Re: is it common for people to hate natural perfumes

[Guest guest]

,

My experience with this has been that some people don't know what natural

scents smell like.

Sonsa

[Guest guest]

________________________________

To: NaturalPerfumery

Sent: Mon, December 27, 2010 5:51:11 PM

Subject: is it common for people to hate natural perfumes

 

For Christmas this year I made what I thought were some very nice natural

perfumes for close friends. I could tell in the eyes of the polite ones that

they didn't seem very impressed and the more frank ones just came out and stated

it. One friend even asked me why my perfume smelled like mold and that she

really preferred Axe. Axe! I used quality oils and absolutes and I was really

proud of them. My sister and a couple of other " natural " friends really adore my

perfume. So my question is... is this normal for people to prefer synthetic

(Axe!) over natural? It kind of made me feel tender and wrong.

Cinloo

 

Hi ,

It is very disappointing when you put your heart and soul into making something

for someone and they turn their noses up at it.  I have to confess that when I

received my first order of essential oils I was disappointed with the aroma of

many of them.  I didn't like sandalwood!  But now I love it.  My appreciation

for their aroma has increased over time.  They have really grown on me....as a

matter of fact they have grabbed onto me and won't let go! :-D.  Give your

friends some time.  Have them over to smell some oils.  Maybe you will have an

opportunity to educate them and increase their appreciation for the smells

around them.

Best wishes,

Jane

 

[Guest guest]

yes it is normal. tho I do think it a rude thing to say when someone gives a

gift they made to be so callous. That said, i've felt that way too but I'd never

tell the giver!

On the tender part i under stand but i also understand that because im so

enthused about what I've made sometimes I'm waiting for that smashing compliment

and i realize i had that expectation . Im not saying this is you, this is

definitely one of my character defects. i have to check my ego and expectations

regularly LOL.....then again they dont know the process, the cost , the work

etc. i would think it would be the first thing they would have thought about .

Apparently not!

evie

[Guest guest]

How very rude of your friends to behave in that way ! Even if they hated

your perfume, they should have showed pleasure in the work and trouble you

went to in making it for them. They don't deserve anything as nice as your

handcrafted perfume. Big hugs, joey

[Guest guest]

_______________________________

From: cindy <polkaloo@... <polkaloo%40yahoo.ca>>

>For Christmas this year I made what I thought were some very nice natural

>perfumes for close friends. I could tell in the eyes of the polite ones

that

they didn't seem very impressed and the more frank ones just came out and

stated

>it. One friend even asked me why my perfume smelled like mold and that she

really preferred Axe. Axe! I used quality oils and absolutes and I was

really

proud of them. My sister and a couple of other " natural " friends really

adore my

>perfume. So my question is... is this normal for people to prefer synthetic

>(Axe!) over natural? It kind of made me feel tender and wrong.

>Cinloo

Different people have different tastes. And many people are used to the

owerpowering intensity of artificial fragnances and expect this from

anything called " perfume " .

Don't take it personally, you will ALWAYs find that some people love them

and some don't.

Reslistically, most people have very personal tastes when it comes to

perfume...and even when you are talking about conventional perfumes, what is

lovely to one person is awful to another. Compare say " Youth Dew " and

" Covet " for instance. They are so different that most who like one will

dislike the other! (I dislike both, but that's another matter alltogether.)

Ambrosia

http://www.perfumebynature.com.au

[Guest guest]

>

> For Christmas this year I made what I thought were some very nice natural

perfumes for close friends. I could tell in the eyes of the polite ones that

they didn't seem very impressed and the more frank ones just came out and stated

it. One friend even asked me why my perfume smelled like mold and that she

really preferred Axe. Axe! I used quality oils and absolutes and I was really

proud of them. My sister and a couple of other " natural " friends really adore

my perfume. So my question is... is this normal for people to prefer synthetic

(Axe!) over natural? It kind of made me feel tender and wrong.

> Cinloo

>

I would say it is very common, as most people are so used to synthetic chemical

scents(and in my mind so out-of-touch with nature),that that is what they expect

perfumes to smell like. Synthetics have dominated perfumery for decades, and

aren't going to go away, so I'm finding that with most people, natural scent is

a hard sell. I've even experienced one person, who was complaining about a

friend of mine wearing patchouly, say " It smells like a plant! Who wants to

smell like a plant!? " . And to be fair, some naturals do smell kind of funky, or

a bit " off " (many remind me of the smell of rotting grass or a compost pile).

Synthetics, while really strong, persistent, and oftentimes not smelling like

anything in nature(which may be a selling point for some), smell clean and

sanitary.

I can relate to your distress at your friends reactions-I've had it happen to

me many times. My mother pretty much hates naturals. Almost everything I've

made, perfumes or soaps, for her specifically or just in general, she either is

not impressed or loathes it. Which is kind of ironic, since she loves gardening

and flowers. I guess she is just a synth kind of person.

All that being said, however, you will meet people who do love them(and you

did mention that you have friends who do love your perfumes-I have them too). In

fact, I just gave a bottle to a friend of a blend that I wore previously that

she loved. She was so happy! So was I! I think there are just certain kinds of

people who like naturals and some who don't. I do think that more creative,

spiritual, or artsy-type people do seem to be fans, as well as " crunchy granola "

or " hippyish " type people. Of course I'm generalizing and stereotyping, but

I've seemed to notice that in my experience.

Please dont let any naysayers discourage you. There are people out there who

love naturals-there is this group after all. Who knows, with the buzz on

naturals out, maybe more people will aquaint themselves with their beauty.

[Guest guest]

I have to say I'm puzzled by your friends' reactions. But then, I've always

preferred the natural scents to the synthetic. One thought that came to me when

I read your post: were you able to age your perfumes before giving them as

gifts? I've been told that it's better to let the perfumes settle for a few

months, if possible, since some natural essences can change & combine in the

bottle, in ways you don't anticipate. Perhaps you can ask your unhappy friends

for a sniff of the perfume you gave them, to check if it really smells the way

you intended. Just a thought.

[Guest guest]

I have to say I'm puzzled by your friends' reactions. But then, I've always

preferred the natural scents to the synthetic. One thought that came to me when

I read your post: were you able to age your perfumes before giving them as

gifts? I've been told that it's better to let the perfumes settle for a few

months, if possible, since some natural essences can change & combine in the

bottle, in ways you don't anticipate. Perhaps you can ask your unhappy friends

for a sniff of the perfume you gave them, to check if it really smells the way

you intended. Just a thought.

I would like to also add that what the smell is in the bottle is not what the

sillage is when we wear it...

Each one of us has skin/oils that react differently with wearing parfum. When

they wear it the result may be beautiful and soft and not what the fragrance is

direct from the bottle?

Just a thought.....

Carole

[Guest guest]

Subject: Re: is it common for people to hate natural perfumes

To: NaturalPerfumery

Received: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 9:54 PM

 

Hi, I've found that unless people are familiar with natural scents they may not

like them as very much. I think when someone smells something like a perfume or

personal care product there is a certain expectation as to what it will smell

like, even if the fragrance is one they never heard of. I have found that since

I started using essential oils in soaps and lotions I find the synthetic

fragrances I used to like too " fake " and overwhelming. There are some that I

still really love but many scents are now just to synthetic for my taste. But

there is a big difference between natural and synthetic and I think if you let

someone sample some of the individual scents before a blend is created so they

know how natural scents differ from what they are used to, the element of

surprise will be taken away and they will be able to better appreciate your

creation rather than disapprove of it because it isn't what they know a scent to

be.

To all of you have replied... Thank you!  And thank goodness I have friends who

do appreciate natural perfume.  From now on I know who to create for and who to

buy socks for.  My love for the natural only increases and I'm glad that there

are people like you out there that can relate.  You made my tender hurt turn to

happy warm!  May you all have a joyful, love-filled new year.  Thank you

again! Cinloo

[Guest guest]

>

> My experience with this has been that some people don't know what natural

> scents smell like.

>

>

>

> Sonsa

I made this rather nice smelling essential oil room spray for my office. And

when I spray it around all my workmate couldn't get used to the strong smell and

commented that its the one that is used for toilets. Yep thats right for the

toilet (singapore is very clean so most public toilets at malls have this

sprayer that spray out those synthetic sweet smell similar to mine)

I was shock that people can have such strong reactions. Anyway so I only spray

around me. Apparently my supervisor who sit beside me starts to feel less stress

out whenever I spray my room spray that she will always request for it whenever

she feel stressed out.

Sadly for the uninitiated it will take sometime for them to appreciate natural

perfumery. No offense meant to anyone but " once you go black you never go

back " ....

[Guest guest]

aw i'm glad you feel a bit better.. that must've been crushing for you to hAVE

had the reactions that you did. i gave perfumes i made for x mas pressies and

all my friends loved them wexept one, who only likes chemical perfumes .

All the love that goes into making natural perfumes makes such a precious gift,

soeven if they didnt like natural scents they should have at least apreciated

the thought and care that you put into them:)

hugs, bluebell x

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

If I may jump in here, my experience with smell is that natural or not it is a

very personal thing. I would not think of giving anyone perfume for a gift,

it's kind of like giving someone underwear! I have bought samples from well

known botanical perfumers and have been shocked. What one thinks is wonderful,

another might be repelled. I use to mix Caswell-Massey essential oils some

years ago and they are not all natural and I recently found them and threw them

out! They did not smell good to me anymore after using naturals. I am learning

what smells are good together one drop at a time. I have always loved perfume,

and what comes out of these beautiful little bottles is something so dreamy I

cannot stay away from them for long. But some do smell medicinal and awful on

their own. I have a jasmine that I would only put in the bath and never use for

perfume, where someone else might love it. I happen to be one of those people

who smells everything. Those of us with hyper-noses ( and it can drive me nuts)

are very sensitive to things that others might not even notice. I think we have

to keep our blends very close to our bodies.

Happy New Year to all and big thanks to the group for all your helpful comments.

Stefanie

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

If I may jump in here, my experience with smell is that natural or not it is a

very personal thing. I would not think of giving anyone perfume for a gift,

it's kind of like giving someone underwear! I have bought samples from well

known botanical perfumers and have been shocked. What one thinks is wonderful,

another might be repelled. I use to mix Caswell-Massey essential oils some

years ago and they are not all natural and I recently found them and threw them

out! They did not smell good to me anymore after using naturals. I am learning

what smells are good together one drop at a time. I have always loved perfume,

and what comes out of these beautiful little bottles is something so dreamy I

cannot stay away from them for long. But some do smell medicinal and awful on

their own. I have a jasmine that I would only put in the bath and never use for

perfume, where someone else might love it. I happen to be one of those people

who smells everything. Those of us with hyper-noses ( and it can drive me nuts)

are very sensitive to things that others might not even notice. I think we have

to keep our blends very close to our bodies.

Happy New Year to all and big thanks to the group for all your helpful comments.

Stefanie

*************************

Stefanie,

You are absolutely right! I know that is one thing I have never given someone

is perfume for a gift...It is a very personal

preference. Now if you know what they like ... i.e., oriental, floral or

citrusy and would be thrilled to enjoy your creation!

That is why it is important to offer samples to those that would buy and could

wear naturals so that they can experience and

then choose to wear the scents...

The other thing I notice is that most have a perception that perfume is suppose

to be alcohol based and in a pretty bottle.

Some naturals are in basic bottles and that puts them off too! If it is in a

basic bottle it is not precious.

I have done very very basic blends in an oil and the ones that I asked to try

these and give me their perception of natural

have voiced that excellent parfum dont belong in oils! They have told me

that it is not parfum if it is an oil based essential oil ... ??

Just very mixed reviews about natural parfuming but I am thrilled to

experience it! I am in the middle of Mandy Aftel's book which was a christmas

gift!

I suppose I have to keep learning and offering to those that enjoy natural! Why

give away our creations to those that do not appreciate our created artistry

that took so much patient blending and learning !

Carole