Biggest beginner mistake I've made so far: blind buying a big bottle of a perfume I've only heard about because it's on sale and it has one note I like. I bought a $40 3oz bottle of Prada Candy Night for the chocolate note, got it and was so excited for my first designer perfume, come to find out it smells like baby powder and stale Hershey's kisses on my skin with a very slight cat pee smell. My rule now is I have to finish a full sample vial or travel size before I buy a full bottle of anything.
Great video ! Thank you ! This is what I've learned in my fragrance journey : 1. Don't blind buy ! Always sample it first ! Even if it's overhyped it doesn't mean that is going to work on your skin. You also need to test the longevity, the dry down, the sillage and so on. 2. It's okay to not love a overhyped perfume. Not because everyone seems to love it that you will. If you don't love it ... Thank you ,next ! 3. Don't look for a perfect scent ! It doesn't exist. Perfume is a journey , many scents to discover. Just own the journey and don't look for THE one that is going to end it. Not going to happen.
These are ALL great tips!! I also love how you gave examples of how you, yourself have made these mistakes making it more relatable. I’ve definitely made most of these myself 🤣😶
Great tips! I started my journey with ordering for almost 200eu on samples from all the most hyped fragrances and realized at least 50% smelled too synthetic, basic or not my style. I did learn more about what notes I like but wish I didn't go crazy like that 😂.
OMG! Apart from Number 1 I’ve made all of these mistakes. Where was this video 2 years ago when I started my perfume journey/obsession.😂 Loved this video. ❤️
Just what I had to hear after hopping between so many affordable ones and not being able to find my dream fragrance! Definitely needed this!! Thank you Gabby!
I made a lot of these mistakes. I almost blind bought BR540 and I am so relieved I came to my senses and decided to buy Burberry Her first to see if I liked that kind or type of scent. Peeuoo! What a relief, because I'm sorry to all the people who love that perfume, but it stinks!
Great video!! I’ve made some of those mistakes in the past but after blind buying a lot of perfumes I don’t really love I now try something many times before buying. Unfortunately where I live we can’t even touch perfumes in the stores, and when I ask to try on skin they do one spray so far from my arm the perfume barely gets on my skin 🙄 gotta buy samples to know how something actually smells on me
Dear Gabby, thank you for making this video. Very excellent point of view and I enjoy listening to it. At some point while listening to it, I was laughing, very entertaining, very amusing.... I really like this video.👍🏼💐
Best advice ever. I am slowly growing my collection. I do try to sample as much as I can, but also rely on recommendations from you'll based on the 'perfume family'. I am a gourmand lover, i know i love vannila/coffee/chocolate/creamy type notes. If this type scent is on your top 10 list, and 3 or 4 other RU-vidrs I follow, it definitely peaks my interest. That's why I so love when you describe them in detail, I literary know that am gonna love it or not. Honestly, I've been lucky so far I guess. Haven't liked only 1 or 2 of the maybe 24 I've bought in the last 3 months. So yah, baby steps but so enjoying this journey. If I can get a 10mls first, I always do. It's funny you mention Alien, I've had a 10ml travel spray for over 2 years, still fail to reach for it even though it's super hyped on RU-vid. 🥰
I’ve been collecting perfume for years now and I’ll come back here to hear this when I feel like blind buying 😂😂💕💕💕 because these are things I know but I NeED this reminder!!! Thank you!!!!’ 🙏🏼🙏🏼
This was very useful as a beginner! I struggle because I only really have the option of blind buying or paying $30+ for samples plus shipping, because I live in small town NZ, and we don’t have stores we can try a lot of fragrances
Absolutely 💯 on your advise re samples! I wish I had sampled more instead of blind buying full bottles based on reviews. Or buy a DUPE - and if you like it and use it all up, then buy the original. Sometimes, we like a scent at first, but then decide that we don't need a full bottle of the original.
As a perfume lover I’ve found myself not liking a scent enough to wear it but I can’t declutter it because it takes me on a journey. Scents just make me travel through time and places, and sometimes that’s enough for me. Just smelling it out of the bottle and appreciating its beauty. So I guess it all depends on what are your intentions when buying fragrance. 😊
Great advice 👍 I'm guilty on the blind buying because it's Pandemic *not a reason*, buying cheapies that sounds great, buying overhyped perfumes *several bottles I don't know what to do with*. On the online legit stores, I've been comparing with some store rates and duty free, may differ on where the stores and the duty free are located. Some of the prices can be higher or just the same on the online sites. I found that some popular designer are even more expensive on online shops supposed to be affordable, esp if you include the shipping cost, than duty free or some good priced shop where you are.
Great video. Just a comment about the last tip: some of us live in countries where we can't receive shipping from those american "grey market" sites. So we have to buy full price and the only alternative are partial bottles.
You know that saying you gotta learn the hard way lol I actually think the old cheap perfumes I have from the 80s last way longer than all these niche and ridiculously overpriced ones do! Perfume is so personal and intimate it is also the endless search for the perfect match❤️
Some actually do. I have a lot of high and low end perfumes I’ve been collecting since the 90’s but I always find myself going back to the tried and true perfumes that most people today would say are “old lady” I’m 45 and I wear red door , Giorgio Beverly Hills , youth dew and many others. I also prefer the original Carolina Herrera to the high heeled shoe that she came out with. To each their own but I’ll stick with what works for me.
I have started avoiding the overhyped perfumes 😂 Saving my coin and testing perfumes in my local dept stores ❤️ Cheap perfumes mostly have weak projection and poor lasting power - the only cheap/celebrity perfume that was beast mode on me was Wonderstruck Enchanted and it was such a lovely scent. That was a few years ago.
@Greta Beth... I'm not a fan of alien either. But I want Initio Addictive Vibration and I see it compared to alien. I know you like AV... Are they actually similar?
200+ bottles and I need to reevaluate at this point. I’ve stopped buying all the lesser expensive perfumes for the most part. These include what some would consider expensive. But I know what I love, and the rest just sit there - so why? Might as well get the $400 bottle that I love than 4 - $100 bottles that are just ok. JMHO, and maybe that doesn’t work for everyone and their situation.
Lol I was 300+ bottles because as they kept coming in I kept ignoring the ones I already owned and guess what ? They went bad. You’ll see one day because despite what people on fragrantica think they know perfumes do go bad.
@@ladydeanna3775 fragrances typically last many years. I’ve had some for over a decade and they’re fine. I do believe in only buying what you can use, or gifting/donating/selling. There are several factors that cause perfume to degrade, including oxidation (from exposure to air) as well as heat, humidity and light. Of course it does depend on the perfume and it’s ingredients. Some notes have much shorter shelf life.
Not to mention employees are always pushing the popular ones on you, I have a very unique nose and a curated collection of 15 perfumes. I buy what I like, not what everyone likes. Although I did buy delina exclusif, because it’s the most feminine perfume on the market and I have nothing and can’t find nothing that smells that girly feminine.
Honestly I love all three Delina flankers but that is the only one that I have all of them. For example I only have scandal at night, I have no desire to get any of the other scandals.
Did you mention buying several fragrances that smell the same/have similar vibe . I do this one alot, I find a scent profile I love (i.e. roses vanille and I wind up with 5 versions of it) Then next month I over it and never reach for them. Designers I feel easier to let go of bc they sre a dime a dozen but I seem to hold on more to my niche. Ive learned to let go of anything I dont reach for for the entire season that scent is most appropriate in.
Another one, if you are interested into a scent try ALWAYS the original, dupes are great to understand the vibe but they are not the same. It happened to me to buy a dupe, use it for some time, then get tired of it and when you go back to the original you asssociate the "fatigue" for the dupe with the other one. Sometimes the note you dont like anymore in the dupe are not even pesent in the original one but its the full smell that you end up linking feelings to... This happened a little bit to me with Meliora (amethyst) and Baccarat rouge
I almost bought roses vanille by mancera just because everyone was saying it is a beautiful jammy caramel rose scent. I am a sucker for roses and I love smelling decadent. Luckily I discovered Zara at the right time and i tried their rose gourmand. As far as I have heard rose gourmand is like 99% dupe for roses vanille for just 1/4 of their price. The moment I tried it on my skin, it was choking. I am a heavy sprayer, but I only sprayed the scent once to try it out and it was literally burning my nose. Yes, there is the rose. Yes, I can smell the caramel and vanilla. But no, I cannot stand the scent. It may be beautiful to some but not for me. I was just lucky I didn't pay the full price for mancera.
To make a long video short just tell these followers to stop buying perfumes because they see others with it. That’s all that’s on RU-vid now is a bunch of women with the same repetitive perfumes claiming how much they love them and the ones who run out of content so they just start buying any and every perfume they can find. Sarah Mayes and vallivon are good for doing that.
Guerlain art et la matière, spiritueuse double vanille, angelique noire, tonka imperiale. RU-vidrs tanziana perfumes and many more, when I go to saks to try them. I couldn’t believe what people are hyping up.
Very veru useful video.thanks for sharing it. By the way I would be soooo grateful if you tell me what is your taste of perfume.because AFTER watching so many I'm not sure about.And it's so importatnt for me because I just blind buy perfumes and I buy wahtever you recommand.your opinion is sooooo worthy for me.
Great tipps. The only mistake i make is paying the full price in the Store because i adore and wan't, wan't, wan't it. It was Chloe nomade absolu and Mon Guerlain by Guerlain....ok and Prada la femme... 👀
This random video was so useful cause today i was about to buy Olympea Intense cause you really liked it but I never tested it, so I guess i will first need to check it in store 🙄
It’s ok. I don’t think it’s one to run out and buy. I bought intense and the original. I think I need to try them in cooler weather and maybe I’ll like them more.
Its so hard not to want the whole collection lol! I've learned my lesson with Elie Saab. Yes I own them all.......but why? I'm going to keep them but never ever again. Also new releases are hard to nor want. I'm doing good though.
Wish I could follow these, as they're good advice. The problem is that I live 80 miles away from any department store, and NOWHERE near a real perfume store. :( I've got to either blind buy or go broke on samples. *sigh* Really good advice in the video, though!
I used to go full bottle even for my blind buys because value wise, it is cheaper. I have seen perfume that cost 40 dollars for a 50 ml bottle, while the 100ml is 55 dollars. But I realise that the bottles takes up too much space and i can't use up all the juices in time. Hence, I have switched to getting samples (another mistake as Gaby mentions) and only get a full bottles if I really like them.
Great video and I’m guilty of all of these. HOWEVER, I caught myself early. I started collecting perfume in May of this year and I’ve definitely reigned myself in! Well… except for JPG La Belle which I just blind bought and hoping I like it. If I don’t, well I have definitely learned my lesson!
You’ll love JPG LaBelle. Well, if you love sweet fragrances, you’ll love it! Men go crazy about it, that’s for sure! I blind bought one year ago and will definitely repurchase. Hope you enjoy! 😍
If it's still extremely hot where you are you might not be crazy about it on first sniff, but give it a little time and try on a cool evening...I blind bought mine too last year when it was still hot out and the vetiver punched my nostrils lol but when it's cool/cold outside some kind of voodoo magic happens and this kind of graham cracker sweetness blooms and ugh it makes my eyes roll back lol I hope you love it too 😊
@@theoneje Oh boy! I’ve just relocated to Charlotte, NC and it’s very hot & humid right now. So, I’ll just test it out inside the house vs. spraying & going shopping in this heat! I really want to like it. I’m not buying anything else. Well, maybe another bottle of Mon Guerlain when I finish the one I have. This fragrance buying became addicting quick and the RU-vid videos pumped me up lol 😂 I’m straightening up now though! Thank you for the tip on hot vs. cold weather regarding JPG La Belle.
@@GoBelindaGo haha I hear ya!! My collection more than doubled during Covid and RU-vid was no help to that end 😂 Mon Guerlain is my all time fav 💕 I feel pretty confident you'll love LaBelle too 💕
Omg I did that with kayali vanilla 28. I keep trying to like it and I don't. Also, I don't like goid girl, I love bad boy and brought that for my husband. I love most perfume from dolce and Gabbana.
I pretty much started my perfume journey by making the economical-mistake of buying fragrances based off of the number of stars a perfume had…that was hella WRONG! 😑 such as with Paloma Picasso’s “Paloma Picasso” I realized I do not like Woody with Musky as the top notes as well as the scent of “real” civetta, which is the scraps of a little cat’s assh*le! , I am not a fan. As I gradually learned, sniffed and watched a plethora of fragrances videos…I learned and now I have an extensive collection, which is my happy/scented place. P.S. Alien was one of the mistakes, personally I just could not stand this scent, it made me sick to my stomach, Paloma Picasso, to my personal nose smelled like air quality in California from August to the end of September 2020!!! and the inside of a smoky, dinghy fireplace. Thanks Gabby for your knowledge and reviews of perfumes.
Just like Italica . I never liked it. I really wanted to but there was something in it that I just couldn't get over. It was a pass for me. I almost blind bought it.
Another thing, I wish people would be transparent. Stop saying a perfume is authentic, I want to know if it’s expired or reject you bought from big stores like saks, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, or the brand itself. Because they’re getting rid of the old fragrances that aren’t selling, to bring in new fresh ones. Yes discount places, I’m talking to y’all. I’d rather pay the full price at saks, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales. I got burned once from fragrancenet, because I thought it was a good deal. But they’re selling expired perfumes. Lucky they took both of them back.
