Why is that fragrance so popular?

I've been inspired by @jasperdezoet's thread Brands that you just don't get? Personally, there aren't many brands I don't get but there are a few fragrances that are wildly popular and I don't understand why.

Top of the list for me is By the Fireplace. To me it just smells like a vanilla version one of those air fresheners that you plug into an electric outlet. I see so many people talk about how smoky it is and I get zero smoke. And try as I might, there's nothing I smell that makes me think, "Oh, this doesn't smell like smoke to me but I understand how it could smell like smoke to someone else."

And since it only smells like fake vanilla to me, I find the price to be utterly staggering.

So what fragrance is it for you? (I'm guessing there will be a lot of Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum replies. 😆)

I always wonder why people's perceptions of scent are so different — it's truly mysterious. Even if we all love vanilla, our “favorite vanilla” can be completely different. That shows how personal fragrance really is; even within the same category, what each person wants can vary wildly. And sometimes, our preferences just don’t line up with what the majority loves. (Well,Perfume isn’t a necessity, so there aren’t that many we all agree on!)

For me, it’s these ones...
I honestly — they just give me a headache.This Is Her!

And this one, too. Philosykos Eau de Toilette
It makes me wonder if my samples were even the same as everyone else’s?

By the way, I personally don’t like these at all, but I can understand why they’re so popular.
Ari Eau de Parfum
Cloud Eau de Parfum
Hypnotic Poison Eau de Toilette (Ranked #2 among the most popular women’s perfumes.)

Edit:
A little off-topic, but I just noticed this Hypnotic Poison Eau de Toilette was an EDT, not an EDP! No wonder I was confused... it really made me question how consistent brand concentration standards are.

By the Fireplace is such a weird case because I've heard the opposite too, that people get only smoke and no vanilla. So funny how our noses work!

For me it's gotta be Naxos. I really don't know how this one is as popular as it is, especially among men. It just smells like annoyingly sweet synthetic florals/cashmeran to me. Very little in the way of aromatics (just a quick burst in the opening) and zero tobacco.

Not a Perfume Eau de Parfum, Molecule 02, You Eau de Parfum ...a.k.a. “your skin but better” type scents. Honestly, they just smell like nothing to me. Maybe watery paper with a vague sweetness if I really focus. I guess I’m not picking up whatever magical aura everyone else is raving about.

And Santal 33 Eau de Parfum. Sorry, but that’s straight-up dill pickles.

Such a fun thread! 😄 Btw, I'm one of those people who gets only smoke and burning wood and nothing else from By the Fireplace. 😅 It's a pleasant smell, however I personally wouldn't like to smell like burning wood so in that sense I don't understand it. To me it feels very linear and simple fragrance so I don't understand the price but I just must be nose blind to this sweet vanilla side of it. 🤷

Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum was mentioned in the opening post of the thread, and while I truly dislike it, I can kind of get why some people go crazy for it as it was very unique when it was released. I personally wouldn't want a fragrance that I spray once and the whole house smells for weeks like burnt plastic, bandaids and dentist's office mixed with sickly sweet cotton candy but I do understand how others love the uniqueness and the performance.

The popularity of things like Sauvage Eau de Toilette, Aventus or Delina Exclusif I totally don't get though. They're nothing special nor anything new or groundbreaking, definitely not worth the price, however people have been completely nuts for them for years. Also I'm unsure about the popularity of Imagination. It's not available for test anywhere here so I haven't smelled the real thing, however based on how its dupes smell like I can't understand the hype. If it really smells only like Dove soap, why such insane price? However I can't be 100 % sure about this because like I said I can't test the real thing anywhere, but I'm truly doubting if we're having a true Emperor's New Clothes case going on here as it would be really weird if the real thing would smell significantly different than its dupes.

Backing up @DRKSHDW on this one ! Especially the first 3. There's no point wearing this kind of fragrances for me.

Mine are :

- Hacivat : where's the pineapple everyone's raving about ? Did they forgot to put it in my batch ? I'm just overwhelmed by the oakmoss note. The day I did a full wear was just a nightmare for me 😅

- Babycat : same phenomenon here, where's the vanilla ? All I can smell is frankincense and maybe a little bit of suede in the dry down.

- Oud Maracujá : again, where's the "fruity", which is the 1st "main accord" listed on the scent profile of the fragrance ? Oud and leather, that's what I get.

All of these don't smell bad at all, but I think I don't smell what I'm supposed to smell. I'm so disappointed with my nose sometimes 😆

Maybe less popular than the 3 above, but this was my worst struggle :

Le participe passé : when I read the reviews on this one, I just dream to smell what others smell ! Even @NicheOnly gave it a 7 in his statement, I was like "what ?" 😄. All I can smell is cumin, and inevitably it turns into something sweaty... my mom even said "Is it a fragrance for real ? This belongs in the kitchen, I'll put it in my next couscous".

Yeah it’s wild how people’s tastes can differ. There are lots of greatly hyped perfumes I do like though. But I for one can’t really get into these:

Interlude Man I just can’t get over that oregano or whatever pizza herbs are in there.

Erba Pura Synthetic mishmash

Tuxedo so loud and screechy, totally hated that

@Mohca I actually laughed out loud at your mom's comment! 🤣

@Ceesie it's funny, i love the oregano note and Interlude Man is a favorite of mine! Though I prefer the subdued oregano note in Interlude 53.

@Lempi your description of Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum made me giggle. It smells nothing like that to me! Though it's one of the fragrances that I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. I think it smells nice enough but it's not complex nor does it smell particularly interesting to me.

@DRKSHDW the "your skin but better" fragrances tend to revolve around cetalox which I don't care for at all. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by Me. It's soft, round, a bit fruity, and lasts forever. I also frequently get compliments on it when I wear it. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts should you ever try it.

While I dislike BR540 I can understand why it's liked, as much as I can understand why people like oud, or dislike musk (cause I hate oud and love musk)

But for me it has to be those two and they are both the most popular of their house:
Malibù - Party in the Bay only smells bad soapy lime to me. Nothing else.
Bois Impérial Eau de Parfum smells of clinical, chemical, synthetic, not a single note is nice to me. Plus it gives me a headache 😓

Among niche snobs there's an unwarranted (IMHO) cult following for Lune Féline Eau de Parfum .

This comment will go over like a lead balloon and I'm already bracing for clap backs, I don't make any bones about my collection leaning into cheapo territory...to take your shot (maybe I really am too unrefined to appreciate it), but I think it's nothing outstanding.

I wonder if it's an example of high-rolling monkey-see-monkey-do.

~

I point this out because there's hundreds of pedestrian level fragrances the general public enjoys that I don't think are bad usually, but I also don't get why they're as popular as they are. The niche crowd doesn't get picked on nearly enough, so I'm taking my shot at them 😂

@Shadows444 your post made me chuckle! I think there's some truth in what you say. Personally, I own bottles of perfume that cost me $12 and I have a few that cost me several hundred. For me, the decision to purchase is really just based on "do I like the way this smells?" But I'm not sure that's the case for everyone.
I also wasn't wowed by Lune Féline Eau de Parfum. Based on reviews, I expected my first sniff to be transcendent. And it was nice but not nice enough to motivate me to buy a bottle.

Thank you 😂

I think it really, really can be humbling to try stuff from various stratums of price! I completely relate to you. That's how my experience went with LF too, definitely nice, but I had expected to have my hair blown back.

I should mention, before anyone gets the wrong idea about me, I did begin to get a titch snobby back in around 2021 when I went on a niche sampling spree. I pulled out of it thankfully (when I also began thrifting more, and realized a lot of discontinued classics are easily just as artful). I've also been humbled and hit in the knees multiple, multiple times by fragrance community because I do love some pretty questionable releases. So I'm all for it, and I hope everyone else realizes I mean it in good humor 😆

Weird stuff in perfume, like gold flakes or glitter floating around, is usually a red flag for me. Like in Lune Féline Eau de Parfum I do like it though, but nothing breathtaking or transcending indeed.

I can usually understand the popularity of fragrances even if I don't like them, but there are a couple I've tried that really didn't work for me and just don't get. One that is often mentioned (and I've tried to like this many times, thinking my perception would change) is Coco Noir Eau de Parfum. It just does not smell good on me. I've heard many express how much they adore this one for many years, but on me, it just smells a little dusty and dank. I like patchouli in other fragrances, but I guess it's just the combination of other notes that doesn't work for me and I've never gotten any of the sweetness and fruitiness it claims to have.

I recently tried L'Eau Papier Eau de Toilette after reading and hearing so many great reviews. It's not bad, but for me, it was "meh". I feel like I'd have been more impressed if I already didn't have some beautiful musk scents I wear regularly, but this didn't seem all that special or nuanced on me. I like many Diptyque fragrances and I was expecting to like this one more than I did. I'm going to keep my sample and try it again in the future, though!

And I definitely don't mean to imply either of those smell bad or are overrated. I just can't appreciate them as much as others do. After all, I recently tried Lune Féline Eau de Parfum for the first time (which I mention because I see it listed a couple times in this thread) and I'm one of those who loved it at first sniff, but I get how it doesn't work or wow others. : )

Such an interesting thread!

Scents are indeed subjective, but more even ratings would be obtained if everyone had tried the same scents. For example, in the case of By the Fireplace , I believe that if the user has not tried complex smoky niche scents, then the smoke will seem to come through more than for those who are familiar with dark and dirty smoky scents. Likewise, those who love strong smoke in scents do not find the scent to be smoky at all, but rather a linear vanilla scent, or something completely different. It all depends on what you are comparing it to and what you are used to. I was wondering about the scent in question again a few days ago in the store and it does not remind me of "By the fireplace" at all, but rather a rather poorly made vanilla. You should also take into account the environment in which the fragrance was tested: whether the testing took place on a quick, stressful shopping trip or in the peace and quiet of home, giving the fragrance time. Many fragrances need the right time to show their best side. When both skin chemistry and personal "normal" scent preferences are added to the above-mentioned factors, the variance in the assessment of "smokyness" begins to increase significantly.

As for Lune Féline Eau de Parfum , the edp version is a really easy vanilla scent, the quality is good tho and I understand the wonderment about what is so amazing about it. I think Lune Féline Extrait deserves the praise that the epd got when it was released.

I like a lot of different kind of scents myself, from very simple and synthetic to really demanding complex and natural scents and sometimes I wonder myself what makes one so pleasant, while something that is basically in the same level is completely beyond my comprehension. @Omnipotato I experience Naxos exactly the same way as you. The scent is unpleasant, but on the other hand, Xerjoff has a lot of scents whose popularity I don't understand. Erba Pura and Cruz del Sur II . They smell so shocking that I can't understand how anyone could find them attractive. Alexandria II Parfum also feels completely unfinished to my nose. I'm desperately trying to find more scents from Xerjoff that make me sigh with delight.

I have "easy" skin and I haven't come across many fragrances where one or more of the notes smelled completely "wrong" - by that I mean that I smelled dead animal carcasses, spoiled food, or something similar. So usually the scents are just unpleasant or bland for some reason. Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum , Delina Eau de Parfum , Cashmere & Palo Santo , Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum, Atomic Rose Eau de Parfum , Side Effect fall into this category. Of course, there are also houses whose fragrances I can't understand, such as Mancera or Montale, and I believe that the popularity lies more in the price and the longevity of the fragrance than in their aroma. Of course, this is also subjective. I won't comment on ordinary designer or celebrity fragrances here, because they are mainly outside my preferences.

You said,"It all depends on what you're comparing it to and what you're used to."
That actually ties into what you mentioned in a previous your thread. (Don't you think so?)I've always felt the same way — a person’s perfume history and their perception of scent are deeply connected.

For example, I used to work at LUSH, and in my country, women tend to have a higher tolerance for strong fragrances.（*Relatively speaking)
Men, on the other hand, often say that slightly more complex scents “give them headaches.” (Well, to be fair, LUSH scents are pretty intense in general !)

What I’m getting at is that people rarely point out how much a person’s scent perception can change based on their experience.

Take this one, for example. Vanille de Tahiti Eau de Parfum
Someone who usually looks for “photorealistic vanilla” would probably love it. But to someone who’s used to a more “refined white vanilla,” it might smell kind of dirty — even like feces.
And what you consider “gourmand” might not be “gourmand” to someone else at all.
It all comes down to comparison and experience.
This one Goddess Eau de Parfum doesn’t smell gourmand to me, but since many people describe it that way, I think the gap in experience is probably bigger than we realize.

I agree with @Ninamariah and @Akira1005, it's definitely depending on what the person is used to. But I also think that certain people are just very sensitive to certain notes which might change the whole perception of the fragrance when a note that's meant to be in the background is suddenly very overpowering. I'm sure that smoke is one of those notes to many people because our "caveman brain" might interpret smoke being something dangerous and thus detects it super clearly. I guess that's why I personally end up disliking most niche because I'm quite sensitive to the smell of smoke (I have also had an unfortunate housefire experience in the past), I have tested hundreds of niches that have really nice looking notes but no matter how many times I try I just can't smell any of those other notes because this annoying smoke smell is dominating the whole composition and I end up complaining why they always put that note there, it's so boring to me. 😂 I'm quite envious to those people who don't have an in-built smoke alarm in their noses, hahah.

Ah, whether someone is used to a particular scent really makes a huge difference. Didn’t you say in some thread something like, “In our country, we traditionally don’t use many spices”? I almost thought you were talking about my country. Haha. In my country, spices and what you might call Middle Eastern-type scents really stand out. People generally like scents that smell fresh, like right after a bath. I guess it’s because everyone loves bathing! (In your country, maybe it’s the sauna, right?)

It’s true that smoke is naturally a scent that humans detect as a warning. So, over time and with experience, people learn to perceive it as “high-quality” or “unique.” Something like this Vegan Leather Jacket Perfume . I wouldn’t even recommend it, though, since it might trigger unpleasant memories for you.

For example, I’m sensitive to strawberry scents. I think it’s probably because, as a child, I chewed berry-flavored gum in a hot car and got car sick, so the memory is linked. That’s why even a popular perfume with a strawberry note doesn’t work for me. Yum Boujee Marshmallow | 81 or Her Eau de Parfum

Also, a scent worn by someone you disliked can easily get tied to unpleasant memories. So when you wonder, “Why is this even popular?” it might actually involve a complex mix of everyone’s life experiences.Or, what scents you’ve been exposed to so far—or whether you’re used to them. The same goes for taste, right?

@Akira1005 Yeah, you're right about the spices and sauna. 😄👍 And yes definitely, childhood experiences and both good and bad memories can affect to person's perception of the fragrance for sure. Sense of smell is such a personal thing really, and it's actually amazing that smells are able to help us remember things that were long forgotten.

I think this is why it's so addicting to continually delve into these sensory experiences! 

I truly do love music too, and I live in one of the most naturally resplendent places on the planet (I don't say that lightly), but I've always been more keyed in with scent than anything audible, visual, tasty or tactile.

Regardless of personality differences, preferences, experiences, backgrounds and culture; we can all get on the same platform when it comes to our sense of smell.

Babycat smells like cheap burnt vanilla to me, I wish it wouldn’t.

I have tried many of the expensive Guerlain L’Art et La Matiere and was either anosmic to some or found the others very uninteresting.

I kinda like Black Orchid Eau de Parfum, but it’s so “edgy” to me that I’m surprised it’s such a hit. But then again, I also think wearing perfumes like White Diamonds or Chanel No. 5 is also a pretty ballsy move. I’m so used to the fruitchoulis, vanillas, and light fruity/woody florals! 😂

Also, I’m just not a fan of the classics. White Diamonds Eau de Toilette, Shalimar Eau de Parfum, N°5 Parfum. Which is a bummer, because all the cool ladies of Old Hollywood seemed to rock them. (Legend has it Marilyn Monroe wore Chanel No. 5 to bed. I, on the other hand, would be very grumpy if I had to sleep in a cloud of that stuff!)

I also wish I could be that cool 80’s baddie who wears Poison Esprit de Parfum, but no dice! I don’t know if it’s the aldehydes, but something about all of those perfumes smell so harsh to me.