Fragrance TH-cam is great if you watch the smaller channels. Seldomly often, Scented moments, Robes08, 50 Scents, Tinkeviitanen, Urban Dweller, and of course your channel.
I must say that fragrance buying is an addiction unfortunately. I currently own 117 bottles, but owened 286 at one point. I wear fragrances for me and don't care if others around me like it or not. it's aroma therapy for me and genuinely relax me & uplift my mood
@@ivanrod2550what if they like all 117? 😂 But yeah in all seriousness, I have found out of the 50 or so I have (including samples) there is really only about 5 I really want to wear all the time haha
Hey CG, thanks so much for the shoutout! I agree with pretty much everything you said and I do also get frustrated and find myself rolling my eyes when watching a lot of videos. That being said, I try to stay positive, I’m doing my thing, my way, and don’t really care about the shills. If anything, those big voices help bring people to the hobby and I do feel that those who are passionate will end up exploring. I’ve been in the photography space for over 2 decades and at the moment of hype there was also a ton of bad content focusing on the wrong stuff, everyone was about the gear, buying things to show off etc, made the hobby really tedious for those there to learn the language. Stuff adjusted and I feel stuff will adjust here too 😊 Keep up the awesome channel 💪
That only dropper titles is lust garbage. It’s childish and an immaturity of mindset where everyone is just following each other with no identity. If a woman is dropping her pantries over a fragrance, she’s no lady. If a guy is wearing fragrance for self validation, you’re empty and shallow. Anyhow, I agree 💯
I really like Anne Lauren’s channel. I thunk a success in a fragrance TH-camr is how accurately can they describe the scent. Anne is never pushing product, she just has one of the best description abilities. I find you as well as seldomly often really know how to describe scents as well. I appreciate when you state that you haven’t been exposed to a certain scent note. That is genuine , it is relatable. Thank you for your perspective and criteria.
Glad to see that you've not become a shill and I hope you never will! As a former addict like yourself I can tell you from experience that fragrances can be very addictive too. After I fell into the rabbit hole and started to watch all those fragrance TH-camrs I started to buy more and more fragrances that ultimately ended up collecting dust in the shelf. I sprayed them once and never wore them again. Always on the hunt for the new dopamine rush and "the one" fragrance that's better than anything I've smelled before. At some point I wasn't even able to pay my bills because of all those fragrances. I realized that these big TH-camrs are all shills. I spend my days watching modern versions of Infomercials and I didn't even realize it. I started selling all my fragrances and unfollowed every shill and I don't look back! It's so freeing. And I realized that I found "the one" fragrance all along in the beginning. You really feel that these TH-camrs don't care about fragrances, and they especially don't wear all those fragrances they promote. And more and more people fall for it. Edit: oh and every single bottle of these "expert" reviewers is always completely full. They only wore it once or twice but then tell me how much they like it, how it performs and develops and that it's their favorite, bla bla bla...how are you able to professionally judge a fragrance after wearing it once?
7:20 I can guarantee you that most fragrance youtubers don't even know what "well blended" means. TLTG Reviews for example has over 130k followers and he pretends to be the ultimate expert. He's looking down upon everyone and speaks like he's the ultimate fragrance authority and everybody else doesn't know shit. I have a video clip of him unironically saying that "80% vol." means that the fragrance bottle is only filled 80% 🤣 it's so stupid that I still can't believe he said that. And he said it with such confidence, it cracks me up everytime
Your authenticity is palpable, as always, and I completely get what you're saying, I couldn't agree more. I went on an unsubscribing spree a few weeks ago, and I was quite shocked to see how many fragrance channels I had accumulated over the years. The only two I kept, was yours, and The Fragrance Apprentice. I'll have to check out that Seldomly Often channel you referred to, I like the sound of it.
I sell perfumes for a living for almost 20 years now- and this is so true! I don't know about Sephora, but I bet in a real perfume store the salesperson will be more honest than most big youtubers (I know there are exceptions, but just in general - TikTok is even worse). But the people also let themselves be so easily manipulated and don't have an own opinion. Just 10-15 years ago most costumers bought their fragrances based on what they personally enjoyed. Yes, advertisement may have influenced someone to try the perfume but if they didn't like it, they won't buy it. Today they buy it just because they saw some Influencers use or recommend it. It's insane! At the end of the day- it doesn't matter how much of an "expert" someone is (or claims to be) nothing is as subjective as a fragrance. Our scent perception is linked to memory, experience and emotion and unique to each person. It can be the most special, expensive, excusive perfume- if you don't like it, it doesn't matter.
Amen. Honestly been shocking how subjective it is. It’s more subjective than music or food especially when you go into niche fragrances just from what I’ve seen first hand 😅.
@@CgScents yes, and you also made a good point about how to really test out a fragrance. The human brain isn't good at differentiating scents, especially if you try many fragrances in a brief time. That's a huge issue if customers come into our shop and try out dozens of perfumes all at once. You can't smell it anymore and will buy something you may not like. I recommend 3 - 4 max. and wait at least 15 minutes. Better even to take a sample home and try it several days. Just spraying it on the wrist and than give a review is deceptive. To be fair some good reviewers only do one fragrance/ video and describe how they felt wearing it during the day. That's how it should be done.
@@QManagerin you’re 100% right there’s also 0 commitment at a store on a card. It’s so easy to just discard it. I spray one or two sprays from a 2ml in a section on my arm several times throughout the day. I spray it and show it to friends. I then wear the last 1ml. You’d be amazed how things grow on you or away from you. I also test by wearing in a group setting because I’ve loved things until I felt the vibe of pushing it out. Vice versa I’ve thought things are ok then really liked it in a public setting.
Could not agree more with you more Cg. Those lists about “compliment magents” exploit people who might not get a lot of attention in their day to day life by selling them on validation in a bottle. I genuinely enjoy watching your content and I hope you continue to do this for a long time. Your high production value along with your realness makes even watching reviews about fragrances I don’t like enjoyable
I found your channel through Robes08 and glad I did. Thank you guys for saying what needed to be said about TH-cam fragcomm for a while. Just subscribed!
As long as there are still a few good reviewers whose style and taste I can align with and whose integrity I trust, I will keep watching TH-cam videos for discovering new things to try, or ideas for new fragrances to create for myself. It is great to have people who are so generous sharing their experience and enthusiasm - like you or Marc or Ramsey or Daniel or Claire or Pep, and a handful of others. Keep up the good work!
This video was suggested to me, and I’m glad it was. It’s refreshing to hear someone say how overstated compliments are in these reviews! As a daily fragrance wearer, I can count on one hand how often anyone cares to compliment me in any given year. Great to get acquainted with your channel; I can’t wait to hear more of your honest perspectives.
I just wanted to make an informed decision on a good fragrance to buy so I wouldn’t smell crusty going for dates , and now I’m currently getting sucked down the rabbit hole as we speak .
If that’s all you’re looking and you wanted my opinion just go to Sephora and smell some things and pick one. Women love designers and you can’t really go wrong with them they’re versatile and crowd pleasing. Just pick what you like the most because it’s subjective. Honestly, even a cheapie like Nautica Voyage or Mont Blanc Legend is fine. I’m out the game but if I were dating I’d wear something basic. I don’t want to be the cologne guy on a first date prolly just wear Bleu de Chanel Parfum. It only goes deeper if you get into the hobby of exploring different profiles.
I'm at 17 bottles now, 6 in the last month. I'm now reaching a point where every wear case is covered so I hope that I dont feel the need to keep going but this hobby is additive!
So many truths in this. I respect the honesty in openly questioning the value of his own channel due to the subjective number of fragrances. This honesty just made me subscribe.
lol i love seeing videos come out where they're talking about a new fragrance release and how amazing it is and that its a compliment monster, and then 6 months later they make a video called "5 fragrances you shouldnt buy" and the fragrance they previously said was amazing and hyped up is on the list.
Couldn't agree more. You ever noticed that in almost every video the bottle they are holding is also damn near full? I feel like they haven't even worn these colognes.
Im new to fragrance and after watching those channels for a couple months i started to realize how much the same brands came up again and again and again and again, and it seemed very clear there were other brands just not being talked about. "Man ... why doesnt anyone talk about a brand like Guerlain or Mugler?" Oh. Because those other brands arent cutting the checks. Not even the same brands but even the same exact fragrance. "Spicebomb extreme, Spicebomb extreme, spicebomb extreme!" gets mentioned about every other fall/winter video. They've clearly skewed the perception of a certain few frags like that. Crazy how much actual influence they do have
Great video. A couple of people commenting here mentioned Claire Smith. She did a video about 5 months ago, and really got a few fragrance reviewers mad as hell. “13 reasons you can’t trust perfume influencers….” I’ve just subscribed to your channel😃🇦🇺
Really well spoken and great take on this subject also. I am guilty of some of these points, lol. Great channel. Going to go through more of your content.
Some non shill fragrance youtube channels : 1. Robes08 2. Ramsey 3. AC Smells good 4. U smell good by eugene 5. Scents of south jersey 6. Wafts from the Lofts And now my CG Scents is added to the list . Thankyou and keep up the good work brother 🙏🏻
The frag shills *cough* TLTG *cough* have no discerning taste. Everything smells "great" and this is the fragrance you need to buy (that they got for free), until their next vid and thats the frag you need to buy and so on. With honest reviewers, you can see if your tastes are similar and their recommendations might be helpful. Good video man
I one hundred percent agree with you. All of these fragrance channels hype these fragrances as the best ones but then come out with another video saying another set of fragrances are the best. It was really hard to make a decision on which one to buy. That's why I really appreciate you and your wife's opinions because it seems way more genuine.
Thank you man! We are genuine I sort of struggle lately because I am not discovering much I really like and don’t want to make a ton of ‘it’s a 6’ videos 😅 I’d prolly be more genuine if I did but would also come across as a negative Nancy when in actuality most things aren’t THAT great to most people. It’s comical how subjective it is. I’ll say of what I’ve tried it seems most things worthwhile garner a lot of attention. It’s REALLY rare and underground fragrance is impressive (unique and sensible with good performance). Maybe that’s psychology but after spending way too much to sample EVERYTHING I realize I could have just sampled the top 5 from each brand and probably would have saved a lot of time and money. But it’s interesting how subjective it is. I really can’t stand some of the stuff other people seem to really enjoy and I’m sure many can’t stand what I love. Honest reviewers can at best present an opinion others relate to or not. I’m understanding my position better. I can also tell if somethings mature, polarizing, or versatile even if I don’t like it.
I only like watching channels with a few subscribers, especially the ones with the same taste in fragrances as me. I own 6 full bottles of fragrances right now, 2 of which were gifted to me. I have a small box full of decants. Trust me, sampling is the way to go! I also have a 5 bottle rule: that when my 5 bottles are emptyn only then I go sort out another 5 of the decants I truly love and buy full bottles of them. The rule keeps my space neat as I only have 5 bottles on my vanity. And every once in a while, I pull out a decant and try them out and "try to establish a relationship with the fragrance"
To me, elitism and pretentiousness are the biggest No No... otherwise, I don't bite what they overhype, but I see your point and how it can affect less knowing perfume lovers.
When someone gets over 4k followers they develop this mentality. "Look at my silver stem Dior homme. I'm so cool because I have a bottle that costs 80 dollars, but because of the hype it's now coveted and I'm boss because I have a bottle."
To me, more than elitism and pretentiousness is the fact that a lot of fragrance TH-camrs have just made this a business rather than a hobby, so everything is about generating income with affiliate links and continuing to get free bottles with positive reviews
@@purplemartin6952 and just so we're all clear, the "fragrance community" is not you or me, but those who have a channel and collude with each other. They will only prop up viewers who send them free stuff.
@@firstactionhero They talk down to Dior Homme Intense they call it a niche quality "designer" scent, and how designer fragrances are "cheap" and designed to "please the masses". I was like, WTF. There is a video portraying such elitism here titled "D&G The One vs Dior Spice Blend". I was like, wow. He just kept denigrating designer fragrances and how they are cheap.... $100+ dollar fragrances are "cheap"?!? And how they keep pushing you to buy "niche", how they are so artistically done, how most don't like them, how you might not like them, or you might like them, or like them 1+ years after buying it and it's being collecting dust; Megamare, Tyrannosaurus Rex.... And how some smell "fecal". Why would I want that or smell like that? Nah, I'm not paying $300+ dollars for a fecal or rotting seaweed "niche fragrance". And yeah, I went from designer to buying Middle Eastern clones..... Oh how they hate that. They are the ones on Fragrantica trashing the clones, calling them over-hyped, reformulated, and how they don't last..... They are just angry how they paid so much, yet a Middle Eastern fragrance house did it for 1/3rd the price.... My case I bought Modest Une by Afnan, which smells stronger and lasts longer than Dior Sauvage EDP. Now, I have my bottle of Al Wataniah Classic that smells like Dior Homme Intense. Also, I have both Cremo Black Vanilla and Spice and Spicebomb by V&R.... They smell identical, yet Cremo lasts longer and it projects better.
Thank you so much it’s been driving me crazy how fake these influencers are and shilling is such a bad thing for the community. I used to love watching fragrance reviews that were honest back in the day. It used to be so fun. Now it’s just a 10 advert for a brand. 😢Sadly the people that get to 100k it becomes a marketing scheme. Sadly I was one of the people that believed the hype and I hated that I bought a fragrance that I hate end up using. I’ve learned from my mistake. I’ve kinda learned the more cuts on them giving their opinion and cuts while reading out the notes it shows they haven’t worn it giving a random scripted description almost like a sales pitch. People need to see the truth behind the fragrance world. Always try a sample before you buy a full bottle. Wear a fragrance for yourself first!
I recently came back to fragrances after a few years of not buying anything. I blind bought too many sub $50 stuff from recommendations and a lot of them were just meh. Theres too many videos pushing cheap stuff on TH-cam, which understandably is where the general population is at. I find Justin Copelands content really good, he makes interesting recommendations while still being accessible for a casual watch, and his emphasis on sampling and functional purchases, which has helped me be more in curating a more selective collection. Came across SeldomlyOften this week and hes great with practical no nonsense in depth reviews.
He's in on the hype train link with TLTG, CUBA, Curly, etc. Especially if its a “cheapie”. He does not like cheapies so it has to be a promotion and hell be back months later to say it is not as good as he thought.
Copeland is an Argos and Zaharoff shill, and when he makes lists, he has affiliate codes for nearly all-or sometimes ALL-of the fragrances on his list. He’s just as bad as the rest, just quieter about it.
@@TevinC814 ive caught up on his content for the last year or so and I dont think he does that. Just cuz hes friends with Ross and made a fragrance with Zaharoff doesnt mean the content is the same. He’ll make the occasional compliment or cheap video out of audience demand but those recommendations by in large are still different, and theres still an emphasis on sampling and personalization
@@yiyithewuster its not why I think, view all his middle eastern frag vids and you'll see that majority are sponsored and view his later videos on them. You can start with untold by armaf.
@@TevinC814 i tend to give him a benefit of the doubt on that one; he did a first impressions and changed his mind later. I get if it rubs people the wrong way tho
Good point at the end, perfumes even change in smell depending on what type of fabric your clothes are, your detergent and how you dry them. Theres so much nuance
don't be angry at the youtubers - they wouldn't make that content if it didn't have the biggest audience. A pizza doesn't just show up at your door - you order it. Top tens, panty droppers, top compliment getters etc are the most popular because that's what gets the most clicks and views, us humans are just basic af. 🤷 If Robes08's awesome detailed reviews got the most views and attention (which they should) - then most reviewers would be doing that too
We get it- you’re above it all. For me, I appreciated these channels because when I was getting into the hobby, I needed exposure to what is out there. I went into this knowing there is a financial incentive, to some degree, for these folks. Because we live in a capitalistic society and that’s how the world works for better or worse. Soooo… good for you!
I don’t think what they’re doing is morally outrageous I’m just surprised so many aspired to be radio salespeople hyping up products. Looks depressing. Can’t judge them but the end product is crap lol. Honestly didn’t even think this video out at all just decided to share why I don’t watch it. I don’t spend my days feeling self justified anger fueled by a sense of superiority, truthfully I don’t really care this video took me 30 minutes to make. I do think they could be more compliant with FTC guidelines on influencers by being more transparent about their relationships and affiliations with brands that can influence their content. That’s build into capitalism for a reason - to help prevent deceptive practices that sabotage the very essence of capitalism. Could just clearly state their associations as part of their intro… not that hard… some manage to do it. But whatever too busy doing my own thing to worry about them panty droppers.
@@CgScents For sure, I totally understand your perspective! I now only watch a few channels generally for background noise. But early on, they did help me become familiar with brands and whatnot. And I’m not touching the stripping of consumer protections that kind of allow for this activity! That’s a whole mess I’m not touching here.
Oh the compliments... that is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you get compliments, it is usually from friends and very honestly, who cares... If I love a fragrance, I don't need others to tell me it's lovely, although it is of course sweet of them. Second though in conncetion with the video. Liking someone is subjective hence why I am trying to put forward the character, association and don't even include rating of the scent itself, just its performance and personality (uniqueness), while also trying to give the experience of wearing it and looking into drydown. So yea, the distaste for smelling top notes and bye also hits home :) Definitely a good question, does it even matter, do the videos help in some sense?
I gotta say your biggest asset is your words. You could take any topic and make a down to earth engaging video on it. I'm telling you you're something else brother. 🙌. Stay safe
About compliments: I have been wearing fragrances since the early 80’s ( including people pleasing popular ones )and i can’t remember ever getting a compliment. …and the panty dropping, yeah, i usually have to put in some work myself. At the moment i am wearing a fragrance one influencer described as ”awful” and ”stinks”. But since my balls are in a nice position i don’t care. I wear what i love. ( Tom Ford-Oud Minérale )
I dont look at no one what they telling me to buy especially someone who is far from me personally , I take a sample and wore it for two or three times and if it suits me is it bottle worthy or not, it’s a different thing what you like and what you love to wear.
Sense of smell is highly subjective. What appeals to one person may not necessarily appeal to another. Variation in scent preferences can also be influenced by genetic factors, sex, age etc. Social media last 10-15 years influenced (pun intended) a lot of aspects of our life. Fragrances is one of them, especially when you see that parfume market value is around 51 billion dollar mark. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the industry and Fragrance TH-cam is trying to put their sunglasses on our perspective. Just depends what type of person you are and why do you wear a fragrance - for others of for yourself? Just my two cents. Good video, this topic needs to be brought out more. Keep up the good work👍🏾
Hello! First time watching your channel. Glad to see you post this type of content! All your arguments are valid and to the point. I truly appreciate content creators such as yourself, who do not try to sell and strive to be as authentic as possible.
I only really watch you and Robes08 anymore. I've been following Robes08 since 2008 and another guy Street Scents (Al) since 2009 and he just came back to youtube recently so I'll be following him more than likely. If anybody likes your channel I think they'll like Marc (Robes08) he is the OG of the fragrance community. There were a lot of guys back then posting alongside him, but many tapered off rather quickly. Marc is also against the free bottle b.s. and reviewers just pushing whatever they're paid to push. I'm always looking for authentic and that is what I get from your channel CG.
@@ItsMinarmy Also, wasn't he forced to post an apology video a couple of years ago, because he wrongfully identified the notes in a fragrance and the brand behind it wasn't having any of it?
@@pastichiorocker He stated that London Oud did not contain oud, which prompted FdB to send him a cease and desist to read on video. He is a pretentious bullshitter who just reads ingredients off the box. Countless times he has said a fragrance contains certain ingredients, when in-fact, they do not. His perfumes are also trash.
Like everyone else, I support Robes08, Ramsey, Seldomly Often and yourself. I value honestly and when a “reviewer” has a reaction that is less that satisfactory. It didn’t take me long to realize most TH-camrs are full of shit. I have tried hundreds, if not pushing a thousand fragrances over the last 10 years. There are only a handful that I bought because 99% aren’t for me and 50% of those were straight up trash. Unfortunately as you mentioned. You tube is governed and I have heard that some reviewers have been served with legal papers from the fragrance companies because of less than stellar reviews. Probably another factor that plays into it
Nobody mentioning mister Persolaise!? He is soo informative and entertaining to watch it's almost like attending a class of your favorite teacher, how about Smellomania she is an absolute joy to watch and very creative I believe she is the only person around drawing perfume as she passionately talks about it! miss Cherie of The top note is also very cozy to watch or perfumerism if you want to watch perfumery student gleefully talk about perfume. These people I feel like they are here to just absolutely nerding out about perfume and you can definitely feel their love and joy towards perfume listening to them, it depends on where you look I feel because of course there are plenty of people who are here to simply sell stuff and do promo ads and you can see it you can feel it when you watch them and there are also plenty of people who are simply passionate about perfume and just can't stop talking about it that they have to share it with the world you just have to look for it! the kind of people you would enjoy listening to are there for you if you try to look for them
Great video, keep it real as you go on in your channel. Real fragrance reviews are rare nowadays. The rest are just glorified infomercials; they aren't doing it for the love and affinity for perfume, just a quick check and free bottles.
I have been a victim of some of those perfume pushers 😢. I have learned to look for people that do not have tons of links etc. I have become weary of those reviewers that have an identical expression of “delight” regardless of the fragrance they are reviewing!! I usually watch foreign reviewers, that have no US links. You are one of the ones I watch, SmellyCat, JoyAmin and others. Even then we all can have different likes. I watch Neeb from Aromatix, even though he has tons of links . He is entertaining and he provides a starting point. His clone wars are usually accurate. Thanks for your efforts Hello from Puerto Rico for you and your wife 😊
absolutely true with those shelves behind it .... absolutely embarassing demonstration :D when i make a video i use empty white wall not to destract viewer with anything ... just minimalism is the key!
great video. perfume became one of my favourite free time activities. however i reduced watching perfume content by 98%. its like everywhere on social media where you are soaked into watching paid ads in your freetime. and it triggers a lot of bind buys which is in my opinion the best way tu ruin this hobby
This is a pretty spot-on view of “influencers”. I used to enjoy watching GentScents, Justin and a few others. I got bored with the salesmen stuff and inundated with clones. I enjoy some that I don’t feel are stuffing fragrances at you like, Persolaise, The True Connoisseur, Quick Fragrance Reviews,Scent Trail , The Perfume Guy and My World of Fragrance. I will checkout Seldomly Often. I don’t really care about someone liking my fragrance but if they do it’s extra points. I enjoy sharing my fragrances and “knowledge “ with friends and family. I give away lots of samples and provide suggestions in a relatable way.
Yeah.. it’s honestly really cringe and it seems a little much when you’re constantly putting out top 10 videos in every occasion lol. And don’t get me started about the “compliments”. They be lying they ass off about how many they be getting when in reality most people keep they opinions to themselves. Great video btw keep it up!
a lot of people also mix up real compliments with just attention. if you have a drastic new haircut people will likely comment on it because they spot it and then give you a compliment because its the accepted social behaviour. but initially they commented because it caught their attention - the compliment afterwards doesn't tell you if they really like it. same with fragrance.
Oh man, this comment is completely unrelated to the video, but I was wondering where CG was today, I could only find a Reddit response to someone asking about it a couple months ago. From what I read you moved on from the past and don’t really care to talk about it, so I suppose maybe you don’t love this comment (which if that’s the case, I understand & I’m sorry), however, all I really wanted to say was that I’m really happy to see you doing well & better, at least it seems that way & it also gives me hope! I’m a long time follower of yours & hope the best for you man!
Yes it’s easy to be caught up in hype not just in the fragrance space but a lot of things on TH-cam. I haven’t bought a full bottle of anything in 3 years because I feel I have enough for the rest of my life. I 70 plus bottles and really could get rid of half of those. I only subscribe to you and 2 others right now and like the way your format is done. The only advice I would tell anyone who is interested in fragrance just sample sample sample and trust your own nose.
@cgscents you drop some real knowledge in this video hopefully it will wake some people up. You’re by far one of the best and honest reviewer out here.
TH-camr doesn't mean "Expert". Unfortunately most people don't understand this and are mislead by "brand ambassadors" in the wrong direction. I stopped watching Yt "reviewers/experts" long time ago and now i just test by myself which is the healthy way to discover and enjoy this fine art of perfumery. Top 10's are the worst and reviewing perfumes after one spray or wear is disgracedul just for the sake of being the first one out there to talk about it and get the views 😅.
I agree. I’ve been questioning the point of my channel honestly. I have fun with the production and stuff but it feels so subjective. I’ve been testing Halfeti Cedar and I can tell it’s nice and it’s definitely for some people but it’s not for me. I question why the hell anyone cares? Lol honestly only way to describe it. I plan to continue because I’ve invested in the project and samples and I plan to be honest but I don’t see this a lifelong thing or being a youtuber long term lately I feel ill just create an honest library and let it be a legacy piece I can reflect on and be proud of rather than not finishing what I started. It’s extremely subjective and people take fragrance very personally. No one’s taste is better than someone else’s in reality. People value different things for different reasons.
Agree with many points you make. The most I agree with is the subjectivity of it all. And at that point if this is truly a passion for you, you will watch people that tend to resonate with what you enjoy or align with. Unfortunately money drives most entities so we shouldn’t be surprised but it has worsen over time. I’ll watch Cubaknow because I think he’s personally hilarious, I’ll watch Fragrancedoud and Ross cause theyre more down to earth and very engaging, Rotten Rebel cause his passion, Robes08 and the Fragrance Guy cause they show more niche or things I’ve haven’t heard of and etc…if you really enjoy the hobby just be you and push the bs to the side.
I COMPLETELY agree with everything you said here. Echoing another comment here, Seldomly Often is a really great, very thoughtful smaller channel. Also I have a soft spot for Omar at School of Scent. Yes his channel falls victim to some of what you pointed out here, but I enjoy his commentary.
Even without buying any, I kind of got the sense that was the case. I've stayed away from them and just go on carefully hunting the real ones that I think are worth buying rather than go for clones that I think are just being shilled. Not only that, but there are so many fragrances out there that are awesome that aren't selling well enough to be cloned by the money grabbers.
Yeah, the whole fragrance YT is extremely tiresome. I was considering making a very casual channel similar to Seldomly Often. I love fragrances and I feel like people aren’t sharing their love for them anymore. It’s all about OMG BEST SMELLING 10/10 WOMAN KILLER WOOOOOAAAHHH
You should start one it’s a lot of fun if you enjoy the hobby. I started 5 months ago and it’s helped me evaluate my interest, communicate my thoughts, and I’ve also built some great friendships. One of my viewers ended up living in the same apartment complex 😅 crazy how that happened. I dunno how the hype people enjoy it I was never passionate about being the guy on radio ads with the animated voice but to each their own I guess. I stopped watching it a while ago but the comment section here revealed there’s a whole community of good reviewers I didn’t discover. I think hype videos just get more engagement / promotion.
Also, yes, not only is sense of smell the most subjective from what I've read its also very poorly understood as to how the brain processes it and its believed its processed in the same part of the brain that processes memories and emotions so we get a huge amount of trauma/nostalgia attached to certain smells. Add to that, that unlike a recording, a bottle of chemicals is going to change over time, change depending on weather, where and how its applied and skin chemistry factors in. Ive notice this too. Its super subjective and thats why I indeed do not take any one to be the be-all expert. Its a fun journey though 😂
Omg. I just find your channel. Love your contents. ❤ Can you review Lolita Lempicka in the future? It's my fav perfume. Hope to see your views on it. Tq
Definitely agree to an extent. There are some 'reviewers' that just aren't. I don't agree with gatekeeping or snobbery but no one needs another listicle with the latest Aventis or Sauvage knock off on there. There are a few good eggs out there though. I enjoy Sebastian (The Perfume Guy) as I think he brings a lot of knowledge with him, be it perfumers or specific styles or ingredients. Granted he does LOVE a list but they're often really specific (coffee notes or amber + wood/fruit/leather etc.) which I like. The whole 'compliment magnet' thing isn't the reason I'm into fragrance at all. It's always nice to be told that you smell good but I wear things because I like how they smell and I have quite esoteric tastes that aren't going to appeal to everyone (or anyone in some cases; I'm looking at you The Smell of Weather Turning). Give me a photorealistic campfire or forest scent over a pleasant, inoffensive blue fragrance any day!
It’s also important to see what’s good according to girls but also which one can I actually find at saks or sephora.. some of the brands I can’t even get or test first. 99% blind buyer.
That's what I think when some fragrance influencer says "I just bought the new fill the blank" and you think... how does he have soo much money to buy a new fragrance every 4 days... SUS 🙄 Also agree with the compliment factor... my gf is the only one who has compliment me in the last year... even my family does not say a thing about my scent, not even my friends lol or as Michelle says "don't be a sissy sprayer".
Great take - I couldn’t agree more. You eluded to this so please don’t take it the wrong way… I want to subscribe to your channel but our tastes in frags don’t align. My journey has been influenced by TH-camrs over the years, I got smart and sampled a ton, and I think most niche fragrances that get the clicks are not really that great to wear. Some may smell okay but not on a human. Air freshener maybe. I’m not saying designers are so much better. The art of smelling unique and mass appealing has been MIA for a while now in my worthless opinion. To solidify my unpopular opinion, I believe the Tonka Bean ruined men’s fragrance forever.
Facts. I’ve seen the BS earlier this year. Now it’s probably bout six channels I watch for fragrances including this channel. Stay with the smaller channels who actual spend their money on their fragrances.
I think some of Cuba Knows videos are funny (mainly the ones where he brings his friends on) but I’d never buy the stuff he recommends lmao. I’ve been enjoying the Cologne Podcast lately because they seem like regular dudes that really dig fragrances but aren’t pretentious about it
I only watch it for Aaron Terrence Hughes... And just ignore, and avoid the "Niche Fragrance" guys talking trash, down, and trashing "Designer Fragrances", and how one has to buy "Niche" because they are the best.... I'm like, just STFU.
Well said. I think more people are coming out and say what a lot of fragrance enthusiasts have in mind. Shills are like used car sales people. Keep it up.
I really miss it when we use to hear feelings and experiences, I remember back in 2012 listening to Dr. Nickhil from exotic scents talking for a long time about the scent like describing art. Nowadays is sheer bottom-of-the-barrel type of content.
I just found your channel. After watching some of your videos I have a few questions. How many of your reviews are based off of just test strips? Do you have decants or bottles of everything you review? I could be wrong but my initial impression is that you’re doing what you’re accusing other channels of doing.
I have decants of most of them some bottles I wear all of them which is kind of exhausting lol but I enjoy the video producing process and exploration. Just kinda want to wear my tried and true favorites more often. It’s not based purely on test strips tho my wife does just smell them on paper she doesn’t wear them. Her part is to demonstrate subjective differences and add perspective as best as possible. It wouldn’t be economically feasible for me to buy a bottle of everything I review and I don’t accept free bottles but if I really love a fragrance I’ll purchase a bottle of it. Some fragrances are pretty simple and after one wearing I have a good idea how I feel about it. Some I need to spend more time with and wear multiple times because they’re more complex. Some I already had a strong history with before starting the channel and revisit with one or two wears. I spray a strip before recording my impressions but that acts as a reminder of the scent and partly is for the thumbnail as well, it isn’t the only time I’ve been exposed to it. I see how it could come across that way. There’s not a single affiliate link anywhere on anything and 0 sponsorships. Out of almost 100 videos there’s 3 thought out list. I don’t use notes to describe scent profiles. To each their own. I didn’t make this video to accuse others merely to express why I don’t consume fragrance content on TH-cam and instead create what I think is cool and am proud where it’s going. I don’t really care what others do.
@@CgScents Thank you for your honesty. I quit watching reviews when Jeremy came along. He proved that money could be made with flashy lines. I admit I initially got suckered into buying frags pushed by the influencers but learned my lesson. That was somewhere around the time Marc at Robes08 had all his videos removed due to a musical copyright infringement. It seemed all the OG’s left and we were left with this shit show of reviews. I’m back to watching but think I can see through the BS reviews.
@@pacmanfl I bought into it to in the past mainly with clones. Ended up with so many crap clones and when I got the originals they almost all ended up at goodwill. Unfortunately, I thought their sub count and public support made them more trustworthy than just a regular person but now I realize I find better tips searching through Reddit. Fragrance is so subjective any ‘reviewer’ is more of an entertainer to open discussion on a topic that intrigues people. No one’s an expert in what you’ll like or even what’s good. I can tell when something is bad but usually it’s some cheap middle eastern knock off that’s clearly synthetic - most things are objectively good the rest is all up to perception. That’s crazy the robes08 thing. I had a channel in the past ‘Cg Kid’ that I ran full time. I learned a lot about copyright and how insane it can get. That’s why my song is more corny than I’d like it to be. It’s from TH-cam’s audio library and is free for unlimited use. It’s not the best song or even one I like but it’s safe. All other elements are licensed - I’m very religious with it because it would suck to have your work wiped out like that and it can happen pretty easy.
I like what Gents Scents is doing because I feel we do need one or a few "mainstream" fragrance TH-camrs showing us what's new and churning out content daily. And he seems like a really nice genuine guy.
I agree. Ashton has been around forever, has kept his enthusiasm, knows his stuff, and has stayed out of the general free-bottle corruption. I only wish he did more single-fragrance reviews on his second channel again, rather than pushing out all those pointless lists...
@@HansHase78 Open your eyes. Ashton is one of the worst shills in the game. He might've been an honest guy once, but he's all about the money now and shilling those Dubai clone brands like there's no tomorrow. He'll also crap on fragrances if the brands behind them don't want to honor his demands, see Michael Malul and Jimmy Choo. This is fairly well-known in the community and Robes08 mentioned it a couple of times too.
@@pastichiorocker Ashton is clearly making a living off his channel these days, but I believe it should be possible to have this type of "career" in the community as long as you stay authentic and don't sell your soul for a handful of free bottles. I think that over the years Ashton has always worked hard, has kept adding value to the community, and today is running his business in a relatively transparent way compared to many other players. Receiving kickbacks from affiliate links to multiple discounters is fine in my book, as is advertising scents he actually had creative direction for.
@@HansHase78you are blind. That man will say every new Cline of something is the best but say that the one from the previous video is still the best in the same breath. He plays this game with thumbnails and words.
tiktok takes the cake thou. fragrance is subjective like you said. Thats why its a journey. You have to go out and try different scents and figure out what you like, and that takes time, if you love fragrances.
Top 10 Autumn morning Fragrances, Top 10 Lunch/Afternoon Fall Fragrances, Top 10 Evening Fall Fragrances, Top 10 Night Time Fall Fragrances. Top 10 Fall Fragrances For Sleep. And so on 😂🍁
Let’s be honest, most fragrance reviewers don’t review fragrances. They post list because their end goal is to get the most views and likes. This turns into free bottles and in some cases $$.
This is the case since people realized they can make a living from YT, nothing special about this hobby in particular. Also there are a lot of great channels on YT, it's usually the more popular ones that have those brand deals and sponsors. So don't make this bother you or let you down please. I myself watch YTbers for news and entertainment and discovery. I never blind buy (I know you love it) because I love to sample (and resample when I find something interesting).
I am also in the camp of people referred to in this video that absolutely hates imagination. That shit smells like the cheapest, most generic and soapy blue fragrance ever. I literally cant believe people like that one but to each their own.
I was back and forth on it. I use to hate it because I felt it smelled juvenile the vibe was like a boy band fragrance now I enjoy it but can admit it basically just smells like soap lol.
I love the top 10 panty droppers or most compliments, I rely on this stuff because covid destroyed my nose. If you watch enough videos you start to see a consensus. The best are asking people on the street to choose between 2. Like say bacorat rouge vs mancera red tobacco…
Bro! It’s so true. Ganymede actually was one I kinda struggled with but everyone I showed it to instantly liked it. I’ve seen groups prefer it to Layton which is ‘crowd pleasing’ lol. The subjectivity is crazy.
I definitely feel like these fragrance reviewers just be making shit up when doing note breakdowns lol. I definitely avoid top 10s for the most part they are so played out. Would rather look up something specific I’m interested in.
I like Hamza’s channel where he does street battles. But yeah you can’t trust fragrance TH-camrs ever. Everyone’s praising Chanel allure Homme sport extreme yet it is an average to trash frag.
I respect the heck out of that guy. I tried doing what he does and it’s WAY more anxiety inducing when you’re actually there with the scent strips and camera lol. I can’t do it but I don’t really need to his channel does that so well. I wanted to incorporate some street interviews but it’s not in my personality for sure.
It was called ‘Cg Kid’ I told my story involving recovery from drug addiction. It was very raw and helped a lot of people but at some point I decided I needed to move forward in my recovery by letting go of my past and deleted it. There’s still interviews and news stories on it out there if you use search.
Fragrance TH-cam is great if you watch the smaller channels. Seldomly often, Scented moments, Robes08, 50 Scents, Tinkeviitanen, Urban Dweller, and of course your channel.
Ramsey as well
May I add Claire Smith to this great list, as somebody offering a different perspective?
The Scentinel, Razvan Andrei and Persolaise too!
@@HansHase78 Claire Smith may be the one with the most integrity. I think Joy Amin would be a close second.
@@Zach-jv7jg 👍🏻 I'm gonna take a look at the channels you listed.
I must say that fragrance buying is an addiction unfortunately. I currently own 117 bottles, but owened 286 at one point. I wear fragrances for me and don't care if others around me like it or not. it's aroma therapy for me and genuinely relax me & uplift my mood
😅
117 is over kill just keep the ones u like and u will wear them again and again
@@ivanrod2550what if they like all 117? 😂 But yeah in all seriousness, I have found out of the 50 or so I have (including samples) there is really only about 5 I really want to wear all the time haha
It’s not an addiction. You just have FOMO. Buy 1 or 2 for each occasion you go through regularly and understand that there is no “perfect” fragrance.
Hey CG, thanks so much for the shoutout!
I agree with pretty much everything you said and I do also get frustrated and find myself rolling my eyes when watching a lot of videos.
That being said, I try to stay positive, I’m doing my thing, my way, and don’t really care about the shills. If anything, those big voices help bring people to the hobby and I do feel that those who are passionate will end up exploring.
I’ve been in the photography space for over 2 decades and at the moment of hype there was also a ton of bad content focusing on the wrong stuff, everyone was about the gear, buying things to show off etc, made the hobby really tedious for those there to learn the language.
Stuff adjusted and I feel stuff will adjust here too 😊
Keep up the awesome channel 💪
I actually wanted to shout you out as one of the more honest down to earth reviewer 🤝
@@Katalin04 thank you 🙏
That only dropper titles is lust garbage. It’s childish and an immaturity of mindset where everyone is just following each other with no identity. If a woman is dropping her pantries over a fragrance, she’s no lady. If a guy is wearing fragrance for self validation, you’re empty and shallow. Anyhow, I agree 💯
That bow tie guy the worst
I agree! And he never ever responds to his subscribers. He should at least pretend that he cares by responding. He is one of the worst👍🏿
Just seems like the biggest shill @@Fitdude58
I would probably say ttlg is worse
@@user-zl8lu5bf3fdefinitely. He is a full time TH-camr so he's all in with selling.
Lol first blind buy was burberry touch by his recommendations, so bad.. sold
the compliments thing is so cringe. nice video CG!
I really like Anne Lauren’s channel. I thunk a success in a fragrance TH-camr is how accurately can they describe the scent. Anne is never pushing product, she just has one of the best description abilities. I find you as well as seldomly often really know how to describe scents as well. I appreciate when you state that you haven’t been exposed to a certain scent note. That is genuine , it is relatable. Thank you for your perspective and criteria.
Glad to see that you've not become a shill and I hope you never will! As a former addict like yourself I can tell you from experience that fragrances can be very addictive too. After I fell into the rabbit hole and started to watch all those fragrance TH-camrs I started to buy more and more fragrances that ultimately ended up collecting dust in the shelf. I sprayed them once and never wore them again. Always on the hunt for the new dopamine rush and "the one" fragrance that's better than anything I've smelled before. At some point I wasn't even able to pay my bills because of all those fragrances. I realized that these big TH-camrs are all shills. I spend my days watching modern versions of Infomercials and I didn't even realize it. I started selling all my fragrances and unfollowed every shill and I don't look back! It's so freeing. And I realized that I found "the one" fragrance all along in the beginning.
You really feel that these TH-camrs don't care about fragrances, and they especially don't wear all those fragrances they promote. And more and more people fall for it.
Edit: oh and every single bottle of these "expert" reviewers is always completely full. They only wore it once or twice but then tell me how much they like it, how it performs and develops and that it's their favorite, bla bla bla...how are you able to professionally judge a fragrance after wearing it once?
7:20 I can guarantee you that most fragrance youtubers don't even know what "well blended" means. TLTG Reviews for example has over 130k followers and he pretends to be the ultimate expert. He's looking down upon everyone and speaks like he's the ultimate fragrance authority and everybody else doesn't know shit. I have a video clip of him unironically saying that "80% vol." means that the fragrance bottle is only filled 80% 🤣 it's so stupid that I still can't believe he said that. And he said it with such confidence, it cracks me up everytime
@@Sleezy.Designthat guy is cringe in a person
@@TevinC814 I couldn't have said it better!
Your authenticity is palpable, as always, and I completely get what you're saying, I couldn't agree more. I went on an unsubscribing spree a few weeks ago, and I was quite shocked to see how many fragrance channels I had accumulated over the years. The only two I kept, was yours, and The Fragrance Apprentice. I'll have to check out that Seldomly Often channel you referred to, I like the sound of it.
I sell perfumes for a living for almost 20 years now- and this is so true! I don't know about Sephora, but I bet in a real perfume store the salesperson will be more honest than most big youtubers (I know there are exceptions, but just in general - TikTok is even worse). But the people also let themselves be so easily manipulated and don't have an own opinion. Just 10-15 years ago most costumers bought their fragrances based on what they personally enjoyed. Yes, advertisement may have influenced someone to try the perfume but if they didn't like it, they won't buy it. Today they buy it just because they saw some Influencers use or recommend it. It's insane! At the end of the day- it doesn't matter how much of an "expert" someone is (or claims to be) nothing is as subjective as a fragrance. Our scent perception is linked to memory, experience and emotion and unique to each person. It can be the most special, expensive, excusive perfume- if you don't like it, it doesn't matter.
Amen. Honestly been shocking how subjective it is. It’s more subjective than music or food especially when you go into niche fragrances just from what I’ve seen first hand 😅.
@@CgScents yes, and you also made a good point about how to really test out a fragrance. The human brain isn't good at differentiating scents, especially if you try many fragrances in a brief time. That's a huge issue if customers come into our shop and try out dozens of perfumes all at once. You can't smell it anymore and will buy something you may not like. I recommend 3 - 4 max. and wait at least 15 minutes. Better even to take a sample home and try it several days. Just spraying it on the wrist and than give a review is deceptive. To be fair some good reviewers only do one fragrance/ video and describe how they felt wearing it during the day. That's how it should be done.
@@QManagerin you’re 100% right there’s also 0 commitment at a store on a card. It’s so easy to just discard it. I spray one or two sprays from a 2ml in a section on my arm several times throughout the day. I spray it and show it to friends. I then wear the last 1ml. You’d be amazed how things grow on you or away from you. I also test by wearing in a group setting because I’ve loved things until I felt the vibe of pushing it out. Vice versa I’ve thought things are ok then really liked it in a public setting.
Could not agree more with you more Cg. Those lists about “compliment magents” exploit people who might not get a lot of attention in their day to day life by selling them on validation in a bottle. I genuinely enjoy watching your content and I hope you continue to do this for a long time. Your high production value along with your realness makes even watching reviews about fragrances I don’t like enjoyable
Thank you man and beautifully said I feel you put the exact words to what I’m feeling.
I found your channel through Robes08 and glad I did. Thank you guys for saying what needed to be said about TH-cam fragcomm for a while. Just subscribed!
Bro! The points you made on notes & subjection is SPOT ON! Note break downs have always makes no sense to me…just tell me what it smells like.
As long as there are still a few good reviewers whose style and taste I can align with and whose integrity I trust, I will keep watching TH-cam videos for discovering new things to try, or ideas for new fragrances to create for myself.
It is great to have people who are so generous sharing their experience and enthusiasm - like you or Marc or Ramsey or Daniel or Claire or Pep, and a handful of others. Keep up the good work!
This video was suggested to me, and I’m glad it was. It’s refreshing to hear someone say how overstated compliments are in these reviews! As a daily fragrance wearer, I can count on one hand how often anyone cares to compliment me in any given year. Great to get acquainted with your channel; I can’t wait to hear more of your honest perspectives.
I just wanted to make an informed decision on a good fragrance to buy so I wouldn’t smell crusty going for dates , and now I’m currently getting sucked down the rabbit hole as we speak .
If that’s all you’re looking and you wanted my opinion just go to Sephora and smell some things and pick one. Women love designers and you can’t really go wrong with them they’re versatile and crowd pleasing. Just pick what you like the most because it’s subjective. Honestly, even a cheapie like Nautica Voyage or Mont Blanc Legend is fine.
I’m out the game but if I were dating I’d wear something basic. I don’t want to be the cologne guy on a first date prolly just wear Bleu de Chanel Parfum.
It only goes deeper if you get into the hobby of exploring different profiles.
I'm at 17 bottles now, 6 in the last month. I'm now reaching a point where every wear case is covered so I hope that I dont feel the need to keep going but this hobby is additive!
So many truths in this. I respect the honesty in openly questioning the value of his own channel due to the subjective number of fragrances. This honesty just made me subscribe.
THANK YOU!!! this is why i watch you. honesty is so hard to come by in this toxic youtube fragrance community. much love brother 🖤
lol i love seeing videos come out where they're talking about a new fragrance release and how amazing it is and that its a compliment monster, and then 6 months later they make a video called "5 fragrances you shouldnt buy" and the fragrance they previously said was amazing and hyped up is on the list.
Excellent video! I'm glad Robes08 recommended that we check you out. You just gained another subscriber. Keep up the great work!
Earned a sub with this one my man. Keep it up. I feel like most of fragrance youtube is just advertisements these days.
Couldn't agree more. You ever noticed that in almost every video the bottle they are holding is also damn near full? I feel like they haven't even worn these colognes.
Im new to fragrance and after watching those channels for a couple months i started to realize how much the same brands came up again and again and again and again, and it seemed very clear there were other brands just not being talked about. "Man ... why doesnt anyone talk about a brand like Guerlain or Mugler?" Oh. Because those other brands arent cutting the checks. Not even the same brands but even the same exact fragrance. "Spicebomb extreme, Spicebomb extreme, spicebomb extreme!" gets mentioned about every other fall/winter video. They've clearly skewed the perception of a certain few frags like that. Crazy how much actual influence they do have
Great video. A couple of people commenting here mentioned Claire Smith. She did a video about 5 months ago, and really got a few fragrance reviewers mad as hell. “13 reasons you can’t trust perfume influencers….” I’ve just subscribed to your channel😃🇦🇺
Really well spoken and great take on this subject also. I am guilty of some of these points, lol. Great channel. Going to go through more of your content.
Some non shill fragrance youtube channels :
1. Robes08
2. Ramsey
3. AC Smells good
4. U smell good by eugene
5. Scents of south jersey
6. Wafts from the Lofts
And now my CG Scents is added to the list .
Thankyou and keep up the good work brother 🙏🏻
I would add Seldomly Often
Scentland too
Add me !
Rich Mitch aswell
absolutely agree .... watching only these for years and all the small unknown channels
The frag shills *cough* TLTG *cough* have no discerning taste. Everything smells "great" and this is the fragrance you need to buy (that they got for free), until their next vid and thats the frag you need to buy and so on. With honest reviewers, you can see if your tastes are similar and their recommendations might be helpful. Good video man
I appreciate your authenticity, and your focus on the fragrance, not on compliments!
I one hundred percent agree with you. All of these fragrance channels hype these fragrances as the best ones but then come out with another video saying another set of fragrances are the best. It was really hard to make a decision on which one to buy. That's why I really appreciate you and your wife's opinions because it seems way more genuine.
Thank you man! We are genuine I sort of struggle lately because I am not discovering much I really like and don’t want to make a ton of ‘it’s a 6’ videos 😅 I’d prolly be more genuine if I did but would also come across as a negative Nancy when in actuality most things aren’t THAT great to most people.
It’s comical how subjective it is. I’ll say of what I’ve tried it seems most things worthwhile garner a lot of attention. It’s REALLY rare and underground fragrance is impressive (unique and sensible with good performance). Maybe that’s psychology but after spending way too much to sample EVERYTHING I realize I could have just sampled the top 5 from each brand and probably would have saved a lot of time and money.
But it’s interesting how subjective it is. I really can’t stand some of the stuff other people seem to really enjoy and I’m sure many can’t stand what I love. Honest reviewers can at best present an opinion others relate to or not. I’m understanding my position better. I can also tell if somethings mature, polarizing, or versatile even if I don’t like it.
I only like watching channels with a few subscribers, especially the ones with the same taste in fragrances as me.
I own 6 full bottles of fragrances right now, 2 of which were gifted to me. I have a small box full of decants. Trust me, sampling is the way to go! I also have a 5 bottle rule: that when my 5 bottles are emptyn only then I go sort out another 5 of the decants I truly love and buy full bottles of them.
The rule keeps my space neat as I only have 5 bottles on my vanity. And every once in a while, I pull out a decant and try them out and "try to establish a relationship with the fragrance"
To me, elitism and pretentiousness are the biggest No No... otherwise, I don't bite what they overhype, but I see your point and how it can affect less knowing perfume lovers.
Yeah, the "Niche" TH-camrs talking down to people that wear designer fragrances, and how you have to wear $500 dollar "niche" to be considered "it".
When someone gets over 4k followers they develop this mentality. "Look at my silver stem Dior homme. I'm so cool because I have a bottle that costs 80 dollars, but because of the hype it's now coveted and I'm boss because I have a bottle."
To me, more than elitism and pretentiousness is the fact that a lot of fragrance TH-camrs have just made this a business rather than a hobby, so everything is about generating income with affiliate links and continuing to get free bottles with positive reviews
@@purplemartin6952 and just so we're all clear, the "fragrance community" is not you or me, but those who have a channel and collude with each other. They will only prop up viewers who send them free stuff.
@@firstactionhero They talk down to Dior Homme Intense they call it a niche quality "designer" scent, and how designer fragrances are "cheap" and designed to "please the masses". I was like, WTF.
There is a video portraying such elitism here titled "D&G The One vs Dior Spice Blend".
I was like, wow. He just kept denigrating designer fragrances and how they are cheap.... $100+ dollar fragrances are "cheap"?!?
And how they keep pushing you to buy "niche", how they are so artistically done, how most don't like them, how you might not like them, or you might like them, or like them 1+ years after buying it and it's being collecting dust; Megamare, Tyrannosaurus Rex.... And how some smell "fecal". Why would I want that or smell like that?
Nah, I'm not paying $300+ dollars for a fecal or rotting seaweed "niche fragrance".
And yeah, I went from designer to buying Middle Eastern clones..... Oh how they hate that. They are the ones on Fragrantica trashing the clones, calling them over-hyped, reformulated, and how they don't last..... They are just angry how they paid so much, yet a Middle Eastern fragrance house did it for 1/3rd the price.... My case I bought Modest Une by Afnan, which smells stronger and lasts longer than Dior Sauvage EDP.
Now, I have my bottle of Al Wataniah Classic that smells like Dior Homme Intense.
Also, I have both Cremo Black Vanilla and Spice and Spicebomb by V&R.... They smell identical, yet Cremo lasts longer and it projects better.
Thank you so much it’s been driving me crazy how fake these influencers are and shilling is such a bad thing for the community. I used to love watching fragrance reviews that were honest back in the day. It used to be so fun. Now it’s just a 10 advert for a brand. 😢Sadly the people that get to 100k it becomes a marketing scheme.
Sadly I was one of the people that believed the hype and I hated that I bought a fragrance that I hate end up using. I’ve learned from my mistake. I’ve kinda learned the more cuts on them giving their opinion and cuts while reading out the notes it shows they haven’t worn it giving a random scripted description almost like a sales pitch.
People need to see the truth behind the fragrance world. Always try a sample before you buy a full bottle. Wear a fragrance for yourself first!
I recently came back to fragrances after a few years of not buying anything. I blind bought too many sub $50 stuff from recommendations and a lot of them were just meh. Theres too many videos pushing cheap stuff on TH-cam, which understandably is where the general population is at. I find Justin Copelands content really good, he makes interesting recommendations while still being accessible for a casual watch, and his emphasis on sampling and functional purchases, which has helped me be more in curating a more selective collection. Came across SeldomlyOften this week and hes great with practical no nonsense in depth reviews.
He's in on the hype train link with TLTG, CUBA, Curly, etc. Especially if its a “cheapie”. He does not like cheapies so it has to be a promotion and hell be back months later to say it is not as good as he thought.
Copeland is an Argos and Zaharoff shill, and when he makes lists, he has affiliate codes for nearly all-or sometimes ALL-of the fragrances on his list. He’s just as bad as the rest, just quieter about it.
@@TevinC814 ive caught up on his content for the last year or so and I dont think he does that. Just cuz hes friends with Ross and made a fragrance with Zaharoff doesnt mean the content is the same. He’ll make the occasional compliment or cheap video out of audience demand but those recommendations by in large are still different, and theres still an emphasis on sampling and personalization
@@yiyithewuster its not why I think, view all his middle eastern frag vids and you'll see that majority are sponsored and view his later videos on them. You can start with untold by armaf.
@@TevinC814 i tend to give him a benefit of the doubt on that one; he did a first impressions and changed his mind later. I get if it rubs people the wrong way tho
👏 Thank you for this! Great video, subscribed.
Thank you so much man! I’ve been seeing your channel mentioned a lot in the comments I subscribed as well look forward to checking it out!
Good point at the end, perfumes even change in smell depending on what type of fabric your clothes are, your detergent and how you dry them. Theres so much nuance
don't be angry at the youtubers - they wouldn't make that content if it didn't have the biggest audience. A pizza doesn't just show up at your door - you order it. Top tens, panty droppers, top compliment getters etc are the most popular because that's what gets the most clicks and views, us humans are just basic af. 🤷 If Robes08's awesome detailed reviews got the most views and attention (which they should) - then most reviewers would be doing that too
Your right.👍
i buy samples and try them befor buy expensive parfums
We get it- you’re above it all. For me, I appreciated these channels because when I was getting into the hobby, I needed exposure to what is out there. I went into this knowing there is a financial incentive, to some degree, for these folks. Because we live in a capitalistic society and that’s how the world works for better or worse. Soooo… good for you!
I don’t think what they’re doing is morally outrageous I’m just surprised so many aspired to be radio salespeople hyping up products. Looks depressing. Can’t judge them but the end product is crap lol. Honestly didn’t even think this video out at all just decided to share why I don’t watch it. I don’t spend my days feeling self justified anger fueled by a sense of superiority, truthfully I don’t really care this video took me 30 minutes to make.
I do think they could be more compliant with FTC guidelines on influencers by being more transparent about their relationships and affiliations with brands that can influence their content. That’s build into capitalism for a reason - to help prevent deceptive practices that sabotage the very essence of capitalism. Could just clearly state their associations as part of their intro… not that hard… some manage to do it. But whatever too busy doing my own thing to worry about them panty droppers.
@@CgScents For sure, I totally understand your perspective! I now only watch a few channels generally for background noise. But early on, they did help me become familiar with brands and whatnot.
And I’m not touching the stripping of consumer protections that kind of allow for this activity! That’s a whole mess I’m not touching here.
Oh the compliments... that is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you get compliments, it is usually from friends and very honestly, who cares... If I love a fragrance, I don't need others to tell me it's lovely, although it is of course sweet of them.
Second though in conncetion with the video. Liking someone is subjective hence why I am trying to put forward the character, association and don't even include rating of the scent itself, just its performance and personality (uniqueness), while also trying to give the experience of wearing it and looking into drydown. So yea, the distaste for smelling top notes and bye also hits home :)
Definitely a good question, does it even matter, do the videos help in some sense?
I gotta say your biggest asset is your words. You could take any topic and make a down to earth engaging video on it. I'm telling you you're something else brother. 🙌. Stay safe
About compliments: I have been wearing fragrances since the early 80’s ( including people pleasing popular ones )and i can’t remember ever getting a compliment.
…and the panty dropping, yeah, i usually have to put in some work myself.
At the moment i am wearing a fragrance one influencer described as ”awful” and ”stinks”.
But since my balls are in a nice position i don’t care.
I wear what i love.
( Tom Ford-Oud Minérale )
I dont look at no one what they telling me to buy especially someone who is far from me personally , I take a sample and wore it for two or three times and if it suits me is it bottle worthy or not, it’s a different thing what you like and what you love to wear.
Well done, I’ve learned to filter out the bs and pick apart certain things I’m looking for. Took awhile to learn but I’m getting there
Sense of smell is highly subjective. What appeals to one person may not necessarily appeal to another. Variation in scent preferences can also be influenced by genetic factors, sex, age etc.
Social media last 10-15 years influenced (pun intended) a lot of aspects of our life. Fragrances is one of them, especially when you see that parfume market value is around 51 billion dollar mark.
As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the industry and Fragrance TH-cam is trying to put their sunglasses on our perspective.
Just depends what type of person you are and why do you wear a fragrance - for others of for yourself?
Just my two cents. Good video, this topic needs to be brought out more. Keep up the good work👍🏾
I learned from my fragrance journey is smell it for yourself. I own 13 bottles but they are my own top fragrances. Dont buy the Hype buy what you like
Some of them ask you to leave an honest comment, and once you do, your comment disappears.
Hello! First time watching your channel. Glad to see you post this type of content! All your arguments are valid and to the point. I truly appreciate content creators such as yourself, who do not try to sell and strive to be as authentic as possible.
I only really watch you and Robes08 anymore. I've been following Robes08 since 2008 and another guy Street Scents (Al) since 2009 and he just came back to youtube recently so I'll be following him more than likely. If anybody likes your channel I think they'll like Marc (Robes08) he is the OG of the fragrance community. There were a lot of guys back then posting alongside him, but many tapered off rather quickly. Marc is also against the free bottle b.s. and reviewers just pushing whatever they're paid to push. I'm always looking for authentic and that is what I get from your channel CG.
Cg is xerjoff mifesto as good as i read and hear? What your favorite xerjoff?
I’ll review that one I go with SMW. My favorite Xerjoff is a tie between Tony iommi monkey and 40 knots.
@@CgScentsyes please, I love and have them both and they both have cons and pros
Aaron Terence Hughes is legit, but generally speaking I completely agree
He's selling his own brand
I don't believe a word 'the vainest man in Britain' says, lol.
He's not legit, he just reviewed Gisada
@@ItsMinarmy Also, wasn't he forced to post an apology video a couple of years ago, because he wrongfully identified the notes in a fragrance and the brand behind it wasn't having any of it?
@@pastichiorocker He stated that London Oud did not contain oud, which prompted FdB to send him a cease and desist to read on video. He is a pretentious bullshitter who just reads ingredients off the box. Countless times he has said a fragrance contains certain ingredients, when in-fact, they do not. His perfumes are also trash.
Like everyone else, I support Robes08, Ramsey, Seldomly Often and yourself. I value honestly and when a “reviewer” has a reaction that is less that satisfactory. It didn’t take me long to realize most TH-camrs are full of shit. I have tried hundreds, if not pushing a thousand fragrances over the last 10 years.
There are only a handful that I bought because 99% aren’t for me and 50% of those were straight up trash.
Unfortunately as you mentioned. You tube is governed and I have heard that some reviewers have been served with legal papers from the fragrance companies because of less than stellar reviews. Probably another factor that plays into it
Nobody mentioning mister Persolaise!? He is soo informative and entertaining to watch it's almost like attending a class of your favorite teacher, how about Smellomania she is an absolute joy to watch and very creative I believe she is the only person around drawing perfume as she passionately talks about it! miss Cherie of The top note is also very cozy to watch or perfumerism if you want to watch perfumery student gleefully talk about perfume. These people I feel like they are here to just absolutely nerding out about perfume and you can definitely feel their love and joy towards perfume listening to them, it depends on where you look I feel because of course there are plenty of people who are here to simply sell stuff and do promo ads and you can see it you can feel it when you watch them and there are also plenty of people who are simply passionate about perfume and just can't stop talking about it that they have to share it with the world you just have to look for it! the kind of people you would enjoy listening to are there for you if you try to look for them
Great video, keep it real as you go on in your channel. Real fragrance reviews are rare nowadays. The rest are just glorified infomercials; they aren't doing it for the love and affinity for perfume, just a quick check and free bottles.
I have been a victim of some of those perfume pushers 😢. I have learned to look for people that do not have tons of links etc.
I have become weary of those reviewers that have an identical expression of “delight” regardless of the fragrance they are reviewing!!
I usually watch foreign reviewers, that have no US links. You are one of the ones I watch, SmellyCat, JoyAmin and others. Even then we all can have different likes.
I watch Neeb from Aromatix, even though he has tons of links . He is entertaining and he provides a starting point. His clone wars are usually accurate.
Thanks for your efforts
Hello from Puerto Rico for you and your wife 😊
Weeeeeepa!!! 🇵🇷 my wife is boricua from Caguas
absolutely true with those shelves behind it .... absolutely embarassing demonstration :D when i make a video i use empty white wall not to destract viewer with anything ... just minimalism is the key!
great video. perfume became one of my favourite free time activities. however i reduced watching perfume content by 98%. its like everywhere on social media where you are soaked into watching paid ads in your freetime. and it triggers a lot of bind buys which is in my opinion the best way tu ruin this hobby
This is a pretty spot-on view of “influencers”. I used to enjoy watching GentScents, Justin and a few others. I got bored with the salesmen stuff and inundated with clones. I enjoy some that I don’t feel are stuffing fragrances at you like, Persolaise, The True Connoisseur, Quick Fragrance Reviews,Scent Trail , The Perfume Guy and My World of Fragrance. I will checkout Seldomly Often.
I don’t really care about someone liking my fragrance but if they do it’s extra points. I enjoy sharing my fragrances and “knowledge “ with friends and family. I give away lots of samples and provide suggestions in a relatable way.
You're absolutely bang on, my main motivation for starting my channel is a lot of what you've just said
@@TheFragLad just subscribed!
@CgScents thank you bro, honest feedback would be appreciated 👍
Yeah.. it’s honestly really cringe and it seems a little much when you’re constantly putting out top 10 videos in every occasion lol. And don’t get me started about the “compliments”. They be lying they ass off about how many they be getting when in reality most people keep they opinions to themselves. Great video btw keep it up!
a lot of people also mix up real compliments with just attention. if you have a drastic new haircut people will likely comment on it because they spot it and then give you a compliment because its the accepted social behaviour. but initially they commented because it caught their attention - the compliment afterwards doesn't tell you if they really like it.
same with fragrance.
Oh man, this comment is completely unrelated to the video, but I was wondering where CG was today, I could only find a Reddit response to someone asking about it a couple months ago. From what I read you moved on from the past and don’t really care to talk about it, so I suppose maybe you don’t love this comment (which if that’s the case, I understand & I’m sorry), however, all I really wanted to say was that I’m really happy to see you doing well & better, at least it seems that way & it also gives me hope! I’m a long time follower of yours & hope the best for you man!
Much love man! I’m glad we meet again on the next chapter!
Yes it’s easy to be caught up in hype not just in the fragrance space but a lot of things on TH-cam. I haven’t bought a full bottle of anything in 3 years because I feel I have enough for the rest of my life. I 70 plus bottles and really could get rid of half of those. I only subscribe to you and 2 others right now and like the way your format is done. The only advice I would tell anyone who is interested in fragrance just sample sample sample and trust your own nose.
That's why it's always important to sample first. That way you can weed out the ones that you don't think are bottle worthy for yourself.
@cgscents you drop some real knowledge in this video hopefully it will wake some people up. You’re by far one of the best and honest reviewer out here.
TH-camr doesn't mean "Expert". Unfortunately most people don't understand this and are mislead by "brand ambassadors" in the wrong direction. I stopped watching Yt "reviewers/experts" long time ago and now i just test by myself which is the healthy way to discover and enjoy this fine art of perfumery.
Top 10's are the worst and reviewing perfumes after one spray or wear is disgracedul just for the sake of being the first one out there to talk about it and get the views 😅.
I agree. I’ve been questioning the point of my channel honestly. I have fun with the production and stuff but it feels so subjective. I’ve been testing Halfeti Cedar and I can tell it’s nice and it’s definitely for some people but it’s not for me. I question why the hell anyone cares? Lol honestly only way to describe it. I plan to continue because I’ve invested in the project and samples and I plan to be honest but I don’t see this a lifelong thing or being a youtuber long term lately I feel ill just create an honest library and let it be a legacy piece I can reflect on and be proud of rather than not finishing what I started.
It’s extremely subjective and people take fragrance very personally. No one’s taste is better than someone else’s in reality. People value different things for different reasons.
Agree with many points you make. The most I agree with is the subjectivity of it all. And at that point if this is truly a passion for you, you will watch people that tend to resonate with what you enjoy or align with. Unfortunately money drives most entities so we shouldn’t be surprised but it has worsen over time. I’ll watch Cubaknow because I think he’s personally hilarious, I’ll watch Fragrancedoud and Ross cause theyre more down to earth and very engaging, Rotten Rebel cause his passion, Robes08 and the Fragrance Guy cause they show more niche or things I’ve haven’t heard of and etc…if you really enjoy the hobby just be you and push the bs to the side.
I COMPLETELY agree with everything you said here. Echoing another comment here, Seldomly Often is a really great, very thoughtful smaller channel. Also I have a soft spot for Omar at School of Scent. Yes his channel falls victim to some of what you pointed out here, but I enjoy his commentary.
True. This is one of the reasons I stay away from dupes because I feel like 90% of them are just pushed by influencers who got paid.
Even without buying any, I kind of got the sense that was the case. I've stayed away from them and just go on carefully hunting the real ones that I think are worth buying rather than go for clones that I think are just being shilled. Not only that, but there are so many fragrances out there that are awesome that aren't selling well enough to be cloned by the money grabbers.
Yeah, the whole fragrance YT is extremely tiresome. I was considering making a very casual channel similar to Seldomly Often. I love fragrances and I feel like people aren’t sharing their love for them anymore. It’s all about OMG BEST SMELLING 10/10 WOMAN KILLER WOOOOOAAAHHH
You should start one it’s a lot of fun if you enjoy the hobby. I started 5 months ago and it’s helped me evaluate my interest, communicate my thoughts, and I’ve also built some great friendships. One of my viewers ended up living in the same apartment complex 😅 crazy how that happened.
I dunno how the hype people enjoy it I was never passionate about being the guy on radio ads with the animated voice but to each their own I guess. I stopped watching it a while ago but the comment section here revealed there’s a whole community of good reviewers I didn’t discover. I think hype videos just get more engagement / promotion.
Also, yes, not only is sense of smell the most subjective from what I've read its also very poorly understood as to how the brain processes it and its believed its processed in the same part of the brain that processes memories and emotions so we get a huge amount of trauma/nostalgia attached to certain smells. Add to that, that unlike a recording, a bottle of chemicals is going to change over time, change depending on weather, where and how its applied and skin chemistry factors in. Ive notice this too. Its super subjective and thats why I indeed do not take any one to be the be-all expert. Its a fun journey though 😂
Brilliant. Can’t argue with a word of that.
So on the point! CG you rock!!
Omg. I just find your channel. Love your contents. ❤ Can you review Lolita Lempicka in the future? It's my fav perfume. Hope to see your views on it. Tq
Definitely agree to an extent. There are some 'reviewers' that just aren't. I don't agree with gatekeeping or snobbery but no one needs another listicle with the latest Aventis or Sauvage knock off on there. There are a few good eggs out there though. I enjoy Sebastian (The Perfume Guy) as I think he brings a lot of knowledge with him, be it perfumers or specific styles or ingredients. Granted he does LOVE a list but they're often really specific (coffee notes or amber + wood/fruit/leather etc.) which I like. The whole 'compliment magnet' thing isn't the reason I'm into fragrance at all. It's always nice to be told that you smell good but I wear things because I like how they smell and I have quite esoteric tastes that aren't going to appeal to everyone (or anyone in some cases; I'm looking at you The Smell of Weather Turning). Give me a photorealistic campfire or forest scent over a pleasant, inoffensive blue fragrance any day!
I enjoy Sebastian’s videos as well he seems really passionate and knowledgeable.
I love the entire baffled vibe on how the rest of people aren't bothered by the shovelware in the industry.
Subscribed, nice refreshing and honest take on the fragrance community.
It’s also important to see what’s good according to girls but also which one can I actually find at saks or sephora.. some of the brands I can’t even get or test first. 99% blind buyer.
That's what I think when some fragrance influencer says "I just bought the new fill the blank" and you think... how does he have soo much money to buy a new fragrance every 4 days... SUS 🙄
Also agree with the compliment factor... my gf is the only one who has compliment me in the last year... even my family does not say a thing about my scent, not even my friends lol or as Michelle says "don't be a sissy sprayer".
I talked about this last week. Video went viral overnight on TikTok 😂
Great take - I couldn’t agree more. You eluded to this so please don’t take it the wrong way… I want to subscribe to your channel but our tastes in frags don’t align. My journey has been influenced by TH-camrs over the years, I got smart and sampled a ton, and I think most niche fragrances that get the clicks are not really that great to wear. Some may smell okay but not on a human. Air freshener maybe. I’m not saying designers are so much better. The art of smelling unique and mass appealing has been MIA for a while now in my worthless opinion. To solidify my unpopular opinion, I believe the Tonka Bean ruined men’s fragrance forever.
Facts. I’ve seen the BS earlier this year. Now it’s probably bout six channels I watch for fragrances including this channel. Stay with the smaller channels who actual spend their money on their fragrances.
I think some of Cuba Knows videos are funny (mainly the ones where he brings his friends on) but I’d never buy the stuff he recommends lmao. I’ve been enjoying the Cologne Podcast lately because they seem like regular dudes that really dig fragrances but aren’t pretentious about it
I saw some of you're other videos from you're previous channel. Really glad to see you doing well.
You’re based bro! Keep it up, love your content
I only watch it for Aaron Terrence Hughes...
And just ignore, and avoid the "Niche Fragrance" guys talking trash, down, and trashing "Designer Fragrances", and how one has to buy "Niche" because they are the best.... I'm like, just STFU.
Well said.
I think more people are coming out and say what a lot of fragrance enthusiasts have in mind.
Shills are like used car sales people.
Keep it up.
I really miss it when we use to hear feelings and experiences, I remember back in 2012 listening to Dr. Nickhil from exotic scents talking for a long time about the scent like describing art. Nowadays is sheer bottom-of-the-barrel type of content.
I just found your channel. After watching some of your videos I have a few questions. How many of your reviews are based off of just test strips? Do you have decants or bottles of everything you review? I could be wrong but my initial impression is that you’re doing what you’re accusing other channels of doing.
I have decants of most of them some bottles I wear all of them which is kind of exhausting lol but I enjoy the video producing process and exploration. Just kinda want to wear my tried and true favorites more often. It’s not based purely on test strips tho my wife does just smell them on paper she doesn’t wear them. Her part is to demonstrate subjective differences and add perspective as best as possible. It wouldn’t be economically feasible for me to buy a bottle of everything I review and I don’t accept free bottles but if I really love a fragrance I’ll purchase a bottle of it.
Some fragrances are pretty simple and after one wearing I have a good idea how I feel about it. Some I need to spend more time with and wear multiple times because they’re more complex. Some I already had a strong history with before starting the channel and revisit with one or two wears. I spray a strip before recording my impressions but that acts as a reminder of the scent and partly is for the thumbnail as well, it isn’t the only time I’ve been exposed to it. I see how it could come across that way.
There’s not a single affiliate link anywhere on anything and 0 sponsorships.
Out of almost 100 videos there’s 3 thought out list. I don’t use notes to describe scent profiles.
To each their own. I didn’t make this video to accuse others merely to express why I don’t consume fragrance content on TH-cam and instead create what I think is cool and am proud where it’s going. I don’t really care what others do.
@@CgScents Thank you for your honesty. I quit watching reviews when Jeremy came along. He proved that money could be made with flashy lines. I admit I initially got suckered into buying frags pushed by the influencers but learned my lesson. That was somewhere around the time Marc at Robes08 had all his videos removed due to a musical copyright infringement. It seemed all the OG’s left and we were left with this shit show of reviews. I’m back to watching but think I can see through the BS reviews.
@@pacmanfl I bought into it to in the past mainly with clones. Ended up with so many crap clones and when I got the originals they almost all ended up at goodwill. Unfortunately, I thought their sub count and public support made them more trustworthy than just a regular person but now I realize I find better tips searching through Reddit. Fragrance is so subjective any ‘reviewer’ is more of an entertainer to open discussion on a topic that intrigues people. No one’s an expert in what you’ll like or even what’s good. I can tell when something is bad but usually it’s some cheap middle eastern knock off that’s clearly synthetic - most things are objectively good the rest is all up to perception.
That’s crazy the robes08 thing. I had a channel in the past ‘Cg Kid’ that I ran full time. I learned a lot about copyright and how insane it can get. That’s why my song is more corny than I’d like it to be. It’s from TH-cam’s audio library and is free for unlimited use. It’s not the best song or even one I like but it’s safe. All other elements are licensed - I’m very religious with it because it would suck to have your work wiped out like that and it can happen pretty easy.
The worst offender is tglt by far. And so is gent scents though he may be more charismatic.
I like what Gents Scents is doing because I feel we do need one or a few "mainstream" fragrance TH-camrs showing us what's new and churning out content daily. And he seems like a really nice genuine guy.
I agree. Ashton has been around forever, has kept his enthusiasm, knows his stuff, and has stayed out of the general free-bottle corruption. I only wish he did more single-fragrance reviews on his second channel again, rather than pushing out all those pointless lists...
@@HansHase78 Open your eyes. Ashton is one of the worst shills in the game. He might've been an honest guy once, but he's all about the money now and shilling those Dubai clone brands like there's no tomorrow. He'll also crap on fragrances if the brands behind them don't want to honor his demands, see Michael Malul and Jimmy Choo. This is fairly well-known in the community and Robes08 mentioned it a couple of times too.
@@pastichiorocker Ashton is clearly making a living off his channel these days, but I believe it should be possible to have this type of "career" in the community as long as you stay authentic and don't sell your soul for a handful of free bottles.
I think that over the years Ashton has always worked hard, has kept adding value to the community, and today is running his business in a relatively transparent way compared to many other players. Receiving kickbacks from affiliate links to multiple discounters is fine in my book, as is advertising scents he actually had creative direction for.
@@HansHase78you are blind. That man will say every new Cline of something is the best but say that the one from the previous video is still the best in the same breath. He plays this game with thumbnails and words.
tiktok takes the cake thou. fragrance is subjective like you said. Thats why its a journey. You have to go out and try different scents and figure out what you like, and that takes time, if you love fragrances.
Top 10 Autumn morning Fragrances, Top 10 Lunch/Afternoon Fall Fragrances, Top 10 Evening Fall Fragrances, Top 10 Night Time Fall Fragrances. Top 10 Fall Fragrances For Sleep. And so on 😂🍁
I’d like to add ‘too 10 for slaying a dragon’ 😅 aye if someone did that at least it would be funny lol.
Let’s be honest, most fragrance reviewers don’t review fragrances. They post list because their end goal is to get the most views and likes. This turns into free bottles and in some cases $$.
3:53 was it when he was talking to Cody Ko haha
I’m not sure tbh my wife was playing it I overheard it and was like “wtf 😅.”
@@CgScents haha yeah
This is the case since people realized they can make a living from YT, nothing special about this hobby in particular.
Also there are a lot of great channels on YT, it's usually the more popular ones that have those brand deals and sponsors.
So don't make this bother you or let you down please.
I myself watch YTbers for news and entertainment and discovery. I never blind buy (I know you love it) because I love to sample (and resample when I find something interesting).
I am also in the camp of people referred to in this video that absolutely hates imagination. That shit smells like the cheapest, most generic and soapy blue fragrance ever. I literally cant believe people like that one but to each their own.
I was back and forth on it. I use to hate it because I felt it smelled juvenile the vibe was like a boy band fragrance now I enjoy it but can admit it basically just smells like soap lol.
I love the top 10 panty droppers or most compliments, I rely on this stuff because covid destroyed my nose. If you watch enough videos you start to see a consensus. The best are asking people on the street to choose between 2. Like say bacorat rouge vs mancera red tobacco…
Really great mate. Excellent points all.
I love gannymede and get a lot of compliments when i wear it , ask one my buddys said its not for me 😮 im like dam ,people just like different things😅
Bro! It’s so true. Ganymede actually was one I kinda struggled with but everyone I showed it to instantly liked it. I’ve seen groups prefer it to Layton which is ‘crowd pleasing’ lol. The subjectivity is crazy.
I definitely feel like these fragrance reviewers just be making shit up when doing note breakdowns lol. I definitely avoid top 10s for the most part they are so played out. Would rather look up something specific I’m interested in.
I like Hamza’s channel where he does street battles. But yeah you can’t trust fragrance TH-camrs ever. Everyone’s praising Chanel allure Homme sport extreme yet it is an average to trash frag.
I respect the heck out of that guy. I tried doing what he does and it’s WAY more anxiety inducing when you’re actually there with the scent strips and camera lol. I can’t do it but I don’t really need to his channel does that so well. I wanted to incorporate some street interviews but it’s not in my personality for sure.
Yeah. It’s the sad truth.
Side note: what’s your other channel that has 100k subs?
It was called ‘Cg Kid’ I told my story involving recovery from drug addiction. It was very raw and helped a lot of people but at some point I decided I needed to move forward in my recovery by letting go of my past and deleted it. There’s still interviews and news stories on it out there if you use search.
@@CgScentsintense.