I’ve been exploring perfume lately. I haven’t worn fragrance in years and years, and I’m having fun getting samples of shi-shi stuff from The Perfumed Court.
But I’ve noticed that I like simpler scents, and things that don’t smell traditionally “perfumey.” So I’m looking at Demeter stuff. I reckon if I like L’Humaniste, only I wish it smelled even more of a real gin & tonic, maybe I should just try “Gin & Tonic” from Demeter.
I’m also wondering if people combine Demeter scents. I’m thinking you could mix Almond, Incense or Pipe Tobacco, and Play-Doh, and wind up smelling much like my current favorite Luctor et Emergo (but you’d pay $30 instead of $150, and have the option to wear them separately too). Even expensive scents don’t seem to last terribly long on me, so I’m not concerned that cheaper stuff would wear out sooner.
And damn it, just smelling like pink grapefruit or lilac would be nice some days. No elaboration needed!
What is your impression of Demeter stuff? What “flavors” do you like, and how do you use them?
I have a number of Demeter scents, but overall, I’m not really a fan. They smell kind of cheap, IMO.
I even have Gin & Tonic, and it doesn’t really smell like the real thing (which is probably a good thing, because I don’t want to smell like I had a drink thrown in my face). You can kind of get a whiff of the “tonic” note – otherwise, it’s just kind of…generic spicy alcohol-based perfume scent.
Their Angel Food Cake is pretty close to the real thing – sweet and cake-like. Condensed Milk is also very close to the real thing. Honeysuckle sort of is, except it smells like honeysuckle greens and not the flowers. My favorite is Thunderstorm (or Snow – they smell very similar, and now I can’t remember which I prefer!). It’s got that kind of ozone-y crackle to it, and smells damp and blue (so to speak…thank you, scent-based synesthesia).
I’m sure someone will be along to recommend Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s scents to you, but I’m going to be a negative nancy and assert that I find them overrated (luckily, you can buy samples of almost every scent, to test them yourself). They either smell very powdery, very soapy, or very cloying on me…except my favorite, Tzadikim Nistarim, which smells like pure golden light radiating from Heaven itself.
My everyday perfume is Jardin sur le Nil by Hermes. It really does smell like gin & tonic.
I’ve found that the traditional, irritating “perfumey” scent comes from chypre-style fragrances, which the French houses are especially fond of. Hermes is an exception because Jean-Claude Ellena is a genius… but Dior, Chanel, etc, I just can’t stand.
Just 'cuz I like to talk about myself… I also love most of Bulgari’s perfumes, especially Black which smells like Cleopatra’s mummy probably smells… in a sexy way. My favorite perfume of all time is Armani Prive’s Ambre Soie, which I think is almost impossible to buy now. It smells like an oatmeal raisin cookie, but in the most adult, sophisticated way possible.
I have several Demeter scents, but the only one I really wore consistently was Cannabis Flower. It does smell like cannabis, but not so much that people will think you having been toking up. I guess the best way to describe it is smoky, powdery floral.
Some of the other Demeter scents I’ve tried like Thunderstorm, Wet Garden, and Green Bean all seem to have the same artificial water note. While I liked it in the beginning, gradually I just found the scent overwhelming. Plus Thunderstorm smells like dirt.
I’m a big fan of Riding Crop myself - once the in-your-face leather of it calms down, it’s really interesting and peppery. I tried Rain, but it didn’t smell like rain here, so I returned it. Lilac actually smells like the flowers, so I love it. Ce n’est pas un pipe really did smell like yummy pipe smoke.
I like their fragrances in general, but like any others I think how they smell on each individual’s skin is going to vary. I think they last plenty long on my skin, but since I rarely wear scent, I may be more sensitive to lingering traces than other people.
I smelled Tomato in a store years ago and remember liking it, but I didn’t buy any. I haven’t seen any since and wonder if it was as nice as I remember. Some of the other food-oriented ones remind me of children’s Scratch-n-Sniff books. blecch.
I’ve learned that some hunters’ masking scents, the ones that are supposed to smell like leaves or autumn or whatnot, smell almost as good as Demeter’s Dirt, but don’t give me headaches.* I really wonder what extracts or chemicals one uses to get that delightful clean-but-decomposing-leaf smell!
Which Demeter’s Dirt, and most other perfumes I’ve tried in recent years, do. Left that part out. I use unscented everything now.
I like them but they are all very one-note, which is why they don’t last very long. They don’t have any base notes to fade to. You should try CB I Hate Perfumesfor similar (but pricier, and longer-lasting) scents. I think the guy who runs it used to work at Demeter.
I wore their Honeysuckle for a long time–it smelled just like the flower and amazing on me. But yes, they don’t last long, and yes, some of them tend to smell cheap-y. I’m VERY keen on Russian Leather, though. Doesn’t smell anything like leather, but whatever it smells like is delicious on me.
I like them because they’re cheap and fun and changeable. I’m pretty poor, so I can’t drop a C-note on perfume, but damn, I wish I could. Rollerballs are my new favourite invention. If I had unlimited funds at hand, I’d wear Chanel. But right now, I’m going between Field of Flowers by Philosophy and Aerie.
I bought “Grass” from the Gap a while back on closeout - and it smells like the fresh-cut lawn kind, not like the herbal recreation kind. It’s nice for getting through those cold winter months. I had been looking for a similar thing from Demeter but never saw that particular fragrance offered (or in stock) by them, but finally found this.
I was going to mention this one! My husband does not like any perfume so I didn’t wear any around him for the longest time. At one point, cleaning out some old stuff, I spritzed on some long forgotten Grass perfume from the Gap. He went crazy for it and it’s one thing I can count on receiving every Christmas and birthday.
