STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

My perfume smells like an old lady - need new suggestions!

subwolley · Kate Spade

Ha! Funny, my mom said the samething about my perfume once. I was like, "But I like it." Anyway, I don't have any suggestions, just reminded me of my mom telling me that.

Kelly · Hermes

how long have you had the perfume? It takes me forever to use perfume, but I never knew that it went bad until a while ago I thought, "man oh man, I have horrible taste in perfume because this smells like old lady!" Then I found out that perfume goes bad after a year, and I had been using the same bottle for 2 years....which is why my once-beautiful scent turned into old lady.

halleybird · Hermes

I have the same problem with TONS of perfumes. I try to stay away from overly floral or musky scents. I notice I don't have as much of a problem with green or "clean" scents. My favorites are Philosophy Amazing Grace and B&BW Breathe Calm. I can also wear Burberry Brit and L'Eau d'Issey.

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

ttara123 wrote:

Then I found out that perfume goes bad after a year

Really? That might be why - I've had the bottle for a year and a half.

Thanks for the suggestions, halleybird! I'll try looking for a green scent - I smelled Burberry Brit one time, I thought it smelled quite nice.

kittenheels · Coach

:) The title of your post made me smile. If you like fruity or girly scents, I would recommend petite cherie by annick goutal. It's delicious! Or, comptoir sud pacifique makes great vanilla/tropical scents that are light and clean.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

Perfumes don't go bad after a year. I would say its more like 2-3 and sometimes can last longer depending on the temp of where you're storing it. The more oil content, the more likely they will spoil (parfum vs. edt).

the old lady reaction is probably something that was going on with your ph - the way you react can depend on what your diet is, if you smoke, what you had for dinner last night. I wouldn't toss out the bottle just yet.

Lilykind · Hermes

I also own Flowerbomb. Are you using the EDT or the EDP?

Gucci II is fantastic! It smells a bit too spicy on me though because my chemistry picks up the cedar notes really strongly. But I LOVE the way it smells on other people. I really hope that one works for you! I'm not sure I would call it a 'young' fragrance, but it's definitely not old-lady.

I like Comptoir Sud Pacifique as well as the Fresh Sugar frangrances except for Sugar Lemon (smells like pledge on me). I would definitely characterize those as younger fragrances.

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

XtinaStyles wrote:

Perfumes don't go bad after a year. I would say its more like 2-3 and sometimes can last longer depending on the temp of where you're storing it. The more oil content, the more likely they will spoil (parfum vs. edt).

I, too, have had fragrances for years and they still smell fine. Maybe one is a little off, but I have had that since I was 13-years-old. Nostalgia keeps me from tossing it.

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

XtinaStyles wrote:
the old lady reaction is probably something that was going on with your ph - the way you react can depend on what your diet is, if you smoke, what you had for dinner last night. I wouldn't toss out the bottle just yet.

Thanks xtina - I've worn it before and never noticed the old lady scent, so maybe it was just that day. Plus, one of my friends who confirmed that it smelled like old lady has smelled it on me before and said it was nice. Coming from a guy friend, I believe it smelled nice since he rarely comments on anything about me. So, I really think it was just that day!

Thanks for all the new perfume suggestions, ladies! I have about 1/4 of the V&R left, and I'm getting bored of it. I think I'll get another small bottle of perfume to switch it up a bit!

Lilykind - I have the V&R EDP.

Lilykind · Hermes

wetbandit42 wrote:
I have about 1/4 of the V&R left, and I'm getting bored of it. I think I'll get another small bottle of perfume to switch it up a bit!

Lilykind - I have the V&R EDP.

I always buy small bottles and mix it up. My Flowerbomb is a .17 oz. EDP because I love variety in fragrances so much. Have fun!

I know a friend of mine had a HUGE bottle of RL Romance EDP that turned sour after three years. She never wore it because it was a 'special occasion' only thing for her. So it going sour is not outside the realm of possibility but proably not the case here.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

I try to buy fragrances in the smaller size for this reason too. Unless you wear them every day, they'll probably sour before you get to use the whole thing.

I used to work in the industry so now I wear fragrance only like 1x a week, if that.