sugar, vanilla, coconut, and jasmine sambac. Now that I’m sober and nicotine free, scents are sooo much stronger to me than before
gucci oud almost made me puke
Vanilla. I just can't. Need to scrub it off.
Same 😄
Excepting Coty Vanilla Fields - fresh/powdery with no heavy, buttery scent that is 🤮
Ginger notes smell gross on me but there’s something in Sì Pssion by Armani and Azzaro Most Wanted Girl that physically burns my skin.
Whatever is in Ultra Male and Le Beau. I know they're supposed to be different but there's something there that smells exactly the same and I hate both
Sandalwood, rose, lavender, all smell revolting on my skin- like a very cheap and nasty air freshener.
The aquatic notes in certain fragrances become overpowering on my skin, to the point that's all I can smell.
Vetiver smells so beautiful- but it gets stronger on me as the day goes on, and can be quite overwhelming.
Any animalic note. Also, grapefruit turns into armpit sweat BO if I wear it anywhere other than my wrist. Only grapefruit, not yuzu or other citrus.
There’s something in BBW’s Rainkissed Leaves or something — it hits my respiratory system and makes me cough like crazy! Nothing else does that unless maybe I’m cooking with tons of chilis
For some reason my existence does not agree with jasmine. I'll smell these beautiful delicate floral perfumes with jasmine notes. But as soon as I spray them on my skin they're a sticky syrupy heavy nightmare. Sometimes it's straight up "what smells like pancakes" syrup smell (actually heard someone say that when I walked by wearing a jasmine perfume that has smelled lovely on the tester card). Sometimes it's a super heavy sticky old lady smell.
It's so annoying because I love the smell of jasmine. But it just absolutely does not mesh well with me as a person apparently.
And on the topic of dairy scents I spritzed Milk by Ellis Brooklyn on myself assuming I'd love it because I love sweet smells and love Ellis Brooklyn. Only to recoil so physically at the smell the Sephora employee nearby laughed at the reaction
Red currant. It makes me nauseous.
Edit: Also any sort of milk/lactonic note. I just hate milk in general
Patchouli
Ever since i had covid my sense of smell completely changed. I just got into fragrance right before that but a lot of fragrances i own smell different now. Especially cashmeran and ginger make me want to gag.
Rose. I can absolutely handle it being one of many notes but as a rose perfume...ohh no.
Then I think that I have trouble with ethyl maltol. I'm one of those who can't stand BR540. It's horrendous and smells like someone burning rubber gloves at a dentist office. Ethyl maltol is supposed to give sweetness combined with a slight burning scent, like marshmallow over fire. I smell NO sweetness. This actually explains why I was confused about people talking about Angel as a sweet gourmand. It's not sweet at all in my nose, mostly just spicy and a little bit awkward.
I love to eat liquorice. I'm Swedish and actually eat a lot, especially salty liquorice but don't put it in my perfume! Even worse if it's combined with a minty note.
Something in Light Blue. It makes me feel like a can’t breathe when I wear it.
I’m like that with the Light Blue Eau Intense
I could never understand why it’s so loved. It sounds amazing but I think it smells awful
God this is a foul scent. The minute somebody describes it as nice and fresh I realize they are a total peasant
So far any iris based men’s fragrance that gives it that makeup/lipstick smell has definitely not been for me.
hay, honey, and iris
Cinnamon
I just got the YSL BabyCat dupe from Montage ‘Bobcat’ yesterday. I heard so many great things about it on this sub so I couldn’t wait to try it out. One spritz and I gagged and almost threw up. It literally smelled like incense from a Catholic church. I never reacted so strongly to a fragrance before. I need to look at the ingredients again but the incense was just yuck.
"Bobcat", snort
I know! lol.
Oh man I got a sample of Eau the Audacity from Penhaligon’s the other day (it’s another babycat copycat) and it was terrible on me. For me it was the vanilla note, it just smelled like crappy vanilla extract on me.
Soapy aldehydes, bergamot. Instant screeching headache.
Jasmine. Unfailingly smells so sharp it makes me wrinkle my nose and sneeze.
lemon & bergamot for me, they smell like bathroom cleaner!
Lavender. My body is anti lavender. I've been tested multiple times and I'm definitely not allergic. However lavender just immediately gives me a headache
Cumin smells like sweat on my skin
Le labo santal 33 is awful to me
lavender fragrances make me feel very sleepy as i used to put lavender essential oil on my pillow to help me fall asleep hahaha
Any iris, orris notes make me nauseous for some reason. Most other notes and accords I can handle.
whatever is in Ombré Leather, Sauvage, Instant Crush, Erba Pura and other extremely artificial scents
they either have this specific white musk chemical or the ambroxan that makes me ill, i’ve had to move away from people on the subway or elevator due to it lol…
Rose and jasmine both disgust me.
Probably gonna get daggers for this, but whatever is so strong in GIT and its clones. Tres Nuit in particular made me gag, while GIT I just find unpleasant as said note isn't as strong. I don't even know what note it is, but one of them turns my stomach.
Sandalwood and musk 😭 repulsive
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!! ;-(
I TRIED
Jasmin, unfortunately
Water notes, cantaloupe, violet
Elemi - a screechy note that smells like a sweet chemical burn. The only one that makes me irrationally angry in a rush to scrub it off.
Vetiver. If I see it listed in the notes, it's a no. I hate it.
The cucumber note stabs my brain.
Got massive headaches from Nautica Voyage and Kilian Paris Roses On Ice. Both have a very prominent cucumber note.
"stabs my brain"
I wish I came up with that. That's exactly how some perfumes feel.
Strong rosemary make me violent and makes we want to vomit. I’d say super strong roses to
Ambroxenide makes me nauseous. Unfortunately it is in overdoses in all the beast mode fragrances, Xerjoff, Tiziana Terenzi etc. Bleurgh.
Patcouli. Vom 😬
Bergamot makes me nauseous. I want to like it but it just doesn’t sit right with my nose or stomach.
sandalwood and patchouli smell horrible on me! i like them on others but on me they just smell off.
pineapple 🥲
I hate aquatic/salty notes. Most "fresh" scents make me want to run away!
That very common artificial caramel scent. I haven't come across it in perfumes thankfully, but it's in a TON of body care, lip products, candles.... it's completely nauseating to me, I gag every time. I have a new lip gloss that I just bought that I genuinely may have to throw out because it has that scent.
SEA SALT. Instant headache for me.
Tobacco for me. It just makes me feel sick to my stomach. I think it’s because where I grew up was like the tobacco farming capital of the south so the smell was always everywhere in it’s weird sweet-leafy-funky way. It’s ruined for me nonetheless.
I’m on the other side of the fence….when I started my fragrance journey several years ago, I started seeking out that particular tobacco smell. I’m old enough to remember driving around in the summer and having that scent of tobacco leaves drying in the barns wafting in the air……a smell I really miss nowadays.
I have to avoid gardenia - she’s a screaming, raving b**ch on my skin.
Patchouli ☹️
Patchouli is absolutely disgusting
Musk. It just makes me smell like I haven't showered for days and tried to mask the odour with cheap stale perfume.
Cacao and animalic notes such as civet, hyrax, castoreum etc are making me gag
Patchouli 🤢🤢🤢 Instant headache. Agreed on the aquatic scents too… they’re just too strong and trigger headaches for me too. The only perfume that straight up made me nauseous so far was Juliette Has a Gun’s Vanilla Vibes. Not a hint of vanilla and although it didn’t smell terrible, something about it made my stomach turn.
Ambergris smells foul to my nose. Looking at you, Megamare. Aldehydes. White Diamonds physically assaulted me at Sam’s Club yesterday. Tonka Bean smells like play-doh on me.
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I HATE buttery vanilla, (talking to you, Philosophy), musk (high school? Nooo) Gardenia (GAGdenia) and I genially thought W of W had an aldehyde in it that was gonna put me in the hospital. I must have mosquito blood, because citronella gives me instant heaves/headache.
There is no note my body cannot handle. My body is ready.