Which notes do you avoid?

Leather is a challenging one for me but I don't mind it's smoother, sweeter version, suede. I can't stand frangipani. It's overpowering, headache inducing and overall very unpleasant to me. Also not a fan of aquatic notes. And finally modern, niche perfumery notes such as iodine, blood, gunpowder and the likes.

I agree, The suede version of Leather is quite nice and give a good depth to a fragrance. Shouldn't be the main player though.
Personally, candy-sweetness is what I hate, it may not be a particular note but rather an accord. Other than that, a skanky-oud is also one I dislike

Don't care for really strong iris although it's OK if blended well. Vanilla doesn't work for me either if it's super sweet.

@DRKSHDW I can't handle cucumber either! I blame myself for overdosing on Cucumber Melon Fragrance Mist in the 90s/early 2000s 😅

@Gourmandgrl 
Yes, Bath and Body Works’ Cucumber Melon is a nightmare!!!! I think I’m still traumatized by that scent. It was — and somehow still is — so popular. I believe we all overindulged in that fragrance profile back in the day, and now it’s completely repulsive to me.

I can't stand incense! 

Wait! You're the first person besides myself I've heard express that a fragrance makes you sad. I had that response to Coromandel Eau de Toilette - it's such a melancholic, wet patchouli - and it is married to orris. Coincidence?

I've yet to appreciate apple as an accord. Whichever combination of chemicals is used to achieve "apple" especially in designer fragrances gives me a raging headache. See: Light Blue Eau de Toilette, Be Delicious Eau de Parfum - *awful*. I used to leave metro carriages when someone wore those - thankfully their popularity has reduced.

Very few fruity notes I get along with in general, to be honest.

I generally avoid aldehydes and white/clean/laundry musks for headache reasons too. And marine notes. There are exceptions to every rule though, and I've recently taken a liking to Charlie Red Eau de Toilette. And Un Jardin après la Mousson does the infamous cucumber/melon/aquatic horror in such a way that it's not only acceptable but beautiful.

Licorice. My god that destroys me. I cant even stomache eating it let alone smelling it haha

Hi, I didn't see this thread ! Thanks @Pengola (you intrigued me with licorice note, which is actually a note I really like

It's funny to see what other like or just don't!

I figure myself a rather omnivorous perfume raccoon (why a racoon, I don't know, but they are cute, smart and reckless). I'll say I like most of the notes mentioned. I don't smoke, and don't like the smell of tobacco smoke but don't associate tobacco notes with it (strange enough). I am vegetarian and really like (cruelty free) animalic notes. There is a weird opening in X Santal (some kind of spiced cucumber or melon), but I can go with it.

The big deal-breaker for me is pineapple, the one you can find in Club de Nuit Intense Man Eau de Toilette and other Aventus copycats (I didn't smell the real deal so may be I could stomach it). I can't eat it in real life too. But my sweetheart offered me Magnetico last year (a strong cheapie). She casually noticed "I liked it in shop, and then I remembered you don't like pineapple. Well, live with it". And well, funnily enough I can wear it, and not only to please her. Agreed, love is (nose) blind, but it's not the same note either.

I really don't like the iris in Dior Homme Intense (2011) and its friends Valentino Uomo Intense (2016) , Gentleman Givenchy Eau de Parfum. But I am quite infatuated with Louis which contains a fair amount of "orris root" (I guess the root and the flower are not the same thing).

Some fruity notes I don't really like (for example passion fruit), but I feel i could be convinced by a good blend. (And as some other, my sweetness-candy-alert is easily triggered.)

Some notes get me sick but it's when I am already a bit nauseous, so i don't know if it's the cause and didn't figure out exactly which ones...

As a man definitely cherry. Just cant stand it in scents like lost cherry. Way too sweet and synthetic. One exception is rouge smoking extrait though, that one is amazing

Boozy notes, especially blended with citrus like with 1978 Les Bains Douches. My problem is not necessarily that I dislike this combination scent-wise, but that I just get a headache rather quickly from it.

I just received a sample of Coromandel Eau de Parfum and I will see how it lands.

I was reminded of this discussion today because I found time to explore some Guerlain samples and had the same experience with iris again. Shalimar Eau de Parfum and L'Heure Bleue Eau de Parfum (which is famously melancholy)—both just left me treading water in a tide of sadness. So strange.

Found out I probably don't like Tuberose and Ylang Ylang as main notes either. I (again) think anything .....(any note)-forward is not for me, because I don't like it when a note is too distinct.  

licorice. Omg i cannot stand it. I realized how much i hated it when i blind bought something from the dua brand I think its Plumlicious Casino Royale Therapy. It was the most rancid scent ever. I dont even think there's licorice in it but it smelt like an awful mix of everything with a strong dose of licorice -_-

I avoid very floral perfumes.  Not that I don't like them, but sometimes they give me a bad headache or make me sneeze heavily.

I really dislike sandalwood. I'm one of those people to whom it smells like dill, apparently.

I try to avoid suede, cucumbers and ambroxan (a little bit is ok). 
I love Amouge and have a lot of their parfumes but Reflection is my nightmare because of cucumbers. 

I feel I should avoid blackcurrent as it turns sour on my skin. Also, not a fan of oud.

Every time I think there is a note I don't like, I find some nice blend with it that sucks me in. I didn't like iris until Angel's Dust and I didn't like aldehydes until Dia 40 and I don't like anything suggesting menthol except in Guidance Eau de Parfum.

@MorganleFay there are a few fragrances that make me feel sad - one of them is Violet Bouquet Eau de Toilette by Bath & Body Works. Violet is normally such a cheery note - but this one is somehow somber and damp, and makes me feel like crying. I'm not sure where the association comes from for me - probably a deep, subconscious memory somewhere in my brain!

It's not uncommon: L'Heure Bleue Eau de Parfum is known for evoking melancholy or making some people sad. It also contains Iris and Violet. It is a beautyful perfume though and I don't mind a bit of melancholy actually

I always assumed that chypre/fougère frags would be my thing, but once I started learning about perfumes recently, I was surprised to discover that I actually hate oakmoss. Or tree moss, or just moss, or whatever they call it in each particular frag. 

I don't know why, but it just doesn't work for me. I can begrudgingly tolerate it in moderate quantities, but I do not like it. It smells dusty at best and moldy at worst to me. Feels like I sprayed the perfume onto a moldy rag and dove into it nose first for a sniff. 

On a bright side, once I figured that out, I suddenly understood the world around me a little better. Coworkers, taxi drivers, passers-by, other random people I interacted with throughout the day – despite appearing well-groomed would sometimes have a weird off-putting smell to them, like they just escaped a dirty cellar someone held them hostage in for two months, and yet noone else around me seemed to notice or have any issue with that.

I thought I was going crazy. So once I found out what oakmoss-based fragrances smell like, it all suddenly made so much more sense, lol. 

Rose. 

Oud. 

Lemon with cedar. 

Fig. 

I can't stand saffron outside of leathery contexts. Smells like burnt plastic to my nose.

Vetivers often smell way too overpowering and sharp to me, so I'm usually hesitant to try a vetiver scent. Vetiver can be nice when its meant to accentuate citrusy/fruity notes, but not when it's the dominant note in the fragrance.

I really just don't like sandalwoods at all. I wish it wasn't such a ubiquitous note in perfumery.

I've also never smelled a fig fragrance I liked much.