I wish I could award 2 thumbs up for this extrait d'information. No repetition, very nice high key lighting, and personal anecdotes carefully chosen to add to a viewer's understanding of the topic. Good show!
Invaluable information for anyone, no matter how long you’ve been in the game. Thank you! I read that the original Amouage Guidance has already been reformulated (watered down) thus the push for an extrait. What a scam. 🥴
I think Chong's departure from the brand has precipitated a lot of changes. I know that my friends have two very different versions of Guidance at least, so I know that there has been reformulation of some kind. The Extrait might very well be all part of that. Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire, your videos are so well done and educational. I always learn a lot. I think I learned something about the ingredients/notes lol. I also may have had a mistaken notion of the Edp/edt in the sense I always feel I need to purchase edp
Thank you! I guess a lot of people just want EDP, and I think I'm the same to some degree, there is something psychological about which to choose, but I do always try both now. 🙂 Thanks for watching 🥰
So immersed in this video that i didn't realise my husband was calling me for ages. . Totally shut off to reality this side of my phone. . But within my phone. .such a wonderful insight and mind of information. Thank you for covering so many topics here. The Niche, Indie, Designer distinctions are very valid point here. I suspect most do come under the Designer label after all the umbrella companies have scooped them up and they loose their identity. As for strength and formulation, nothing LAASTS on my skin. And nothing sits too loud, which luckily i prefer 🤣👌
Haha 😆 I'm the same sometimes, my mum gets particularly annoyed by it! This honestly took me ages Lizzie, because you have to tell it like it is, but also be diplomatic. 🙈 The truth is that we have no clue really what the difference in input for each brands' fragrances is. All we can go by are our preferences, and that's all that should matter. 😊 Same I think for me, I don't tend to radiate fragrance for the most part, although I do think fragrances tend to LAAAST on me well. 😉
Thanks Claire! I think you did a great job. I learned some new information. But clearly you made the point that no matter the brand, perfumer, category or concentration it requires sampling. And I wholeheartedly agree.
Thank you Claire for those so clear explanations about classifications . It's sometimes confusing about distribution and editing other things than perfumes. Is Guerlain the first niche brand that is so popular and qualitative with this so huge distribution ? They have a signature base in all their perfumes and they are so widly distributed from such a long time... You are for me the most objective and quietly sensed out of all the yotubers that I watch and are always "so excited" ! You spread your intelligence, your rational thinking, your analysis by steps and your honesty on a matter that is missing this approach. Don't change anything, we need your video, we who are smart people and who are searching non commercial and corrupted sounds of buying perfumes. Even if our tastes are not always the same as yours. Kind regards from Belgium.
Thank you ❤️ I really don't know how to categorise Guerlain 😂 Today they are owned by LVMH so I don't think I could call them niche any longer, but I would have categorised them as niche before that. I hesitate to call them designer still though. They are a very special brand to me. I only have 4 fragrances from them but I love them and when I've tried others, they feel distinctive and like they hang together as Guerlain whilst still having their own identities. I try to be different to the rest of UA-cam for sure. I am never going to be someone who is going to take money for reviews or not be totally honest about what I think. I try to open people's eyes to what goes on on perfume YT, the immense bias that money brings and how the fragrance industry works, but I understand that not everyone wants to hear it 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
Hey Claire! I always love these videos. I am so confused sometimes on if something is niche versus designer. I sometimes smell base notes when I first smell a fragrance. I actually don’t like to talk about longevity too much because I realize I sometimes become nose blind quickly because I smell perfume every day. There’s just so much when it comes to fragrances.
Yes, for sure, I remember when I realised that conglomerates owned so many brands that I thought of as niche. I was so shocked that I made a video 😂 Base notes at the beginning is a thing for sure. And yes, we can just stop smelling things after a while. It's hard to judge longevity sometimes and just because it lasts on one person, it doesn't mean it will be the same experience for someone else. Fragrance experiences are all very individual I guess. 🥰
Exhaustive treatment of basic terminology in consumer parfumery with all the terms explained in an easy to undetstand and easy to remember way. An Elixir of a video!
Thanks Claire, very informative. I love how enthusiastic you are about your fragrances, and I do wonder if I’m not quite the ‘perfume head’ I think I am 😂 as I never want a perfume to stay with me all day - mid afternoon and I’m over it 😅. I can recognise notes such as rose and Jasmine but a lot of it just passes me by, I would love to be able to distinguish more. Thanks again Claire - you videos always give me a lot to think about x
Thank you! ❤️ Haha 😂 well it depends on my mood really, sometimes I want to switch, but if I'm busy, I like something that lasts. I think comparison is the only way I've found to work things out, so trying lots of things and also talking to other people about my perceptions and their perceptions. But I also think sometimes, fragrances just aren't that easy to work out, sometimes you just smell a mix and that's ok, the overall impression is what matters. They are just harder to describe 😂 Have a lovely weekend 🥰
Would love a part two that discusses the buzz words: Molecular note, resinous, animalic, sickly, and other things that reviewers say passingly without explaining what they mean.
I want to learn more about you so I really appreciate your definitions. Well done, IMHO. The entry level formula for men was aftershave for the longest time.
Well that's for sure how they started out I think and some still are very similar overall. But the trend is now to make designer EDTs at least a little or even a lot different to the EDPs. It doesn't entirely make sense 😂 People at work are in general very obliging with my requests. 😂 Thanks for watching 🥰
Great video, Claire! I agree that companies using terms like "elixir" and "intense" are being really *creative,* shall we say. Like you, I also have EDTs that last a very long time and extraits that last for an hour.
yeah... you have fragrance extraits like Montale So Iris that lasts way less than an edt like 1 Million from PR... it depends also on the ingredients, not only on the concentration
Absolutely 💯 some EDTs are very long lasting. I tried some EDCs a few weeks back and I was amazed that some of those were lasting 5-6 hours on me! Longevity doesn't always equate with concentration. 🥰
Very interesting and compreshensive glossary. I also get stuck around niche and indie. Like the big niche brands that are conglomerate owned, they feel like just high end brands (Byrdeo, Penhaligon's). The smaller niche brands could easily cross over with indie because they are still indepdendently owned, even if they use outside perfumers (Zoologist, Olfactive Studio). Then some of the indies, the ones where it is owner, perfumer and compounding their own frgarances in small batches, I could call those artisanal. The bit about concentrations etc... I always remember what Caroline Hirons says about skincare... formula is queen. Might be an EDT but the ingredients and combinations might mean it projects and lasts a long time. I have definitely had more robust EDTs and on the other hand also had extraits that are quiet and intimate.
Yes! With Olfactive O, Olivia isn't the perfumer, although she has a lot of input into it I think, I do think that new categorisation would make it all clear for sole traders who are perfumers too. Absolutely! EDTs can be long lasting beasts. It's for sure about the ingredients and formulations. 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume I mean it is a good thing that it doesn't matter to us whether it's designer, niche, indie ir whatever. It could be called wellington boot for all I care - scent first! 🤗
I was under the impression that BlackRock owns everything now!? Regarding celebrity endorsements,Tony Iommi,guitarist for Black Sabbath, has a signature scent,"Monkey Special" by Xerjoff. You are awesome! Thank you for the informative viddy.
Thanks Claire. This was a brilliant one. The "catagory" of "Designer" etc is so blurred and meaningless now isn't it. I think it's just one of them things that only us lot get fixated one really. Although as a normo we all would have gone for brands we'd heard of. Me included. The conglomerates really to me make them all "Designer" because they one the label, the brand and that's how they sell them. The individuality and essence of what was these brands doesn't exist anymore. Like you say, same ingredients, same formulations with tweeks etc. They are gonna use the same thing for their perceived "cheapies" and perceived "luxury" and it's why they all smell the same now isn't it. Yes Indie is very much where it's at, if you have to pay for a bottle and want to talk about it on your channel and it's something indie, they are the "influencers" I want to watch. And trust me "influencers" do nag and as indie brands for PR 🙄 shameful really. Celeb fragrances I guess that's what we can call brands owned by conglomerates now 🤣. Influencer fragrances are an interesting bag, generally it's the name isn't it. I think we all kind of dream of it but for me I'd want complete control of anything with my name or I'd just not do it.
Yes, I think really what I want to get across is that people shouldn't get fixated on categorising fragrance, they just need to try them. It's really meaningless in the end. All that matters is what you enjoy and what you value. I know really 😂 pretty shameless hey. I'd be with you on complete control, there's absolutely no way I'd put my name on something that wasn't a wow for me. But I'm some random on UA-cam, not a perfumer so I'd stay away from my own fragrance anyway 😂
@@dr.claire.perfume when I win the lotto I'm gonna have to ask my New Zealand friend to work her magic. Just describe the person and she'll bring it to life. And agreed none of it really means anything anymore just empty marketing. It makes as much sense as gendering a brick, no wait they do that too 🙄. You're very good at making sense of all these things
Thank you! Yes gendering gets to me too. One day I will make a video about it and get a lot of stick for it, haha! Elise would be a magical choice as your fragrance's perfumer.
Excellent video, Claire! Every fragrance reviewer needs to know these technical terms. I feel that most people don’t understand the difference between projection and sillage, and I used to be guilty of that too.
popularity of edps, extraits, etc., are generally from marketing and propagation of concept that edps are "stronger" and therefore better by articles and such. i think of "indie" brands as just starting out, with retail limited to their own websites and marketing via word of mouth. once you're being sold by major boutiques and high end department stores, you're "niche." for example, i consider 4160 tuesdays to be niche because you can buy their bottles from perfumology, one of the best perfume boutiques in the U.S.
You are right for sure that marketing is heavily towards high strength being optimal in all circumstances. 😊 That's an interesting take on indie Vs niche differences that I hadn't thought of! Thank you for your thoughts on it. 🥰
So many great points Claire! There are always more things to learn with perfumery and it's so much fun! I was laughing imagining someone using the scientific name for perfume notes when they smell something.. excuse me sir are you wearing IsoButyl Quinoline? Why yes! Thanks for noticing! 😅😅 When it comes to sillage I tend to include the instance when someone walks by me and I can smell their scent in the breeze they leave behind. Not an outdoor breeze but the air movement from them moving along. Thanks for another informative video!
You know what? I would absolutely love to see a fragrance wheel based on ingredients or how things are perceived, so probably rose would be next to geranium and peony, saffron would be next to leather, aquatics would be next to melon and apple and lily of the valley next to soap, Peach next to plastic, solar notes next to laundry musks and yellow florals. That would make so much more sense for me! Yes for sure with sillage, that's really it in essence. 😊
Longevity, projection, sillage, agree, all situational. It is the way the scent itself smells to me that wins out as the most important factor. My only caveat... I won't want to pay the higher price points if the scent is no longer detectable on skin after an hour, may aswell not bother putting anything on so make it affordable
I think I feel similarly. I just need to enjoy how something smells and I think about fitting it into my life in the appropriate situations later 😂 And same! If something is super quiet, short lived and expensive, it's not coming home with me. 🥰
I think some are very similar aren't they? But nowadays I do think most are slightly different. I guess cos companies want to sell them as flankers? I'm not sure! 🥰
@@johnadair4693 not unless it's to do with fragrance as that's what my channel is about. I think those issues with those brands were to do with bag manufacturer. Thanks for watching 🥰
Dear Claire, thank you for another lovely video, I tend to long for EdP too somehow, expecially when I truly love a scent. You look great, I always notice your gorgeous greenish eyeshadow, it suits you very well. Kind regards from the Netherlands ❤
Thank you ❤️ I think I am conditioned to choose the EDP, yet, when I've compared EDT and EDP for some fragrances, I've preferred the EDT. I should learn my own lesson 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
not being super into fragrances myself beyond mixing them as a hobby, it seems to me that a lot of fragrance youtubers use the categories of designer, niche, and indie as reference to production scales and how easy they are to wear. with designer being the most mass produced and mass appealing/generic scents, and indie being the small batch, "quirky" scents. the definitions you provided make more sense to me, but it seems like its not the way they get used. i think thats part of why you have some of those brands that are owned by designer brands but get passed off as niche. niche, to a bunch of consumers, seems to mean "this has more notes that some people may not like"
That is a really interesting point and I feel that's for sure where all of these designations of types of brands used to lead. I'm not so sure any longer with her advent of mass market niche like Parfums de Marly and BDK, but then I also feel like my views of others likes and dislikes and what their opinions might be have been swayed by my own views and my experiences. I quite often take fragrances I'm trying out to work to ask colleagues what they think and usually they like different things to me, so I can totally see that definition of how likeable something is being very relevant. Thanks for your very insightful comment.🥰
Asking a coworker to wear a perfume so you can test the sillage is hilarious! 😂. Enjoy learning everything about perfumes (smells, psychology, chemistry, history). 🤓
Yes 😂 I will never forget their reaction to House of Oud Date Delight 😂 I could smell that long after they walked down the corridor! I think it made them feel a little self conscious. Same with Lattafa Sheikh Al shuyukh, smelling that on others made me realise just how strong it is and how perhaps it wasn't for me. Thanks for watching 🥰
Completely agree with trying both edp and edt because it could be quite different. Like Guerlain's Insolance for example. The edt is brighter and sweeter and projects a bit more. On the other hand the edp is more floral and powdery with a more intimate (but still strong) sillage. I love both but I find myself liking the edt more 😊😊
Yes! Insolence is a fab example, both beautiful but slightly different. I am actually wearing the EDP today and I wore it yesterday too. It's truly one of my favourites 💜
Omg, Claire, you are so brave trying to find meaning and to explain such empty notions like "niche'.😂 In most cases, it seems it became lately just a justification for painfully overpriced scented water. But yeah, they can't call themselves artistic because they aren't, nor independent because, again, they aren't.😁 just the same perfumers from Givaudan, IFF, Firmenich, Mane etc working with the same ingredients over and over again.and those who deserve attention, nobody talks about because they don't throw with free bottles towards influencers. Rant over. Loved the video, it's always a pleasure to watch you!🥰
Yes 😂 I tried not to rant but I think my frustration is evident here 😂 I have tried so much niche or pseudo niche and been quite underwhelmed by most of it given its pricepoint. My hit rate is super low unfortunately 😂 Indie so far seems a bit more exciting, but I have definitely experienced it through the filter of other people's pre-screening so that might explain that! Thanks for watching 🥰
I've been wanting a perfume primer for beginners (like me) for a while now. I found the edt vs edp information very interesting and loved the information about the ingredients and notes. Thank you very much for making this video.
I remember someone asking me a while back to do this, but couldn't remember who, was it you? I'm happy that you enjoyed it and found it useful. Thanks for watching, have a lovely weekend 🥰
I’m giving a presentation on the military base where I work as part of Comprehensive Fitness Day, and the airmen are excited. Thank you for being here and doing these videos
@@dr.claire.perfume I’m going to a fragrance appreciation presentation.. a brief history, the fragrance wheel and fragrance families, concentrations, and so on. I called the presentation “Show and Smell” because I’m encouraging attendees to bring in a favorite.
@@tdsollog that sounds so good! And really not what I'd expect to hear about on a military base, but yes, fragrance can definitely be uplifting, so it's relevant to overall fitness for sure. 😊
@@dr.claire.perfume Aww. Thank you. We have different presentations going on throughout the day. Some focus on physical fitness, some mental health fitness, some are cooking classes, some are hobbies. It’s about the “whole Airman” concept. Caring for them holistically.
Sounds like a great idea! I know the services have immense pressure and suffer from mental health issues perhaps more than other job categories. My friend was a psychological assessor in the Royal Navy and I never really thought about it until she told me the scale of the problem.
Just starting this video, so apologies if you’ve already answered. But I’ve been into fragrance for a long time, and I *still* don’t understand the point of the fragrance pyramid. Specifically, opening notes. Why would a fragrance have notes that literally disappear in under ten minutes? It makes no sense to me. Because if you were trying out a fragrance in a store, what you smell on you when you spray something is ultimately not at all what people will smell on you. And you could spray a sample fragrance, detest the opening and pass on the fragrance, without ever knowing that you might be obsessed with the dry down. When I first got into fragrance, I didn’t even know what a “dry down” meant. I don’t think your average person who buys like three different fragrances from Sephora in their lifetime understands that, either. Nor do I think the average person understands that they should request a sample from a store and truly try it out, so they can experience the dry down over several hours. So is it like a “poetic” reason-perfumers wanting to take your senses on a whole journey, from first spray to the last moments of the dry down? Is it a scientific reason? Meaning, the dry down won’t smell like the dry down if the opening notes weren’t in the mix somehow? I just don’t get it. A few minutes ago I was watching somebody review “Afternoon Delight” and they were ranting about the opening. And all I could think was, “yeah, but who cares? Those notes last for minutes. By the time you’re done getting ready and step out of the house, they’ll be gone. So it doesn’t matter.” Another example I can think of is Dior Sakura. The opening is gross to me. But I don’t focus on that at all. Because within like ten minutes it’s absolutely divine. So it almost seems like reviewing opening notes is a waste of time😬🤷🏽♂️ Would love your thoughts on this, if you happen to know why the whole pyramid has to exist. 🙂
That's a very interesting question! I don't get it either 🤣 I think it's mainly for in store sales isn't it? Nice openings create a good first impression, which might lead to sales. I think that's especially true for mainstream designer where the people buying might not be that into fragrance or know to wait. I am really not sure about your second point that perhaps the drydown won't smell the same without the top notes, I guess it's all about chance isn't it, so on average, top notes evaporate faster but some, statistically, will remain unevaporated longer so could contribute to the drydown. Top notes might also be a "filler", so because middle and base notes take longer to become volatile on average, top notes fill that interim after spraying, which might also contribute to easier dosing for the consumer as they act as a marker. Absolutely the same! I have fragrances I hate the opening of or at least think it's not the best part, e.g Tom Ford Noir Pour Femme, but the drydown is where it's at, so I forgive the fragrance and love it anyway. You're right, if you can see past it, you can be rewarded. And conversely, Sana Jardin Venus of Verbena... Beautiful opening, but the drydown isn't for me.
You know what? I got the EDT free through doing some surveys 😆 it was literally a reward option 🤣 at the time, the EDP was undergoing reformulation and was super hard to find to try. I did eventually find a bottle to try, but I don't think I ever got to try them side by side, so I don't know which I prefer 😆, but I did notice just how well the EDT lasts and how much that surprised me. 😊
Imo EDT, EDP, Le Parfum, Elixir etc. become almost meaningless. In some cases, it literally just means different concentration of the same perfume essence, in others it's more like a flanker but mostly the same DNA in others it's a totally different fragrance. Just for example..."Dior Addict" the EDP smells totally different than the EDT and the Eau Fraiche is something else again. So, nowadays if a costumer asks what's the difference, I tell them it depends on the fragrance. So, it's all marketing now and it drives me nuts. Especially if they sell it in the same bottle, same colors just instead of EDP it's EDT and our customers get confused and buy the wrong one. I feel like brands got lazy - instead of launching a new fragrance they just make 20 versions of the same fragrance and call it a day. Thank you for the great video. I agree with all your points and explanations.
You are bang on! The confusion for people who are casual fragrance buyers rather than collectors is very real! I agree the terms are relatively meaningless now and that Dior Addict is a fab example, I used to have the light purple Dior Addict and I remember when I went to try the EDP, I was so shocked by how it smelt in comparison! Then I remember the huge confusion of Narciso Rodriguez for her EDP Vs EDT. I ended up buying the wrong one 🤦♀️ because the boxes are the opposite colour to the fragrance bottles! 🤦♀️ Brands have indeed got lazy, they rely on the success of the pillar fragrance and reuse the bottle design and marketing over and over, for example Mugler Alien and Angel flankers these days which really have little to do with the original fragrances. Thanks for watching 🥰
I would think designer fragrances is more mass appealing and easy to like whereas niche tend to be more complex and unique scents (but not necessarily). The distinction has been blurred when big conglomerates like Estee Lauder/ L’oreal/LVMH bought those niche houses. For me Guerlain although is now designer (widely available in the departmental stores) but still smells like a niche fragrance. Lately i start to appreciate Francesca Bianchi’s fragrances. I consider her to be an indie house since she is a self thought perfumist and did everything from creation to production. I would also love to have fragrances that have association with cinematography. This will evoke some kind of nostalgia or emotion associated with characters in the film. For example Fleurs de Rocaille mentioned by Al Pacino in a film called Scent of A Woman. Or Floris London 007 wore by Sean Connery in James Bond Films. I wonder if there will be a trend in the future to launch a perfume after the film have been released. I think I have smelled Santa Novella quite sometime ago but dont quite remember it. Now Im going to listen to your previous review about the house. Thanks.
I agree, with true niche the fragrances are more unusual. From what I've heard, Francesca Bianchi fits with that idea perfectly (I've not tried anything from that house so I can't comment with my own experience). I absolutely love finding fragrances in films! I always want to know what they are and how they smell. I would love to smell the Floris especially actually. Floris has some lovely fragrances from what I've tried. Thanks for watching 🥰
Great vid Claire. Are middle eastern dupe brands technically niche because they concentrate on perfume? Personally, I have no qualms with sorting brands and houses (not the same) into semantic categories, as long as there is no pressumed price or quality bracket for each. It's illusory anyway. The problem is that each category still comes with a lot of baggage and misinformation. Certainly would be in the interest of the pricier brands to keep it that way n'est ce-pas? 🤔
I think you would have to categorise affordable Middle Eastern brands as niche. I totally agree with you, there's definitely baggage with the labels, and expectations... It can turn into the emperor's new clothes. Thanks for watching 🥰
How/from where did you learn about the scientific chemical name/substance/molecule that is associated with a specific smell? Like the ones you enumerated with ethyl maltol - cotton candy, isobutyl quinoline - leather, and so on? I'd like to learn more about what is actually in reality in a perfume, but I can't seem to find too many resources on the internet about this. Maybe it's just more difficult to find, or I don't know exactly what to search for.
I am not sure I learnt about these things from one source, I've made several videos, for example, on solar notes, on aquatic notes, on petrichor, on musk, on indoles and on leather and these have required a lot of research to do so I think it's just from those videos and that research really. I've made these over several years and I sometimes put source material in my description boxes so you could check those out (I'm sorry, but I can't remember... But I'm a scientist in real life, so I often reference things). I agree that this kind of material is woefully lacking. I think a fragrance wheel would make heaps more sense if it were organised based on chemicals... That's what people need to know about to understand how things seemingly unrelated can smell similar. Thanks for watching 🥰
I do agree lots of my edt last as long as the EDP it amazes me that some EDP can disappear in an hour or 2 ! So it makes no sense and makes me wonder ,exactly what companies are putting in there scents ?
Hey Claire! Ya know, I would consider myself a perfume collector or hobbyist at this point and I do have some knowledge, but I still love this content and always learn something new. Bravo! Agree with your definitions and especially the note pyramid. I often struggle to smell all the notes and in the order they supposedly appear 🤷♀️
Oh that's good! I was a bit worried that no one would be interested 🙈 I find note pyramids mostly ridiculous 😅 some are closer than others though. Have a great weekend 🥰
Oh really? Wow, I hadn't even heard of the term PdT, I had to look that up! So thanks! 😊 I guess I'm not a vintage collector otherwise I'd know these things 😂 my mum's signature is Rive Gauche and when I first bought her a bottle for Christmas in the 90s I remember looking for an EDP and not finding one and being confused 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire, wonderful video!! I feel like if you're not a chemist or a perfumer, you will always feel like you're sloppy talking about accords, notes, etc.. 😅 But didn't mean one shouldn't keep learning, right?
Thank you ❤️ I guess I started out trying to say it all correctly but then I just got sloppy because rerecording segments each time you say something inaccurate becomes very time consuming. 😂 I think it's got worse and worse over time as I've realised that I don't have time to keep rerecording, but hopefully the communication of concepts has at least improved even if the accuracy of my language has not. 😊
@@dr.claire.perfume I think you did a great job! I am still trying to gather courage to do this kind of video! I once filmed it even, but never posted because always missed something :(
It's difficult and you can end up not getting your point across easily. I think this was a little long honestly but some things that are talked about as facts on YT in videos really aren't, so I felt like I needed to take time to explain! Good luck if you do try it again!
There is Eau Fraîche, you are right! I think they are similar strength to a body spray, although brands like Estée Lauder now have Eau Fraîche fragrances as flankers to things like Bronze Goddess, so I'm not sure what's going on there as I don't think those are super low concentrations of perfume oil 🤔
The "strengths" yes again blurred and purely marketing now. I think in the old days it was probably more what suited the fragrance. Brands like Chanel got wise a long while ago with generally the first, then the edp/EDT flanker with also the pure Parfums. Nowadays it is an absolute guarantee a successful fragrance will have every single one going to cash in on it, yes included so called niche now. I am not fussed, it's not what I look at, it's what it smells like isn't it. And yes I've many an EDT that outshines alot of my stronger ones. Also for me if it's something I want fresher and airier the lower the better and warmer ones maybe a bit stronger but there's no reason that is always true. And yup the average person probably doesn't know too much, they'll just want every version of the ones they love. I think it's curious with things too, if Guidance hadn't been pushed soooo much would it have been so successful? BR540 I might be making this up I think it might have been started as a limited thing that got very successful. So we now have a billion versions 🤣. The ingredients are of course the legal bit that are what is actually in there. The notes, yes a guide to what the perfumer is or the brand is trying to put across. To tell us this is what we want you to smell. And like you say there are some things we can't get a smell from and even things that don't smell, like an iris flower so they create it. It's all very clever. And yes if it's listed we are more likely to notice it than if we smell them blind. Yes the pyramids 🤣 that's the problem when they just read the notes, whether they are noticeable or not. But these folks who "smell" the notes in order 😉. Erm ok? It's like cooking isn't it, just cos I put my fresh coriander in last and it's the "top" the first thing you taste doesn't mean the coriander seed the first thing I put in is the last thing you taste. Yes it must confusing for anyone who actually smells a fragrance to what the heck these people are talking about. Key to it is, smell the fragrance and tell us what u actually smell. Fragrantica is a guide not an experience. Longevity, yes it's completely subjective. As someone who everything clings to I absolutely will never talk about that. And I tend to perceive things I hate more 🤣. Projection again, as long as I can smell it I don't care. Unless I'm wearing something to impress (it happens) I want them to smell me but perhaps not everyone in a town. Also what is odd is this craving for these massive ones, I own a few, not gonna lie but it suits the fragrance, they aren't chemical sludges that makes me feel ill and probably people round me. "What's that smell" or "wow who's wearing that" is not a compliment... 🙄. Yes we have no idea if anyone can smell something off us really. This "arms length" thing. Sarah 4160 had a reel where she walked backwards and forwards with her arm out to get an idea 🤣 to be fair, that's as scientific as it can get and even then, that's what you the wearer can smell not everyone else. Thanks Claire for a very informative one 😊 really good.
Yes! You are spot on with BR540. I made a video of its history and inspiration. 😊 Jon 😱 are you saying that you don't smell the desert rose and cactus flower in Alien Supra Florale??? Hang on, let me sit down and get my smelling salts... You suit a big fragrance sometimes I think. 😉 You also suit the quieter ones though. The only way to assess sillage is to get others to wear it. It's impossible to assess on yourself. You can't not be in the place of the fragrance... It's physics. 😂 Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume yes sadly I didn't get the desert rose. I even left a comment asking what it smelt like. Alas the very "knowledgable" influencer telling us they could smell it didn't have time to answer the three comments under the post... 💁 Yes I am more of allowing people I like close enough to smell me rather than sharing it with Asda and the whole of the north. Haha see I clearly learn from your videos 😉
😂 I think it's stuff from the digestive tract of sperm whales but yep, still a bit 😝 it doesn't sound quite so romantic and enchanting when you actually spell these ingredients out 😂
Because Biden and the Dems have done SUCH a bang-up job, right? Needless to say, if those two old clowns are the best America can do for leadership, this country is going down.
I only realised recently that Kennedy is standing as an independent candidate. He believes all kinds of scientifically inaccurate stuff so I don't see his as a viable alternative either. 😂 The recent election here was very much what we don't want rather than what we do, so I don't know if that's how it will work in the US too or not, but yep, another 4 months and we'll find out. 🙂
I wish I could award 2 thumbs up for this extrait d'information. No repetition, very nice high key lighting, and personal anecdotes carefully chosen to add to a viewer's understanding of the topic. Good show!
Thank you 😊 I'm happy that you enjoyed it. 🥰
OMG! I just asked a UA-camr to do a video just like this one. This is perfect Thanks!
Haha, what fab timing! 😅 Have a lovely weekend 🥰
Good morning Claire, nice to see you. This video is super informative and I appreciate the effort. Thanks for putting it all into a single video. ❤
No worries! Thank you so much for watching 🥰
Invaluable information for anyone, no matter how long you’ve been in the game. Thank you!
I read that the original Amouage Guidance has already been reformulated (watered down) thus the push for an extrait. What a scam. 🥴
I think Chong's departure from the brand has precipitated a lot of changes. I know that my friends have two very different versions of Guidance at least, so I know that there has been reformulation of some kind. The Extrait might very well be all part of that. Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire, your videos are so well done and educational. I always learn a lot. I think I learned something about the ingredients/notes lol. I also may have had a mistaken notion of the Edp/edt in the sense I always feel I need to purchase edp
Thank you! I guess a lot of people just want EDP, and I think I'm the same to some degree, there is something psychological about which to choose, but I do always try both now. 🙂 Thanks for watching 🥰
So immersed in this video that i didn't realise my husband was calling me for ages. .
Totally shut off to reality this side of my phone. .
But within my phone. .such a wonderful insight and mind of information. Thank you for covering so many topics here.
The Niche, Indie, Designer distinctions are very valid point here. I suspect most do come under the Designer label after all the umbrella companies have scooped them up and they loose their identity.
As for strength and formulation, nothing LAASTS on my skin. And nothing sits too loud, which luckily i prefer 🤣👌
Haha 😆 I'm the same sometimes, my mum gets particularly annoyed by it!
This honestly took me ages Lizzie, because you have to tell it like it is, but also be diplomatic. 🙈 The truth is that we have no clue really what the difference in input for each brands' fragrances is. All we can go by are our preferences, and that's all that should matter. 😊
Same I think for me, I don't tend to radiate fragrance for the most part, although I do think fragrances tend to LAAAST on me well. 😉
Good morning Claire ❤☕️
Hi Frances 👋 hope you are enjoying your coffee. 😊
This was great! Very informative. I learned some new things.
Oh fab! Thank you! 🥰
Bravo!!! This is the most comprehensive and succinct explanation I’ve seen. Well done. Keep up the great work!
Thank you 🥰
I learned a lot. Thank you for the consistently amazing content
Thank you ❤️ have a fab weekend 🥰
Always informative, Ms. Claire ! Thank you !
Thank you 🥰
Thanks Claire! I think you did a great job. I learned some new information. But clearly you made the point that no matter the brand, perfumer, category or concentration it requires sampling. And I wholeheartedly agree.
Thank you! ❤️ Yes absolutely! No pre-judgements, just go to try them, they could be a gem. 🥰
Thank you Claire for those so clear explanations about classifications . It's sometimes confusing about distribution and editing other things than perfumes. Is Guerlain the first niche brand that is so popular and qualitative with this so huge distribution ? They have a signature base in all their perfumes and they are so widly distributed from such a long time...
You are for me the most objective and quietly sensed out of all the yotubers that I watch and are always "so excited" ! You spread your intelligence, your rational thinking, your analysis by steps and your honesty on a matter that is missing this approach. Don't change anything, we need your video, we who are smart people and who are searching non commercial and corrupted sounds of buying perfumes. Even if our tastes are not always the same as yours. Kind regards from Belgium.
Thank you ❤️ I really don't know how to categorise Guerlain 😂 Today they are owned by LVMH so I don't think I could call them niche any longer, but I would have categorised them as niche before that. I hesitate to call them designer still though. They are a very special brand to me. I only have 4 fragrances from them but I love them and when I've tried others, they feel distinctive and like they hang together as Guerlain whilst still having their own identities.
I try to be different to the rest of UA-cam for sure. I am never going to be someone who is going to take money for reviews or not be totally honest about what I think. I try to open people's eyes to what goes on on perfume YT, the immense bias that money brings and how the fragrance industry works, but I understand that not everyone wants to hear it 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
Hey Claire! I always love these videos. I am so confused sometimes on if something is niche versus designer. I sometimes smell base notes when I first smell a fragrance. I actually don’t like to talk about longevity too much because I realize I sometimes become nose blind quickly because I smell perfume every day. There’s just so much when it comes to fragrances.
Yes, for sure, I remember when I realised that conglomerates owned so many brands that I thought of as niche. I was so shocked that I made a video 😂
Base notes at the beginning is a thing for sure. And yes, we can just stop smelling things after a while. It's hard to judge longevity sometimes and just because it lasts on one person, it doesn't mean it will be the same experience for someone else. Fragrance experiences are all very individual I guess. 🥰
This is going to be good 😊
Haha, we'll see 🙈🤣
I do enjoy your posts, Claire. They’re so informative and objective 😊
Thank you ❤️
Very informative and well put together, thanks Claire🌸
Thank you ❤️ have a lovely weekend 🥰
Exhaustive treatment of basic terminology in consumer parfumery with all the terms explained in an easy to undetstand and easy to remember way. An Elixir of a video!
Thank you! ❤️ Hopefully it clears a few things up for some people. 🥰
Loved this Claire
Have a great weekend 🥰
Thanks Frances! You too 🥰
Thanks Claire, very informative.
I love how enthusiastic you are about your fragrances, and I do wonder if I’m not quite the ‘perfume head’ I think I am 😂 as I never want a perfume to stay with me all day - mid afternoon and I’m over it 😅.
I can recognise notes such as rose and Jasmine but a lot of it just passes me by, I would love to be able to distinguish more.
Thanks again Claire - you videos always give me a lot to think about x
Thank you! ❤️
Haha 😂 well it depends on my mood really, sometimes I want to switch, but if I'm busy, I like something that lasts.
I think comparison is the only way I've found to work things out, so trying lots of things and also talking to other people about my perceptions and their perceptions. But I also think sometimes, fragrances just aren't that easy to work out, sometimes you just smell a mix and that's ok, the overall impression is what matters. They are just harder to describe 😂
Have a lovely weekend 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume Thank you! You too
Xx
👍
Would love a part two that discusses the buzz words: Molecular note, resinous, animalic, sickly, and other things that reviewers say passingly without explaining what they mean.
Thank you ❤️ Ok, I'm not sure I can speak for everyone but I can give it a go. 😂
I want to learn more about you so I really appreciate your definitions. Well done, IMHO. The entry level formula for men was aftershave for the longest time.
Thank you ❤️ and oh yes for sure, going back a bit, EDC was probably more standard for male marketed fragrances 🥰
I used to think that edp was just a stronger version of an edt! 🤦
Using your colleagues as sillage guinea pigs 🤣 sheer brilliance 💖
Well that's for sure how they started out I think and some still are very similar overall. But the trend is now to make designer EDTs at least a little or even a lot different to the EDPs. It doesn't entirely make sense 😂
People at work are in general very obliging with my requests. 😂
Thanks for watching 🥰
Great video, Claire! I agree that companies using terms like "elixir" and "intense" are being really *creative,* shall we say. Like you, I also have EDTs that last a very long time and extraits that last for an hour.
Thank you ❤️ haha, creative 😉 I guess that the psychology of it clearly works for them. Thanks for watching 🥰
Very informative, thank you!
No worries 😊 thanks for watching 🥰
yeah... you have fragrance extraits like Montale So Iris that lasts way less than an edt like 1 Million from PR... it depends also on the ingredients, not only on the concentration
Absolutely 💯 some EDTs are very long lasting. I tried some EDCs a few weeks back and I was amazed that some of those were lasting 5-6 hours on me! Longevity doesn't always equate with concentration. 🥰
Hi Claire 🤗 catching up this morning 😉
Hope you are well 😊
Very interesting and compreshensive glossary. I also get stuck around niche and indie. Like the big niche brands that are conglomerate owned, they feel like just high end brands (Byrdeo, Penhaligon's). The smaller niche brands could easily cross over with indie because they are still indepdendently owned, even if they use outside perfumers (Zoologist, Olfactive Studio). Then some of the indies, the ones where it is owner, perfumer and compounding their own frgarances in small batches, I could call those artisanal.
The bit about concentrations etc... I always remember what Caroline Hirons says about skincare... formula is queen. Might be an EDT but the ingredients and combinations might mean it projects and lasts a long time. I have definitely had more robust EDTs and on the other hand also had extraits that are quiet and intimate.
Yes! With Olfactive O, Olivia isn't the perfumer, although she has a lot of input into it I think, I do think that new categorisation would make it all clear for sole traders who are perfumers too.
Absolutely! EDTs can be long lasting beasts. It's for sure about the ingredients and formulations. 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume I mean it is a good thing that it doesn't matter to us whether it's designer, niche, indie ir whatever. It could be called wellington boot for all I care - scent first! 🤗
@@ems_h.eartnotes well quite! 😂
@@dr.claire.perfume you know what i mean 🤣🤣
great video for perfume newbies 👏👏👏
Thank you 🥰
I was under the impression that BlackRock owns everything now!?
Regarding celebrity endorsements,Tony Iommi,guitarist for Black Sabbath, has a signature scent,"Monkey Special" by Xerjoff.
You are awesome! Thank you for the informative viddy.
Thanks Claire. This was a brilliant one.
The "catagory" of "Designer" etc is so blurred and meaningless now isn't it. I think it's just one of them things that only us lot get fixated one really. Although as a normo we all would have gone for brands we'd heard of. Me included. The conglomerates really to me make them all "Designer" because they one the label, the brand and that's how they sell them. The individuality and essence of what was these brands doesn't exist anymore. Like you say, same ingredients, same formulations with tweeks etc. They are gonna use the same thing for their perceived "cheapies" and perceived "luxury" and it's why they all smell the same now isn't it.
Yes Indie is very much where it's at, if you have to pay for a bottle and want to talk about it on your channel and it's something indie, they are the "influencers" I want to watch. And trust me "influencers" do nag and as indie brands for PR 🙄 shameful really.
Celeb fragrances I guess that's what we can call brands owned by conglomerates now 🤣. Influencer fragrances are an interesting bag, generally it's the name isn't it. I think we all kind of dream of it but for me I'd want complete control of anything with my name or I'd just not do it.
Yes, I think really what I want to get across is that people shouldn't get fixated on categorising fragrance, they just need to try them. It's really meaningless in the end. All that matters is what you enjoy and what you value.
I know really 😂 pretty shameless hey.
I'd be with you on complete control, there's absolutely no way I'd put my name on something that wasn't a wow for me. But I'm some random on UA-cam, not a perfumer so I'd stay away from my own fragrance anyway 😂
@@dr.claire.perfume when I win the lotto I'm gonna have to ask my New Zealand friend to work her magic. Just describe the person and she'll bring it to life.
And agreed none of it really means anything anymore just empty marketing. It makes as much sense as gendering a brick, no wait they do that too 🙄.
You're very good at making sense of all these things
Thank you! Yes gendering gets to me too. One day I will make a video about it and get a lot of stick for it, haha!
Elise would be a magical choice as your fragrance's perfumer.
Great informative video 🌸
Thank you 🥰
Claire, I am so grateful for how much I learn from you and how generously you share with us. Fantastic video. Thank you!
Thank you ❤️ have a lovely weekend 🥰
Excellent video, Claire! Every fragrance reviewer needs to know these technical terms. I feel that most people don’t understand the difference between projection and sillage, and I used to be guilty of that too.
Well same when I started watching. 😂 It's not a term you come across outside of the fragrance world. Have a lovely Sunday 🥰
popularity of edps, extraits, etc., are generally from marketing and propagation of concept that edps are "stronger" and therefore better by articles and such. i think of "indie" brands as just starting out, with retail limited to their own websites and marketing via word of mouth. once you're being sold by major boutiques and high end department stores, you're "niche." for example, i consider 4160 tuesdays to be niche because you can buy their bottles from perfumology, one of the best perfume boutiques in the U.S.
You are right for sure that marketing is heavily towards high strength being optimal in all circumstances. 😊
That's an interesting take on indie Vs niche differences that I hadn't thought of! Thank you for your thoughts on it. 🥰
So many great points Claire! There are always more things to learn with perfumery and it's so much fun! I was laughing imagining someone using the scientific name for perfume notes when they smell something.. excuse me sir are you wearing IsoButyl Quinoline? Why yes! Thanks for noticing! 😅😅
When it comes to sillage I tend to include the instance when someone walks by me and I can smell their scent in the breeze they leave behind. Not an outdoor breeze but the air movement from them moving along. Thanks for another informative video!
You know what? I would absolutely love to see a fragrance wheel based on ingredients or how things are perceived, so probably rose would be next to geranium and peony, saffron would be next to leather, aquatics would be next to melon and apple and lily of the valley next to soap, Peach next to plastic, solar notes next to laundry musks and yellow florals. That would make so much more sense for me!
Yes for sure with sillage, that's really it in essence. 😊
@@dr.claire.perfume ok this is brilliant! We need this fragrance wheel! 🙌🏻😃
Yes!!!
Longevity, projection, sillage, agree, all situational. It is the way the scent itself smells to me that wins out as the most important factor.
My only caveat... I won't want to pay the higher price points if the scent is no longer detectable on skin after an hour, may aswell not bother putting anything on so make it affordable
I think I feel similarly. I just need to enjoy how something smells and I think about fitting it into my life in the appropriate situations later 😂
And same! If something is super quiet, short lived and expensive, it's not coming home with me. 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume yes! You fall for the scent first!
👍
Back in the day, I thought that EDT and EDP has the SAME scent, just with better longevity😅😅
I think some are very similar aren't they? But nowadays I do think most are slightly different. I guess cos companies want to sell them as flankers? I'm not sure! 🥰
By the way, cute eye shadow 🤩
Thank you 🥰
Hi Claire are you going to do a video on Dior and Armani's labour exploitation ? , great video thanks Claire.
@@johnadair4693 not unless it's to do with fragrance as that's what my channel is about. I think those issues with those brands were to do with bag manufacturer. Thanks for watching 🥰
Hey Claire, here watching 👀😅
Hey Rose! 😊
Dear Claire, thank you for another lovely video, I tend to long for EdP too somehow, expecially when I truly love a scent. You look great, I always notice your gorgeous greenish eyeshadow, it suits you very well. Kind regards from the Netherlands ❤
Thank you ❤️ I think I am conditioned to choose the EDP, yet, when I've compared EDT and EDP for some fragrances, I've preferred the EDT. I should learn my own lesson 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
not being super into fragrances myself beyond mixing them as a hobby, it seems to me that a lot of fragrance youtubers use the categories of designer, niche, and indie as reference to production scales and how easy they are to wear. with designer being the most mass produced and mass appealing/generic scents, and indie being the small batch, "quirky" scents. the definitions you provided make more sense to me, but it seems like its not the way they get used. i think thats part of why you have some of those brands that are owned by designer brands but get passed off as niche. niche, to a bunch of consumers, seems to mean "this has more notes that some people may not like"
That is a really interesting point and I feel that's for sure where all of these designations of types of brands used to lead. I'm not so sure any longer with her advent of mass market niche like Parfums de Marly and BDK, but then I also feel like my views of others likes and dislikes and what their opinions might be have been swayed by my own views and my experiences. I quite often take fragrances I'm trying out to work to ask colleagues what they think and usually they like different things to me, so I can totally see that definition of how likeable something is being very relevant. Thanks for your very insightful comment.🥰
Asking a coworker to wear a perfume so you can test the sillage is hilarious! 😂. Enjoy learning everything about perfumes (smells, psychology, chemistry, history). 🤓
Yes 😂 I will never forget their reaction to House of Oud Date Delight 😂 I could smell that long after they walked down the corridor! I think it made them feel a little self conscious. Same with Lattafa Sheikh Al shuyukh, smelling that on others made me realise just how strong it is and how perhaps it wasn't for me. Thanks for watching 🥰
@dr.claire.perfume. 🤣
Completely agree with trying both edp and edt because it could be quite different. Like Guerlain's Insolance for example. The edt is brighter and sweeter and projects a bit more. On the other hand the edp is more floral and powdery with a more intimate (but still strong) sillage. I love both but I find myself liking the edt more 😊😊
Yes! Insolence is a fab example, both beautiful but slightly different. I am actually wearing the EDP today and I wore it yesterday too. It's truly one of my favourites 💜
Omg, Claire, you are so brave trying to find meaning and to explain such empty notions like "niche'.😂 In most cases, it seems it became lately just a justification for painfully overpriced scented water. But yeah, they can't call themselves artistic because they aren't, nor independent because, again, they aren't.😁 just the same perfumers from Givaudan, IFF, Firmenich, Mane etc working with the same ingredients over and over again.and those who deserve attention, nobody talks about because they don't throw with free bottles towards influencers.
Rant over. Loved the video, it's always a pleasure to watch you!🥰
Yes 😂 I tried not to rant but I think my frustration is evident here 😂
I have tried so much niche or pseudo niche and been quite underwhelmed by most of it given its pricepoint. My hit rate is super low unfortunately 😂 Indie so far seems a bit more exciting, but I have definitely experienced it through the filter of other people's pre-screening so that might explain that! Thanks for watching 🥰
I've been wanting a perfume primer for beginners (like me) for a while now. I found the edt vs edp information very interesting and loved the information about the ingredients and notes. Thank you very much for making this video.
I remember someone asking me a while back to do this, but couldn't remember who, was it you? I'm happy that you enjoyed it and found it useful. Thanks for watching, have a lovely weekend 🥰
Yes! It was me! Great memory, Claire. Hope you're having great day across the pond.
Yes! Aah well, you know where the inspiration came from now 😜 you too!
Sometimes I think that the only difference between designer fragrances and niche fragrances is the price point.
Me too 😂 I can't say I've loved too much I've tried recently from either category.
Thank you!
No worries! Thanks for watching 🥰
I’m giving a presentation on the military base where I work as part of Comprehensive Fitness Day, and the airmen are excited. Thank you for being here and doing these videos
Ooh what on? Good luck 🍀 No worries! I was wondering how many people would want to watch this 😂 have a fab week! 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume I’m going to a fragrance appreciation presentation.. a brief history, the fragrance wheel and fragrance families, concentrations, and so on. I called the presentation “Show and Smell” because I’m encouraging attendees to bring in a favorite.
@@tdsollog that sounds so good! And really not what I'd expect to hear about on a military base, but yes, fragrance can definitely be uplifting, so it's relevant to overall fitness for sure. 😊
@@dr.claire.perfume Aww. Thank you. We have different presentations going on throughout the day. Some focus on physical fitness, some mental health fitness, some are cooking classes, some are hobbies. It’s about the “whole Airman” concept. Caring for them holistically.
Sounds like a great idea! I know the services have immense pressure and suffer from mental health issues perhaps more than other job categories. My friend was a psychological assessor in the Royal Navy and I never really thought about it until she told me the scale of the problem.
EDT, EDP. EXTRAIT... ALL last on my skin for 2-3 hours
For me it is the same with 90% of all fragrances, I have dry skin. I prefer to spray on my clothes anyway to avoid skin reactions🤓😉
Well that can be a thing with dry skin for sure, but I thought you had oily skin Anat?
@@dr.claire.perfume I have dry skin I think🤔
@mandyh86 What's normal?
Aah that makes sense then 😊
Just starting this video, so apologies if you’ve already answered.
But I’ve been into fragrance for a long time, and I *still* don’t understand the point of the fragrance pyramid. Specifically, opening notes.
Why would a fragrance have notes that literally disappear in under ten minutes? It makes no sense to me. Because if you were trying out a fragrance in a store, what you smell on you when you spray something is ultimately not at all what people will smell on you.
And you could spray a sample fragrance, detest the opening and pass on the fragrance, without ever knowing that you might be obsessed with the dry down.
When I first got into fragrance, I didn’t even know what a “dry down” meant. I don’t think your average person who buys like three different fragrances from Sephora in their lifetime understands that, either. Nor do I think the average person understands that they should request a sample from a store and truly try it out, so they can experience the dry down over several hours.
So is it like a “poetic” reason-perfumers wanting to take your senses on a whole journey, from first spray to the last moments of the dry down?
Is it a scientific reason? Meaning, the dry down won’t smell like the dry down if the opening notes weren’t in the mix somehow?
I just don’t get it.
A few minutes ago I was watching somebody review “Afternoon Delight” and they were ranting about the opening. And all I could think was, “yeah, but who cares? Those notes last for minutes. By the time you’re done getting ready and step out of the house, they’ll be gone. So it doesn’t matter.”
Another example I can think of is Dior Sakura. The opening is gross to me. But I don’t focus on that at all. Because within like ten minutes it’s absolutely divine. So it almost seems like reviewing opening notes is a waste of time😬🤷🏽♂️
Would love your thoughts on this, if you happen to know why the whole pyramid has to exist.
🙂
That's a very interesting question! I don't get it either 🤣 I think it's mainly for in store sales isn't it? Nice openings create a good first impression, which might lead to sales. I think that's especially true for mainstream designer where the people buying might not be that into fragrance or know to wait.
I am really not sure about your second point that perhaps the drydown won't smell the same without the top notes, I guess it's all about chance isn't it, so on average, top notes evaporate faster but some, statistically, will remain unevaporated longer so could contribute to the drydown. Top notes might also be a "filler", so because middle and base notes take longer to become volatile on average, top notes fill that interim after spraying, which might also contribute to easier dosing for the consumer as they act as a marker.
Absolutely the same! I have fragrances I hate the opening of or at least think it's not the best part, e.g Tom Ford Noir Pour Femme, but the drydown is where it's at, so I forgive the fragrance and love it anyway. You're right, if you can see past it, you can be rewarded. And conversely, Sana Jardin Venus of Verbena... Beautiful opening, but the drydown isn't for me.
@@dr.claire.perfumethanks for your very thoughtful reply!♥️
No problem 🥰
As for Crystal Noir however. . I do way prefer the edp, not for strength, but because i prefer it's spicier and slightly less fruity personality 👍👍
You know what? I got the EDT free through doing some surveys 😆 it was literally a reward option 🤣 at the time, the EDP was undergoing reformulation and was super hard to find to try. I did eventually find a bottle to try, but I don't think I ever got to try them side by side, so I don't know which I prefer 😆, but I did notice just how well the EDT lasts and how much that surprised me. 😊
Imo EDT, EDP, Le Parfum, Elixir etc. become almost meaningless. In some cases, it literally just means different concentration of the same perfume essence, in others it's more like a flanker but mostly the same DNA in others it's a totally different fragrance. Just for example..."Dior Addict" the EDP smells totally different than the EDT and the Eau Fraiche is something else again. So, nowadays if a costumer asks what's the difference, I tell them it depends on the fragrance. So, it's all marketing now and it drives me nuts. Especially if they sell it in the same bottle, same colors just instead of EDP it's EDT and our customers get confused and buy the wrong one. I feel like brands got lazy - instead of launching a new fragrance they just make 20 versions of the same fragrance and call it a day. Thank you for the great video. I agree with all your points and explanations.
You are bang on! The confusion for people who are casual fragrance buyers rather than collectors is very real! I agree the terms are relatively meaningless now and that Dior Addict is a fab example, I used to have the light purple Dior Addict and I remember when I went to try the EDP, I was so shocked by how it smelt in comparison! Then I remember the huge confusion of Narciso Rodriguez for her EDP Vs EDT. I ended up buying the wrong one 🤦♀️ because the boxes are the opposite colour to the fragrance bottles! 🤦♀️ Brands have indeed got lazy, they rely on the success of the pillar fragrance and reuse the bottle design and marketing over and over, for example Mugler Alien and Angel flankers these days which really have little to do with the original fragrances. Thanks for watching 🥰
I would think designer fragrances is more mass appealing and easy to like whereas niche tend to be more complex and unique scents (but not necessarily). The distinction has been blurred when big conglomerates like Estee Lauder/ L’oreal/LVMH bought those niche houses. For me Guerlain although is now designer (widely available in the departmental stores) but still smells like a niche fragrance. Lately i start to appreciate Francesca Bianchi’s fragrances. I consider her to be an indie house since she is a self thought perfumist and did everything from creation to production. I would also love to have fragrances that have association with cinematography. This will evoke some kind of nostalgia or emotion associated with characters in the film. For example Fleurs de Rocaille mentioned by Al Pacino in a film called Scent of A Woman. Or Floris London 007 wore by Sean Connery in James Bond Films. I wonder if there will be a trend in the future to launch a perfume after the film have been released.
I think I have smelled Santa Novella quite sometime ago but dont quite remember it. Now Im going to listen to your previous review about the house. Thanks.
I agree, with true niche the fragrances are more unusual. From what I've heard, Francesca Bianchi fits with that idea perfectly (I've not tried anything from that house so I can't comment with my own experience).
I absolutely love finding fragrances in films! I always want to know what they are and how they smell. I would love to smell the Floris especially actually. Floris has some lovely fragrances from what I've tried. Thanks for watching 🥰
Great vid Claire. Are middle eastern dupe brands technically niche because they concentrate on perfume? Personally, I have no qualms with sorting brands and houses (not the same) into semantic categories, as long as there is no pressumed price or quality bracket for each. It's illusory anyway. The problem is that each category still comes with a lot of baggage and misinformation. Certainly would be in the interest of the pricier brands to keep it that way n'est ce-pas? 🤔
I think you would have to categorise affordable Middle Eastern brands as niche. I totally agree with you, there's definitely baggage with the labels, and expectations... It can turn into the emperor's new clothes. Thanks for watching 🥰
How/from where did you learn about the scientific chemical name/substance/molecule that is associated with a specific smell? Like the ones you enumerated with ethyl maltol - cotton candy, isobutyl quinoline - leather, and so on? I'd like to learn more about what is actually in reality in a perfume, but I can't seem to find too many resources on the internet about this. Maybe it's just more difficult to find, or I don't know exactly what to search for.
I am not sure I learnt about these things from one source, I've made several videos, for example, on solar notes, on aquatic notes, on petrichor, on musk, on indoles and on leather and these have required a lot of research to do so I think it's just from those videos and that research really. I've made these over several years and I sometimes put source material in my description boxes so you could check those out (I'm sorry, but I can't remember... But I'm a scientist in real life, so I often reference things). I agree that this kind of material is woefully lacking. I think a fragrance wheel would make heaps more sense if it were organised based on chemicals... That's what people need to know about to understand how things seemingly unrelated can smell similar. Thanks for watching 🥰
I do agree lots of my edt last as long as the EDP
it amazes me that some EDP can disappear in an hour or 2 ! So it makes no sense and makes me wonder ,exactly what companies are putting in there scents ?
It's extremely variable isn't it? It's really very fragrance specific! 🥰
Hi claire My love
I can't live without you, the sun of my heart, I love you now, my dear.
Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume
My love, you are so natural, that's why I always love you so much.
Hey Claire! Ya know, I would consider myself a perfume collector or hobbyist at this point and I do have some knowledge, but I still love this content and always learn something new. Bravo! Agree with your definitions and especially the note pyramid. I often struggle to smell all the notes and in the order they supposedly appear 🤷♀️
Oh that's good! I was a bit worried that no one would be interested 🙈 I find note pyramids mostly ridiculous 😅 some are closer than others though. Have a great weekend 🥰
Actually Rive Gauche did have a more concentrated version of PdT,
Oh really? Wow, I hadn't even heard of the term PdT, I had to look that up! So thanks! 😊 I guess I'm not a vintage collector otherwise I'd know these things 😂 my mum's signature is Rive Gauche and when I first bought her a bottle for Christmas in the 90s I remember looking for an EDP and not finding one and being confused 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume You can look for the parfum de toilette version because I remember that I tried it from a friend.
I think it's perhaps discontinued as I cannot find it on the YSL page 🙂
@@dr.claire.perfume Yes, it's long discontinued as the concentration of PdT is often considered the former version of EdP.
Yes! That's what I read, I am happy to be better educated about it, thank you!
Hi Claire, wonderful video!! I feel like if you're not a chemist or a perfumer, you will always feel like you're sloppy talking about accords, notes, etc.. 😅 But didn't mean one shouldn't keep learning, right?
Thank you ❤️ I guess I started out trying to say it all correctly but then I just got sloppy because rerecording segments each time you say something inaccurate becomes very time consuming. 😂 I think it's got worse and worse over time as I've realised that I don't have time to keep rerecording, but hopefully the communication of concepts has at least improved even if the accuracy of my language has not. 😊
@@dr.claire.perfume I think you did a great job! I am still trying to gather courage to do this kind of video! I once filmed it even, but never posted because always missed something :(
It's difficult and you can end up not getting your point across easily. I think this was a little long honestly but some things that are talked about as facts on YT in videos really aren't, so I felt like I needed to take time to explain! Good luck if you do try it again!
@@dr.claire.perfume you're right, and thanks!🙂
I think there is also Eau Fraiche? (I might spell it wrong)
That's true. She mentioned it in the video.
There is Eau Fraîche, you are right! I think they are similar strength to a body spray, although brands like Estée Lauder now have Eau Fraîche fragrances as flankers to things like Bronze Goddess, so I'm not sure what's going on there as I don't think those are super low concentrations of perfume oil 🤔
@@dr.claire.perfume Some people don't like strong scents
You're right. 👍
Hey!!!😽😽🧡🧡
Hello!! 👋
The "strengths" yes again blurred and purely marketing now. I think in the old days it was probably more what suited the fragrance. Brands like Chanel got wise a long while ago with generally the first, then the edp/EDT flanker with also the pure Parfums. Nowadays it is an absolute guarantee a successful fragrance will have every single one going to cash in on it, yes included so called niche now.
I am not fussed, it's not what I look at, it's what it smells like isn't it. And yes I've many an EDT that outshines alot of my stronger ones. Also for me if it's something I want fresher and airier the lower the better and warmer ones maybe a bit stronger but there's no reason that is always true. And yup the average person probably doesn't know too much, they'll just want every version of the ones they love. I think it's curious with things too, if Guidance hadn't been pushed soooo much would it have been so successful? BR540 I might be making this up I think it might have been started as a limited thing that got very successful. So we now have a billion versions 🤣.
The ingredients are of course the legal bit that are what is actually in there.
The notes, yes a guide to what the perfumer is or the brand is trying to put across. To tell us this is what we want you to smell. And like you say there are some things we can't get a smell from and even things that don't smell, like an iris flower so they create it. It's all very clever. And yes if it's listed we are more likely to notice it than if we smell them blind.
Yes the pyramids 🤣 that's the problem when they just read the notes, whether they are noticeable or not. But these folks who "smell" the notes in order 😉. Erm ok? It's like cooking isn't it, just cos I put my fresh coriander in last and it's the "top" the first thing you taste doesn't mean the coriander seed the first thing I put in is the last thing you taste. Yes it must confusing for anyone who actually smells a fragrance to what the heck these people are talking about. Key to it is, smell the fragrance and tell us what u actually smell. Fragrantica is a guide not an experience.
Longevity, yes it's completely subjective. As someone who everything clings to I absolutely will never talk about that. And I tend to perceive things I hate more 🤣.
Projection again, as long as I can smell it I don't care. Unless I'm wearing something to impress (it happens) I want them to smell me but perhaps not everyone in a town. Also what is odd is this craving for these massive ones, I own a few, not gonna lie but it suits the fragrance, they aren't chemical sludges that makes me feel ill and probably people round me. "What's that smell" or "wow who's wearing that" is not a compliment... 🙄.
Yes we have no idea if anyone can smell something off us really. This "arms length" thing. Sarah 4160 had a reel where she walked backwards and forwards with her arm out to get an idea 🤣 to be fair, that's as scientific as it can get and even then, that's what you the wearer can smell not everyone else.
Thanks Claire for a very informative one 😊 really good.
Yes! You are spot on with BR540. I made a video of its history and inspiration. 😊
Jon 😱 are you saying that you don't smell the desert rose and cactus flower in Alien Supra Florale??? Hang on, let me sit down and get my smelling salts...
You suit a big fragrance sometimes I think. 😉 You also suit the quieter ones though.
The only way to assess sillage is to get others to wear it. It's impossible to assess on yourself. You can't not be in the place of the fragrance... It's physics. 😂
Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume yes sadly I didn't get the desert rose. I even left a comment asking what it smelt like. Alas the very "knowledgable" influencer telling us they could smell it didn't have time to answer the three comments under the post... 💁
Yes I am more of allowing people I like close enough to smell me rather than sharing it with Asda and the whole of the north.
Haha see I clearly learn from your videos 😉
I'm sure they are just too busy flogging stuff to answer. Well the people of Asda will be upset to miss out!
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And then there is whale sperm ( ambergris) can you imagine writing that on a description 🤦♀️
😂 I think it's stuff from the digestive tract of sperm whales but yep, still a bit 😝 it doesn't sound quite so romantic and enchanting when you actually spell these ingredients out 😂
@@dr.claire.perfume 😆😆😆
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Donald Trump has a fragrance brand 🤦♀️that guy has his fingers in everything 🤦♀️and OMG he is going to be the president AGAIN WTF
Yes 😂 he has had more than one release too... I guess he's got to try to fund all these court fines and election campaigns somehow 🤷♀️
Trying to keep my head in the sand until November. My favorite content creators here on UA-cam keep me from watching the news and press conferences.
@MidwestBetty It's an incredibly long process in the US too, here an election is 6 weeks and done. 😂
Because Biden and the Dems have done SUCH a bang-up job, right? Needless to say, if those two old clowns are the best America can do for leadership, this country is going down.
I only realised recently that Kennedy is standing as an independent candidate. He believes all kinds of scientifically inaccurate stuff so I don't see his as a viable alternative either. 😂
The recent election here was very much what we don't want rather than what we do, so I don't know if that's how it will work in the US too or not, but yep, another 4 months and we'll find out. 🙂