I'm curious to know if anyone has certain brands/houses that they generally avoid.
Personally, Le Labo and Byredo feel like a case of the Emperor's New Clothes to me, especially for the price. I have tested a wide range of fragrances from Heretic and Lush and they all smelled awful to me.
Any brand that uses AI art will always turn me of too (including Dua Brand and Pictura Fragrans).
For me it's most niche brands. I just don't get the prices. Most niche fragrances are nothing special nor unique but cost a fortune. Emperor's new clothes indeed! Snobby people claim that their 500 euros bottle is something special but in about 80 % of cases it's actually not, you could have got something more interesting for paying so much less, and I have been thinking it's not about the actual smells, it's all about having something expensive as a status symbol. No thank you. I absolutely hate it when many niche fragrances have these amazing sounding rare notes in the pyramid but when you actually sample the fragrance, it almost always just turns out to be this standard smoky wood note that overpowers everything else. Most people probably think that smoky wood smells expensive, however to me it's just boring, unwearable and unpleasant. Someone said that indie is the new niche and couldn't agree more. Most indies are reasonably priced and very unique, they have heart and soul and buying them also supports someone's small business instead of trying to exploit customers making as much profit as possible.
Also, I just don't get brands like Chanel or Narciso Rodriguez that have this "general house DNA" in all of their fragrances no matter which line or which gender they are marketed - the top notes might smell a bit different but then the drydown in all of them is just the same. Feels so boring to me, and again can't understand the prices they are asking.
The only discovery set I’ve truly struggled with was from Dedcool. I found most of the scents to be a simple screech of unpleasantness, and I’m known to love unconventional fragrances, so I was surprised that they all just smelled “bad” to me. They also left an oily residue on my skin, and the scent dissipated quickly. I’ve heard people say it lasts longer on clothes, but frankly, I wouldn’t want them to last any longer.
Someone said that indie is the new niche and couldn't agree more. Most indies are reasonably priced and very unique, they have heart and soul and buying them also supports someone's small business instead of trying to exploit customers making as much profit as possible.
@Lempi what is indie? Examples?
@muzik My current top 3 favourite indie houses are Parfums Max Joacim, Middleshade Perfumes and Haus of Gloi. Small independent companies with unique handmade fragrances that actually have a soul, and amazing quality for very reasonable price.
For me, Juliette has a Gun and Hermetica have been so weird and unpleasant. I can't imagine a fragrance lover who's tried a lot of different perfumes ever recommending any of these. Also, Veronique Gabai seems like a super expensive version of JHAG, and I really think it's nothing more than just marketing and pretty bottles, because what I've sampled inside leaves a lot to be desired, in my humble opinion.
Escentric Molecules, especially 
Molecule 01. Literally anyone can just get ISO-E Super and perfumer's alcohol and create it yourself for like 1/10 the cost.
Totally agree with you about Le Labo. Super overrated brand. Byredo has a couple of good ones like 
Bal d'Afrique Absolu de Parfum and 
De Los Santos but also probably overhyped and overpriced.
Lots of brands I just don't get the hype for and none of their offerings have ever done anything for me including:
Boadicea the Victorious
Narcotica
Dusita
Spirit of Dubai
Fueguia 1833
Bond No. 9
Fragrance du Bois
To a lesser extent (they have one or two good ones but I still don't agree with the way the brand is hyped in general):
Creed
Louis Vuitton
Le Labo
Serge Lutens
Chanel
Guerlain
I realize the historical significance of the last two, but I really just can't get into them.
I might be a little off-topic, but I'll write anyway. I often feel uncomfortable when foreign brands sell perfumes in Japanese or with a Japanese theme, so I avoid them... They tend to be weirdly nationalistic, or they market things we don't love as "Japanese." Also, sometimes the name is Japanese, but the contents are completely unrelated... It's hard to say exactly which brand it is, but these brands are unreliable. And many of them aren't even released in Japan...
By the way,If I could name specific brands, it would be Chanel and Dior. I can't help but get a headache from the smell of those department store perfume counters. I often find designer brands to have a strong synthetic musk.
I might be a little off-topic, but I'll write anyway. I often feel uncomfortable when foreign brands sell perfumes in Japanese or with a Japanese theme, so I avoid them... They tend to be weirdly nationalistic, or they market things we don't love as "Japanese." Also, sometimes the name is Japanese, but the contents are completely unrelated... It's hard to say exactly which brand it is, but these brands are unreliable. And many of them aren't even released in Japan...
You're right and you should say it. It's weird to see non-Japanese brands with non-Japanese founders try to use Japanese culture to market their products and make money. I'm sure Edward Said would have had a lot to say about it!
You're right and you should say it. It's weird to see non-Japanese brands with non-Japanese founders try to use Japanese culture to market their products and make money. I'm sure Edward Said would have had a lot to say about it!
Yeah...I don't mean to criticize people who enjoy the perfume.
But I might have a negative opinion of the brand that made it.
Yakuza, for example, are cool characters in fiction, but in reality they're an anti-social organization that's still going strong and has many victims, from children to women. As a Japanese person, I have no desire to wear a fragrance with that theme.
When people say this is "Japanese culture," I want to say that it's disconnected from reality.
Movies are fiction, after all...the same goes for "Mafia."
Of course, perfume is art and there is freedom of expression.
I'd never heard of Edward Said, so I'll look into it! Thank you!
I stay away from those who use natural musk in their formulas.
Also, brands which sell you the exclusivity instead of a scentual artistic piece and weaponize FOMO! 🙄
Brands with terrible customer service which assume all their customers are liars also get on my blacklist.
Jean Paul Gaultier
Paco Rabanne
Byredo
Amouage
Bond No.9
Fragrance du Bois
Parfums de Marly
Initio
When it comes to expensive designer to niche price points, it's not only the scent but the vibe that has to be appealing to me. Chanel, Dior and Amouage feel similarly uninteresting to me in that way. Armani, Gucci and Hugo Boss all have a similar sporty flashiness that isn't very 'me'.
I have smelled a lot from all these houses, as I used to work a perfume counter's closing shift during the pandemic and had long hours to myself with just the testers and a notebook for company. Nothing from these houses knocked my socks off. For designers that I'm more drawn to, think YSL.
I tend to avoid :
Initio
Alexandre J ( the worst on my list)
Matière Première
Xerjoff
Paco Rabanne
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Stephane Humbert Lucas
Killian
I want to preface this by saying I'm not resolute and maybe even naively open/hopeful that my mind can be changed someday. I've had other brands that I tend to be unimpressed by, except for one or two releases that stand out.
Nest, more than anything else, drive me nuts. I LOVE floral designs against black, and have some painted Russian plates with that type of vibe. The Nest bottles are gorgeous, and I want so badly to love at least one of the fragrances, but I find them all so mediocre.
Philosophy tend to create very soft, one-dimensional body spray-esque type scents. I love their body washes, but as fragrances the vast majority tend to be quite boring to me. I'd rather just purchase B&BW or other cheapies.
Estée Lauder...I haven't tried anything from that's grabbed my attention. I've not even come close to exhausting possibilities though, so this could change. But as of now, I've found everything to be quite makeup counter, inoffensive, and a boring sort of pretty.
