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Are you looking for a new fragrance to try and fall in love with? This thread is for people looking for a signature scent or a new addition to their scent wardrobe.
It would help if you have an idea of what you're looking for. If you're not sure how to narrow things down, try asking yourself about
- Notes? Amber, bergamot, jasmine, leather, just name what you like 🙂
- Type? Looking for something floral, sweet, fresh, spicy, fruity, woody, smoky, aquatic?
- Vibe? Something sultry, girly, bracing, polished, simple, extravagant, playful?
- Place? A scent for the office, first date, weekend day wear, something else?
- Price? Let us know if you have a budget 🙂
Anonymous
Hi hi! OK, so this wheel is definitely not definitive so I would only refer to it as a guideline.
Some genres here like soft florals isn't really used to my knowledge. I'm guessing here it refers to florals that are gauzy and blurred out with a lot of cleans musks and stuff like ISO-E Super. This might be contrasted for example, with a cut-glass sharp aldehydic floral like Chanel no. 5.
There are newer genres missing in the wheel like the new smoky genre, sporty woody-ambers for men typically associated with Ambrox and other similiar chemicals, or oud which is technically a wood, but it's sooooo different from the other woods, I would give it its own genre with sub-genres like rose-oud.
Like all categories, there are fragrances that fall in multiple ones and I think that's a part of what this wheel is trying to capture with these mixed genres. So instead of just "floral" there is "floral oriental" which is exactly what it sounds like. Oriental but with strong floral notes, sometimes called floriental. TOM FORD Velvet Orchid Eau de Parfum Fragrance for example, pairs jasmine and rose with a rich base of vanilla and myrrh.
I'm really surprized at the absence of fruity floral though. This has been a dominant trend from the 90s onward that basically consumed the market with increasingly sugary iterations. Most popular women's fragrances and celebrity scents fall into this category. We have classics like Tresor by Lancome, which is also ambery, or Dior's J'Adore. The fruity floral goes way back though with great classics like Rochas Femme, Diorella and so on.
As for the woods.... Usually when we talk about woods, we're talking about clean, fresh scents or spicy scents. For clean woods, it's hard to beat Comme des Garcons. Hinoki is pretty classic, but there's also the rest of the Monocle series, Wonderwood, Wonderoud, Palisander Wood, I can't even try to list them all.
For subgenres, I'm not sure I'd go for Dry Woods. I mean, I can think of some like Diptyque's Tam Dao which is so dry to my nose it's almost scratchy. L'Artisan Parfumeur's Dzongkha is pretty dry. But you know, I think there are more fresh, citrusy woods like HERMÈS Terre D'Hermes Eau de Toilette Set than dry woods, or smoky woods like Maison Margiela ‘REPLICA' By the Fireplace Eau de Toilette with Chestnut, Vanilla, and Clove Oil .
As for Mossy Woods. I think what this is getting at is the Chypre genre, which has a traditional structure that includes a base of oakmoss. Chypres have subgenres like Guerlain's Mitsouko, a classic fruity chypre. So I wouldn't consider all chypres woody. Really mossy green chypres are a personal favourite and a major sub-genre of the chypre. Papillon Perfume has one called Dryad which is great. Etat Libre has one called Afternoon of a Faun that's pretty woody.
There's also sandalwood which can get really creamy and aromatic instead of fresh. There are so many good sandalwoods. CdG has its take with Concrete. My fave is Mona di Orio's version. Le Labo's Santal 33 is majorly popular. This doesn't even get into oud. Woods are a genre that has quite a lot of variation compared to say, citrus!
Yes, you are correct, Shalimar is an Oriental classic for sure!
I'm also going to just take this opportunity to say that this genre could basically be renamed to reflect notes like all the other genres, which would be less racist. There could be an spicy-amber genre for example. Professionals in the perfume industry are talking about possible alternatives but change has been slow.
The reason why this genre is called Oriental and not something like ambers is a result of Europeans' festishization of this diverse continent, flattening the entire region into fantasies about the decadence, opulence, sensuality and immorality of the "inscrutable East" (Opium being a classic in this genre which, if you can get your hands on the vintage stuff, smells amazing). So orientals are usually HUGE, full of rich ambers and resins, spices and animalistic musks. So not the laundry fresh musks but the filthy ones that recall the nether regions. Cleanliness and rationality are not a part of that orientalist fantasy.
Ad campaigns emphasized this fetishization of the East and association with moral and sexual decadence. Consider, for example, this ad for Opium.
It might seem tame now but it was utterly shocking in 1994 and I believe it was under Tom Ford's direction.
Another modern video ad of Shalimar featuring Natalia Vodianova shows a romanticized version of India. You can find it on YouTube. It's beautiful but deeply orientalist a la Said.
Thankfully, noses creating scents that reflect the actual variety and diversity of the region exist now today from the legendary Amouage, formerly run by Christopher Chong, who created scents based on personal experiences to little niche houses like Jazmin Sarai, Dusita, Neela Vermiere, and so on.
