Did you ever do a 180 on a fragrance?
Did you ever have a change of heart?
Did you ever start out hating something, only to unexpectedly fall hard for it later?
Or the other way around, did you ever fall out of love completely?
Which perfume made you change your mind?
Which perfume made you question your nose and/or judgement?
My Answer:
You wil not believe it – neither did I!
I used to hate By Kilian Back To Black with a passion, I called it a health hazard for diabetics, a hypergycemic disaster, and God knows what else. I even gave away my 8ml mini to lucky blog reader (Hi, E! Still enjoying B2B?). I was sure that Back to Black and I never would cross paths again.
Then in Milan, I am not sure what came over me, I sprayed it on my hand on a whim and that was it. Love!
Back to Black bloomed in its honeyed tobacco glory in the summer heat and was so ravishingly beautiful I would have loved to take a bottle right then and there. I am not that crazy though.
Once back in Vienna, I went straight to Le Parfum, smelled once more and proceeded to buy a travel set with a voucher I still had from my birthday in May.
There you go. I now own a gorgeous travel set of a perfume I used to hate. That’s how it goes. Isn’t that what we all love about perfume? 🙂
I am very curious to hear about your nemesis-turned-lover scents!
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Olfactoria's Travels 
Guerlain Mitsouko. I *hated* it when I first started perfume. It just smelled…awful. I set my sample aside after urging from a much more experienced fumie friends. Two years later I tried it again — instant love!
Mitsouko is often a love/hate perfume, it was similar for me. We need to educate our noses and tastes, it seems, before we can appreciate its beauty and mastery.
No 5 used to a big no-go for me, to me it smelled like soapy dead flowers that had sat in a vase for way to long, now I ‘get’ it.
I’ve done a lot of 180’s the other way round; I used to adore Lolita Lempicka au Masculin but now it just smells like cotton candy, I never wear my Creed scents anymore either, I hate them!
It is very disappointing to hate something, one used to love (especially if there is a big botle in the close involved!), but we grow out of things as well as into them.
For years I was trying “to get” Chanel and it didn’t work for me. Suddenly less than a ayear ago something has changed and I first liked Coco and then, recently, I completely fall in love with Chanel No.19 EdT.
Still can’t so No.5. I acknowledge it’s a great perfume but can’t stand it on my skin.
What about the Exclusifs, do you like those? They are moe catered towards modern tastes, I think, without losing the classic elegance of the house of Chanel.
I go in and out of Chanel phases, sometimes I love them all, at other times I am happy just admiring from afar. 🙂
I do like several Exclusifs but not enough for the FB. At least yet. I own a mini bottle of Beige and a decant of Coromandel. I suspect I will end up buying at least a decant of two more perfumes from the collection (I haven’t had a chance to test them thoroughly on my skin yet but plan to do that soon). But I tried all of them only after my relationships with classic Chanel changed so I can’t tell how I would have reacted a year ago.
There is no parfum out there I’d really hate passionately. There are some I despise (i.e. Angel…). I probably can’t really change my mind, because I just stop sniffing them, when I really didn’t like them.
Here and there I still sniff my B2B sample (just to check whether I could change my mind…) and wonder every time why anbody would pay that amount of money for it… But the agan I like the more masculine approach of vanille/tobacco theme (like in Tom Ford).
If you hadn’t mentioned it yourself, I would have thought that instead of B2B, Tobacco Vanille might be your thing, knowing what I do about your tastes! 🙂
🙂
After purchasing my SL Iris Silver Mist I tried it on a hot day and did not understand what everyone was talking about (apologies to dear SL). In fact I was almost scrubbing my wrist when I ended up doing something else and forgetting about it. The other day it was quite cool in Vienna and I decided to give it another try and ended up loving it- it smells very different on me in the cooler temps. This was my first experience where I changed my mind completely.
Serge Lutens is a multiple offender when it comes to creating polarizing perfumes. I think there are not many I did not love or hate at one point. But in the end, I always come back into the fold… 🙂
Not yet! I got bored with perfumes I thought I would love forever, and sometimes it took me more than once to realize I really liked a perfume, but I never did a 180 — but it’s not even been 3 months since I seriously started sniffing, so I guess it’s not very surprising. I’m keeping all my samples in the hopes that in a few months I might like Shalimar, or heady flowers, or fig. The closest I’ve been was with L’Artisan Nuit de Tubéreuse, that I really liked the first two times I tried it, and then yesterday I tried it on and my first and only reaction was: yuk.
I agree on yuk for Nuit de Tubereuse, most of the time at least. 😉
I’m terrible for not giving perfumes much of a chance if my initial reaction is very negative and your experience with B2B shows that can be a mistake. Much more often I like a perfume and then dislike it, as with Chergui and Daim Blond (I still have hope for the latter though). I think these two can be overwhelming if over-applied. Might try again some time. Still can’t believe you’ve actually bought B2B though!
I find that overapplying any Lutens is a very, very bad idea, the best way to start hating them. 😉 Ha, yes, I bought B2B and I feel no remorse whatsoever, I love it and I love the beautiful travel spray. Totally fallen for the whole line right now, actually. Expect some Kilian reviews in the coming weeks. Thank Goodness I already have that set! 🙂
The first time I smelled Bal a Versailles EdP, I thought “Why would anyone want to smell like this?” I was prepared for the skank, but thought I might not notice it, since I don’t detect a lot of notes others mention. But, wow! Immediately got the image of a lovely, well-powdered lady – sitting in wet Depends. Next time, the skank seemed gentler, and it wound up being one of my comfort-scent-for-bedtime choices. Just got a FB of EdT, and I am now a full-fledged goner. Go figure.
Oh, I cannot shake that image of the powdered lady in wet Depends now!!! I think I’m still at that stage with this perfume, but knowing how it works, I’ll probably go down that way too eventually… 🙂
There have certainly been perfumes that I didn’t fully appreciate right away, but I’m not sure if there has been anything that I outright disliked, then changed my mind on. As I’ve learned to smell, and to better distinguish nuances, I certainly get more enjoyment out of the fragrances I already like: for example, the other day I was wearing Eau Premiere, and for the first time pegged it as a vanilla scent! As I was going through the day I was like, “Wow! Whrere’s all the vanilla coming from?” when previously it was all aldehydes and tender abstract florals. Although, that might have something to do with the weather, and not increased sophistication on my part, lol!
How exciting that you bought the travel set of B2B! I’ve been waffling over that for a while, but now I’m telling myself that after we move, and I get a bigger cabinet, I can go hog wild 😉
The travel set is quite small, I think it’ll fit in your new cabinet. 😉 I’m so happy with that purchase, finally my voucher was put to good use. I have been unable to decide on using it for anything since May, it seems to have been waiting for B2B!
Eau Premiere as a vanilla scent, huh, interesting. Will try to see it through my vanilla tinted glasses next time.
A few years ago I went on a marathon sampling spree in my favorite local fragrance shop. Smelled lots of fragrances, including some of the classic Guerlains. Habit Rouge did not impress me at the time. In fact, I did not like it at all. I sampled it a short time ago just to remember what I didn’t like about it and instantly loved it and bought a bottle.
I remember not liking Heritage either. I think it’s time to revisit that one now.
The great classics are often hard to like for “new” noses. Let me know how Heritage turns out for you after tume has passed. BTW, do you know and/or like Eau d’Hermes?
I will definitely let you know once I sample Heritage again. I have yet to sample Eau d’Hermes, but have heard very good things about it. Do you think I might like it?
If you like or at least don’t mind cumin, you’ll probably like Eau d’Hermes. I am fascinated with it, because it is so different, although I can’t stand the cumin. 😦
I’m making a mental note of that. I haven’t noticed a dislike for cumin before, so we shall see how I like the Hermes. Oakmoss is one of the few notes that I know I don’t get along with. It triggers my allergies.
So you are IFRA protected now! 😉 No more real oakmoss anyway.
After reading numerous reviews on SL’s Tubereuse Criminalle , I bought a bottle without having ever smelled the perfume. When i received my new bell jar, and took my first whiff of the mysterious perfume, I was totally shocked–OMG this stuff was totally rank and disgusting. Well it took 2 years of trying and retrying this fragrance before I finally had a total change of heart. Now it is one of my favorite tuberose fragrances.
Hello dremybluz, thanks for commenting!
I can totally identify with you being shocked by Tubereuse Criminelle. So was I. I still don’t like it a lot, tuberose just isn’t my thing, but I can appreciate its mastery. Persistence pays off most of the time. 🙂
I definitely change my mind! Usually not drastically, but something can go from being “I want a bottle, now” to “Eh, it’s ok.” I’ve noticed that when this happens it is usually with scents I’ve worn several times in quick succession, like over two or three weeks. When I revisit after a month or so, I sometimes feel differently. I guess I am just indecisive! But since realizing this, I’m taking even more time to make decisions about FBs (and write for my blog). I’m pretty much a full-grown turtle now. 🙂
That’s exciting about your travel set of B2B, though! When love strikes, what can you do?!
You are a very cute turtle, I bet! 😉
Youth Dew. I thought it was repulsive the first time I smelled it.
Now, it’s my HG!
I am very curious about By Killian. I haven’t tried any fragrances from that house, but reviews I’ve read recently have set the wheels in motion! I;m looking forward to reading yours!
I thought Kilian was mostly packaging and a pretty CEO, but I love quite a few perfumes in the line by now. 🙂
With YD I am still in the “it’s repulsive” stage, I’m afraid. 😦
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Hi, interesting post. I sprayed Miss Dior Cherie in the store and really liked it. Then I got a few samples from TPC, and I got both Miss Dior and Miss Dior Cherie. Wow…I really like Miss Dior much better. I can’t believe I even liked the Cherie at all. Miss Dior hit me in the face with Aunt Nettie, a very sophisticated aunt that was a buyer for Gimbels Dept. store in the Philly, PA area. She passed away in the early 90’s from breast cancer, and I miss her, so it brought back fond memories. I never even knew that was what she wore. I thought it smelled dated at first, but, Oh, I really love it. I can’t even put my finger on what it is I like so much about it. Just keep sniffin’ my arm. It does not seen to last too long…maybe if I had a spray it would last longer. I love several Dior’s, but have the same problem…do not last on me…must have dreaded scent eating skin. See I’m learning terms and stuff from reading these blogs!
Thanks for your reply, Maureen! Miss Dior is indeed a far cry from Cherie. Too bad that perfumes don’t last so well on you… 😦