by

Saturday Question: Have You Ever Tried to Talk Yourself into Liking a Perfume?

It feels like this question needs a bit of context. When we encounter new perfumes, we try them, sometimes like them (though more often not), may revisit later or test them in different settings, and eventually either warm up to them or decide they’re not for us. That’s the “organic” path. But have you ever read a wonderful story about a perfume, fallen for the bottle, thought the notes were exactly up your alley, or even gone for a blind buy – and then, unwilling to be fully disappointed after the first sniff, kept returning to it, trying to talk yourself into thinking you probably… sort of… maybe like it?

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #284:

Have You Ever Tried to Talk Yourself into Liking a Perfume?

Did you succeed?

My Answer

Yes, I have done it so many times. I realized that recently when, after wearing several perfumes, I got the feeling that I wasn’t really enjoying them — and that made me think back to how they got into my collection. At least several of them were the result of my insistent work on liking them. Today I probably wouldn’t have bought them. But since they are in my collection, I won’t be naming those full-bottle half-regrets. Instead, I’ll mention just several of the significantly less costly results of mental experiments on myself (believe me, there were many more).

Iris Rebelle by Atelier Cologne. I read a compelling review by who back then was my “scent twin.” I like iris as a note in perfumes. I liked the brand. I tried it and kind of liked it. Bought a travel spray. I featured it in the Scent Semantics #7: BRILLIANCE post several years ago, wore it once since then – and never even think about it.

Cuir de Lancome. It was one of everybody’s darlings 12-15 years ago. I liked it, but I liked it abstractly, from a swapped sample and later from a small decant a perfumista friend shared with me. It was still not too expensive to buy back then, but I kept telling myself that I needed to finish the decant first… And whenever it was mentioned on a blog, and commenters would all agree what a great perfume it was, I would again feel a pang of regret for not owning a bottle and try it again, telling myself that I liked it… I never bought it, and once my decant got empty (I’m not sure whether from me wearing it or from evaporation), I stopped thinking about it.

Dom Rosa by Les Liquides Imaginaires. I tried it when I visited one of the local perfumeries and liked it enough to buy it as one of five samples from that visit. But trying it again at home, I could never recreate the same feeling I experienced at the store. Still, it kept popping up for sale at a very reasonable price, so each time I would go back to my sample, hoping to recapture that initial infatuation. I remember my insistence. Luckily for me, I finished the sample and entered a verdict in my database: “Nice but nothing special.”

How about you?

 

Have You Ever Tried to Talk Yourself into Liking a Perfume?

28 thoughts on “Saturday Question: Have You Ever Tried to Talk Yourself into Liking a Perfume?”

  1. Oh, so many times. “The name is great…love all the notes…oh no, it’s too loud/too sharp/too unfocused…”–swap it away or give it away, start thinking about it again, can’t believe I didn’t like it, buy it again, repeat the process. I feel like I’m just starting to get control of myself. “But you thought it was too-whatever the last time. And the time before that. So don’t buy it.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Yes, lots and lots and lots. One suddenly springs to mind …. Calvin Klein’s Escape. I had loved Eternity and when I read about this new fragrance I asked my boss to bring back a bottle from the USA. I really didn’t like it, but kept wearing it convinced I would enjoy it one day, and didn’t want to waste it. Eventually gave up. And realised that I didn’t like ozonic notes and this smelt of seaweed!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Oh, Calvin Klein! I just remembered that I had that dance with Obsession. I liked the masculine version (not on me) and was sure that I should love its feminine counterpart. I didn’t buy it and gave up eventually. But even now I’m curious what I would have thought about it today.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. I tried to talk myself into liking Nahema years ago based on Luca Turin’s review and my love of roses. Nope. Didn’t like it and finally gave up. However, that was a long while ago, so maybe I’ll look for that bottle and try it again!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Definitely.  BR540 – could not get on with it but I felt like something must be wrong with me.  I’m with you on Iris Rebelle – I have a travel spray and it really belongs in my out box.  Parfums de Marly Delina which is big with the YouTube influencer crowd – just didn’t get it, it’s nice, but…

    Usually, the perfumes are too expensive for me to try too hard!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  5. Definitely.  BR540 – could not get on with it but I felt like something must be wrong with me.  I’m with you on Iris Rebelle – I have a travel spray and it really belongs in my out box.  Parfums de Marly Delina which is big with the YouTube influencer crowd – just didn’t get it, it’s nice, but…

    Usually, the perfumes are too expensive for me to try too hard!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Eponymous Moschino & Dior Homme. I bought the first twice as theoretically I should adore it but…. Just nope.
    Dior Homme has been a little different. Firstly, I got the original formula. I bought immediately at the counter. The top notes were such a WOW! This is for men!?!?!? But I found that powdery makeup vibe left all too soon & I just did not like what remained. Sold it on. I must have forgotten cos on my next trip through Duty Free another bottle was acquired. Honestly, it must have been like childbirth, I had forgotten the pain. That got sold too!
    Third time? Yes, third purchase was at the airport in January 2012. This time it was the Intense version. Joy of joy, that bottle remains in my horde & gets regular outings when all I want is the olfactory equivalent of an 80’s man in make up (See Phil Oakey & John Taylor from Duran Duran)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • 3 times?!! Wow :)

      I can’t believe I missed trying that perfume: back then, I remember routinely trying all the new perfumes, both feminine (for myself) and masculine (for my vSO). And yet, somehow I have no recollection of that cult classic.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. BUMMER about the Iris Rebel Undina. One of my favourite Iris perfumes. Mine is the 200ml, snatched from the jaws of disontinuation and often spritzed.
    I’m trying to think but nothing is coming to mind.
    I bet while I’m driving to work 20 things will pop into my head. then I’ll come home tonight, ready to add another comment and they’ll all be gone.
    Portia xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. I find one of your examples, Undina, particularly intriguing. It’s Dom Rosa by Les Liquides Imaginaires. Although I don’t own Dominion Rosa, I’ve almost bought it numerous times. I still have a sample, which is almost gone. This perfume exemplifies a scent that I initially enjoyed, but each subsequent sampling elicits a different response. Consequently, I’ve finally removed it from my wish list. It’s been on the list since 2013.

    Encre Noire by Lalique is the most obvious perfume that fits this Saturday question for me. I own a bottle, but every time I try to give it another chance, I just don’t enjoy it. It’s great if you’re looking for a non-descriptive perfume that won’t offend anyone. However, it’s just too abstract for me. I think my skin doesn’t play nicely with the perfume. I’ve pretty much stopped trying to convince myself that I’ll somehow eventually like it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I recently realized that I don’t enjoy anymore some of my perfumes. I don’t dislike them or think they smell off, I just don’t get the joy I used to. Luckily, I have more of those that I still love. But it feels disconcerting to suddenly start questioning myself what exactly I loved about those perfumes.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Speaking for myself, I’ve noticed that my preferences have evolved over the years. Perfumes that once captivated me have lost their appeal. I don’t attempt to convince myself to like them again; instead, I simply accept that it’s a natural part of my changing tastes.

        Like

        Reply

  9. I have, but only with bottles I’ve already bought. Rosa Moceniga by The Merchant of Venice is one – I love the bottle, and it’s a souvenir from Venice (the flagship boutique!), but there’s a strong note of ethyl maltol or something that detracts from this rose fragrance for me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Mine was Creed Delphinius that I wrote about before, having to wait until the drydown to like it. I finally decided it was just not for me and life is too short to wear perfumes that I don’t love all the time so I sold it. I am no longer trying to convince myself to like any fragrance that I don’t love after 3 or 4 good long trials.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

What's on your mind? (I encourage posting relating links to your posts)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.