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Monday, February 10, 2014

Love is in the Air: Most Complimented Perfumes by the Opposite Sex (Valentine's Day Countdown part 6)

Compliments and the perfumes on which one gets them (or doesn't get them) from one's entourage or even from strangers on the street is a loaded topic in the perfume discussing community for all the obvious reasons. On the one hand, getting a compliment on something is always mood-lifting. In what regards fine fragrances it's even more appreciated since it subliminally affirms a person's private aura (since scent is invisible and so personal) and their intellectual prowess (their taste, their cleverness in matching it to their personality etc.). On the other hand another school of thought claims that paying attention to the amount of compliments one's personal choice of perfume exerts somehow diminishes the very value of that stamp of intellectual individuality (and one can see that point clearly).

weheartit.com via Pinterest
But to revert to the former argument and in view of Valentine's Day looming, when for at least one day of the year, we (well, not everyone but you know what I mean) hope to flatter another person's interest, which perfumes do get the most compliments? For practical purposes I limited the selection to fragrances getting the attention of the opposite sex. For those in the interim space, feel free to mix & match or experiment.

According to women responding to a similar question on a topic discussed on the international boards of Fragrantica, Makeup Alley, Specktra and BeautyHeaven.au, the consensus brings out these perfumes as getting most compliments from men (in no particular order):

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf
Narciso for Her (Narciso Rodriguez)
Viva la Jicy (Juicy Couture)
Black by Bulgari
Alien and Alien Liqueur de Parfum and Alien Essence Absolue (Thierry Mugler)
Womanity (Thierry Mugler)
Angel (Thierry Mugler)
Pure Grace and Amazing Grace (Philosophy)
Can Can (Paris Hilton)
Coco (Chanel)
Coromandel (Chanel Les Exclusifs)
Light Blue (D&G)
Be delicious (DKNY)
L de Lolita Lempicka
Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka
Obsession (Calvin Klein)
Infusion d'Iris (Prada)
Shalimar (Guerlain)
White Musk (The Body Shop)
Vanilla Lace (Victoria's Secret)
Moon Sparkle (Escada)
Hypnotic Poison (Dior)
Dolce & Gabbana pour femme (D&G)
Aqua di Gioia (Armani)
Cinema (YSL)
Euphoria (Clavin Klein)
J'Adore L'Eau de cologne florale (Dior)
Chinatown (Bond no.9)
Fancy Nights (Jessica Simpson)
Hidden Fantasy (Britney Spears)
Ultraviolet (Paco Rabanne)
Ambre Narguile (Hermessences, boutique Hermes)
Deep Red (Hugo Boss)

via thescentstore blog
On the flip side, these fragrances get most compliments from women (when worn by men, as attested by Basenotes and Fragrantica male members ~please note these represent a rather fragrance savvy segment of the general population):

Silver Mountain Water (Creed)
Dolce & Gabbana pour homme
Hanae Mori for men
Aqua di Gio (Armani)
Lanvin L'Homme
Habit Rouge (Guerlain)
Polo Blue (Ralph Lauren)
Rochas Man
Michael for men (Kors)
Millesime Imperial (Creed)
A*men (Thierry Mugler)
Comme des Garcons 2 for men
Minotaure (Paloma Picasso)
L'eau d'Issey (Miyake)
Chrome (Azzaro)
Body Kouros (YSL)
Cool Water (Davidoff)
Herrera for men (Carolina Herrera)
Rive Gauche pour homme (YSL)

What will you be wearing for Valentine's Day?

And a reminder: the amazing giveaway for a perfume pen with Swarovski crystals which is also a perfume atomizer courtesy of Tijon Fragrance Lab & Boutique is still running till February 12th on this link.



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21 comments:

  1. rosarita13:35

    Interesting lists! I receive compliments of the "oh, you smell good" variety pretty regularly from friends both male and female, but I think that's because I'm one of the only people in my circle that wears perfume; I'm certainly the only hobbyist. Dior Addict is the perfume that draws the most male compliments.

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  2. Anonymous14:50

    I used to find these lists of most complimented perfumes fascinating, but there's no magic elixir I suppose (if there was we'd all be wearing the same perfume!)

    Of that list I'd only wear Bulgari Black and Infusion d'iris, which have definitely been complimented by men quite a lot, also Philosykos

    But the list of men's perfumes doesn't include any I've loved on men, Kouros has a certain appeal, or did back in the 80s! Not sure how much I'd like it now. I like Green Irish Tweed, Cuir de Russie, Cacharel pour Homme and La Nuit de l'Homme, depends on the man wearing it though!

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  3. nofixedstars15:53

    i'll be wearing amouage lyric woman for valentine's day---i wore it for my wedding in 2012, so both for its own merits and for my associations, it is my most romantic perfume.

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  4. Carol16:05

    Hello E!

    I have one friend who, after we greet one another with hugs and kisses, always always says "you smell so good, but then again, you always do" which makes me happy every time!

    But I have to say my most complimented fragrance has been Tauer's L'air du desert Marocain. Which I do find odd, because it's not what you would think of at first as a highly complimented fragrance.

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  5. Hildegerd19:27

    Jungle Elephant from Kenzo, I suppose.

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  6. Miss Heliotrope00:49

    The one I have had the most comments on - from women - is Chanel's 31 Rue Cambon.

    Not sure what I'll be wearing - although apparently it's only going to be 28, so maybe something cologney or citrusy. If I remember.

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  7. Anonymous05:18

    Oh goodness, picking a perfume for Valentine's Day is a hard choice, especially when this Friday is my 10 year anniversary to my college sweetheart. I was hoping for some ideas here, but I think I am going to wear Lumiere Noire pour femme for my sweetheart.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Portia09:57

    Hey there,
    I have a few frags that people often compliment, the surprise for me is that they are not all expensive or niche:
    Amoureuse by Parfums DelRae
    Ubar by Amouage
    Shalimar by Guerlain
    Gucci Guilty Femme
    Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson
    That's the ones that spring to mind.
    Happy Valentine's all.
    Portia xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Perfumeshrine15:17

    R,

    not surprising that perfume draws attention in a circle with no perfume wearing! But I know you smell good too!
    Also no surprises on Addict: it has elements that speak of a grown up deep vanilla thing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Perfumeshrine15:18

    Rose,

    ain't that the truth!! The right man is the one with the right brain & heart attached to his (right or even semi-right) cologne. ;-)

    It's odd but Philosykos almost made it to this list. It elicits attention, that's for sure, and usually positive. I just went by count of votes.

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  11. Perfumeshrine15:19

    NFS,

    no wonder and what a glorious choice that is!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Perfumeshrine15:20

    Carol darling,

    but you do, you DO!! I know you do.

    The more I think about it, the more I kinda think that either something has to have familiarity value stamped on it or it has to be totally new and alien to elicit attention. L'Air du Desert Marocain kinda of does both in its own way, as odd as that sounds.
    It's a great fragrance and you must be wearing it very well indeed!

    Thanks for chiming in and hope you're doing peachy!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Perfumeshrine15:21

    Hilde,

    noooooo!! I would have loved for that to be among my most complimented fragrances. Not that I'm complaining, but it is rather great that you do receive compliments on that one.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Perfumeshrine15:23

    MH,

    that cunning 31 RC is noticeable in a subtle way. I did receive compliments from 2 women, now you mention this. No men. Need to pursue this thought.

    Hope whatever you wear ends up being just the perfect choice for the day and that you have fun whatever you do! (as the Beatles said "fun is the one thing that money can't buy")

    ReplyDelete
  15. Perfumeshrine15:24

    Anon,

    congratulations!! Lovely milestone!
    And daring choice, I might add. Enjoy!

    (BTW, will be posting some suggestions later on in a subsequent post).

    ReplyDelete
  16. Perfumeshrine15:25

    Portia, darling,

    hi there!

    What fabulous choices, and I might add some ARE expensive and/or niche! (Ubar is such a fabulous, fabulous thing to be complimented on!).
    But yes, in principle I agree, people don't necessarily -men or women- compliment only the extravagant stuff, which is a good argument against the hiking up of prices by niche manufacturers! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ellen18:06

    I've gotten compliments on several scents, but nothing in particular stands out. The lists are very interesting. Not what I would have expected.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hildegerd21:00

    PerfumeShrine.

    Men seems to love it during the cold winter months in Norway.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Perfumeshrine14:32

    Ellen,

    yeah, aren't they. I think they do employ a rather higher savviness from the wearers (since they belong to perfume discussion communities) but still the comments are spontaneous and coming from non perfume loving people, so it counts :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Perfumeshrine14:37

    Hilde,

    this is fascinating information :-) Thank you!

    (Ladies going to Norway in winter and searching for male attention you know what to wear now, don't you?)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous23:22

    The husband has 1/3 bottle of the original 80's era Calvin stashed in his bathroom. He's only allowed to use a couple of dabs on Valentine's Day. Sexiest men's fragrance ever!

    Sad to see what the Calvin Klein fragrances have become.

    ReplyDelete

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