Top 13 Worst fragrances?

Uusally blogs post their Top 10 or so Best Perfumes etc etc. in a popularity stake that is easy for readers to browse through and can identify with; makes for light, pop reading. But what about a negative list? Those are less promoted by far, although far more illuminating on many levels. How does such a selection gain credence and isn't dismissed as snark, vitriol or plain ignorance? It's all very well for someone to say that they absolutely think something is stellar (no one gets offended and often the reader believes the author knows something they don't) but when someone bashes someone else's favorite scent, feelings can get quite hurt it seems!

I'm not going to attempt a Top Worst Fragrances List myself due to that very reason, but coming across one had all the right bells ringing and I thought I'd bring it for our readers for discussion: There's an article at MSN named Pe-ew! based on ratings of readers of TotalBeauty.com , comments of whom the article reiterates. The selection is rather tame (someone should send the readers some Secretions Magnifiques as a control specimen!) and the comments oscillate most often between the plain tired "old lady" (for lack of a better vocabulary) and the "heavy", while surprisingly the same things that are considered heavy to one are non-perceptible to another (or considered having no lasting power either). Makes one wonder just how our everyday choice of fragrance is really greeted by other people, doesn't it? What emerges from the poll is that under no circumstances can you:

1)Smell like a grandma (Why the hell not, if you want to? Is it a dirty thing?)

2)Smell cheap (Ditto)

3)Have something cost more than its perceived value in olfactory terms. (Blurry, but the only logical complaint and I'm afraid lots of brands and products are falling into this pit)

List of Top 13 Worst Fragrance from Total Beauty.com (in reverse order):

13. Aromatics elixir by Clinique : Predictably assumed "old lady in a bottle" and one reader likens it to "cats, mothballs and fruitcakes". Bernand Chant's bones are creaking, but no need. This is one of the MOST complimented fragrances on strangers, while it can be a bit too much on oneself sometimes. I had praised it profusely years ago and I still stand behind my credo. Personally I use the body lotion or the Sheer version; makes for less intense wearing.
12. YSL Parisienne: One reader notes the newest Yves Saint Laurent is a combination of her "grandmother and trees" (!), others find it "cheap" (can't argue) and "forgettable" and many consider it "not youthful at all". We can assume the sexy-teasy advertising missed their aim...
11. Lush Go Green: In the words of one reader "like a Christmas tree air freshener." That ties in with that green I guess!
10. M by Mariah Carey (Elizabeth Arden): Featuring a burnt marshmallow scent that is too sweet to the point of aversion it seemed condemned from the start. Proof people aren't swayed by a pretty bottle.
9. Lancome Magnifique: I had voiced my disagreement with the presentation and press about this one (basically a little misleading) but surely not the ghastly thing presented on that poll. "Cheap, incredibly strong and heavy, quickly fading": I can't say I agree with any of this. I can see how it can be polarising as a smell though; it's not among those I'd choose myself.
8. Aveda Pure Fume Essence: Haven't personally tried this one, but "musky and earthy" don't rate too well with today's audiences, at least on Beauty.com it seems. The Avedas I have tried, I wasn't impressed with.
7. Kenzo Flower : Isn't this a best-seller in the 30s-40s age bracket? The proof that powdery scents (alongside Cashmere Mist and Hypnotic Poison) are not only designated perfume solace for the elderly? I laughed with one reader insisting that she "shouldn't be hitting the bottom notes of a perfume within an hour". Really? Is this a new rule? Has she smelled any orientals? First time I hear about this concept!
6. Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds: A reader who worked at Macy's says the salespeople called it "the old lady scent." "If you needed a gift for a much older woman, we sold you this!" All right I'm perfectly willing to accept this. Yet older women should be indulged too and what is Liz Taylor if not an older woman nowadays? (embarking on her 9th marriage no less!)

5. Harajuku Lovers Lil Angel : Possibly the least disliked in the Karajuku Lovers range gets bashed ("cloying, powdery, sweet, fading"). Typical.
4. Avon Timeless Cologne Spray: I can't really criticize the tried-and-tested poisoned arrows of "heavy," "musky" and "so very old" because I was jumping up and down like a demented puppy seeing again the little roll-on bottle I was handed down as an elementary school kid! I recall really liking the -problematic to classify- scent, even then. Goes to show you... 3. Tocca Stella: Again, isn't this really popular? One reader mentions it's reminiscent of gardenia or lilac like this is a criticism. I'm rather stumped.
2. Gucci by Gucci: Obviously tastes differ, but Gucci is selling quite well, so it probably pleases a lot of people. But reading through the comments, I get the sense that the major complaint is not lasting long enough or being perceivable for the duration it's expected.

1. Gifts of the Sea Spray by Caswell Massey : I have never smelled this, but now I'm psyched to hunt it down and get a sample. The complaint seems for it to be "dull". Somehow I think that could be said about half the current market...Anyway...

So: What do you think about the above? And which are your Top Worst Perfumes?

pic via enet.gr