I would love a video explaining how skin chemistry works. I saw a video where a perfumer said it's not a real thing, but on myself I definitely experienced perfumes that smell great on others that just smell off on me.
Skin chemistry is a thing, but it’s a very complicated thing. pH however is not. Lots of people ask me about the pH and that is most certainly not a thing. Skin is tightly regulated at a pH of ~5.5, so there is not a significant enough difference among individuals for “pH” to be the factor in perfumery. I often have to debunk the pH myth, but that doesn’t mean that there are other factors at play here. Perhaps that’s what the perfumer was getting at as well.
I'm convinced skin chemistry is a real thing. With jasmine scented things for example, some of my family can wear it ok, and with other family members it's too indolic. Something funky going on with the genetics ayyyy
You can’t explain body chemistry because every individual has a different amount of cortisol, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone along with different acidity and medications they take, etc….. not 2 people are the same. So perfume actually does smell different on absolutely everyone…. And then there is the olfactory nerve which is also different in every individual… which interprets the fragrance and reports it to your brain
I also have rules I follow: 1: always smell the perfume on you and wait for a drydown before buying, have a walk and return to the store later. 2: don't rush into the hype, I for instance despise Bianco Latte 😂 but I love everything it has in it. Weird I know. I guess it's the concentration of every scent inside. 3: samples are tricky, you don't have the same maceration in a sample as in a bottle from a store 4: niche doesn't mean automatically better. Trust your skin and your nose not the word NICHE
I blind bought bianco latte and am also so sad that I dont like it! All i get is car freshener!! Im hoping by some miracle ill sniff it one day and be obessed
@honechan10 I wanted to do the same but my bf talked me out of it. We travelled to a perfumery that had it and smelled it. It was awful on me and I couldn't shake the smell of medicine for some reason. I much rather prefered Bora Bora out of their line although everybody says it smells like sunscreen lotion. Same with Blanche Bette from LI. The guy sprayed it and I went for a walk before returning to the store. I ended up buying Tonkatonic from Morph and Sugar Kisses from Lorenzo Pazzaglia which is more oily, both drying down on my skin like a combination of marshmallow and sweet vanilla.
@@SilverPanther000 i don't know 🤷🏻♀️ I have many vanilla perfumes and after opening them, spraying and letting them stay more than a week, they smell better. I have a normal mortal nose and for me there is a difference, it's not so artificial smelling, it's a bit more sweet.
Little kinda rant about not letting people dictate your perfume. I wanted to not like caramel vanilla amber scents, because it’s so basic but also because my mum and sister HATE IT. They love fresh, clean, light, laundry type scents. However I am to my core a warm little bit spicy cozy type of person (afternoon delight from replica has been my new daily go to perfume with sweet cinnamon pumpkin lotion). Let me tell you when I wear a light perfume I don’t feel like myself and no one compliments how I smell. When I wear a more cozy vanilla scent I feel like me, and people constantly tell me how good I smell.
You're my absolute favorite fragrance influencer hands down. I love this wave of creating a well-informed conscious consumer, and your content is excellent for that. Your passion for perfumery is enthralling and inspiring to me, so thank you. Best wishes and looking forward to the next one ❤
#5 is so real....I just got into the world of perfumes and watched a ton of youtube and tiktok and everyone was talking about vanilla and gourmands. I live overseas so I ordered a tonnn of the most hyped gourmand fragrances to my parents in the US absolutely sure i would love them. I was disasppointed and only after going into stores to sniff other options that my taste is fresh, clean smells.... its tempting to blind buy but the point about at least knowing your taste is SO KEY!!!
18:48 I’ve learned that rather than wasting money on disappointing dupes, I’d rather buy a travel size of the real thing than a 50ml of a cheat sad dupe.
One mistake I used to make is when I declutter perfumes, I get fomo and rebuy it only to realize that I still don’t wear them. I now keep decants of everything before I declutter it so I remember why I didn’t like wearing it in the first place (like La Capitale or Soie Malaquais haha)
Also raising my hand for a skin chem video! Just about 90% of perfumes my friend has tried literally go rancid for some reason. It’s wild to experience commodity milk- (so sweet!) literally go wrong in a matter of minutes.
I studied chemistry and I'm so interested in skin chemistry and the factors determining how fragrances smell on different people. Please do a video on this! Don't care if it's complicated, it will for sure be interesting.
My biggest mistake is impulsively buying a perfume after only one time of smelling it. I’ve given away at least five perfumes to friends and neighbors after realizing that I didn’t like them. 😭
SO real! I did this with Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens. I smelled it in-store (on paper only) in paris, then bought it like 6 months later based on the vague memory of it smelling good. Why do we do this to ourselves haha
@khanhfident: Me too! Jimmy Choo Fever. Not for me. Tiffany and co rose gold. After awhile, it gave me a headache. Tom Ford: Jasmine Rogue. No. Just No. Tom Ford: Bitter peach. I was mixed about this scent. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. My sister loves it. I gave it to her.
@@idaranwa4370 I never liked Jimmy Choo Fever, and apparently, Tiffany perfumes generally don't last. I've definitely spent $700+ on perfumes that I ended up giving away. 😭
me too. sprayed prada paradox on 1 time while on a cruise & bought it immediately (in under 2 min!)...came home & gifted to our mostest amazing Housecleaner upon my next wear. its sucha no-go on my skin imo!☺️
@@tomarraw OMG, I got the Prada Paradoxe Intense after smelling it twice, but I almost went for it when I actually had it at home. I ended up giving it to my neighbor who likes and uses it so much more! And aw, that was so nice of you!!!
I am really enjoying your channel. This year (and last), I really let myself be guided by youtube/influencer hype, and I spent a lot of money on fragrance. On the one hand, I am enjoying my now heavily expanded collection, and I honestly love having such variety, I love the education aspect of fragrance also. On the other hand, this year we also bought a house and I found myself struggling and stressing so much about my finances and feeling soooo bad for overspending. I still have a very long wishlist, but I am being much more careful, NOT blind buying, and really taking my time before buying a fragrance. Your channel scratches the itch for me in a sense, and I love how genuine you are. I wish you every success in 2025 :)
I would looooooooove a video on skin chemistry! I don't understand why some of the perfumes/notes I love just seem to disappear on my skin. I also find things like jasmine reacting badly with some people's skin chemistry fascinating something i noticed about hating florals: I used to avoid florals, proclaimed i wasn't a floral girlie, and then i realised part of the cause of my averson was internalised misogyny 🙃 i'm still not huge on very powdery scents or heavy rose perfumes (in other things I'm fine though), but florals is indeed a big wide world and it's fun to explore. slowly having the same adventure with gourmand/food scents (my relationship with food was also really unhealthy when i was younger)
I don’t understand how everyone else seems to know what every flower smells like. I’m clueless. I find it so hard to find scents I love. I’ve only had 3 perfumes that I love, & they’re all discontinued. I dread the search for a new perfume. I’m so glad to find your channel & hope I will find a signature scent soon.
I think its harder at first bc even if you like how smth smells in person the fragrance version is still different for various reasons but just a lot of trial and error and it helps to talk to sales associates Personally it took me about a year of looking to start figuring out what i like but fragranticas a good place to start to get ideas based off of old perfumes
This video was so well made and so on point with all the myths about perfumes. Thank you for sharing your experiences! I am getting of almost everything you mentioned but what stood out to me was the influencer buy. This is very real. I try to buy the perfume for myself that way when I watch a perfume review, I can gauge how accurate it is. For example, a TH-camr said she think Attrape Reves is very sweet. I told her I strongly disagree because on me, it is sweet but not overbearing. Sweetness is very subjective. I tried out Tom ford rose prick because an influencer said it is awesome. The best thing ever. I tried it 3 times in the store. It was basic to me. Not bad or anything. It smelled like a lot of roses to me. I was disappointed but at least I didn’t buy it.
Skin chemistry makes such a difference - I have the exact opposite problem of the person you mentioned and everything smells way sweeter on me than on others. Since I don't like sweet smells on myself in general, I mostly avoid anything powdery, vanilla-heavy or gourmand like the plague. Even perfumes that have a lovely mix of spice or freshness and sweetness that I can smell on my friends will just get flat and overwhelmingly sweet on me. On the other hand, weird, bitter and even acrid smells mellow out on me wonderfully, so I can wear my Jasmin et Cigarette with no issue lol
What an excellent video! Thanks for the tips! Over the years of buying perfumes, I have learnt the most this year as I started dabbling into niche and Arab perfumes. My best lesson was to never blind buy but get samples and test them out
I enjoy blind buying, so I decided that 2025 is the decants (5ml and travel size only). This satisfes my itch to buy but without (as much) regret. You have also inspired me to find local perfumers (im in Japan) and move beyond thr US market, instead of chasing the latest and greatest. Everything else you said is spot on. Thank you for the reminder to keep influencers' opinions as just that, not gospel.
Emma could you make a video about this girl who went viral on Twitter because of her PHD thesis on the Politics of Smell. It was really interesting and it seems like a good subject and maybe she could be a guest. She is from Cambridge University
Can you do a video about you favorite cheaper perfumes cause I’m trying to find the balance between a scent that lasts and a scent that doesn’t break the bank please thank you!!
I love how informed you are! I feel like I can really trust your insights. Also, everyone hating on florals are such fools. Iris and violet are legit the best notes ever.
I love your spin on this topic! Do you think a lot of these designer and niche houses have outrageous profit margins? I often ask myself considering arab fragrances last long *on me* and are affordable because they're not raising the prices to be niche like a lot of these houses are, ie paying for the branding versus quality. Would love your take on this with your expertise+
The compliment thing is so true. I was wondering why I rarely get a compliment. It's because when I spray perfume I do about three max sprays. Some of these influencers are spraying themselves 20 times. Of course someone's going to "comment"
I have never seen your content before but this video showed up in my for you feed this morning. I just watched the entire video and subscribed. I have been on my TH-cam/Fragcom journey for about 3 years. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out my taste because I definitely fell victim to influencer hype and negativity.
What's crazy to me is the scents that i like in candles and atmosphere are completely different from the perfumes i like. For example, i love incense, woods, herbs, essential oils, lavender in real life but cannot tolerate them in perfumes. I love cooking and love baking but cannot handle gourmand or sweet perfumes or candles.
I wore Parade from Celine on a plane.. I sprayed only 3 sprays before I left home and I got several rave compliments on the plane. A flight attendant hunted me down and had me write the name down and the gal behind me also wanted the name. I only wear high quality perfume on planes and I barely spray any…. I alway enjoy when the person next to me on the plane smells nice🤷🏼♀️ but always be mindful and never ever over spray
Would love to see a video on skin chemistry from you ❤. I wear my perfume for me not to get compliments. If I like it that’s what I am going for. I wear what I like. If it cost $30 or $300 and I like it - well so be it. Elitism bothers me as does ageism. Wear what you like people. YOLO and life is short. Love what you wear ❤
so true. I have dry skin. also I naturally have notes of salt and bleach on my skin. my body eats certain scents. I really can't wear complex parfumes with florals if I don't want it to be only floral. my body seems to absorb all scents but the floral. I avoid floral because of this. The only time I do 1ml if I'm having a 'i need them all' moment.
Thanks Emma for your knowledgeable advice & love your content! ❤ I’m excited to try the layering combo for Prada Paradoxe & Eden Juicy Apple!!! I already have both and love them so I am sure it will smell 🔥! To me, even though there is no strawberry note listed for Paradoxe, my nose picks up something like a sweet juicy strawberry 🍓. Already wearing Coffee Break today but I will definitely try it out tomorrow 🎉
Excellent video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, and for reminding us of some points to remember during our fragrance journeys! At the end of this video, you remarked that you hoped to bring people into fragrance, the discuss, to learn and to enjoy perfumes. Just wanted to share with you that you helped do just that for me, so I thank you for that especially! Keep up the great work! 👍😊
JusdeRose had a great series where viewers sent in their collections and she picked a few options for them, based on their needs and I would love to see Emma do those (if she would want to)!
I would like to know what you think of cheap drugstore perfumes, like everything under 20 euros. Should I avoid those? What is the difference between the really cheap perfumes and the middle/expensive ones you mention? Now that you are in France can you try out the testers of these and compare them with the more expensive versions? 1. Madame cherie caline 2. Essential garden blooming coconut 3. Vanessa mai maiscent one kiss 4.bugatti felicita 5.dzl electric rose 6. The brand la rive in general. Those are all really really cheap perfumes. Do they smell cheap/ bad? These are available in dm/müller in Germany but should also be in french drugstores. Would love your take on this
Hi! I would LOVE a video on skin chemistry. I am particularly curious to know if there's a way to measure whatever it is on our skin that changes fragrance (some people say pH, but I don't know if that's true) and use that information to kind of predict what will happen to different perfumes once we try them on. I'm on mistake number one, I'll keep watching now xx
Great video! I actually love 1 ml dabbers or dabbers in general, and I really don't mind the Lucky Scent samples. They've been a great help in determining whether I invest in a perfume or not. I'd say it's a personal choice and definitely not a hard and fast mistake. Overall, though, fantastic video. Thank you 🫶
👏👌✨️ Thank you for this video. I give the side eye to those who give misleading information about perfumery and to consumers who fall for such tactics.
I don't try new perfumes anymore, don't sample them, don't smell them in the Mall. I have come to realisation that I already have those that I love and that people recognize me by. They are classic and timeless.
I always thought I wasn't a fan of floral perfumes and struggled to get into fragrances over all. Turns out I don't like special blend of them like My Way, Paradoxe, Modern Muse, Good Girl, Flora Gorgeous, Miss Dior etc and their flankers. But I love some other floral perfumes if they are minimalist and focus on 1 or 2 florals at max. I still don't like most of the flowers but for example Mojave Ghost is a love for me. And it's definitely a floral fragrance.
Ooooo it's like you were speaking for me. Dislike seafood, our perfume dislikes are sooo similar... Montblanc Signature, nope nope nope. Horrible blind buy, in the same boat. The cheapie blind buys are such a waste!! Love these points, thank you❤ Happy New Year!!
My daughter bought an orange sweater for a Velma costume and even after washing it ,when warmed up, it started to stink like someone’s BO when she wore it at a con. Her only option was Axe from the mini mart next door. She now proudly keeps a bottle next to her high end scents. Price is just the value we choose or allow to be placed on an item. Experience is the true value.
That first point is so true! I tried Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit on my skin and in MINUTES in disappeared to nothing! Also ended up being one of the Ffern fragrances off a friend because it smelled so different on both of us. She kept getting mad because it smelled like what she wanted on me and not her. Stupid skin chemistry!
on the idea of scent preferences being personal/not necessarily universal: you have no idea how much i have to discuss with my boyfriend whether or not i wear my favorite perfumes on days we spend mostly at home, because my favorites (powdery, violet, makeup-y DNA) are ones he cannot STAND; meanwhile he will beg me to wear kayali eden and it smells like sugary cheap body spray 😭😭 i would LOVE our space to smell like guerlain insolence 24/7 and he would probably have a constant migraine LMAO. that being said, i know a LOT of people who bought insolence because of a popular influencer who described it as smelling magical, and then didn't like the scent themselves!! powdery scents are not for everyone! much like how kayali eden juicy apple is not for everyone! it all comes down to your own nose and what you like, so do not be influenced. try scents out for yourself. see what you like before you become comfortable with buying. don't blind buy
I am wearing hypnotic poison EDP today (which is a liquorice dominant powdery vanilla perfume) that I snatched from my mother which she got from my aunt but turns out both of them dislike powdery sweet scents, which I LOVE as someone who enjoys baking as a hobby when I am feeling a homebody, especially in winter. All that being said, it just puts me in a happy mood instantly because it is associated with coziness and warmth in my brain but like I said my mom, aunt AND twin sister hate it!
@@irmaktemel7171same! Reserved for the cozy, hunkering down inside winter days when I can nuzzle into the neck of my softest sweater or hoodie and smell the marzipan-like deliciousness all day ❤
Yes, I feel like saying that you hate florals is really limiting to your taste, because some florals can be aromatic, some can be fresh, some can be really sweet. And sometimes swirls can be really really strong to a lot of people, but sometimes they can be really fresh. Is it all depends on skin chemistry in the time of the year that you’re wearing the perfume.
I tried Sabrina Carpenter Sweet Tooth and Caramel Dream in a sample set and they both remind me of B&BW Warm Vanilla Sugar. Maybe someone with a better nose than mine would notice a difference
You’re the best fragrance TH-camr out here. Most only know how to describe a smell from their hundreds of free bottles and tell us that we just HAVE to get our hands on them 🙄 fast forward we get our noses on them and we’re not impressed 😂 Everything smells better WHEN ITS GIVEN TO YOU FOR FREE!! I also hate how samples are pushed on us as well. Small samples are NOT ENOUGH to get enough wears to even know if it’s worth a full bottle. It’s so aggravating. I bought a 10ml bottle of guidance, and now I have a full bottle of it on its way to me now. I had enough of guidance to actually wear it and to know that it does well with my skin chemistry throughout the month, because believe it or not due to our cycles, fragrances smell different on us throughout the month. I’ve never jumped on the middle eastern train and I’m so happy I haven’t! I scroll right on by Arabic perfume videos because I have zero interest in them.
So I've heard from many, great things about Nishane Hundred silent ways, I went to the store and tried it on paper, loved it, tried it on my skin, it was amazing, for the first 15 minutes. After 15 minutes this perfume turned literally into the worst burnt tyre smell I have ever smelled. It lasted the whole day. It was addicting burnt tyre smell, but there was nothing pleasant about it. I have never experienced anything like it with a perfume. So, yes, if you plan on buying a perfume, especially an expensive one, you have to try it on skin.
I enjoy my Amouages, MFKs, and Fragrance du Bois, but I also love my Pink Sugar. A high price point doesn't automatically equate to 'good taste', and anyone who insists that it does has an affiliate link they want you to use.
For me fruity scents smell like hair products , I think as a black woman many of our hair products smell fruity or tropical so I associate those fragrances with hair products. Ive been into aquatic scents though! They smell really good on my body, I love Jean Paul Gaultier Divine. I think aquatic scent notes can pair well with almost anything
I would say, from experience , don’t buy to many of the same type of smell. When I first got into perfume I bought way too many neroli scents because I loved that note…. I ended up having too many and only wore my favorite 2or 3 but had 8-10. Take your time and don’t buy everything you like right away. Wait…be patient and buy a decant first.. then if you go through the 5-10ml decant then buy the full bottle.
Ok leaving my third comment to say I completely agree about florals lol I was one of those people and realized some of my fav perfumes now have florals omg even jasmine! But it's totally different from a type of jasmine I don't like.. so even the same flower also depending on the amount a bit of floral can really round out a fragrance even if you don't smell it at all. And some flowers literally just smell fresh or cold and airy .. I realized I don't like many aldehydes ! And I haven't found one Chanel that I like unfortunately
my number one rule is always give the note you dislike a chance! because perfume note can be painted in so many different ways. I've heard people describing patchouli as dirty and earthy and guerlain out here making the cleanest smelling patchouli ever with patchouli paris, so many brands and perfume houses each have their own take with notes and ingredient and they can smell so wildly different from each other I've been trying out perfumes for awhile now and know what I like and don't like but I'm willing to try something even when I have a feeling I might not like it just to satisfy my curiosity and it's fun to try new things and because of that I surprise myself time after time again because I happen to like something I thought I wouldn't enjoy
Lmaoo @18:15 I love ur sense of humour. And yes, please make a video on skin chemistry. I would love to know why some fragrances last on others but not on me. For example my favourite scents are viva la juicy gold, and Cheirosa 62. They last only 30 seconds on me including on my clothing. I thought perfumes last longer on clothing but 🤷🏻♀️ Do you have any recommendations based on those two? I want something that has caramel and lasts 😭 btw I really dislike cheirosa 71 it’s way too sickly sweet for me. Hate aquilina pink sugar and black opium as well.
I tried to hard to like gourmands, because everyone is talking about them, but no thanks, I never wanted to smell like a dessert. I was just influenced. Also a mistake I usually do is selling a bottle because I feel I don't like it anymore, just to miss it a few months later.
So I was in Vegas over US Thanksgiving, with my best friend, I'm a fragrance enthusiast, he is not, he and I got into our elevator in our hotel and there was a couple that came on with us, I am almost certain like 95% sure she was wearing Tom Fords Rose Prick (cause its one of my faves from that line even though I'll never be able to buy a bottle) I was taking deep breaths just so I could smell it and I could tell he was holding his breath. As soon as they left I was like wow omg she smell so good, he's like wtf is wrong with you she smelled like an old lady ( she was prob late 20's early 30's ) I'm like that is a beautiful rose fragrance, he absolutely hated it. I thought it was funny we had completely different thoughts on that smell. ( yes I watched till the end lol ) I blind buy but I know what I like and if frag reviewers talk about it and it has the notes I like I will buy it blindly, only a few frags Ive bought have been a disappointment, but I've not hated the smell just thought it would smell better. example Chopard Malaki Black Incense, it smells good, I thought it would be stronger longer lasting and more of a punch witch on my skin it does not, but the Rose Malaki that smells wonderful on my skin even though it also has performance issues, I really like it cause its one of the types of rose I really enjoy.
Mont Blanc signature was one I bought on a whim… smelled it before I understood what I like… and now everyone says how lovely it is and I get fomo and have to remember I don’t like it!!
I would love a video explaining how skin chemistry works. I saw a video where a perfumer said it's not a real thing, but on myself I definitely experienced perfumes that smell great on others that just smell off on me.
Skin chemistry is a thing, but it’s a very complicated thing.
pH however is not. Lots of people ask me about the pH and that is most certainly not a thing. Skin is tightly regulated at a pH of ~5.5, so there is not a significant enough difference among individuals for “pH” to be the factor in perfumery.
I often have to debunk the pH myth, but that doesn’t mean that there are other factors at play here. Perhaps that’s what the perfumer was getting at as well.
I'm convinced skin chemistry is a real thing. With jasmine scented things for example, some of my family can wear it ok, and with other family members it's too indolic. Something funky going on with the genetics ayyyy
Absolutely a thing! In the air, a creamy sandalwood is beautiful. On my skin, it turns to a sour milk and urine type smell 🤢
It is def a thing and imo the biggest part of perfume
You can’t explain body chemistry because every individual has a different amount of cortisol, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone along with different acidity and medications they take, etc….. not 2 people are the same. So perfume actually does smell different on absolutely everyone…. And then there is the olfactory nerve which is also different in every individual… which interprets the fragrance and reports it to your brain
I also have rules I follow:
1: always smell the perfume on you and wait for a drydown before buying, have a walk and return to the store later.
2: don't rush into the hype, I for instance despise Bianco Latte 😂 but I love everything it has in it. Weird I know. I guess it's the concentration of every scent inside.
3: samples are tricky, you don't have the same maceration in a sample as in a bottle from a store
4: niche doesn't mean automatically better. Trust your skin and your nose not the word NICHE
I blind bought bianco latte and am also so sad that I dont like it! All i get is car freshener!! Im hoping by some miracle ill sniff it one day and be obessed
@honechan10 I wanted to do the same but my bf talked me out of it. We travelled to a perfumery that had it and smelled it. It was awful on me and I couldn't shake the smell of medicine for some reason. I much rather prefered Bora Bora out of their line although everybody says it smells like sunscreen lotion. Same with Blanche Bette from LI. The guy sprayed it and I went for a walk before returning to the store.
I ended up buying Tonkatonic from Morph and Sugar Kisses from Lorenzo Pazzaglia which is more oily, both drying down on my skin like a combination of marshmallow and sweet vanilla.
Maceration happens prior to bottling. It does not "macerate" in the bottle at a store.
@@SilverPanther000 i don't know 🤷🏻♀️
I have many vanilla perfumes and after opening them, spraying and letting them stay more than a week, they smell better. I have a normal mortal nose and for me there is a difference, it's not so artificial smelling, it's a bit more sweet.
I finally left an abusive relationship a while ago , and all I want to do is go to perfumery school, wish me luck guys !!!
Go for it!
good luck and i’m sure you will do well in this new stage of life!
Praying the best for you!!!
Good luck! :)
Wishing you the best of luck!
Little kinda rant about not letting people dictate your perfume. I wanted to not like caramel vanilla amber scents, because it’s so basic but also because my mum and sister HATE IT. They love fresh, clean, light, laundry type scents. However I am to my core a warm little bit spicy cozy type of person (afternoon delight from replica has been my new daily go to perfume with sweet cinnamon pumpkin lotion). Let me tell you when I wear a light perfume I don’t feel like myself and no one compliments how I smell. When I wear a more cozy vanilla scent I feel like me, and people constantly tell me how good I smell.
You're my absolute favorite fragrance influencer hands down. I love this wave of creating a well-informed conscious consumer, and your content is excellent for that. Your passion for perfumery is enthralling and inspiring to me, so thank you. Best wishes and looking forward to the next one ❤
This is too kind, thank you so much for the sweet comment!!
I would LOVE a video about skin chemistry!
#5 is so real....I just got into the world of perfumes and watched a ton of youtube and tiktok and everyone was talking about vanilla and gourmands. I live overseas so I ordered a tonnn of the most hyped gourmand fragrances to my parents in the US absolutely sure i would love them. I was disasppointed and only after going into stores to sniff other options that my taste is fresh, clean smells.... its tempting to blind buy but the point about at least knowing your taste is SO KEY!!!
18:48 I’ve learned that rather than wasting money on disappointing dupes, I’d rather buy a travel size of the real thing than a 50ml of a cheat sad dupe.
I buy dupes because I don’t want to support LVMH brands
One mistake I used to make is when I declutter perfumes, I get fomo and rebuy it only to realize that I still don’t wear them. I now keep decants of everything before I declutter it so I remember why I didn’t like wearing it in the first place (like La Capitale or Soie Malaquais haha)
Genius!! I’m still trying to let go of the need to keep a bottle!
Also raising my hand for a skin chem video! Just about 90% of perfumes my friend has tried literally go rancid for some reason. It’s wild to experience commodity milk- (so sweet!) literally go wrong in a matter of minutes.
I studied chemistry and I'm so interested in skin chemistry and the factors determining how fragrances smell on different people. Please do a video on this! Don't care if it's complicated, it will for sure be interesting.
My biggest mistake is impulsively buying a perfume after only one time of smelling it. I’ve given away at least five perfumes to friends and neighbors after realizing that I didn’t like them. 😭
SO real! I did this with Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens. I smelled it in-store (on paper only) in paris, then bought it like 6 months later based on the vague memory of it smelling good. Why do we do this to ourselves haha
@khanhfident:
Me too! Jimmy Choo Fever. Not for me.
Tiffany and co rose gold. After awhile, it gave me a headache.
Tom Ford: Jasmine Rogue. No. Just No.
Tom Ford: Bitter peach. I was mixed about this scent. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. My sister loves it. I gave it to her.
@@idaranwa4370 I never liked Jimmy Choo Fever, and apparently, Tiffany perfumes generally don't last. I've definitely spent $700+ on perfumes that I ended up giving away. 😭
me too. sprayed prada paradox on 1 time while on a cruise & bought it immediately (in under 2 min!)...came home & gifted to our mostest amazing Housecleaner upon my next wear. its sucha no-go on my skin imo!☺️
@@tomarraw OMG, I got the Prada Paradoxe Intense after smelling it twice, but I almost went for it when I actually had it at home. I ended up giving it to my neighbor who likes and uses it so much more! And aw, that was so nice of you!!!
I feel like you have a lot of integrity which I really appreciate about you.
This comment made my day. Thank you.
I am really enjoying your channel. This year (and last), I really let myself be guided by youtube/influencer hype, and I spent a lot of money on fragrance. On the one hand, I am enjoying my now heavily expanded collection, and I honestly love having such variety, I love the education aspect of fragrance also. On the other hand, this year we also bought a house and I found myself struggling and stressing so much about my finances and feeling soooo bad for overspending. I still have a very long wishlist, but I am being much more careful, NOT blind buying, and really taking my time before buying a fragrance. Your channel scratches the itch for me in a sense, and I love how genuine you are. I wish you every success in 2025 :)
Thank you, Emma! You’ve been my favorite channel lately ♥️ Happy new year!
I would looooooooove a video on skin chemistry! I don't understand why some of the perfumes/notes I love just seem to disappear on my skin. I also find things like jasmine reacting badly with some people's skin chemistry fascinating
something i noticed about hating florals: I used to avoid florals, proclaimed i wasn't a floral girlie, and then i realised part of the cause of my averson was internalised misogyny 🙃 i'm still not huge on very powdery scents or heavy rose perfumes (in other things I'm fine though), but florals is indeed a big wide world and it's fun to explore. slowly having the same adventure with gourmand/food scents (my relationship with food was also really unhealthy when i was younger)
I don’t understand how everyone else seems to know what every flower smells like. I’m clueless. I find it so hard to find scents I love. I’ve only had 3 perfumes that I love, & they’re all discontinued. I dread the search for a new perfume. I’m so glad to find your channel & hope I will find a signature scent soon.
I think its harder at first bc even if you like how smth smells in person the fragrance version is still different for various reasons but just a lot of trial and error and it helps to talk to sales associates
Personally it took me about a year of looking to start figuring out what i like but fragranticas a good place to start to get ideas based off of old perfumes
would loveee a video on differing skin chemistry and the science behind that
same
This video was so well made and so on point with all the myths about perfumes.
Thank you for sharing your experiences!
I am getting of almost everything you mentioned but what stood out to me was the influencer buy. This is very real.
I try to buy the perfume for myself that way when I watch a perfume review, I can gauge how accurate it is.
For example, a TH-camr said she think Attrape Reves is very sweet.
I told her I strongly disagree because on me, it is sweet but not overbearing. Sweetness is very subjective.
I tried out Tom ford rose prick because an influencer said it is awesome. The best thing ever. I tried it 3 times in the store. It was basic to me. Not bad or anything. It smelled like a lot of roses to me. I was disappointed but at least I didn’t buy it.
I have learned a lot of this the hard way. You are very wise. I love your content.
Skin chemistry makes such a difference - I have the exact opposite problem of the person you mentioned and everything smells way sweeter on me than on others. Since I don't like sweet smells on myself in general, I mostly avoid anything powdery, vanilla-heavy or gourmand like the plague. Even perfumes that have a lovely mix of spice or freshness and sweetness that I can smell on my friends will just get flat and overwhelmingly sweet on me. On the other hand, weird, bitter and even acrid smells mellow out on me wonderfully, so I can wear my Jasmin et Cigarette with no issue lol
Your authenticity is so appreciated! 🇨🇦
What an excellent video! Thanks for the tips! Over the years of buying perfumes, I have learnt the most this year as I started dabbling into niche and Arab perfumes. My best lesson was to never blind buy but get samples and test them out
I enjoy blind buying, so I decided that 2025 is the decants (5ml and travel size only). This satisfes my itch to buy but without (as much) regret. You have also inspired me to find local perfumers (im in Japan) and move beyond thr US market, instead of chasing the latest and greatest. Everything else you said is spot on. Thank you for the reminder to keep influencers' opinions as just that, not gospel.
I absolutely love your platform. You are real! And that is refreshing.
Emma could you make a video about this girl who went viral on Twitter because of her PHD thesis on the Politics of Smell. It was really interesting and it seems like a good subject and maybe she could be a guest. She is from Cambridge University
Can you do a video about you favorite cheaper perfumes cause I’m trying to find the balance between a scent that lasts and a scent that doesn’t break the bank please thank you!!
She did a video recently, the best fragrances at sephora, where she talks about affordable perfumes.
@ thank you!
if i had a dollar for every time i’ve spilled a luckyscent sample (that’s not even 1ml, it’s 0.7ml) i could buy my wish list
Oh shoot, you're right ahhaa they're 0.7ml
Didn't even realize all this and I've considered purchasing from them many times (but haven't). This really helps me make decisions, thank you both!
Scent Split is awesome and has more decant sizes to choose from
This is one of if not the best video about perfumery I’ve ever seen, no jokes. Wonderful job!
I love how informed you are! I feel like I can really trust your insights. Also, everyone hating on florals are such fools. Iris and violet are legit the best notes ever.
Fantastic!! This is exactly the support we need, you’ve just raised yourself up a dozen notches in my opinion❤
This is so kind, thank you!!
I love your spin on this topic! Do you think a lot of these designer and niche houses have outrageous profit margins? I often ask myself considering arab fragrances last long *on me* and are affordable because they're not raising the prices to be niche like a lot of these houses are, ie paying for the branding versus quality. Would love your take on this with your expertise+
I love when you tell more technical things about perfumes and the smelling experience 💖 I would love a video about skin chemistry!
The compliment thing is so true. I was wondering why I rarely get a compliment. It's because when I spray perfume I do about three max sprays. Some of these influencers are spraying themselves 20 times. Of course someone's going to "comment"
I love this so much. I kept trying to like it over and over again, but realizing I already did 😂❤
PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ON SKIN CHEMISTRY!
I have never seen your content before but this video showed up in my for you feed this morning. I just watched the entire video and subscribed. I have been on my TH-cam/Fragcom journey for about 3 years. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out my taste because I definitely fell victim to influencer hype and negativity.
What's crazy to me is the scents that i like in candles and atmosphere are completely different from the perfumes i like. For example, i love incense, woods, herbs, essential oils, lavender in real life but cannot tolerate them in perfumes. I love cooking and love baking but cannot handle gourmand or sweet perfumes or candles.
I wore Parade from Celine on a plane.. I sprayed only 3 sprays before I left home and I got several rave compliments on the plane. A flight attendant hunted me down and had me write the name down and the gal behind me also wanted the name. I only wear high quality perfume on planes and I barely spray any…. I alway enjoy when the person next to me on the plane smells nice🤷🏼♀️ but always be mindful and never ever over spray
This video made me subscribe. I love the honesty.
Your videos make me so happy. Omg hilarious at the part, if you buy a body mist and you’re mad that it smells like alcohol 🤷🏻♀️
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I love it!
Thank you for this video Emma! I would love a video to learn more about skin chemistry and fragrance
Would love to see a video on skin chemistry from you ❤. I wear my perfume for me not to get compliments. If I like it that’s what I am going for. I wear what I like. If it cost $30 or $300 and I like it - well so be it. Elitism bothers me as does ageism. Wear what you like people. YOLO and life is short. Love what you wear ❤
so true. I have dry skin. also I naturally have notes of salt and bleach on my skin. my body eats certain scents. I really can't wear complex parfumes with florals if I don't want it to be only floral. my body seems to absorb all scents but the floral. I avoid floral because of this. The only time I do 1ml if I'm having a 'i need them all' moment.
Thanks Emma for your knowledgeable advice & love your content! ❤ I’m excited to try the layering combo for Prada Paradoxe & Eden Juicy Apple!!! I already have both and love them so I am sure it will smell 🔥! To me, even though there is no strawberry note listed for Paradoxe, my nose picks up something like a sweet juicy strawberry 🍓. Already wearing Coffee Break today but I will definitely try it out tomorrow 🎉
Excited to hear your thoughts!
This video is perfecttttt omg I’m just getting into perfume and this really helps
Excellent video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, and for reminding us of some points to remember during our fragrance journeys! At the end of this video, you remarked that you hoped to bring people into fragrance, the discuss, to learn and to enjoy perfumes. Just wanted to share with you that you helped do just that for me, so I thank you for that especially! Keep up the great work! 👍😊
Yes,yes,yes!A video on skin chemistry pleaaaaassseeee!❤
I love this ❤ Fantastic video as always
Even though you can’t help us all individually find our signature scents, I think it would be cool to walk someone through that process for a video!
JusdeRose had a great series where viewers sent in their collections and she picked a few options for them, based on their needs and I would love to see Emma do those (if she would want to)!
Exactly my thoughts!
I love your videos! Do you think you could do one on skin scents and perfumes with few notes for layering?
I would like to know what you think of cheap drugstore perfumes, like everything under 20 euros. Should I avoid those? What is the difference between the really cheap perfumes and the middle/expensive ones you mention? Now that you are in France can you try out the testers of these and compare them with the more expensive versions?
1. Madame cherie caline 2. Essential garden blooming coconut 3. Vanessa mai maiscent one kiss 4.bugatti felicita 5.dzl electric rose 6. The brand la rive in general.
Those are all really really cheap perfumes. Do they smell cheap/ bad? These are available in dm/müller in Germany but should also be in french drugstores. Would love your take on this
Hi! I would LOVE a video on skin chemistry. I am particularly curious to know if there's a way to measure whatever it is on our skin that changes fragrance (some people say pH, but I don't know if that's true) and use that information to kind of predict what will happen to different perfumes once we try them on.
I'm on mistake number one, I'll keep watching now xx
Preach!!!! Great video!!!!
Thank you for the sample advice! I was going to buy from lucky scent, now im switching over to split scent!
Great overview!!! Really appreciated this break down!
Love LuckyScent! Variety and customer service. I totally agree with the samplers too.
😍✨ such an amazing video!
Love this video Emma! And if you’re selling the Oud Maracuja let me know, I love that scent on skin.
Omg I was just binging your videos what a gift!
Great video! I actually love 1 ml dabbers or dabbers in general, and I really don't mind the Lucky Scent samples. They've been a great help in determining whether I invest in a perfume or not. I'd say it's a personal choice and definitely not a hard and fast mistake. Overall, though, fantastic video. Thank you 🫶
Good job! Thanks for posting!
👏👌✨️ Thank you for this video. I give the side eye to those who give misleading information about perfumery and to consumers who fall for such tactics.
I don't try new perfumes anymore, don't sample them, don't smell them in the Mall. I have come to realisation that I already have those that I love and that people recognize me by. They are classic and timeless.
I always thought I wasn't a fan of floral perfumes and struggled to get into fragrances over all. Turns out I don't like special blend of them like My Way, Paradoxe, Modern Muse, Good Girl, Flora Gorgeous, Miss Dior etc and their flankers. But I love some other floral perfumes if they are minimalist and focus on 1 or 2 florals at max. I still don't like most of the flowers but for example Mojave Ghost is a love for me. And it's definitely a floral fragrance.
Ooooo it's like you were speaking for me. Dislike seafood, our perfume dislikes are sooo similar...
Montblanc Signature, nope nope nope. Horrible blind buy, in the same boat.
The cheapie blind buys are such a waste!!
Love these points, thank you❤ Happy New Year!!
My daughter bought an orange sweater for a Velma costume and even after washing it ,when warmed up, it started to stink like someone’s BO when she wore it at a con. Her only option was Axe from the mini mart next door. She now proudly keeps a bottle next to her high end scents. Price is just the value we choose or allow to be placed on an item. Experience is the true value.
So helpful and informative!
❤ lovely video. Watched to the end 🎉
Can you do a video talking about smoky fragrances? Smoke notes are so intriguing to me, especially when its a campfire smoke.
That first point is so true! I tried Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit on my skin and in MINUTES in disappeared to nothing! Also ended up being one of the Ffern fragrances off a friend because it smelled so different on both of us. She kept getting mad because it smelled like what she wanted on me and not her. Stupid skin chemistry!
on the idea of scent preferences being personal/not necessarily universal: you have no idea how much i have to discuss with my boyfriend whether or not i wear my favorite perfumes on days we spend mostly at home, because my favorites (powdery, violet, makeup-y DNA) are ones he cannot STAND; meanwhile he will beg me to wear kayali eden and it smells like sugary cheap body spray 😭😭 i would LOVE our space to smell like guerlain insolence 24/7 and he would probably have a constant migraine LMAO.
that being said, i know a LOT of people who bought insolence because of a popular influencer who described it as smelling magical, and then didn't like the scent themselves!! powdery scents are not for everyone! much like how kayali eden juicy apple is not for everyone! it all comes down to your own nose and what you like, so do not be influenced. try scents out for yourself. see what you like before you become comfortable with buying. don't blind buy
I am wearing hypnotic poison EDP today (which is a liquorice dominant powdery vanilla perfume) that I snatched from my mother which she got from my aunt but turns out both of them dislike powdery sweet scents, which I LOVE as someone who enjoys baking as a hobby when I am feeling a homebody, especially in winter. All that being said, it just puts me in a happy mood instantly because it is associated with coziness and warmth in my brain but like I said my mom, aunt AND twin sister hate it!
@@irmaktemel7171LOVE Hypnotic Poison EDP ❤
@@JoeShanMac DEFINITELY! Like I am in so love with it that I only use it when I really crave it so I don’t get sick of it ever.
Boys love Kayali Eden! The lychee one is like boy-magnet. They’re like sugar ants! Lol
@@irmaktemel7171same! Reserved for the cozy, hunkering down inside winter days when I can nuzzle into the neck of my softest sweater or hoodie and smell the marzipan-like deliciousness all day ❤
Scent Split is my favorite way to sample fragrance. Lucky Scent drives me crazy with those dabbing vials. They do have an awesome selection though.
I would like a video on how your taste in fragrance has evolved since you started perfume school.
I found a local online store where they do sell 1 ml spray bottles with perfume samples. Yay! 😊
Agree with everything you said! 🙌
Yes, I feel like saying that you hate florals is really limiting to your taste, because some florals can be aromatic, some can be fresh, some can be really sweet. And sometimes swirls can be really really strong to a lot of people, but sometimes they can be really fresh. Is it all depends on skin chemistry in the time of the year that you’re wearing the perfume.
I tried Sabrina Carpenter Sweet Tooth and Caramel Dream in a sample set and they both remind me of B&BW Warm Vanilla Sugar. Maybe someone with a better nose than mine would notice a difference
You’re the best fragrance TH-camr out here. Most only know how to describe a smell from their hundreds of free bottles and tell us that we just HAVE to get our hands on them 🙄 fast forward we get our noses on them and we’re not impressed 😂 Everything smells better WHEN ITS GIVEN TO YOU FOR FREE!! I also hate how samples are pushed on us as well. Small samples are NOT ENOUGH to get enough wears to even know if it’s worth a full bottle. It’s so aggravating. I bought a 10ml bottle of guidance, and now I have a full bottle of it on its way to me now. I had enough of guidance to actually wear it and to know that it does well with my skin chemistry throughout the month, because believe it or not due to our cycles, fragrances smell different on us throughout the month. I’ve never jumped on the middle eastern train and I’m so happy I haven’t! I scroll right on by Arabic perfume videos because I have zero interest in them.
I absolutely love your content 💚🩵💛
So I've heard from many, great things about Nishane Hundred silent ways, I went to the store and tried it on paper, loved it, tried it on my skin, it was amazing, for the first 15 minutes. After 15 minutes this perfume turned literally into the worst burnt tyre smell I have ever smelled. It lasted the whole day. It was addicting burnt tyre smell, but there was nothing pleasant about it. I have never experienced anything like it with a perfume. So, yes, if you plan on buying a perfume, especially an expensive one, you have to try it on skin.
I enjoy my Amouages, MFKs, and Fragrance du Bois, but I also love my Pink Sugar. A high price point doesn't automatically equate to 'good taste', and anyone who insists that it does has an affiliate link they want you to use.
Would love to see a review of Chanel 19 edp!
Can you do a video or series on floral perfumes? Especially modern jasmine perfumes?
For me fruity scents smell like hair products , I think as a black woman many of our hair products smell fruity or tropical so I associate those fragrances with hair products.
Ive been into aquatic scents though! They smell really good on my body, I love Jean Paul Gaultier Divine. I think aquatic scent notes can pair well with almost anything
Ditto on trying it on your skin! YSL Mon Paris smells like cheese on my skin. It goes sour for some reason. 🧀
Please talk more about what distinguishes high end from the cheapies.
I would say, from experience , don’t buy to many of the same type of smell. When I first got into perfume I bought way too many neroli scents because I loved that note…. I ended up having too many and only wore my favorite 2or 3 but had 8-10. Take your time and don’t buy everything you like right away. Wait…be patient and buy a decant first.. then if you go through the 5-10ml decant then buy the full bottle.
please do the skin chem video!!!
Ok leaving my third comment to say I completely agree about florals lol I was one of those people and realized some of my fav perfumes now have florals omg even jasmine! But it's totally different from a type of jasmine I don't like.. so even the same flower also depending on the amount a bit of floral can really round out a fragrance even if you don't smell it at all. And some flowers literally just smell fresh or cold and airy .. I realized I don't like many aldehydes ! And I haven't found one Chanel that I like unfortunately
my number one rule is always give the note you dislike a chance! because perfume note can be painted in so many different ways. I've heard people describing patchouli as dirty and earthy and guerlain out here making the cleanest smelling patchouli ever with patchouli paris, so many brands and perfume houses each have their own take with notes and ingredient and they can smell so wildly different from each other I've been trying out perfumes for awhile now and know what I like and don't like but I'm willing to try something even when I have a feeling I might not like it just to satisfy my curiosity and it's fun to try new things and because of that I surprise myself time after time again because I happen to like something I thought I wouldn't enjoy
Lmaoo @18:15 I love ur sense of humour. And yes, please make a video on skin chemistry. I would love to know why some fragrances last on others but not on me. For example my favourite scents are viva la juicy gold, and Cheirosa 62. They last only 30 seconds on me including on my clothing. I thought perfumes last longer on clothing but 🤷🏻♀️ Do you have any recommendations based on those two? I want something that has caramel and lasts 😭 btw I really dislike cheirosa 71 it’s way too sickly sweet for me. Hate aquilina pink sugar and black opium as well.
Yes please do a skin chemistry video
I tried to hard to like gourmands, because everyone is talking about them, but no thanks, I never wanted to smell like a dessert. I was just influenced. Also a mistake I usually do is selling a bottle because I feel I don't like it anymore, just to miss it a few months later.
Body spray is mostly water ..I don't know any BBW fragrances that smell like alcohol they're just weaker perfume smells . I do like them though
Yes they're great!
So I was in Vegas over US Thanksgiving, with my best friend, I'm a fragrance enthusiast, he is not, he and I got into our elevator in our hotel and there was a couple that came on with us, I am almost certain like 95% sure she was wearing Tom Fords Rose Prick (cause its one of my faves from that line even though I'll never be able to buy a bottle) I was taking deep breaths just so I could smell it and I could tell he was holding his breath. As soon as they left I was like wow omg she smell so good, he's like wtf is wrong with you she smelled like an old lady ( she was prob late 20's early 30's ) I'm like that is a beautiful rose fragrance, he absolutely hated it. I thought it was funny we had completely different thoughts on that smell. ( yes I watched till the end lol ) I blind buy but I know what I like and if frag reviewers talk about it and it has the notes I like I will buy it blindly, only a few frags Ive bought have been a disappointment, but I've not hated the smell just thought it would smell better. example Chopard Malaki Black Incense, it smells good, I thought it would be stronger longer lasting and more of a punch witch on my skin it does not, but the Rose Malaki that smells wonderful on my skin even though it also has performance issues, I really like it cause its one of the types of rose I really enjoy.
Especially buying every Zara perfume that’s on clearance
Fell into the same Mont Blanc Signature trap. UGH, I will learn one day.....
Mont Blanc signature was one I bought on a whim… smelled it before I understood what I like… and now everyone says how lovely it is and I get fomo and have to remember I don’t like it!!
Well hey girl hey I clicked sooo fast
Omg heyyyy