Is there a perfume you once hated and now love?

My latest discovery inspired me to start this thread: I always thought I hated N°5 Eau de Parfum but after trying a sample of the latest release of this perfume, I'm in awe!

Do you now love a perfume that you once hated?

I have never hated any perfumes but I have had strong dislikes that have turned to love. For example my current SOTD Lolita Lempicka (1997) Eau de Parfum and also Alien Eau de Parfum both used to smell very weird to me (I blind bought both back in the 2000s because I loved the bottles) but now both are in my top favourites. I used to dislike La Vie est Belle L'Eau de Parfum and Trésor (1990) Eau de Parfum too but now I love both.

I used to hate Beautiful Eau de Parfum primarily because my Great Grandma, who wore it religiously, would literally douse herself in it on a daily basis. Everything in her house smelled like Beautiful, and I truly mean everything. Funnily enough, she also wore Youth-Dew Eau de Parfum but was far more subdued with that one. Nevertheless, I have come to be quite fond of both as I've gotten older, especially Youth-Dew. I do love Beautiful as well though, because it reminds me of her.

I didn't like Cool Water Eau de Toilette at first but now like it for summer.

Some of my favorite fragrances are the ones that changed my mind. Spell 125 and Bois d'Ascèse are both smoky “challenging “ fragrances and my immediate initial reactions to both was “No, thank you.” But after spending time with them, my opinion was entirely transformed and I love having them in my collection.

I received a small 50ml bottle of Infusion d'Iris (2007) Eau de Parfum as a gift around 2009 and I genuinely hated it. I thought it was too strong and it was giving me a headache. I couldn't find the courage to throw it away so I put it back in its box and forgot it at the very back of a cabinet until October 2024.

Guys. Maybe it's because I've matured, maybe my skin chemistry is different, maybe it's because it has macerated for more than a decade. I have no idea. But this scent is simply magic now and I LOVE IT. Since this revelation, I fell into the rabbit hole of perfumes... and here we are.

I was quite turned off when I first smelled Overture Man but now I consider it a masterpiece. Conversely, I liked Lafayette Street when I first bought it but then I started to hate the synthetic smell of it

Same experience with Overture Man! Took me a while.

The only other fragrance that challenged me in such a way was Sultan Vetiver. I thought I liked vetiver but oh boy, I wasn’t ready. I'm addicted to it now.

I disliked everything I currently own a bottle of save for one fragrance.

That’s why I have to get 5ml samples and wear them several times to find out whether it will change for me. Some things I dislike longer than others.

Examples of dislikes and how long it took me to love it:

L'Homme took 1.5-2 months.

Aventus took 4 months.

Reflection Man took a little more than 18 months.

Himalaya took almost a year.

Those are just examples but that ia mostly how it goes, it takes me a long time to get what the perfumer was trying to do.

Almost randomly, Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum was an immediate love. Same with Morning Chess Eau de Parfum but I already loved Aventus so that makes sense.

Hi everyone, thanks for your thoughts on the subject untill now.

Maybe smelling all kinds of different perfumes can be a step towards perfumes you once didn't like too? I think Liu Eau de Parfum may have made me love N°5 Eau de Parfum for instance.

Maai was probably the most shocking thing I'd ever smelled when I first sampled it. But I couldn't stop sniffing it, and eventually I decided the morbid fascination was love.