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Enter a comment on this post, below, to be eligible.
[NB. Limitations/shipping restrictions apply. Find them on bottom of this post].
And now on to musings on something that happened to me recently and put me into thinking.
I smelled a GORGEOUS scent on a very efficient and smart lady the other day. She was wafting it copiously, but the scent wasn't at all "thick" nor "cloying", it trailed beautifully as we walked through a gallery display, she guiding me, I listening attentively, distracted only by the amazing sillage. Initially I thought it was something along the lines of Teatro alla Scala (Krizia) which is a beautiful spicy oriental with a rich, satiating citrusy top note that I know pretty well, own and wear myself (and was wondering whether this is the trail I leave behind!). The lady in question was munching on a juicy mandarin at the time, too, as she was showing me around.
Before parting I had to confirm. I asked, point blank. Turns out it was .....Aromatics Elixir (which I otherwise recognize immediately on other people, I am practically surrounded by it, Athens adores this fragrance), her "signature for 20 years", as she added. Plus juicy mandarin orange...
And I got thinking. Much has been made of the growing resemblance of Aromatics Elixir by Clinique to (parent company) Lauder's Youth Dew and orientals in general. Maybe there's a bit of truth there, though I always remembered AE as very patchouli rich and powdery-mossy, and still do. But surely there are other elements at play and I assume we all have gotten confused as to what someone wears at a given moment, even if it is something we know perfectly well and could otherwise pinpoint.
Do you have such examples? What was it that confused you and what did you confuse it with? I'd love to read in the comments.
LIMITATIONS: The draw is worldwide. Some exceptions apply: Italy, Spain, Croatia, Russia, Greece (Swiss FedEx cannot ship there). The prizes will be shipped for free from Switzerland, through FedEx. Local taxes, VAT, and import fee may apply and are not covered by Tauer. The winner is responsible to make sure that they are allowed to import the prize.
Tauer ships to the address given and do not contact the addressee afterwards nor will use the contact information for any other purpose than sending the prize, nor will they forward the address to anybody else except for the purpose of shipping the prize to the winner.
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It is very true about fragrances there has been times when I smelt one on someone and been adamant in knowing what it is, however when asking the person it turns out to be something totally different. This is what intrigues me about fragrance I don't take this as a negative but as a positive as there are so many possibilities you have to find the one that works best with your body chemistry. Please can you also enter me into the competition thank you
ReplyDeletePlease include me in the Tauer advent calendar draw! Very exciting!
ReplyDeleteAs to the AE, it has fooled me a few times too. I have a friend that wears it and it smells amazing on her. I find that what I have been smelling previously really has an effect on what stands out more. I have tried numerous scents like Mitsouko that smell very different to me after having sniffed something like Eau d'Hadrien as opposed to Mona di Orio's Jabu.
Unbelievable! Croatia sucks. :) (that's my personal user experience opinion) ;)
ReplyDeleteThat said, Tauer is not the only company not shipping to Croatia which I luckily managed to circumvent by having lovely colleagues in Slovenia. :)
So please enter me in the wonderful draw.
Your post is making me retry AE. It was a blind buy that I didn't love on myself. I do think all the classic Lauder scents are chameleons that take a good long dry down to develop. I'd never buy them if I went by the initial blast!
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago I wore Clinique Simply (I think I went through 2 bottles)so when I smelled something nice and warm on someone else, I thought that was it and I told her so. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me it was Kenzo Amour. Which doesn't really smell anything like Simply. So maybe it was other scented things she wore at the time, her skin...
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting the draw!
Ajda
Thanks for giving us the chance to participate in this draw Elena and Andy. I often don't identify perfumes worn by others (men or women)... and I almost never ask, so I end up staying confused and wondering all the time, especially when it's scents I like! (Maybe I should learn to pluck up the courage and ask from now on ;-))
ReplyDelete-kal
I'm not great at identifying perfumes on other people. I remember once being particularly surprised to find out that someone was wearing Poison, as it smelled lovely on her but genuinely poisonous on me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the 10th day of the Advent calendar, Elena! And thanks to Andy for the great idea!
ReplyDeleteYou got me into deep thoughts...I suppose I had a lot of confusions at the beginning of my fragrant journey. And I still have them, especially with the ubiquitous rose-patchouli combo. However, one of the most striking confusions was the one with an unexpectedly cheap fragrance. I was in Marburg, and a friend from the company was wearing something dominant, distinctive. My nose was intrigued, and I asked her about the scent. She smiled and winked - I won't tell, can you guess? Well, I started speculating about niche masculine fragrances. It was fresh, but without citrus or lavender, pungent and subtly sweet, definitely chypre, grassy-woody-spicy, but chypre. Synaesthetically smelling like the white-red-blue Tommy Hilfiger outfit. Imagine my surprise when she finally told me, it was Christian Lacroix Rouge for Avon! I got it immediately when I came back in Bulgaria, but it still doesn't smell like that on me...
I think perhaps there are fragrances like Angel which are so individual (and ubiquitous) that we can recognise them on any other person regardless of skin chemistry. But my sister put on Dries van Noten and all my guesses were wrong. Handing in my perfumista badge.
ReplyDeleteI teach at a university, so I inevitably notice the popular fragrance trends among younger folks. If I am not sure what I am detecting, sometimes I will ask them what they're wearing.
ReplyDeleteA year or so after Burberry Brit was ubiquitous, I thought I noticed it again. I was waiting for a train, and the young woman next to me smelled lovely, like lime and vanilla, and something else.
It must be Burberry Brit, I thought. But it's not quite right - perhaps I am misremembering.
So I turned to her and said "Is that Burberry Brit you're wearing?"
She looked down her nose at me and said "Oh no way. Eau de Shalimar."
I can't usually place a fragrance when I smell it on someone (especially nowadays when everything seems to draw from the same tiny pool of components) but there are some scents so distinctive that I've recognized them instantly on someone: a few years ago I smelled Rochas Byzance on a woman in London and (although i didn't have the nerve to ask her) there was no question that that's what it was, because Byzance is in a category by itself.
ReplyDeleteI could have been wrong, of course!
Thanks for holding the Tauer advent event! Please, count me in as well! Well, I can't recall a similar story. I do remember I was smelling Cinnabar on the neighbor that seemed to be Opium, but... well, that confusion can be easily understood :)
ReplyDeletei wish i had such a good 'nose' or the courage to ask people. often i've smelt something and wanted to ask.
ReplyDeletethanks for the giveaaway
Thank you for hosting Andy's advent once more! A lot of times I have not recognized very popular otherwise perfumes on people, sometimes pleasantly and sometime disappointingly. AE has a new version out now, White, don't know if you had a chance to try it!
ReplyDeleteMariaA
Please enter me in the drawing. I love your blog and your writing.
ReplyDeletePlease count me in. Andy's perfumes never stop to fascinate me. Best wishes for you and your great blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the draw!
ReplyDeleteChiming in to say I ADORE Arimatics Elixir (real bad) and thank you for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to confuse people with Tauer discoveries ! happy Advent.
ReplyDeleteI can never tell what someone's wearing, and I actually wish the people around me wore *more* perfume, so I could practice identifying scents!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, my perception of some perfumes changes over time. First time I sniffed Carnal flower, I only remember the really unpleasant musty-bitter feeling I got from it. And now I can't get enough! And I used to think Mitsouko was really harsh and woody, and now I'm finding it quite mellow.
AE is one of the scents that screams on me, and some orientals do too, so while I can understand the nuances of similarity, most of the time I have to steer clear of those scent groups. At least at work anyway! But it is an interesting idea, and I would bet, heavily influenced by skin chemistry, which really includes hormones too so I should just say chemistry. Please enter me in the Tauer draw and happy holidays.
ReplyDeletehi, thanks for the draw; there are lots of very similar perfumes for me, especially musk-based ones - for example I can't tell much of a difference between Musc Nomade and Musc Ravageur. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeletesorry, something went wrong and I didn't get to add my name to the previous comment. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHere in Japan I rarely smell any perfumes on others, so if I detect any scent it really draws my attention. Last morning the elevator was saturated with some lovely perfume, stewed spicy fruits and fir maybe, nothing I know. Hmm... must identify which neighbour is wearing it and ask what it is.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Petalis
Some time ago I was at a sniffing event where I smelled the same rose perfume on the arms of several people. I was amazed about the differences: you could tell it was the same fragrance but on some arms there was a clear smoky note while on others the smell was green and fresh.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the draw!
I'd love to be entered into the Tauer draw - fantastic!
ReplyDeleteMistaken fumes - my husband commented last week that it was years and years since he'd smelt Angel on me. He was quite right! I was actually wearing VM's Hedonist... I could see his point - the Angel was there - softer, classier, but there. Peeps head over the parapet - just me?
Couple of other recent perfume sample encounters which were memorable for the wrong reasons... SH 777 Kohl de Bahrein - my skin ate it up and spat out rotting carrot in extrait strength - I am most disgruntled with my skin! It's very different on blotting paper strips.
And Alahine which I tried yesterday - I can tell there is something gorgeous but it's hardly there... and is that really lavender? I'm going to try more squirts!
On a very good note - Oeillet Bengale - mmmm...
Thanks for the draw - L'ADDM is so wonderful - it soars and feels so ancient and soothing.
Thanks for hosting the draw.
ReplyDeleteI can't typically identify specific scents on others, so that avoids the confusion issue. You do have me intrigued with the Aromatics Elixir comments though. I need to give that one a significant try, based on all the wonderful feedback. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI am not so good in identifying fragrances on other people. I do sometimes recognise them:"I know this...!", or simply one note... The other day I was very surprised to actually identify one. It was Coco, which was my signature scent for years!
ReplyDeleteThanks for including me in this great draw!
I would love to be entered in the draw. The most annoying thing is that there is a fragrance I smell relatively frequently being worn, which I actively dislike, but I have no idea what it is. And I don't think I dare ask.
ReplyDeleteI don't know a lot of fragrances still - so right now the only one that I can recognize is Angel... perhaps I have been fooled, but I will never know. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping to host this lovely draw!
I always ask what they're wearing! I'm wearing En Avion today, and it's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteCarole MacLeod
I'm generally terrible at recognizing fragrances on others. I largely have up trying since most of what I smell on those around me are either sport fragrances or Angel clones...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw!
I would love to enter the draw. I have never mistaken or recognized a scent on someone but only because I rarely have the chance to. Where I live it's all Avon and BBW or Chanel CCM. I have revisited AE a few times, Personally,I think it's gotten better over the years, having been tamed by reformulations. I hope to try the new Aromatics in White when it is released.
ReplyDeleteBonjour, j'ai rêvé de porter féminité des bois sans oser le faire parce que c'est la signature olfactive d'une très chère amie jusqu'à ce que je teste Miller et Berthaux parfum trouvé à la fois semblable dans la douceur et la féminité et plus affirmé dans son sillage, je l'ai adopté.
ReplyDeleteCoquoz
I have ambivalent relationship with Aromatic Elixir. It is a stunning fragrance but very very hard to wear. I wish it smelled better on me and I could wear it more frequently. Still having one unopened bottle in my drawer...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the promising drawing!
One of the first fragrances I remember noticing was my godmother's perfume as a child. I never asked what she wore, and after she died, I would think about the scent and wonder a bit, but assumed I would never know. Then as I got more into perfumes, I ordered a sampler pack. As soon as I opened it, I could smell it- my godmother's perfume! I tore through the package, sniffing each one. Turns out, it was Chanel No. 5.
ReplyDeleteWhat a exciting draw, Thanks
ReplyDeletei have a propensity to think that i'm smelling "black orchid" on other people, yet 9 times out of 10 when i ask what they are wearing, it's not "black orchid"...which is odd, since it is a somewhat distinctive scent, really. but then, when i wear it myself, it smells different from time to time. a chameleon on me, for no clear reason.
ReplyDeletedo please enter me in the tauer drawing---that wold be a wonderful prize!
Would love to add another Tauer to my perfume collection and explore his other scents!
ReplyDeleteI love trying to guess what perfumes people are wearing! However, I don't normally ask people what they're wearing unless I know them reasonably well, so I don't know my "hit rate"... maybe my New Year's resolution should be to ask more people what perfume they're wearing...
ReplyDeleteHa, I had the opposite experience to one of the commenters above: one of my hula sisters was wafting a lovely cloud of scent (not too overwhelming, but easy enough to catch when you leaned in for a honi) that I was sure I'd identified as Shalimar, but when I told her how wonderful she smelled and asked what she was wearing (thinking I'd get a confirmation), she smiled and said "Burberry for Women"! I'm in the US and thankful for the draw!
ReplyDeletethank you for the wonderful and fun draw. much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI'm not very good at identifying others' fragrances, especially as they are mostly department store mainstream stuff, which I don't know much about - though I can always identify Shalimar, as sadly it gives me a migraine!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the generous draw! Please include me. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from a humid and rainy Sydney, Australia.
ReplyDeleteA couple of examples of fragrances which I have noticed an unexpected convergence are 1) Dior Homme and Valentino Uomo and 2) Guerlain La Cologne du Parfumeur and Thierry Mugler Cologne.
Thanks for the competition!
I usually recognize the perfumes that I know on other people. lately it's often been La vie est belle (that I find too cloying).
ReplyDeleteI remember once a woman with a divine sillage that I followed for 5 minutes before asking what her perfume was... it was Sycomore de Chanel... and it was just not far from rue Cambon in Paris :)
I have been wanting to try AE for ages. Maybe I'll go find some now... I have been confused in the past by a scent worn by a lady who passed me in the stairwell of a hospital. I boldly called out to her, asking if it was Bal a Versailles. She was nice enough to answer: No, it was Ciara! And she seemed genuinely pleased to tell me so.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in the drawing. I love Andy Tauer's fragrances!
ReplyDeleteAbout a year ago, I complimented an ex co-worker on her perfume: it smelled rich and sumptuous and at the same time so fresh, like a luxurious garden full of flowers in spring. I was sure she was wearing Fidji. Wrong!! She was wearing Boss Woman, a fragrance I truly despise, because on me it smells like a mixture of crushed tylenol and toothpaste. Go figure!
ReplyDeleteRe: I don`t see any similaritys between AE and Youth Dew. On my way to buy some mandarins and spice AE up!
P.S. Thanks for the draw!
I noticed a nice fresh scent on a woman once in the train here in Amsterdam. I thought it was CK one which I owned myself at that time. I actually asked her because I was curious if this is what it would also smell like to others when I wear it. Turned out that the scent wasn't coming from her but from her male friend sitting next to her. Better yet, it was Lovely from Sarah Jessica Parker. I had never thought of that one as a fresh scent.
ReplyDeleteLast funny/embarrassing story was when I went to a talk about a particular NGO and people were milling about afterwards. One lady i started talking to wafted this full, beautiful and refined scent. It was very familiar but I wasn't sure what so I asked. No.5 Edp! Stupid nose :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the draw and please enter me.
ReplyDeleteGenerally I am too shy to ask people what perfume they are wearing, but from time time I pass some samples to my mom, and I often just cannot recognise those perfumes on her.
I am the kind of person who doesn't like to bother anyone, except when I smell something on the streets in which case I just follow the person until I feel I can ask. I have turned around and gone into the opposite direction only to bug someone about his/her perfume.
ReplyDeleteThe ones I have confused (which I happen to dislike viscerally to the point they turn my stomach)are Issey Miyake L'Eau with Escape by Calvin Klein. It has happened to me twice that I had confused them and twice that I have made the effort of, very politely, sit on the other side of the room to never return. I am not sure what is it I confuse, some kind of ugly fruitiness, perhaps? I don't know.
Thanks for this wonderful giveaway!
Thank you for this draw!
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to recognize perfume on others, they change so much with the wearer. I also work in an environement where nobody wears gfragrance a lot, so I guess I don't get that much practice.
Amazing draw!Please, include me.
ReplyDeleteVlada
SOMEBODY at a ticket table smelled great, really natural tuberose. I asked them, "Someone smells really nice, who's wearing perfume?" They all denied, though one person said, "I do use a hairspray from Aveda everyone says smells nice." My guess is that someone was embarrassed to talk about perfume in front of our group of five strangers. But if no one really was wearing something, it must have been some combination of scents. Who know!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the generous draw.
I was at my local Saks the other day spraying at the latest offerings. The Chanel saleswoman tried to convince me that Beige from the Les Exclusifs had "the most beautiful drydown." Anyway, I obliged and got a somewhat fruity floral with a sharp green note that was just OK to me. I went back to my office and for the rest of the day, there was a waft of familiar smell emanating from the back of my hand where Beige was sprayed. After a couple of hours, it hit me: Prada Infusion d'Iris. Thanks, but no thanks.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell if this thing took my comment. Anyhow, I said that AE is so absolutely distinctive that I commented on one of the Administrative Staff from the hospital how much I enjoyed her "sillage" and now she makes a point to walk past me every morning. Sorry if this is a repeat.
ReplyDeleteAE is absolutely distinct....there's a lady who walks the halls of the hospital every morning to the Administration building who wears it, and I pointed out to her how much I enjoyed her "sillage". She makes a point to walk by me now.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to all.
ReplyDeleteI own AE myself and find that it smells quite differently depending on how much I put on. A normal size spray overwhelms, but just a tiny discreet dab makes all the difference!
ReplyDeletePlease enter me for the advent draw - I live in the U.S.
thanks, Theresa
I realize that I'm not nearly familiar enough with Aromatics Elixir, so I must get better acqainted with it. Thanks for the Tauer draw!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this draw, and thanks to Andy Tauer for making advent even more exciting.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty new to perfume, and I don't think I could recognize scents on others. I also don't have a wide familiarity with all the scents out there, good and bad. But mostly, I rarely encounter people wearing perfume, or wearing enough of it to leave an obvious sillage.
I'm really not good at all at recognizing perfumes on others. A rare time that I even smelled any on a coworker, I commented that it was lovely...and I thought I could pick up the vetiver. It ended up being Omnia Coral which looks like it has none at all. So much for my sophisticated nose!
ReplyDeleteGina in Canada
Please enter me for the wonderful Advent drawing, thank you!
Another day - another wonderful draw. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAE is one of the perfume that always elicits compliments when I wear it; I find this happens quite seldom, so I have a soft spot for it because of it, although there are others that I prefer much more on myself.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me into the drawer, thank you.
Thank you for the draw, I used to wear AE and did love it. I still have it also. But I love Andy's Incense Rose and get many compliments on it.
ReplyDeleteI'm craving a spritz of AE now, it's been age since I last wore it. I have a vague recollection that I might have a sample somewhere so I'm going to go and dig though my samples to see if I can find it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw!
I am happy to participate! Thank you Andy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your generosity! Please count me in!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your generosity! Please count me in!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a great 'nose' for recognising scent on other people, but am thrilled to bits if someone asks me what I'm wearing! Some years ago, a friend was at a very posh do and could smell the most beautiful floral scent. She leaned in to a massive display of flowers nearby, almost stepping on the object of the delightful fragrance itself ....one Estee Lauder! Thank you for hosting the draw, please enter me. Have a lovely day :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this drawing! I love it when a perfume's layering potential is revealed by an event like smelling the perfume on someone who is eating a tangerine.
ReplyDeleteThere's a beautiful scent from Nina Ricci "Premier Jour", which was my signature for mane years. One of my girlfriends had it as well, but the perfume opened up totally different on us: spicy, edgy, almost leathery on me (though there was no leather accord as I was surprised finding out later) and powdery delicate floral on her. People could not believe we are wearing the same scent. So I do believe that your personality, not even feromones, reflects on perfume and accentuates certain notes.
ReplyDeleteI own and wear Aromatics Elixir quite regularly but to me it smells mostly of moss and patchouli with some abstract floral notes. Mind you I bought my bottle second hand so have no idea how old it is.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this draw!
Thank you for the draw! Please count me in.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much never ask, so my success rate is unknown. But I do sometimes try to test myself, like sniffing caps in a store and then checking the label (works well with lines like Lutens and Malles with many fragrances in similar bottles) and it seems like all fruits smell alike, as do white musks, and I cannot really distinguish blended florals well either. But woods and spices are much easier to pick out.
I've never been good at guessing fragrances worn by others - I can recognize Angel and that's about it. Thanks for the draw!
ReplyDeleteI have Aromatics Elixir in my mini collection of fragrances, but on me doesn't smell too good. Maybe my chemistry has something to do with this issue?
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't have a comment on the question, but would love to be included in this fab draw. No comment as I'm new on fragrances and could identify just a handful plus I don't really ask people what they wear (too shy to begin with + work and live among people who rarely wear any).
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be entered into the draw. Thank you for hosting! Rachel h
ReplyDeleteWhen I was about 7 years old I climbed onto my mum's lap and as she put her arms around me I noticed a scent to her hands that wasn't normally there. "Ciclamini!" I said, thinking of the wild cyclamen that grow in the mountains near my grandparents' house in Italy where we were staying. She put her hands to her nose puzzled and said she couldn't smell it. About 20 years later, my mum and I are back in the house getting ready to leave for my grandmother's funeral and my mum picks up the half empty bottle of Diorissimo on the dressing table and puts it in her bag, "it smells so much of her" she said. I sniffed the edge of the bottle and suddenly I was 7 years old again. It wasn't cyclamen, it was Diorissimo, lily of the valley, and it wasn't flowers on my mum's hands, It was my grandmother.
ReplyDeleteI still see little pink flowers when I smell lily of the valley now, but I love this mismatched proustian madeleine and I kind of hope it doesn't get completely replaced by the correct image. It does mean I can dab some on my wrist and feel that feeling all over again though when the nostalgia takes me, and for that I'm really glad.
Please include me in the Andy Tauer draw, I'm a lurker but a reader :)
- VV
I so rarely smell perfume on someone...
ReplyDeleteThis being my first comment here, I wanted to tell that it's a real pleasure to read your posts, both for the content and the form.
Ieva
Thanks for the opportunity to participate in the Tauer advent. I have a friend who wears Lauder AE, it always smells wonderful on her. But on me its hit or miss.
ReplyDeleteHello Andy, Many years ago when I was living in Vancouver Canada I used to visit a small jazz store on Robson Street. Immediately on entering the shop you could smell the fragrance of Youth Dew that was worn by the shop owner. Somehow the scent fit in with the jazz ambiance of the shop. Today I wear Youth Dew and AE. Sadly, I think Youth Dew does not have the punch that it used to, although the bath oil more so.
ReplyDeleteI love patchouli and love how it is interpreted in different fragrances.
Thanks for the draw!.
I'm terrible at identifying fragrances on other people. Once I was talking to a (male) colleague, and he smelled so good. I kept thinking "what is that, I know that, what is that... is that SHALIMAR!?". I was getting carried away at how cool I thought he was, but when I finally asked what he was wearing it turned out it was... Spicebomb. Turns out, I had sprayed Shalimar on my scarf a week earlier and had gotten confused.
ReplyDeleteMy collegues often let me guess what they are wearing, but being a great niche fan I also often am very wrong, because I am "spoiled" by Andy, for example. If the would be wearing "a Tauer", the chance for me to know wat it is, would be greater! Please count me in for the draw!!!Thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteI recently identified PdT doused in quantity on a gal in a restaurant, which is rare here. Much more likely to find an Angelish one.
ReplyDeleteBut apart from dining situations, I support more sillage. If I won the draw, lonestar memories will waft...
I'm new to the world of perfume, and your post has inspired me to keep an eye out for Aromatics Elixir, since I particularly love spicy oriental scents. May I be entered in the draw? The Tauer set would be just the thing to kick off my new interest in perfume!
ReplyDeleteI have been fooled with a few scents - a male friend smelled divine & I could not place it...turns out it was a very vintage, leathery Shalimar. The next day I enjoyed wearing my Shalimar as if through different eyes - the leathery aspect suddenly clear as day! Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteusually I'm shy to ask strangers, but not in case they wear a beautiful scent :) I always ask that :)
ReplyDeletethanks a lot for the draw :)
Tangential, but along those lines, I got a sample of Liquidnight and it smelled exactly like something I couldn't quite put my finger on--then it hit me, both Micallef Gaiac and Le Labo Vetiver 46 smell very much like LN. It was the first time I was able to come up with the reference(s). I'd still like to own all three! Ha! Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI`ve never been around anyone wearing enough scent to have a stranger whiff it! Living in the usually humid Atlanta seems to make folks cautious - which I`d rather than overkill! LOL! Thank you for the draw! :-)
ReplyDeleteTrue what you said about AE sharing some of YD dna. Of course, AE is a chypre and the other way more oriental but they share this clean dirtiness. Love them both but I only bathe myself in YD. I just wish they were still doing the Amber Nude version of it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite from Andy is still LADDM.
Holiday greetings.
Rebecca V.
I`ve never been around anyone wearing enough scent to have a stranger whiff it! Living in the usually humid Atlanta seems to make folks cautious - which I`d rather than overkill! LOL! Thank you for the draw! :-)
ReplyDeleteI`ve never been around anyone wearing enough scent to have a stranger whiff it! Living in the usually humid Atlanta seems to make folks cautious - which I`d rather than overkill! LOL! Thank you for the draw! :-)
ReplyDeleteFunny that I feel so passionate about wearing fragrance daily but none of my friends or coworkers wear fragrance, so I get little chance to test my fragrance knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI confused a friend by wearing Spicebomb. She kept looking around and saying, "There's some guy here who smells amazing!" Then she sniffed me and said, "Oh, and you're wearing something VERY lovely today too!" LOL
ReplyDeleteA saleslady helping me in a department store was trailing a delicious scent. It smelled just wonderful. I asked what it was and she said Hypnose. I had smelled this many times and did not care for it at all. Found a bottle and tried it on and still hated it. Yes, body chemistry!
ReplyDeleteI'm not good at recognizing scents "in the wild" partly because I live in a scent-phobic city. Often the best I can do is "fruitchouli". Aromatics Elixir is a different matter -- from three feet away (or farther) it has the most beautiful rose sillage. I love and wear AE myself but up close it is more mossy herbal, although dabbing does bring out more of the rose.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting Andy's generous draw.
-- Lindaloo
I would love a chance to be considered in the drawing!
ReplyDeletethanks
I'd love to be in the draw.
ReplyDeletePersonally I see no resemblence between Aromatics anf Youth Dew.
I have of course thought a fragrance was something else even though I knew it severa times. I remember once thinking Black Saffron was something else but I can'r remember what anymore...:)
I'd like to be included in the draw please :)
ReplyDeleteI love smelling the perfume around me, although it is often a repeat of Coco Mademoiselle and Miss Dior Cherie. I know a girl who I always think smells like Une Rose Vermeille although it must be some other raspberry perfume that's just confusing me.
I'm Dreaming of a Scented Christmas...
ReplyDeletex
I usually don't ask but I do remember someone who was definitely wearing coromandel. Since it is one of my favorites, it was amusing being an audience for the scent instead of being the one wearing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was working as a waitress, a customer in the restaurant smelled so divine I followed her across the room. I wish I had asked her what it was. This was in the eighties, yet it was a delicate floral not cloying, but a symphony of beautiful floral chords.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this draw. Oh how I want a bottle of Phi.
ReplyDeleteKind of new to this world so dont have a lot of experience but would love to partake in this giveaway. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw! I woke up the day after a party where a overly friendly guy had been sitting way too close. I smelled my hair, and thought, 'ugh, Aramis' or some power after shave. Then I realized it was the dregs of my own Nasomatto Absinthe! -R_UN
ReplyDeleteThank you for the generous offer - please include me in the draw. It always makes me feel great when I recognise someone else's perfume, especially if I like it and I would not forgive myself for not trying to find out what the person wore if I really liked it. That being said, unfortunately it does not happen often enough on the London tube ;-).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the drawing. I sometimes recognize Angel, Alien, Womanity, La Vie est Belle and Kenzo Flower, but I never dare asking about others' perfumes. :P
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the draw! I love Andy's perfumes, including some of the "difficult" ones - if I win, Carillon pour un Ange will be one of my selections! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think skin chemistry has so much to do with how fragrances smell on others - speaking of Clinique, I tried Happy when it first came out, and it smelled like cheap orange floor cleaner on me - I could not scrub it off fast enough. Then not long after that, a woman at work was wearing the most fabulous scent, which smelled very high end, a rich orange blossom fragrance, and I asked her what it was. You guessed it - Happy!
I have not smelled the most recent version of AE, but I loved it back in the day when it was so intensely mossy. I hope it is still that good.
I meant to post my name with above comment, "when I was a waitress..." Please enter me for the drawing.
ReplyDelete--floramac
i would love to try Tauer perfumes! thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteIt's not only on others that certain fragrance smells differently, it happens on me, for example with D&G Femme, the original, discontinued one. When i tried it in the shop I could swear i had never smelled anything more beautiful than that, but when I bought it a few months later, it turned out to be something I would never want to use. I don't know why. I am not very good with guessing poeple's scents.
ReplyDeleteAndy is really amazing..this year I have acquired three of his fragrances the latest which is one of gems of my collection and of course predictable : Une Rose de Kandahar :) Appeciate you hosting this draw.
ReplyDeleteAmazing draw! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteVika.K
I also smelled Aromatics Elixir wafting off of someone and was surprised upon asking, as it smelled much different on that person than it does on me. Lavender (any perfume that has lots of it) also seems to smell different on other people than it does on me. It becomes very powdery on me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting Andy's drawing today.
I keep trying to win one of Andy's advent gifts every year.... maybe this year will be the one.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall ever smelling AE, but there are certainly other perfumes that are so distinctive they can't be mistaken for anything else. My husband's grandmother wore Chanel Mademoiselle-- I put some on one day and stopped him in his tracks-- He said, "why do you smell like my grandmother?" Needless to say, it's one I'll never wear again.
I didn't recognise Violet Blonde - one of my favourite perfumes - on a close friend last week. I got a lovely hit of violet from smelling it on her - much more than when wearing it myself. I also love AE - reading this reminds me to get the shower gel very soon! Thank you for the draw.
ReplyDeleteI'm always intrigued by how different scents can be on different people. Quite often when I do ask what scent someone is wearing, the answer ends up being something I'm familiar with, which I didn't recognize when worn by someone else.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this draw!
I still find it quite difficult to pinpoint any particular fragrance, so unfortunately I can't really contribute to the discussion there. I suppose, I should really get to know my classics better ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the opportunity to participate in the draw, btw!
As I could understand from other comments above I am not the only one who is not good in recognizing perfumes. I am afraid that I would not be able to put right names even to those which I used to wear before. But I love them and I am happy that Andy (and you) gives us chance to try new fragrances. Please count me in! Lubka
ReplyDeleteAs for the Aromatics Elixir - it often plays with the wearer. And it is really different in different days. I adore it for those days when it reveeals a gourgeous rose. This does not happen often on my skin, unfortunately, but it is indeed worth waiting!
ReplyDeleteLike others have mentioned above, I find it difficult to recognize scents on others. What I do find confusing sometimes is reading others' reviews of fragrances I've worn and being extremely surprised that what they're smelling is totally different from my experience. I guess, it really is about body chemistry, isn't it?
ReplyDelete--Anna
The only fragrance I've been able to reliably identify on other people is Obsession; otherwise, I'm not good at all at guessing. I'm going now to sniff AE and YD and see if I detect similarities...
ReplyDeleteNarciso Rodriguez has had its share of dupes and can lead to confusion w/ other scents on people. Thanks for the draw!
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in this wonderful draw! Thank you very much..
ReplyDeletecount me in!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if my brother in law (whose scent-wearing overwhelms my own - I am not sure about being able to smell someone else's from across the room & not one's own), but anyway, not sure if he would have liked me to ask if it really was fly spray he was wearing this morning.
ReplyDeleteWe gave him a fab scent sample set the other year, too.
To me Aromatic Elixir resembles the most one of my favorites - Givenchy III.
ReplyDeleteOn other people I often confuse Chanel Mademoiselle with Miss Dior Cherie; Narciso Rodriguez with Modern Muse; Jean Couturier's Coriandre with the first Agent Provocateur... it seems the famous perfumes always have doubles ( and triples etc...)
Thank you for the opportunity.
confusing moment..i loved the smell of the perfume my bf in the past was wearing, and later on i got it myself cos i sort of missed the smell, but hmmm it didnt fit with my body / chemical or something, smelt perfectly well on him, not mine, it was gucci pour homme...
ReplyDeleteChanel No 5....I have smelled this on a few people and only wish it could smell nearly that nice on me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I have wanted to try Tauer fragrances, and this would be a good way to get introduced!
ReplyDeleteGot to love those special moments when you come across a scent that you can truly enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of Andy's Advent Adventure!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderfully generous draw, thank you so much Andy and Elena! I smelled the sillage of a coworker one morning and asked what it was, almost not believing when she said Chanel No. 5. That's sure not what it smells like on me!
ReplyDeleteI rarely recognize perfumes on other people, so I don't really have much practice! I am always impressed by people who have a huge perfume vocabulary and can pinpoint what makes each one unique. Thank you for hosting the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm pretty much brand new to perfumes so I can't even begin to identify what someone is wearing, though I've been to a few weddings recently where I kept smelling delicate, creamy white florals like in Annick Goutal's Songes. From reading some of the comments here, I find it so interesting that people can still misidentify fragrances that they know well. It just goes to show how unique our perception is of our sense of smell!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting the give away!
Exciting draw! Always a pleasure to try my luck here. I need to revisit AE. I never tried it on my skin, only the old bottle sniff and a spray on the test strip. Definitely did not think it was something I could pull off. But your observation makes me want to try again. I find the more I sniff, the more layers I am able to uncover and the more I am able to dissect a fragrance. Perfumes are so fun for this reason. Always a new discovery. I recently obtained a sample of 24 Faubourg. Wearing it for the first time there was a second I thought it could have been Dune. Not having honed a lot of "nose" skills (yet), I feel like I am constantly confusing myself or referencing other things I am familiar with. But I guess this is a natural part of the learning process.
ReplyDeleteBesides sometimes (many times) not being able to identify a scent I'm enjoying in the air (even when it's right on the tip of my brain)...I've confused the sillage of Obsession for women with Gris Clair more than once.
ReplyDeleteOne confusing moment for me came from smelling Lauder for Men as someone entered a room. I expected to see my significant other, but when I turned around I was face to face with a stranger. I didn't ask what fragrance he was wearing as I was speechless with surprise.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your museum experience and for the generous draw.
I have never tried any of these perfumes and would love the chance to try them :)
ReplyDeleteI've smelled Shalimar on others and not recognized it, even though I own several versions of it myself.
ReplyDeleteSadly, now adays I rarely smell anyone wearing perfume, seriously! I think the perfumes around now don't last or even have much if any sillage, but every time I wear perfume, which is nearly every day of course, people ask about what I wear. I do wear mostly vintage or niche or at least something I can actually smell and enjoy. What a great draw you! I would love to be entered. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved smelling Aromatics Elixir's sillage. Too bad it's not a very popular choice around here. The other perfume that I absolutely love smelling on others is Mitsouko. I walked behind a woman wearing Mitsouko once and it was just wonderful.
I usually cannot pinpoint a scent when it is worn by others, mostly because I haven't got many people around me wearing anything other than skin scents. More than once I have smelled something very good on a friend, only to find the scent does not behave in the same way on my skin. Also, some scents seem to have changed a lot since the 80s or 90s (Amarige comes to mind possibly also Quarts, my signature scent in the 80s).
ReplyDeleteI would love to be entered in the drawing. And, no, I have never had that experience. I think my body chemistry changes my perfumes: sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.
ReplyDeleteIsabella
Tia the season with Tauer Fragrance To bring on the holiday spirit....
ReplyDeleteAromatics Elixir is the only perfume I have similar experiences with. I don't know if everyone else is wearing different versions or if there is something wrong with my skin:)
ReplyDeleteI would love to be in the draw.
ReplyDeleteRunning to my samples to try AE again.
I've had many a chance to ask what fragrance a person is wearing and all have been most gracious in sharing.
I too get asked and it's always a pleasure to share with them. Seems to always be the classics.... Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue and Coromandel mmmm and more.
Thank you for the draw.. I LOVE this blog.
I've IDed someone wearing BBW Black Amethyst at work once. I don't worry about fragrance wearing at my workplace , whenever we get new marketing signage particularly if it's in red or pink it'll offgas a stench as if we had a sewer line problem. Also the store has two scents sold there with testers for people to spray themselves silly ( it's an edp people ! Not a body mist!) one is like Euphoria and the other is like Brit edt. Please enter me in the draw, I live in the USA.
ReplyDeleteI rarely smell fragrance on anyone else!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine confuses me with her delicious scents. Her skin sweetens up patchouli. I always fall for it too; I'll ask, "Now what scent are you wearing?", and inevitably, the answer is "patchouli oil"!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the opportunity to win Andy Tauer's discovery set. I love so many of his scents.
ReplyDeleteOoo, please include me in the Tauer draw. <3
ReplyDeleteAromatics Elixir is a funny one - it seems to change character with the weather, the wearer, the time of day, LOL! Always amazing, though.
I would love to be entered into the draw.
ReplyDeleteAndy's being his usual generous seasonal self. I love the perfumes of his that I've managed to try but there's still a few that I'd love to sample to investigate fully.
Please, enter me the draw
ReplyDeleteI didn't recognize AE twice ( I think it was skin chemistry)but it felt so familiar...128
Thanks for the draw. Andy is so generous.
ReplyDeleteOhh, I really want to win !!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the draw!
Sometimes I find it strange to smell the perfumes I wear on other people. Recently it happened with AdP Essenza and I was like damn, this smells good!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to enter! Sadly, Tauer Perfumes are not available in my country! :(
ReplyDeleteWow. Thanks for the generous draw.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be included in the draw! Thanks! The last time I complimented a fragrance and was surprised by the answer, it was Angel. It smelled much sexier on than I'd remembered, and was definitely worth a second try.
ReplyDeleteI'm not good at deciphering what other people are wearing because everything smells different on everybody. Thanks for the chance for Andy's Advent draw
ReplyDeleteI haven't smelled anything I wanted to ask about here lately. Hope I win!!! Good luck to everyone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw!
ReplyDeletePlease, count me in to this wonderful draw!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the generosity!
There are perfumes that smell dramatically different from one skin to another - mainly the chypre category seems to be very skin-chemistry sensitive. So I had to feel the differences of Dioressence, Chanel 19, Aromatics Elixir, Paloma Picasso, Diva, Mitsouko.... These cover a huge scale: from sharp woody to powdery to sweet-herbaceous - it is a surprise everytime I smell them on different people, even if I wear them in different moods or temperatures - as everytime I discover new facets..
I used to give to my mom perfumes I got as present and didn't wear. We have different skins, so they smell different on me and on her.
Once I offered her Gloria Vanderbilt, as I perceived it a bit mature for my age (about 27-28 I was that time.
Usually she dried out very quickly the bottles, but now... it was barely touched after 2 months. She was too polite to refuse it nor to comment, but I insisted to tell me why is she not using the fragrance. "You know... I have the vague sensation it smells like bugspray.. please, don't take it personally..." Well, I took it and started to use it.
A few days after this story, I had a few generous sprays of G.V. on me. My mom inhaled deeply and said:" What a gorgeous fragrance you wear! Wonderful! What is it?"
"You know. mom... the one that you gave back to me, for smelling like bugspray !"
Gentiana
Please include me in the draw! I love Andy Tauer. Thank you:)
ReplyDeleteI have recently found your blog and am enjoying exploring it. Allure and Coco smell completely different on a friend than they do on me and speaking of Andy Tauer L'Air de Desert smells completely different on my husband than it does on my skin.
Siobhan
Please enter me in the draw! Oh how I would love to finally test Rose de Kandahar......Andy truly is gifted. What a wonderful opportunity!
ReplyDeleteOne of my colleagues, named Lola, used to wear AE as her signature scent. Then I started to wear Agent Provocateur , and was very surprised as someone told me" aggh, you smell like Lola!"I really find AP prettier, softer and easier to wear. please, count me for the draw!
ReplyDeletei recently smelled AE, which i thought i hated, on a friend and it smelled absolutely amazingly wonderful. so i went to macy's, spritzed it on myself aaannnnd YUCK! body chemistry, strange.
ReplyDeletethanks for the draw, mr tauer.
I loved that you asked. Thank you to you and to Andy for this lovely opportunity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this draw!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're actually reading these comments, but for a long time I've wanted to tell you that even though I love your blog, it is very hard for me to read. Even with my glasses on! Especially the second and following paragraphs which has very tight line spacing. Any chance of changing the type size and line spacing? I honestly think I'd read it more often if you did.
Thank you for this wonderful draw! I am in the US. I don't have a story of confusing one fragrance for another, however, I have on a number of occasions confused my own fragrance as something another was wearing, even to the point of asking strangers what scent they had on only to realize it was coming from me. How can that even happen? I have no explanation!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful draw!Andy is so generous as well as being very talented,and I really wouldn't mind owning more of those nifty 15 ml size bottles.
ReplyDeleteThank you for including me in the draw. I live in an area where it is really difficult to sample great fragrances,
ReplyDeleteI don't enough perfumes to confuse them, but I do have a story when I recognized a woman's perfume and asked her if she was wearing that one(it was J'adore by Dior, hardly an obscure choice) and she was creeped out by the fact that I could name it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a weird thing, no? I feel like people in America are just not wildly into wearing perfume.
Love a draw! So, once I was sure I smelled Clinique Happy wafting off a colleague, but later learned it was Paco Rabanne Calendre. It was her signature scent and she had worked very hard to locate a supply. Some element of it was getting difficult to produce or regulations had made problems for the formula. A way more complex frag than Happy!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY HOLIDAYS
ReplyDeleteHi,there! To recognize someone's perfume it's like a game with happy end-all smile! That's means to read ,to try and of course to love perfumes!thanks for this giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good with the classic scents and recognize them when I smell them for the most part. If I smell something I like these days I'll ask but,most of the stuff that main street sells is not for me. I love AE and used to wear it when I worked in a casino. Please do enter me in the Tauer give away, I missed it last year.
ReplyDeleteI love new scents! Please include me in the draw. :)
ReplyDelete