Give me your BIGGEST FRAGRANCE HOT TAKES

And i don’t just mean boring generic ones like “Performance is important”, I mean like your smoking hot takes on this. Start off simple, and as they go on, they get progressively hotter. Be respectful, but also don’t hold back! This is a safe space, and we all respect the subjectivity of this hobby :)

I’ll go first.

1- Parfums de Marly is a highly overrated house, and not worthy of the true niche title to me.

I might be a bit of a Charlatan for saying this, and i’m aware that the term niche can apply to a lot of fragrance houses, but as i’ve really done my research and understood it better, i’ve realized the quality isn’t there, compared to other niche brands like Roja and Clive Christian.

You’re paying absurd amounts of money for something that smells designer in quality. Theres no doubt that they’re still great scents, but to me personally, pale in comparison to brands like Diptyque and Le Labo.

2- Synthetics aren’t bad… but blending determines quality.

Now, considering the knowledge and wisdom here, most of you probably already know that, but hey, i need to admit that i didn’t realize this sooner. A lot of ingredients in affordable fragrances are synthetic aromachemicals. And that’s not a bad thing. They improve performance, add room for unique notes or experimental ideas, and also cut costs.

The difference between good and bad synthetics is the quality of chemicals used, and the way they’re blended. Compare Mancera to Diptyque. Mancera is a performance beast house, but to me personally, a lot of their scents, especially in the openings aren’t the best blended, especially scents like Red Tobacco.

Drydowns are good on a lot of them, but the blend quality is still there. Then compare it to a house like Diptyque. They might not be as loud as Mancera, but a lot of people wouldn’t even be able to guess they use synthetics in their fragrances. It’s because of how well blended the scents and ingredients are. The key for me is, every brand uses synthetics, what separates the good from the bad is how detectable those synthetics are.

3- Bottle design and presentation are almost as important as smell for me.

I know, crazy crazy take, but hear me out. If i’m paying good money for a scent, i want it to be more than just a cheap plastic cap and basic atomizer and boring box.

Tom Ford is a good example of this with their private blend. I absolutely love and adore the chess piece design, but hate that they use plastic caps and stickers, considering that premium price. They ought to use higher quality materials. Looking to YSL’s private line is a good example of this.

Overall design is important to me too. I don’t like eyesore designs. i need something simple and understated, slightly minimalist. They need to all look well together on a shelf.

There’s a few exceptions i’ll make, but the smell either as to be a 10/10, or the shape at least fits the proportions of the other bottles I have so they don’t look out of place, just upgraded.

4- Dupes are decent on a budget, but if you have the money, the original is always going to be better.

This was a hard pill to swallow for me, but fairly simple. I mean no shade on dupes. I get it. And let’s be honest, most normal people won’t drop 400 dollars on smelly water lol.

But with that being said, don’t cope and say “um well the dupe is better than the original.” Bs, i’ve owned a ton of clones, and can admit that none of them beat the originals. There are very rare cases where i think so.

And let’s be honest here too, dupes can become a dangerous addiction too. It’s a bit of a trap that a lot of brands like Dua use, where they’ll take advantage of that wonderful dopamine hit we get by unboxing a new fragrance and seeing it come in the mail, for less of a price.

They pour out tons and tons of fragrances every month, and before you know it, you might fall into the trap, and your wallet is just as drained, if not even more drained than it was compared to if you bought the original.

This is where the split happens. Some of you don’t mind at all, and that’s perfectly okay! But for me personally, i’d rather have 10, extremely high quality luxurious fragrances, than hundreds and hundreds of cheaper ones.

5- Scent quality > Performance.

I’ve said this a few times before. And i mean it, it’s a hill i’m willing to die on.

While obviously i don’t want something that’s gonna last me three hours, i honestly don’t mind a mediocre performance, if i thoroughly enjoy the scent quality and the craftsmanship is there.

Especially having spent a long time in countries like Japan, where it’s considered quite rude to wear something really loud, it’s reshaped my paradigm on the subject of performance.

As i’ve said before, i like to equate it with clothing. Would you rather wear a neon green gucci shirt with tons of brand logos all over it, or a well fitted, tailored outfit from the brand, but without the flashy logos?

I personally would go with the latter, and that’s because i put the money into that piece as a form of pride in myself. I’m not buying something that high quality because i want everyone to see it or smell it, i’m buying it because it’s to celebrate where ive gone. It’s a confidence boost because it makes me feel good, not because other people notice it.

And that’s how i feel about scent. Don’t get me wrong, i still want to be fairly noticeable, but i want my fragrance to be detectable as a small extension of myself, not a shield to hide behind.

I always ask myself this. Am i wearing the outfit/scent, or is it wearing me?

That being said though, it’s no shade thrown to people who care about performance. It’s still important, and i have all respect for my brothers who like the loud, bold fragrances. I enjoy them too, just in moderation. And for those of you who care about it, i’m certain it’s not for the reasons i listed. Most of us are here out of hobby and love of the game, nothing else.

Anyways, give me yours!

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