Yesterday I tried Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia for the 5th time. Something about this fragrance nagged me, even though the first couple of times I tried it, I thought it wouldn't work for me. I kept getting a rubbery smell that was unpleasant. Ayala posted yesterday about Therese, which led Chanel22 to comment about fragrances changing due to their temperature, which I've noticed as well. So I began to wonder about how fragrances change based on the temperature of my skin at the time I apply them...

I realized that every time I'd tried Tuberose Gardenia, my body temperature had been hot; either directly from the shower, or from being outside. Yesterday I applied it a few hours after my shower, when I'd been indoors for hours, and my body was "room temperature". Wow! What a difference! Suddenly it's as though this fragrance is made for my skin! (I'm mad about tuberose and gardenia, so I had high hopes for this one.)

I looked at the bottles that have a prominent place because they are the fragrances I wear the most, because they do that "magical" thing with my chemistry that makes them special. I realized that many are fragrances I absolutely hated at first, and this hate made me curious about them (they didn't bore me!), and they turned into my favorites. (A couple are Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Chance, NR, Carnal Flower...)

Fragrance just provides me with endless fun.

I've had that happen with Timbuktu and Dzongkha - at first sniff I was repelled, then I fell in love after a few tries.

Then there's the other category that attracts and repels me at the same time, like Kelly Caleche and Insolence. I keep wanting to smell them, then when I try to wear it I'm repelled.

I've recently had a similar experience with Patou 1000. I first tried it on a humid summer day and I was absolutely captivated. So many facets and dimensions, but somehow not busy at all. I received it as a Christmas gift and when I wore it this winter it fell flat. It smelled like weeds and I was bitterly disappointed. This summer, however, I decided to give it another go and broke it out on another hot, sultry day. Voila! Magic. Seems it just doesn't work for me in the winter. Ah, but the summer..now that's another story!

-Noelle

Rochas' Femme and Anne Pliska were both challenging.
I think the reason I didn't get along with Femme was because I had tried the vintage juice, first, and it just didn't click with my skin.
Someone sent me a decant of the reformulated and it still didn't click, but one day I found myself craving it...and the rest is history. It's now on my 'top ten' list.
With Anne Pliska it took a while, but it kept calling to me every night...that devilish little sample vial.
I had a brief, but intense, love affair with it once I gave in. Now...I rarely wear it, and while it doesn't turn me off, it doesn't WOW me, either.

To a minor extent with perfume (ie. a not really or an intriguing but ... becomes a solid 'contender' - ex. Fou d'Absinthe, the odd NO! becoming a sure, ok - ex. Odeur 53); in a major way with music.

What a great discussion topic. I've been thinking a lot about this recently, because I've chatted with some people who think I'm crazy for revisiting (sometimes many times) fragrances that, upon initial wearing, I found difficult or unpleasant. I've definitely had the experience of disliking something the first time, but being drawn to revisit until one day, the realization suddenly hits that I'm in love.

This has happened to me with:
FM Une Fleur de Cassie
L'Artisan Timbuktu
L'Artisan Dzongkha
Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque
Hermès Eau D'Hermès
Guerlain Jicky

I'm hoping that it may yet happen with Serge Lutens Serge Noire (which, for the moment, is very unpleasant on me)...

Pretty much all the Guerlains, Lutens and Tauers are that way for me. I've learned not to judge them--or any perfume, really--on first sniff or even the first couple of wearings.

I've learnt to not give up on a scent until I've tried it in every season & different weather conditions, didn't think about how your body temp can change during the day depending on what you're doing...it makes sense.

I hated Mitsouko at first (in EDT). I mean HATED it. It was sharp and just weird. And my husband hated it even more.

But I thought, there has to be a reason why all the uber-perfumistas love this scent. Maybe it's me. So I got a sample of the EDP. It was better, but still no panacea.

So I finally broke down and got a sample of the parfum. Now I began to realize what everybody was talking about.

So, finally, I blew my perfume budget for the month on a 1/4 oz. of the vintage perfume. Now I get it! It's deep and honey-like and rich, close to the skin, elegance itself. And husband even likes it.

I'm glad I kept trying.

Maybe some day I'll even like Yatagan.

The one that took the longest for me was Marilyn Miglin PHER'OMONE...

I disliked it for what seemed like a good week; suddenly, I guess I "got" it, and to this day it remains one of my alltime faves.