Which notes do you avoid?

I tend to avoid fragrances that are white floral forward, which is ironic because a lot of fragrances I love have jasmine in them. I like creamy scents but the creaminess that white flowers have is a little weird and I think they smell kinda old too. White florals are also one of the few notes that give me headaches.

@Ringtale cashmeran I really can't stand and not so keen on artemisia ,neither grey amber (obviously synthetic ,there is no more natural grey amber) cannabis it depends it is beautiful in Florabotanica

@Omnipotato in Chanel no.5 I think what you don't like is not the aldehydes since they settle down but the type of jasmin it is an animalic jasmin called jasmin antic

I deeply appreciate complexity in perfumery, but some notes lean more toward challenging than enchanting.

I tend to avoid:

– Cumin, for its rather literal interpretation of skin
– Costus, with its damp-wool and antique cellar vibe
– Animalics like civet and castoreum — bold, but often more beast than beauty
– Overly indolic florals (jasmine, tuberose) that stray into feline territory
– Synthetic oud, when it forgets refinement and wanders into the barn
– Marine and seaweed accords, which sometimes feel more like low tide than ocean breeze
– And finally, metallic or blood notes — intriguing in concept, but on me, they whisper more surgical suite than sensual mystery

To each their own, of course — but I prefer my elegance without the eau de “I’ve been lost in a stable.”

There is not a single thing I enjoy about N°5 Parfum. In fact there are very few Chanels I actually enjoy since a lot of them contain traces of the signature of No. 5 as kind of a brand signature. So yeah, it's the aldehydes, it's the patchouli, it's the iris, it's the jasmine, it's whatever reminds me even slightly of No. 5. The main thing that proves my point is that it's not a single note I dislike, it is the soapy/powdery/floral combination. Aldehydes are usually used to accentuate the soapy tones, and when patchouli is involved, it makes that soapiness that much more sickening.

I don't think I dislike animalic jasmine as a standalone note, as I really enjoy Fleur Tabac which is mainly an animalic jasmine fragrance.

The latest No 5 EDP is very strong on the sandalwood on my skin, it is almost like Samsara Eau de Parfum but less exhausting than that. Very different than former formulations. I like it better now, it is still not a love though. But I do like aldehydes in many scents as long as it is not like Arpège (1993) Eau de Parfum (hate that one).

I'm not sure a single note can be a red flag, apart maybe a few notes if it's too much on top of the rest.
However, a direction certainly can.
Spicy-warm dominance is hard for me, Divine Vanille and Tonkade are two examples I sampled, althought they may not smell bad to me, their heaviness are killing me.
But mainly aquatic, marine scents as a dominance, deeply not for me, I can't explain why, I hate that.

Ylang ylang. I don't know what it is. I've even tried it as an essential oil thinking maybe I was just getting a weird chemical scent but not. I just can't stand it. 

Almond. I smelled it in Casamorati's Italica and it made me so nauseous. It was also a prominent note in an indie pistachio perfume I bought and it also made me nauseous. None of the other notes in these perfumes bother me so I narrowed my hatred disliking to the almond notes.

I also dislike most rose notes in perfumes. I have yet to find a rose note that smells like a fresh, sweet red rose. In perfume they tend to smell very mature/antique.

At the moment I'm trying a sample-set of maison Crivelli and if Saffron really smells as in Safran Secret, I can say I will avoid saffron from now on.

Leather. It smells extremely animalic on my skin, even if I can apreciate it in the air or on clothes.

Bvlgari Man In Black Parfum has me smelling like a dirty wild animal, and I absolutely love its composition, but....

I'm realizing more and more that ambrette, in certain doses, is not for me.

Hi @Raluko111, In that case my recommendation for Fleur de Peau Eau de Parfum (in another thread) could be challenging for you. You may love the Iris, but maybe like it less because of the Ambrette...

You're so sweet, @Ringtale, thank you for taking the time to read and warn me. I don't think I hate all scents with ambrette per se. It really depends how they're blended and how the ambrette plays with the other notes in the composition. I will sample Fleur de Peau today and I do thank you for your recommendation. I think I want to try as many fragrances as possible to teach my nose and learn more about myself in the process.

Like you I'm nervous about vanilla because it can easily overpower everything else, in my opinion. I like vanilla as part of a well-balanced gourmand but pure vanilla is boring to me.

I also avoid rose and tuberose because I associate them too much with "old lady" perfumes which aren't bad of course but give me all the wrong kinds of nostalgia.

Patchouli and I tend not to get along. Or maybe it's more accurate to say we get along far too well...

I don't mind the scent of it, but in a perfume then it very quickly becomes the only thing I can smell. I don't hate it, but I wish it'd calm down, you know?

You're welcome @Raluko111 ! And very curious about how you will find Fleur de Peau ofcourse! I still love it, but love Infusion d'Iris more and noticed that my newest base (the newer unscented Ceravé lotion which is more hydrating than their original lotion) helped sillage and longivety a lot! Almost to the point I thought I maybe had oversprayed . See if it works today aswell, if not, it must be purely about noseblindness..hope not, because I want to be able to smell it myself .

I have that issue with Sandalwood. Don't mind that scent either, but it acts so persistent on my skin that I find it almost exhausting.

I experience that with Samsara Eau de Parfum for instance, beautyful perfume, but too much sandalwoody for me.

fig just goes so dusty on me. I actually liked it in Pink - Sweet Fig initially, but over time. came to be unable to stand it. have tested a couple of other fig things, and it's the same effect. just can't do it.

coconut actively makes me nauseous. I really cannot do coconut. but coconut milk is somehow tolerable in fragrance sometimes? funny how that works for me. a lot of coconut in fragrances also just smells so dreadfully fake and I think that's another element that makes it off-putting. not that it being realistic would make it better for me, but y'know.

pineapple smells so bad to me. I don't like the smell of real pineapple either. actively repels me.

lavender is another big dislike of mine. R.E.M. was kinda tolerable, and I thought I wanted it for a time... sometimes I still think on it. but lavender is just another thing I generally dislike. I think I liked it for a time in early adulthood, but it was really short-lived. and now I despise it lol

licorice and anise... at least generally, I can't stand. I have found an exception in Purple Elixir Eau de Toilette, where it's not too strong, but when I see licorice or anise listed as a note, it more often than not makes me kind of scared. Pink Sugar Eau de Toilette, I got it so horribly strongly, and it ended up smelling like burnt plastic to me. no good. so yeah, that memory doesn't help...

vanilla prominent or on its own is not my thing. it is, of course, present in some fragrances I enjoy, but it's never the star of the show. it just doesn't work for me. I wish it did, I admit that I am often kind of intrigued when I see the vanilla enthusiasts talk about good vanilla fragrances, but it's just not for me.

patchouli is another that I cannot do. it's a lot. I actually get bad flashbacks to a patchouli-smelling soap I tried... that was just way too strong. I had to get rid of it, because the scent stuck to my hands and it was so overwhelming. was sad, 'cause it did smell nice when I smelled it from the bottle. sometimes it's in fragrances, but I don't smell it, or it's only barely there. but if I can actually really smell it, it's a big no. so if it is prominent in a fragrance, I definitely avoid.

cherry... there is an exception in my Kimoji Cherry dupe(Kimberly Sweet Cherry), but most of the time, regardless of what others say about cherry in a fragrance, it comes across as terribly medicinal to me.

Good question, lavender, like in the old fashioned Agua Lavanda can be great but in modern day, sweet scents, it can be a turn off.

For some reason lilacs evoke a viseral dislike from me. Not sure why lol. Also praline as a note is one of those notes I wouldn't say I actively dislike per say, but it is one of those notes I notice I get tired of VERY quickly and tend to avoid it as a result.

I tend to love green, crisp, herbaceous, earthy notes. I hate sweet, powdery, ambery, warm spicy, and boozy notes. Blech.

Almost the opposite of me 😂

I wil always be amazed at how people can differently perceive perfumes and scents in general.

I don't get along with aldehydes or strong caramel notes Also not a fan of very green-herby scents if they're not combined with musc or incense.

Pure chemicals like in Bois Imperial. Heavy rose, everything sweet and resembling food, coffee and strong patchouli note. and saffron (brrrr)