What are your favorite smells?

[chas]

I always wondered what the smell of Old Spice was - carnation. I bought some a couple of years ago & it smelt different as I remembered it from years ago. More watered down & less rich. I had to apply a lot more than I used to. I was disappointed ...

Carnation apparently is included in female attractant oils like Satyr Oil The receipe for which is in on the web.

Chocolate smells better with a spicy note added. Faberge's Addiction 'Spice Fire' had a warm chocolately spicy smell which got a +ve female comment when applied to the neck.

[DrSmellThis]

Carnation apparently is included in female attractant oils like Satyr Oil The receipe for which is in on the web. Chocolate smells better with a spicy note added. Faberge's Addiction 'Spice Fire' had a warm chocolately spicy smell which got a +ve female comment when applied to the neck.

Smelled a chocolate scent yesterday that was basically vanilla with a caramel note. Not impressed. Carnation is indeed a nice attractant for men to wear to attract women, which is definitely one reason I like it. It does indeed also have a history in occult scentmaking, as you indicate. I know one Satyr oil (Crowley recipe, I think) that is jasmine based, though, so I think it's open to the perfumer's interpretation.

[Rbt]

I know I love the taste of chocolate (dark, not milk) of the European type. Most Asian chocolate recipies are not very good as far as I'm concerned. "German" is my preffered. And a small amount goes a long way.


However, I must say I'm not sure a chocolate scent would be something I'd like to have as a fragrance on either myself or someone else... I think I'd feel the same about any "food scented" product. And sorry Homer, I don't think I'd want a doughnut-scented fragrance.

[idesign]

Smelled a chocolate scent yesterday that was basically vanilla with a caramel note. Not impressed. Carnation is indeed a nice attractant for men to wear to attract women, which is definitely one reason I like it. It does indeed also have a history in occult scentmaking, as you indicate. I know one Satyr oil (Crowley recipe, I think) that is jasmine based, though, so I think it's open to the perfumer's interpretation.

Agree about Carnation Doc, I wonder if that's the reason behind its popularity as a corsage. It has a way of smelling slightly dirty underneath the peppery flower scent. Its attractant appeal could signal a desirable but slightly dangerous aura, as if the loveliness of the flower only lasts until deeper and naughtier urges take control. Old spice was a resounding hit for a reason.

I'm fascinated by the Middle Eastern love of Rose. In the West its decidedly feminine, but blended with woody and even soapy scents it becomes an intoxicating masculine mix. Oud certainly plays a role, and just that one ingredient can lead a perfume in many directions depending on the origin.

The term Oriental is not at all perjorative. I live in the Orient and the term is used often as a self description. In fact, educated and self aware women pride themselves on their Oriental traditions and sensibilities. However, there is a more nationalistic pride, its more common to hear someone to say they're Chinese or Thai or Malaysian.

I can only imagine the range of challenges you have to deal with in creating a new scent.

[DrSmellThis]

Thoughtful and stimulating responses from everyone. Thanks. I have been hard at work (though it's not an overnight thing for a variety of reasons) and am planning on incorporating many or most of the suggestions in this thread. So if you have any other faves or opinions please post them. I'm not ready to "unveil the grand concept" yet, but there are a number of things in the works, and things are taking shape. I pretty much have all the basic ideas. Should be interesting. I agree with everything idesign said about carnation. I think it's sort of underappreciated these days, due perhaps in part to an "old fashioned" rep.

[Rbt]

I remember from my much younger days that my grandfather and I think my father both used an aftershave that smelled of camphor (due no doubt to the aftereffects of blade shaving). Talk about really "retro." Not sure I'm ready to return to those days though...

[DrSmellThis]

I actually love those kind of smells. There were a few menthol crystals in "Pheros". To me it's a comforting, clean, warm, safe feeling. Camphor was talked about in the Old Testament as a perfume. In perfuming one of its advantages is that it's a generic top note, without many qualities of its own, relatively speaking. It stays out of the way of everything, so that you can use it with everything. If you want it to go, it goes. Know you sort of have to have some kind of top note, but have absolutely no good ideas? Try menthol, or camphor. To a perfumer, if you will, it's just a note, an effect in a particular olfactory range, like myrrh. You can flavor it however you want.

[Rbt]

Speaking of myrrh... I recall many years ago being introduced to "church incense" that was composed of bits of frankincense and myrrh (and maybe other things), and "burned" using a special charcoal "disk." Really nice. Could get pretty intense though... May have to go looking for it again.

[vidda]

I'm in Singapore, all year round summer. I like Davidoff Cool Water, Armani Acqua Di Gio, Issey Miyaki for day wear as they give me lasting fresh smell in hot humid Singapore. At night I prefer Gucci Rush and Fahrenheit.

[thomaslavoie]

Perfume: Nautica Voyage

[fantasylove]

I like any perfume that would make women attracted to me. And for different seasons I like different smells. For example, in summber, I like "lemon" smells, but in winter, I like "chocolate" smells.