Random thoughts on Reviews

One man's trash is another man's treasure. If it was a well argued critique without getting personal, I can see no problem with criticism.

Res ipsa loquitur.

www.parfumo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=637

No matter what I write in a review - there are going to be answers, in fact, answers are invited, so there may be some criticism, or an opposite opinion.
Now, if I am partial to my favorite perfume, such opposing answers are going to hurt, unless they are carefully worded.

That is mostly the case for differences inside of Forums, personalities get in the way, as we are all human.

The art of good writing is not a natural gift.

(There were reviews on the German site, like "This smells like a corpse", so no wonder that a storm of protesting answers followed.)

I was under the impression that the snobbishery was left over at basenotes. I hope nobody is offended by the use of the word.

Hey, hey, hey ... these remarks don't help to make a cozy atmosphere. Suppose that individual was reading ?

Prima facie.

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Any forum requires as much social skills as the offline-world, if not more due to lack of face-to-face interaction (no facial expression etc. to pick up from). If that is understood, then surely no one would hold a grudge against her, given all is resolved.

And now lets get back on topic.

Just read this...and one of the members mentioned how some of the Frag. members wrote silly reviews, connected to songs..I nearly fainted! as at least two of my reviews have a mention of a song..or music. Mind you, that comment was made before I was here.....so, I feel O.K. now! I wrote my reviews based on how the fragrance made me feel...I don't feel silly, at all!

Yep, we all agree that this member's stance on using lyrics or what have you in a review, was put forward in a rather undiplomatic fashion and far too all-in to be constructive.

Nonetheless, I have to admit, that if a review does get lost in details, be it notes or lyrics/poetry, I tend to skip it. Though it doesn't bother me, as I am biased as to what "reviewers I choose to peruse beforehand", as AromiErotici had phrased it so nicely.

This thread has inspired me to write reviews a little more often. I'm comfortable with my writing, just not comfortable detecting notes accurately. I think I write fluently when the fragrance really captures my attention. My not so good choppy reviews are obvious, I sometimes struggle to pull the scent from my memory so I can compare it to something I know. I agree, those life history reviews make my eyes wander right off the page.

Question: Is snobbishery even a word?

I'm sitting at the back of the forum room timidly raising my hand because I'm guilty of having written many life story reviews.

However, my feeling is that our lives are full of shared experiences. What may seem like a personal anecdote describing a fragrance may actually be a universal way of getting others to understand how a perfume smells.

Aside from that, I suggest everyone dive right in and write reviews. Writing about fragrance is a bit like reading a poem. Just as reading poetry isn't an exercise in cracking a riddle or finding hidden meaning, experiencing a fragrance isn't about decoding notes and accords. It's about your personal experience with a piece of art and as long as what you have to say is a sincere, thoughtful reflection of that experience your opinion has merit. If you keep an open mind and keep sniffing new fragrances and reading other reviews you'll learn the the technical aspects of perfumery.

But by all means keep writing because it will force you to reflect on and question your opinions and beliefs.

Finally, Parfumo has two fantastic writing tools: The first is that your review has to be a minimum length, so you can't simply say, "Chanel sucks" or "Chanel is awesome". If you try to write that kind of review I think you'll get a message saying "Your review must be at least 20 characters long," or some such thing. The second writing tool is the edit button. I use that A LOT! You can always make corrections or even change your opinion

Writing any review takes a simple, honest effort. Your review doesn't have to fall in line with the status quo. It just needs to be genuine and written with thought behind it.

The only reviews that suck are the ones already mentioned that consist of 8 words or less and describe nothing more than either the disgust or enthrallment the reviewer felt compelled to post.

I love writing reviews, but I have to be in the mood for it. Forcing them because you have some sort of quota to fulfill isn't recommended. I haven't written any almost all month and I may take another month off just because I have other endeavors.

This site, I have always believed, will be the "go-to" in just a few years for people searching for opinions. Quality over Quantity is the best way to go.

That nails it down. Eyes start to glaze over ..

You guys better gird your loins because that individual is bound to show up here sooner or later. The famous bloviating gasbag of Fragrantica, I mean.

Just this morning as I want to peruse of what is new over at Fragrantica, my computer posted a warning, something like:

Google Chrome is warning that if you proceed your computer could be infected with Malware.

So, either it is true ... and that could be bad for Fragrantica visitors, or

it is just an ad to get some protection by the warning issuer.

Whatever, I have no particular need to risk my computer - just when I would only be reading anyhow.

Bawahahaha LMBO

Grey, darling I love reading your reviews. As Dlane said ...don't change a thing.

I also love Cryptic's posts she makes me laugh! She writes great reviews too.

Thank you, Cincy. I love your perfume photos, but you already knew that. *hugs*

Just an FYI, since I took the time to look up the meaning of this quote, Im planning to work it into one of my reviews one day. See, my reviews are getting better already!