# Fragrance descriptions - A short Essay



## MySoapyHeart (Aug 9, 2016)

Sometimes I feel getting fantastic fragrances is like the lottery. 
I  have to rely on description, reviews and sometimes just dumb luck to be able to  get any fragrance oils that I love. 

Testerbottles are out of the question because shipping to Norway is so insane, that it is better for  me to take a chance and just get a big bottle right away, and hope for  the best.

Most of the time this works out great. I spend a lot of time back and  forth, reading descriptions, undertones, reviews etc. And even though I  feel the description can sometimes be so way off that the fragrance should be renamed _ completely_, I still may like the scent. Either for myself or for someone  else. No biggie! 

Sometimes it also depends on the skills of the company who _offer _the scents and the descriptions. 

Sometimes the descriptions makes a scent smell a certain way in my head. Intrigueing, tempting, creating images, painting pictures. 

But then    you get the bottle in hand, and you just don`t know what these guys have been    sniffin` lately, to be able to come up with descriptions that isn`t even _close _to what I smell.

I have often found myself reading a colorfull description of a scent, totally making me feel I need it in my soaps. 

_This _scent will be the scent that fixes everything, filling the big gap in my collection that have been so empty, for so long. 

I need *Champagne HotTubParty *in my life (totally made up name, btw...)

After waiting 4 weeks I get the bottle in the mail, take one sniff, and think to myself_ - Uhm, excuse me?
_
Then I remind myself to never judge a scent untill it has been soaped, cut and cured. 

So I do the steps, let the soap go through a long cure before deciding anything. Scents can morph. They really can.

I lift up a bar and my eyes get this surprized look of disbelief. Well, I can`t be completely sure, I don`t usually stand in front of my hallway mirror the very first time I take a whiff of a new scent.

But in my head I have this look. 

I start to think; This is what champagne bubbles, snow and fresh air are supposed to smell like? On what planet? Did fry from Planet Express deliver this package by mistake? Should it had been delivered to Mars and someone else got my fragrance?

I sniff again.

Where are the undertones you promised me?! _*shaking fist at the description, who knew this was coming and hid under the couch, shaking, and dripping with lies, deceit and false promises*
_
Where are the bubbly untertones of a soft waterfall, Tiare flowers and golden citrus? 
Where is the tartness from Carambole and softness from the white musk hiding? Under the bed? 
And exactly where did the powdery notes from the newlyweds of Patchouli and sweet vanillabeans go? Were they held up in customs? 

I shake my head.

Where can I find this _soft air_ that was going to stroke my  nostrils, whilst taking me back to the summer evenings of my dreams_, _with  floral dresses, blond highlights, no lovehandles, and classy flip-flops  from Prada? Were they arrested for trespassing? Will they show up later, at least?

All I can smell are those... hanging, fake, green plastic grapes that hung by the  window in my childhood home in the 70`s. The ones that became so soft and squishy in the  warm sunlight, whilst oozing the familiar scent of old plastic and flaky  green paint. Ah memories...

Also pinching my nose like an uncomfortable itch, are the undertones of over-ripened pinapples  dripping with brine, 2 big pieces of Hubba Bubba chewing gum, Vicks  VapouRub, a crumbled cookiemonster, 1 pine tree set on fire while holding a cinnamon stick, and finally rounding everything off with a lingering undertone of a cheap rubberststamp.

*Champagne HotTubParty* - you lied to me. We can`t be friends.

_But then again, it all could be just my nose..._


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## TheDragonGirl (Aug 9, 2016)

XD I'm laughing, I sympathize, although its a lot easier for me to get fragrances here.


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## Soapmaker145 (Aug 9, 2016)

LOL! I can sympathize. Descriptions are very deceiving.  I can't figure out if they are written by marketing people or the fragrance developers based on what notes they know are in the oils (supplemented with a great deal of imagination).

Just a suggestion: often FO notes get muffled or obscured when combined.  Adding a little sandalwood, musk or patchouli can "unmask" them.  It worked for me for a number of FOs.  I do that when FOs keep changing every time I smell them.  It is worth trying before dumping an FO, particularly since it is so hard and so expensive to ship them to you. 

We're going to have to figure out how to ship some FOs to you.  Now to find the right person at the post office who knows what paperwork to fill out!  It's probably easier to find those elusive fragrance notes that seem to exist only in the descriptions.


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## Arimara (Aug 9, 2016)

I'm sorry the FO was a lie. that was a very descriptive review for a scent I probably would have passed over anyway (champagne = aldehydes of a fruity, sparkling kind which tends to smell fruity and will strengthen some scents to where they become offensive to the nose. Not all of them are bad though or Chanel No. 5 would not be a classic).


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## dibbles (Aug 9, 2016)

MSH, you are too funny. I do sympathize with you though.


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## TeresaT (Aug 9, 2016)

MSH - hilarious!  Simply hilarious.  You are a wonderful writer.


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## nsmar4211 (Aug 9, 2016)

"1 pine tree set on fire while holding a cinnamon stick"

This part just made me scare the cat!!! Although that does sound interesting in a weird way....

Thanks for the essay....true and hilarious! My best example is Lust (which has its own thread). It can repel King Kong I think...no warning of THAT!!!


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## newbie (Aug 9, 2016)

The green plastic grapes...  BAM came that smell to me!


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## CaraBou (Aug 9, 2016)

Ah, your prose paints ordinary windows over mystical stained glass, and the truth is revealed. I rarely buy FOs anymore without smelling them first, or distilling the list to those with very few nouns, adjectives and adverbs.  The more I smell, the more I gravitate to a short list of EOs.  Now if only I could ignore the intrigue of creating a novel blend, I could truly reap the lessons you and I have both learned.


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## cerelife (Aug 10, 2016)

Thank you for this post!!! I just snorted Diet Pepsi through my nose because I was laughing so hard 
But I DO feel your pain! With the RE sale coming up I decided to give some of the FO's I bought last year a try and I made tarts with this one tonight since I was sooo enamored with the name!
http://rusticescentuals.com/White-Pumpkin-Lilac.html
I honestly have never figured out what I was smelling OOB and still can't figure it out in the tarts. It's not unpleasant, but kind of mixed up to my nose. I asked my husband to give the tarts a sniff and tell me what he smelled and his opinion was "Maybe vanilla and incense...what is it supposed to smell like?" When I told him the name, he was like "What the f*** is a White Pumpkin?" 
Yeah, I sooo get sucked into FO names...


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## penelopejane (Aug 10, 2016)

MSH - too true! 

Don't buy *Men's super fantastic number 1 best seller* it's also a dud! 

I feel your pain USA>Oz postage is horrific and those mail centres are a joke.  Still 10 x 30ml testers will be better than 1 x 100ml disaster.


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## Rusti (Aug 10, 2016)

Ah yes. I experienced this just the other night with WSP's new Sweet Corn FO. Here I'm reading the description and thinking of how the cornfields smell on a cool wet night, or freshly shucked sweet corn before it's boiled.

Nope.

I don't know what sweet corn these folks have been smelling but I think it was rotten. I nearly gagged sniffing the bottle. I can smell what might have been sweet corn, but it's got corn earworms for sure! Yuck!


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 10, 2016)

Thank you for the feedback guys! And for sharing your tips and advice, and similar experiences you had!

I am so happy... err, ok, I am not _happy _that you all have the same experiences_,_ but that you could recognize the issue of those, sometimes overly colorfull descriptions. Some of which makes the fragrance sound so awesome that you feel you should really expect them to pop out of the cupboard, do the grocery shopping and fill up the car with gas. 

_"Life is like a bottle of fragrance. 
You never know what you are going to get._"

_~Florist Grump_


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 10, 2016)

I've been disappointed many times as well. I now stick with scents that sound simple or other people have sung praises for (the only exception being pink musk from WSP that I had to try from the description [this is one of the few scents that really was fantastic]). 

I almost never can tell the difference between whipped cream, marshmallow and plain vanilla scents. And in soap they all smell the same... I fell for the naming trick with REs "cornucopias and gourds" and "corn husk". I thought it would smell like fall (whatever that even smells like). I've been floored with some scents I've taken a risk on but the list is few and far between. 

The more fragrances I acquire, the more scrutinizing my nose becomes.

Edit: also, "Florist Grump" is amazing.


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## TDS (Aug 10, 2016)

Hahah, I love it! I so sympathize with your pain, as recently I purchased "First Love". It has no smell, fragrance, whatever that I can tell. Mistrusting my nose, I had my husband sniff it, he agrees, it has no scent. Ordering FO's is like a box of chocolates, oh wait.........

Trish


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## dixiedragon (Aug 10, 2016)

I'm going to name a blend Champagne Hot Tub Party. Just FYI.


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## Steve85569 (Aug 10, 2016)

dixiedragon said:


> I'm going to name a blend Champagne Hot Tub Party. Just FYI.



By Florist Grump?


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 10, 2016)

dixiedragon said:


> I'm going to name a blend Champagne Hot Tub Party. Just FYI.




 Oh please do!

Btw, it was funny you should mention that, I was in my cabinet earlier, trying to come up with a blend that could fit the bill, and then make soap with it. `Cause even it was just a silly name I came up with, it suddenly got stuck in my head ( '_' ) 

I even know the colors...

Seriously, I should go to bed, and not think about these things _now._ 

Tomorrow I may, or may *not *make the soap (totally _will_) so we`ll see then *cough*


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## IrishLass (Aug 10, 2016)

Lots of the scent descriptions I've read are so way 'out there' that I often wonder if the people who make them up aren't in actuality students sitting in a creative writing class who, for extra credit, are given the name of a scent and asked to write a description about it, but without ever having smelled it. lol

That's why I rely so heavily on sites like the SSRB before purchasing a scent. Not every FO scent is listed, but it's been a huge resource that's helped me to be able to avoid buying many a dud that I had been considering for purchase. 


IrishLass


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 11, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> Lots of the scent descriptions I've read are so way 'out there' that I often wonder if the people who make them up aren't in actuality students sitting in a creative writing class who, for extra credit, are given the name of a scent and asked to write a description about it, but without ever having smelled it. lol
> 
> That's why I rely so heavily on sites like the SSRB before purchasing a scent. Not every FO scent is listed, but it's been a huge resource that's helped me to be able to avoid buying many a dud that I had been considering for purchase.
> 
> ...



 Yes, I have seen that site too, sounds great. But they do not allow anyone to register with free emails (Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, Live, and others) but only with paid email accounts, so I am excluded from being able to register.

Also the site is old and haven`t been updated in a long time? Or are there perhaps secret boards you get access to after logging in? 

What I do now is google the scent in question and whatever info I can get on a scent will pop up. But a scent can still smell vastly different between my nose and the reviewers, so I have just take whatever comes and try and make it work anyway, and usually I mix it with something else to take the edge of.   

I would love to be a "fragrance-writer"! But I may be a bit overly creative for the companies that actually want to _*sell*_ their oils.

"_This fragrance has undertones of old feet that has walked a thousand miles in the same shoes. But after saponification has happened it will turn into a soft and sweet vanilla type of scent that just graduated from bakery-school, and decided to turn into a Cinnamon bun rolled in brown sugar and sprinkles. 
Will discolor to a light pink, similar to sore feet_."

See? I got it bad, and there ain`t a cure for it...


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## IrishLass (Aug 12, 2016)

MySoapyHeart said:


> But they do not allow anyone to register with free emails (Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, Live, and others) but only with paid email accounts, so I am excluded from being able to register.




Yep- you can thank spam for that. The gal that owns/runs/upkeeps the site is a one-woman show, and she found that the best way she seemed to be able to prevent hack attacks and keep spammers from over-running the site was to require folks to register with paid e-mails, which happily is the only requirement to join.  



> Also the site is old and haven`t been updated in a long time? Or are there perhaps secret boards you get access to after logging in?


 
The site has been around for a while, but folks are always posting new reviews on it (I've posted quite a few myself) . You have to be a member to be able to see the whole site.

Here's another review site that was started by a forum member some time ago: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Rf1M/edit?authkey=CMTEtswL&pref=2&pli=1#gid=0


IrishLass


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## makemineirish (Aug 12, 2016)

*Ridiculously verbose reply...with a few helpful (hopefully) suggestions...*



MySoapyHeart said:


> Sometimes I feel getting fantastic fragrances is like the lottery.
> I  have to rely on description, reviews and sometimes just dumb luck to be able to  get any fragrance oils that I love.
> 
> Testerbottles are out of the question because shipping is so insane to  Norway, that it is better for  me to take a chance and just get a big  bottle right away, and hope for  the best.
> ...



I  realize that you were probably just looking to commiserate with all of  us struggling with the same issues.  I can certainly do so.  Whether it  is a bottle of wine or perfume, even accurate descriptions fail to  convey proportion.  Is the "note" listed prominent or only discernible  to the truly discriminating?  Am I the only one disappointed that Jo  Malone's Lime, Mandarin, and Basil was so lime-centric and  mandarin-light or at the number of fruity descriptions ("redolent of  honeyed nectarines") for dry wine?  My personal  pet peeve is descriptions that are evocative of a feeling only with no  actual information.  (Mad Oils' Hedonic Tonic comes to mind;  the description is quoted below). 



> This  libidinous fragrance is sure to get your pheromones flowing. With hints  of sage and light subtle minty undertone, this energizing potion is  decidedly decadent. Men are drawn to this scent when asked to choose a  fragrance for themselves.​ Concocted in our pleasure lab, _Hedonic Tonic_ will not disappoint.  Super fresh and perfect for the warmer months!  Smells unique and yet.... something familiar is in there.​


If  the sage is subtle and the mint an undertone, what the heck is it that  you smell?  Is there a comparison to draw...Irish Spring, Herbal Essence  Shampoo, herb garden with tomato plants in place of rosemary, etc)  In  fairness, I bought the stuff just to figure it out...so the marketing  works.

Whether  or not you were looking for suggestions, I have actually figured out a  few solutions that work for me. I don't live OUTCONUS, but still want to  minimize wasting money, fuel, packaging, and space on scents I should  have known I would hate.  

First, if the FO happens to be a dupe  (as almost all of Nurture's are), I consult Fragrantica.  They have a  section of iconography that tells you the notes that appear in the  fragrance, and more importantly, one that represents users' rankings of  what they discern.  Sweet Cakes lists the notes in their Hermes Eau des  Merveilles dupe, but consulting Fragrantica gives me this helpful  graphic (Labels appear when you hover the mouse over the images on the site; the following, in order, on the "Perfume Pyramid" are: orange, lemon, elemi resin, amber, pink peppercorn, violet, pepper, fir, oakmoss, cedar, and vetiver.)






When  I am deliberating on an FO that is specific to a vendor, I call  customer service.  This serves several purposes.  While scent is  certainly subjective, the representative is not attempting to decorate  their description with poetic prose.  They usually only mention  distinguishable notes in the order that they perceive them.  More  importantly, I am typically on the hunt for a particular component to  complete a vision.  I can articulate exactly what it is that I am in  pursuit of and what I am not: 
-a straight ocean scent with no discernible floral, fruit, or woods
- the smell of fresh snow as opposed to a winter landscape of spruce or pine  

I  can also ask a question specific to my concerns that may help me choose  between vendors.  I have found that even people who are not glib of  tongue often have definitive answers to inquiries framed for multiple  choice or yes/no responses.
- Is your iteration of OMH more  almond-centric, spicy, creamy, or heavy on the sugar?
-  Is the lavender in "Chamomile Lavender" the more traditional,  camphorous 40/20 variety or a floral rendition akin to the flowers in  bloom?
- Is "Maculine Musk" the scent of a sexy man...or his cologne?
- Would you classify "Hydrogen" as a water scent?

I  know that not all companies provide a that level of customer service.  However, it has became a litmus test as to  whether I will order from them.  Sweet Cakes lost me early because of  its unwillingness to respond to any question, regardless of how basic,  by phone or email.  ( Despite the IFRA party line they spouted, I wanted  to know which of the fragrances I would like to order contained DEP.)   Frankly, I am willing to pay more money to support those businesses that  support me as I feel it is less costly/wasteful long-term.  

I  am currently most impressed with Nurture Soap, Mad Oils, and Majestic  Mountain Sage, Bramble Berry, and Camden Grey.  NS, MO, and MMS almost  always have a knowledgeable human available to answer the phone!  Nuture  gets a special shout out for the owner personally taking my call and  fixing an inventory glitch to allow me to place a single order (hence a single shipping fee).  Bramble  Berry rarely answers the phone but always returns those messages left  by 4:00pm that day.  Camden Grey is never available by phone, but has  been quick to reply to any questions or concerns submitted by email.Save
Save
Save​


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## dixiedragon (Aug 12, 2016)

MySoapyHeart said:


> Also the site is old and haven`t been updated in a long time? Or are there perhaps secret boards you get access to after logging in?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## dixiedragon (Aug 12, 2016)

MMS has its own forum but it's not very active. I think the fact that they don't allow non MMS products to be discussed limits their traffic. Brambleberry also has a board called Teach Soap and it's pretty active (though not as active as this).

Remember to contribute to our Scent Review Charts!


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 14, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> [/SIZE][/SIZE]
> 
> Yep- you can thank spam for that. The gal that owns/runs/upkeeps the site is a one-woman show, and she found that the best way she seemed to be able to prevent hack attacks and keep spammers from over-running the site was to require folks to register with paid e-mails, which happily is the only requirement to join.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, IL! I totally understand why she had to start doing that then. Spam is ruining it for everyone these days.

I have read the spreadsheet many times before, and I have it on my computer because it is very helpfull. I have found one or two of NG scents I like there: ) 

The unfortunate issue with most of the scents that I really want to have, is that they have flashpoints below 200. So it is really a tedious task of finding scents.


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 14, 2016)

makemineirish said:


> When  I am deliberating on an FO that is specific to a vendor, I call  customer service.
> 
> I  am currently most impressed with *Nurture Soap*, Mad Oils, and Majestic  Mountain Sage, Bramble Berry, and Camden Grey.  NS, MO, and MMS almost  always have a knowledgeable human available to answer the phone!  Nuture  gets a special shout out for the owner personally taking my call and  fixing an inventory glitch to allow me to place a single order (hence a single shipping fee).



Thanks for your reply, it was a big one, so thank you for the effort, it is so very much appreciated that you took the time to do all that work! 
I apologize if it seems like I cut this short, but just wanted to reply as best as I could.

First, I love fragrantica! I have had an account there for around 6 years now, so I have found that the vast knowledgebase of the things you mentioned (notes, undertones, etc). have made it so much easier for me to find the type of scents I gravitate towards.

Ditto on the descriptions that are based on feelings no  actual information. 

Some brands of cosmetics do the same, and.it.drives.me batty. 

How am I supposed to know how a smoth, silky layer of pure bliss will look like?

Customer service is important, for sure! But I live in Norway, we don`t have soap suppliers here. 
So I can`t call the ones overseas on the phone. Well, I perhaps can, but it is ca-razy expensive. So I stick to emailing. That may have some limits, but it is the only way I can get help that way, so far it is ok. (_and also, I don`t have to put the poor CS through listening to my - probably very strange and not so charming - Norwegian accent_) *cough*

Nurture have fantastic CS, they answer crazy fast! To me getting a reply 12-24 hours after I emailed is fantastic. Carrie is a peach!

You mention other places to order from, at the moment those are unfortunately not an option for me since the shipping quote I get from them is hilarious. BrambleBerry - a 5 gram sample of mica will cost me almost $80 the cheapest way.  1 bottle of 16oz fragrance oil comes to around $140. They do not offer cheaper shipping to Norway. 

Other sellers either does not ship to Norway, or demand some sort of complex way of doing things, like filling out specific forms on before hand, send them via email, then wait for them to get confirmation from my credit card company that it is valid, etc.. (don`t remember which company that was, but it was a big one that had all sorts of things for DIY cosmetics) 
That makes me not even consider them, I just want to put things in cart, see shipping price, pay with paypal, done.

So my go-to options are Natures Garden & Nurture. Love them both, for different reasons: )

Now I am on a lookout for a good, clean ocean type scent, and a beachy type of scent. It have to be 200 flashpoint or else I can`t get it. Luckily NG has a coupple, and Nurture has one too. Will see what scent I end up with!


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 14, 2016)

dixiedragon said:


> MySoapyHeart said:
> 
> 
> > Also the site is old and haven`t been updated in a long time? Or are there perhaps secret boards you get access to after logging in?
> ...



What I mean by "updated" and "secret boards" is that when I  - who is not registered as a member - try and find information, all I can see are posts from 2008. And 1 that was updated 2015. 

But as IrishLass just told me, the forum is _only open to registered users._ So anyone who isn`t a member and hence not logged in, will only see a forum that looks like it has been long dead since 2008 ; )



dixiedragon said:


> Brambleberry also has a board called Teach Soap and it's pretty active (though not as active as this).
> 
> Remember to contribute to our Scent Review Charts!



When I was looking for a soap forum to join I took a quick peek at the teach soap forum, read a little bit, but didn`t like it. It didn`t have a homely feel to it. Probaly because it was owned by a big company, which used the forum to push the brand. Nothing wrong with that! But I wanted something more open and detached from all of that. So I found this place & joined this one instead.
Very happy I did.

I will contribute to the chart as soon as I can figure out what I can add, absolutely! : )


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