...I agree with Sonnenfee when it comes to flowery fragrances. Why the heck should a woman want to smell like a bouquet of flowers? Yeark. I refer to soliflor scents or scents which have a very dominant flower note. If it is some rose and jasmin in combination with woods and spices, that's perfectly ok. I like the abstract composition that may or may not contain flowers.The same thing with sweets. I hate very sweet fruity frags or sugary synthetic smelling frags in general. But if it is a well made sweet scent with interesting aspects like tobacco and/or spices, I'm fine with some sweetness (e.g. Ambre Narguilé - although I wouldn't be able to wear it every day).

...Wow, lonestar memories, you're courageous! Great scent!I have bought "Fat Electrician" from a parfumo colleague. Smells damn good on me!

...On the german site one of my favourite threads is the one, in which everyone can talk about reactions of other people towards the fragrances they were wearing. Perfumes can cause quite funny anecdotes sometimes...Well, I'll just start - although my example is not that spectacular (to tell the truth, I usually don't get that many reactions...):I was wearing l'Heure Bleue - well actually I was wearing several things because I had just been trying stuff. I was sitting in a cafe, when the waitor asked me, if I had burnt incense sticks at home. When I negated he asked if maybe at work. Nope. Then he asked if it might be a perfume. When I had him sniff my l'Heure-Bleue-arm he got a big smile saying "incense sticks" - and he wanted to know the name of the perfume (obviously he likes incense sticks). So far, I've got the most compliments for "l'Heure Bleue" and "Coromandel".

...Flaconneur:Many people that have no previous experience with quality perfumes, steer clear of some niche fragrances. They might be too dirty smelling for their clean and fresh concept.Many Americans I know follow modern fashion trends and purchase designer fragrances. These fragrances are within their budgets, where niche fragrances are not. It's too bad because the niche fragrances are much more interesting, in my opinion.Well, I think in this case, budget ist more a function of priority than of income ;)I think you must be a perfume addict (or too rich) in order to spend 200$ for a perfume...

..."Dior Homme (2011)"

...Yesterday I saw a german comedy "RubbeldieKatz", which is not earth-shaking but very cute. Recently I saw Almodóvar's "The skin I live in", which I enjoyed very much ;)

...Sherapop:I had a big bottle of Guerlain Vetiver (vintage), which I loved and so gave it to a friend in a rare gesture of perfumic magnanimity. :roll: Unfortunately, he proceeded to give it away--not because he loved it, but because he did not! Lesson learned: make no assumptions when it comes to perfume!More recently, I have tried a slew of the new vetivers, including many of the ones some people have mentioned above, but I have one question for you all:Is Hermessence Vetiver Tonka the only sweet vetiver around? I think that I might like it, if I were to wear it a few more times, but at the moment it strikes me as slightly odd simply for its sweetness. Maybe it's a case like salted licorice: an acquired taste? 8)To me, "Fat Electrician" has a sweet vibe, but not in a gourmand manner. Smoky as well (contrary to Vétiver Tonka, which unfortunately isn't smoky on my skin)

...Today I wore "Déclaration". I had almost forgotten how damn SEXY that is!

...Tonight I switch to "Jicky"

...Well, don't know, still don't really get along with "Vétiver Extraordinaire", but I'll try again several times. What do you think about "Fat Electrician"?

...Today it will be "Youth Dew". I'm actually not sure if it is for me. When I once tried it in the shop I got lots of incense, which I don't seem to get any more. We'll see...

...Probably some of you will say "all". It is not as easy as that.I own a couple of guy's scents. In the beginning I was sometimes uncomfortable wearing them asking myself if people around me would notice it and think of it as butch (and maybe draw a false conclusion concerning my preferences...). But I'm getting used to it, lets say I claimed these fragrances, they are now part of my olfactory identity ;)I just wonder sometimes what non-perfumistas around me may think of it if they notice at all.My sister for instance recently complained about me using masculine scents (she's kind of conservative) - Maybe I shouldn't have told her, would she have noticed at all? For example she didn't even notice that "Égoïste" by Chanel is masculine when I wore it. And she wears "Eternity", which is female but disgusting (I didn't tell her, but as a good sister I bought her the shower gel).My mom seems a bit more open. She loves "Équipage" and says that she would wear it as well.I don't know about my colleagues, they have never commented on my fragrances. But I don't think that as an engineer (incarnation of seriousness and reliablilty) it is appropriate to wear very sweet and girly stuff to work. So, I don't worry that much.Still there are some strongly masculine scents that I think would be difficult to wear in public like "Bel Ami" or "Bois du Portugal" (which my mum also likes, maybe she's just polite).What do you think? Are there more girls out there, that love grabbing for "Pour Monsieur" and "Eau Sauvage" for instance?

...I wouldn't call "Hermèssence Poivre Samarcande" a gourmand although it consists of really good pepper notes!Cardamom: I love cardamom in food - I recently made a moroccan orange cake with plenty of cardamom - yummi! But would you call Chanels Pour Monsieur a gourmand due to its (slightly sweetened) cardamom note? Other perfumes that come to my mind that have a prominent cardamom note are CdG2, Kenzo Power... If you can recommend me a cardamom gourmand I'm very willing to try out!

...Ambre Russe?? I'd like to try it.Well, one year without any fragrance purchase is tough, good luck!

...I didn't want to discount all Americans as craving the fresh and clean only scents - I think there is a difference between someone whose interest in perfume is above average and people for whom a perfume is simply a commodity that makes them feel fresh and clean all day.So you think it is more a fashion thing than a regional preference?

...Hi, I'd like to discuss the impact that culture has on perfume taste. From reading international blogs and forums I got the notion that e.g. people from US are more into 'fresh and clean' than Europeans are. In some reviews I sometimes got the impression that they tend to say clean when they like the juice and just don't find a more suitable descriptor. They use 'clean' for scents that in my opinion don't really stand out due to their cleanliness. They generally seem to worry a lot about their natural body odours, that's why 'clean' is virtually one of the best things one can say about a frag.Another 'prejudice' would be that Arabs like rose+oud frags and that Asians tend to like subtle fragrances. On the other hand I observe that there are fragrances that virtually everybody from all over the world loves. I got the theory that those regional preferences are especially true for the 'normal' buyer who is not a perfumista. Last weekend I went to the dressmaker - she's Persian or something like that - she smelled of rose-oud - fulfilling the cliché. But when people dive into the world of perfume, their taste seems to internationalise. Sensuality and aesthetic ideals become more important. We discover that a given scent typical of one region works just as well in a totally different context. Nowadays many people from everywhere discover the beauty in rose-oud fragrances for example. Perfumistas from all over the world praise the skankyness in certain scents (Jicky just to name one) regardless their cultural background. Certainly perfume communities on the internet push this globalisation, which is great, because it is a huge enrichment for everyone. In the long run it helps small niche firms to survive and maybe bigger designer houses to take them as an example in terms of innovation. What do you think?

...Do you think Kardamom in perfume is a gourmand note? Would pepper be gourmand. I don't think that everything that is edible is a gourmand. Well, at least spices aren't in my opinion. Spicy would be an own category, wouldn't it?

...Wow, that's already 3 hits for Cuir de Russie.I should try Knize Ten again. I only tried it once - and I had already smelled plenty of other stuff. Knize ten seemed sweet and flowery to me. Well, in that state, Bandit was a subtle scent as well...

...And mine!But for its flowers it definitely has a dandy vibe. At least on my skin I get a soft sweet violet note.

...I really h*** Jim Carrey!