...I honestly don't know what CK were thinking with that. "They'll love the perfume, break their bottles by accident and then buy more! It's the perfect plan!" :lol: I agree that variety is better than endless perfection. I like the black Habanita bottles, the new one is on my wishlist. Though from images they look totally opaque... that annoys me to no end, there's no easy way to check the level of perfume left. My current signature "24 Gold" has this issue which adds to the love of wearing/fear of running out yo yo. I really should buy up more of it...I have "Wish" too, it's a lovely bottle and surprisingly sturdy on my shelf, though the low-sitting perfumes do cause some trouble when I reach to put things at the back of the shelf out of view. Bvlgari "Black" has oft tried to murder my other perfumes in this way! I suppose what I appreciate most is symmetry and balance mixed with subtle style. For example Kenzo "Pour Homme" is not symmetrical at all but is still lovely. Bright colour used with skill in bottles such as "Flower in the Air" is stark and memorable... when I was young the original "Flower" in its clear bottle with that blood red was just mesmerising!I try very hard not to think less of a juice because of its bottle but some of them are almost impossibly ugly. Marc Jacobs "Bang" is great but "Dot" is eye-gougingly kitsch. At least there's experimentation though, and each to their own.

...Pipette:The only unusual thing is that Fragrantica blocks references to Parfumo with ##SPAM## Meanwhile word of mouth advertising brings in new members every day.Yes, exactly. I assume it's to do with ad revenue and an unwillingness to part with any of it, though as a member of both I still click just as much around Fragrantica. I would say it's like grasping sand or holding a butterfly...

...Your tastes are similar to mine. My favourite bottles are the clear glass Guerlain ones with clean square lines. A little embellishment is fine, some have beautiful gilt details which I love. Minimalist styles like "L'eau d'Issey" and "Truth" are also nice, though Truth has an artistic tilt to the bottle which is actually terrible in practice as sometimes when I think I have placed it down safely it's actually about to fall over.I also like colourful, stylish bottles like "Purplelight" or "Halloween Man". Last month I bought a whole gift set of "Beautiful U" on sale for $20, it was gorgeously packaged with both a 100ml and 50ml bottle of EDP, a body lotion and bath gel. The scent is pleasant though short lived but the flacons for the price are amazing... thick heavy glass with just the right amount of detail. They did have annoying fabric bows but I removed them and left them inside the box in case I ever trade them away. I'm the kind of person that avoids branding on clothing, accessories, picks the stickers from the covers of books etc. I recently went shopping for new glasses and it's almost impossible to find nice frames without huge brand names and symbols all over them.

...I agree, scent is definitely therapeutic, just like visits from social dogs and family members it reconnects patients to the world and themselves. I think being one of the dog visitation escorts would be a lovely job, though I imagine my cats would not be impressed with me when I arrived home! Yup, crazy cat lady right here.As I spent time in hospital when I was young my doctor said it was fine for me to use my own pillow from home... it was unbelievably comforting and I'll never forget the difference it made. To this day I find the rather manky smell of my own pillow quite comforting, the natural hair oil/residue of perfume/drooled all over scent! I find it fascinating, some perfume appreciators are quite offended by natural smells, some appreciate them more. The list here about offensive smells is quite enlightening, my own dreaded ones are heavy chemicals like bleach and chlorine... while generally distasteful, bodily waste is nowhere near as nasty to me.Recently I have started wearing calm, soft perfumes to bed (previously I was too sensitive and perfumes would just keep me up all night) but when I'm not feeling well the best smell is always "home", or in my case living in a sharehouse with friends, "bedroom".There's a product called "Feliway" you plug into the wall like a perfume diffuser but it contains cat pheromones, many owners find it calms and reassures their pets and even use it as a medical treatment the way humans have anti-depressants. A friend of mine works in a sex shop and for a while pheromone perfumes were a big seller; I should do some research to see if they actually smell like anything or are remotely effective. But I digress.While we have aromatherapy most people seem to consider it even less effective than, say, chiropractors! Surely olfaction is the most overlooked sense. And yes, that was the reason I put regarding the doctor's thread. There was another post at the same time about perfume causing some people anaphylactic shock... I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Just too much of a risk for a GP or nurse.

...You're right, it's not a good idea, even while tempted I was aware of that which is why I let the idea stew and settle down. Heh. I just think people should know that there are alternatives if they are feeling disenfranchised, which unfortunately with current events is the case for quite a few people... not all of them within the handful I keep up with personally. None of this would be an issue if there was actual forum moderation. The main excuse seems to be lack of manpower but it's not that difficult to pick a few forum members whose decorum they appreciate, ask them if they'd like to voluntarily moderate, rise and repeat for each language version of the site. Most large forums run on volunteer moderation. Even pinning up some forum guidelines would help. A while ago I innocently referenced Parfumo on the forums when referring to a perfume found here that was not in their database, it gets replaced with a huge ##STOP SPAM## message, I was rather surprised. Made me feel more like some kind of asset than a member, that's why I decided to remove my reviews there, even if it's just a drop into an ocean. Even without yesterday's events it would be nice for all related sites to say "Hey, if you like this site, feel free to try ___ !" Perhaps in the age of ad-based funding that's too idealistic but we all love the same thing; perfume. If not for the amount of time I spend posting on forums already I would be active at BN too. :wink:

...Back to the main topic, further developments today. I feel like making a post on the main forum to say, "Hey, we here at Par fu mo (to get around their stupid censorship) embrace you. You can talk about your perfume here, you won't be asked to hide it away in a private thread at the bottom of the forums page, we won't bow down and remove a topic because some shitheads flagged it."I'm aware they'd probably ban me for such flagrant recruiting which is not even normally my style... the paper-thin apology from Zoka bothered me. It's good I have to rush to get ready for an appointment now, gives me time to reconsider doing such a thing! It surprises me how few Fragrantica members know about your awesome site here.

...Mill4r4:It's happened before on perfume forums, really disgusting homophobic comments being posted. It makes me sick, it really does. But people seem to like this freedom of speech thing, what I would like to say is where is the responsibility of speech? Where is the reasonableness that you would expect from grown adults?I like to think that the exceptionally callous and loud bigots are a dying breed and the increasing intensity on forums and social media is their death rattle! While there has been and likely will be people that secretly harbouring disdain for minorities we are making progress, the hateful and fearful are being drowned out and they feel the need to shout in lieu of the flippant mockery of the past. I take personal joy each time I read of a previously persecuted lifestyle choice gaining understanding within a community, whether it be homosexuality, transgender awareness, mental illness, the disabled, loud rock music, street art... it comes down to people rediscovering that we are all human beings and judging others is not necessary for our own happiness. And it builds upon itself; in my experience happy people tend not to try to rip happiness away from others, most bad blood is bred from bitterness. If we give into the endless cycle we do nothing but harm ourselves and others, by struggling through difficulty with our empathy intact we reclaim our own potential.Forgive me for the philosophical fapping, the topic is dear to my heart. Just this week I had a long conversation with one of my oldest friends. He finds solace in removing himself from social niceties and refuses to be sympathetic or give way to others as he considers himself a victim of his previous politeness. As someone with a bitter past of my own I was surprised to find myself barracking for genuine optimism and social empathy. It was a real epiphany.

...I wonder if in that hospital setting a fraction of that loss is habituation to the ammonia and cleaning products also dulling other scent sensitivity? Do you find yourself less or more sensitive to perfume after a busy week? There was a thread on Fragrantica where a doctor was asking which fragrance would offend his patients the least, many people advised him that no perfume at all would be preferable. Poor guy, though it comes with the territory. When I did volunteer work at a vet shelter the animals didn't like it either, I stopped wearing perfume the whole time I was with them.Conversely when I was doing bloods from long term care in hospitals I was surprised, comments from patients were all very positive. Being cooped up sick without fine fragrance they always noticed the wisps of what I had left over. Aged care homes are more relaxed, one lady I visited had a big glass flacon of Shalimar in prime place on her counter, sun damage be damned. :)

...Ah, they must have reopened it.As much as I admire their suggestion (and already do so regularly) I do see that kind of comment quite often on similar causes. My partner would stand behind me and say "what a logical fallacy of relative privation!" Heh.But, bedtime for me... probably for the best.

...FloraMilena:Scarletting:FloraMilena:I've been here for awhile. :DYes, I noticed your similar username. So far here on Parfumo you seem nice enough so I assume you know that would not wash here.I never change no matter which site I am on. If someone were to actually engage in denigratory or personally insulting comments against old people, the aged, gays, lesbians, atheists, or engage in hate speech, especially in the context of perfume choices in a perfume forum, I would speak right up. That will never change.I stand for the same things, though it would seem we fight for them differently. That said, even if I don't respect your method I can appreciate your intent.

...florette:Scarletting, vous êtes loin de donner ma secrets! :wink: *muah*See, that time all I got from it was "loin". :wink:

...The main recent thread was moved, then closed with a comment. A comment! That's progress. The last lines of it I found most interesting: "Everybody is free to go to a public place and exercise his/her freedom of expression or start his/her own website and write what ever he/she wants on it."Let me attempt to translate:

...Hehe, I like it when you respond in French, I go through your comment and try to understand all of it before translating it to see how much I got correct. It's a fun, casual way to learn!

...FloraMilena:I've been here for awhile. :DYes, I noticed your similar username. So far here on Parfumo you seem nice enough so I assume you know that would not wash here.

...No, it makes sense. Your idea would mix scents like a printer would mix inks to make images. Unfortunately printers are tricky little things but at least when they act up it becomes quite obvious... with scent it would be a lot less detectable, it'd be like suspecting you had a bad batch.Not to mention that colour printers still only need four inks... imagine how many various perfume notes you would need for a fragrance "printer!"Still, it's a fun idea.

...florette:My question for you is :twisted:, how pertinent is this topic, in the context of a public perfume forum, given the social and psychological health consequences that may arise from misinformation, amongst other suggestive replies or predatory tactics.I think mentioning sex in a friendly and approachable manner is more likely to open up educational and frank discussion. You're right that young people are growing up very fast these days but I don't think shielding eyes is going to help much, kids will be curious and the internet makes it all too easy to become misinformed or to develop less than positive ideas regarding body image, sexual pressures during relationships and the like. Like allowing someone under legal age to sample wine or puff a cigarette, the verboten nature of some topics lends it an alluring mystery that attracts more than diverts attention. Addressing it in a casual but respectful manner is much more constructive, at least in my experience. Personally I think that if someone is mature enough to appreciate scent to the point that they join Fragrantica, Parfumo or a similar site and happen to wander across people mentioning the word they'd be able to view the conversation with a decent amount of context. The "pantydropper" threads are much more vapid and callous about the objectification of women, men and sex.

...Hopefully enough people are beginning to pay attention that either the admins cannot help but create some structure... or the frustrated members leave and come here instead.

...Well, they have tried. Not as easy as scratch-n-sniff, but getting there. Back in the 80's there was the aroma disc, kind of like an electronic diffuser but it never took off. Then there's the Scentscape and i-Aroma that are digitally controlled. Funky stuff.

...There's a new thread gaining steam now, basically many members throwing in against the censorship. This should be a real catalyst, so we may have many new members coming in, some moving and shaking on Fragrantica, or both.

...Apicius:Seriously: Parfumo will never allow discrimination against lesbians or gays. If anti-gay or anti-lesbian statements should occur I am sure the Parfumo users will step in and say the needful even before the moderators and admins get wind of it.Damn right we will. At the same time I'm glad that moderators pay attention to the forums here.