(all notes borrowed from the website of the perfume, Fragrantica, or Parfumo). The "X-Y" adjectives are also from Parfumo.
* means I tried the scent on a blotter.
Fruity-Sweet
I love this perfume so much and was devastated when I ran out of it. I wore it during 9th grade and felt like hot shit. If I could get it again, I would, it's rather one-note, but the note is good, so it's not a problem.
Aquatic-Fresh
My first boy perfume. Yes, it says for women. But it is a boy perfume TO ME. It started me on a journey through androgynous-if-not-masculine aquatics you'll find elsewhere in this list.
Aquatic-Fresh
My stepmom's boyfriend gave me this for free, and I adored it back when I had it. It was so expensive I was afraid to use it, so now, away from it, I can't recall the exact scent, only the herbal coolness. What's easier is the bottle. It makes me think of sand castles on European beaches, slanted, ready to fall. The glass is spattered with stars and blue seeps into the edges like wet-on-wet watercolor. Whoever designed it was a genius, at least as much as the person who actually made the perfume.
Fresh-Aquatic
My former signature. It doesn't last more than five seconds, but I loved it anyway. I think part of it was the commercial with Emily Didonato, who I was fascinated with for reasons I couldn't articulate yet. There was the rain glazing the teal leaves, her wet hair, the ocean roaring. As a landlubber in a part of the world that doesn't get a ton of rain, I was sold. It seemed less Gender than other perfumes in my cabinet, not that I mind feminine perfumes, but I always had an attraction to cool, androgynous, white-button up aesthetics. Acqua di Gioia fits that well, with the watery smell and bits of sweetness. I wonder if I'd like Acqua di Gio?
Fresh-Floral
Maybe I got a dud, but this perfume smells like isopropyl and orange peel. If that's what blood grapefruit smells like, I don't want to meet her. Bad. At first, anyway. I thought that maybe I just didn't like florals, but the olfactory relief once the top notes fade is gorgeous and not at all soapy. It's delicate and romantic. But god, I'm not sure if it's worth it.
Fruity-Floral
It's so sweet. A nice sweetness, but you can get tired of it, especially because it lasts forever. I think I liked the idea of the perfume and the bottle more than the perfume itself. I wore it during my Francophile phase, took pictures of it on a fluffy bedspread for my Instagram (never posted), but never actually drained the bottle. It definitely is heavy, the title is suitable, but it needs less sugar.
Fresh-Citrusy
I don't remember what this smells like, only that I liked it and emptied the sample. I remember a fruitiness, though that could be Bombshell, later in this list and also coming in a tiny sample.
Citrusy-Fresh
Exactly what it says on the tin, which is why I love it. I don't really smell the middle or bottom notes, but that's not why I'm here. It's very 2000s-2010s Bath and Body Works, and I mean that as a compliment.
Floral-Fruity
Using this regularly in high school and feeling like a bad bitch. Fruity and sweet, if I recall correctly, one of the few VS perfumes I actually liked.
Sweet-Gourmand
Sprayed this on my wrist at Ulta while trying to find a lipstick for an upcoming event. Perhaps my tension and anxiety soured the scent, but I didn't like this at all, despite wanting to. Fruit Loops for the first half hour, then sugar, then a nice vanilla. I did not get the citrus that would've balanced it out. I've learned that the Fruit Loops smell is orange blossom, which I'm sure is fine for some.
Floral-Sweet
The official website calls this perfume ambery, and that resemblance suffix is the key here. I'm not smart enough to decide that the unsettlingly warm opening is amber, but it feels like it is, considering the commonality it shares with Le Lion. Where this perfume departs is in being good. Orange and ghost amber aside, it's delicate and goes straight into a clear floralcy that only gets more beautiful at time goes on. Runtime is a couple hours, which is a shame and weird for a Chanel floral specifically. I feel like I expect Chanels to go a long time, especially EdPs.
Smoky-Resinous
Stimky. Sweet but in a strange way, like rotting honey. Distinct urinous smell is left the day after.
Floral-Powdery
Powdery is right, but that's every perfume made before 1990. Like your grandmother's body cream. I smell No.5 every time I get the chance and this time, it was sweeter than I remember. I don't like it, but I respect it, and my great-grandmother loved it.
Woody-Spicy
I didn't like it in-store. I also wrote down 'wet dirt,' and talked frequently about 'pool smell' on the way home. It developed into a cool, woodsy bouquet that stayed on my skin for eight hours. The vanilla only kicks in once the vetiver is done and doesn't distract. My friend bought me a bunch of samples, which is good, because I dropped one on the ground and shattered it. I sealed up the broken sample in a bag and smelled the bag over the next week. Every time I would get a waft of the scent, even though there was only a few drops inside, and feel instantly soothed. Astonishing. I wouldn't describe it as spicy, but cool and smoky. Pool water, gasoline, new car, grass, inside places when it's hot out.
Floral-Powdery
Liked it! More leathery than Sycomore. Or maybe I'm projecting leather onto the masculine note of lavender? I don't remember if I smelled the EdT or EdP, but either way I wrote down "magic markers" and "graphite like my pencil cases." I'm not sure which part of the pyramid these come from. They've might've also come from Comète, since I smelled it on the same day.
Floral-Powdery
Powdery. I definitely got the cherry blossom, as it smells like the BABW Japanese Cherry Blossom scent my mom keeps in her bathroom. Bath bubbles, sharp and plasticky, but not in an unpleasant way. Fun on the blotter, but wouldn't wear. Would probably smell like formaldehyde on me.
Fruity-Sweet
I can sense the raspberry in this. I don't like it. Leftover dislike of Tresor Midnight Rose, I think, or my expectation that raspberries should smell as tart as they taste. It's almost better with the alcohol bite. Either something to lift it, or something to make it worse. Teddy-bear softness all around. It doesn't smell bad. I'd compliment it on someone else--it smells great on my friend, which is why she gave me a bottle--but I wouldn't wear it.
Fresh-Fougèreartig
Keep in mind I'm talking about the room spray and wallflower version of the scent. Rollerball version DNI. Sharp, fresh and medicinal, makes a room smell clean. There's an herbal gumminess that almost turns into sweetness there too. I've seen this referred to as the spearmint, which I have to trust because I don't think I've ever smelled spearmint essential oil by itself.
Fresh-Sweet
Ambermaxxing! Anyway. Got a weird metallic undertone, maybe brine? A little too sharp to be enjoyable.
Woody-Musky
My favorite perfume of the day, which is hysterical, considering it's a dog perfume. Maybe it was the lack of alcohol, which I was sensitive to and have been since getting COVID. Pleasantly fruity.
Sweet-Gourmand
Caramel, with a faint hint of doodoo. My girlfriend bought the sample pack, so I'm going to add more when I smell it more.
Fruity-Sweet
Fruity is right. I sense raspberries, as I did with Vampire Blood. I sensed them even before I learned "berries" were in the notes. They're everywhere and I don't like them. At least, on me. If I smelled this on someone else I would probably compliment it, but on me it's just Berries.
Sweet-Fruity
How this perfume categorized similarly to Champagne Toast is lost on me. It's noticeably different. My described it as "heavier," which it certainly is. I also think it's better balanced. I enjoy the amaretto, as I like sweet almond-y stuff. Not getting alcohol from any of this, but the warmth of the amber base is there and appreciated. Perhaps I do enjoy amber if it isn't the focus. I quite like this one, maybe not an everyday wear, but perfectly pleasant.
GOD this smells good. I mostly got the mandarin, but none of the other notes were offputting. I kept smelling my arm throughout the entire time we spent at the market. It smells like someone eating an orange in the room with you. Not too sweet but not un-sweet either. Upon reading the notes, I think I got the cinnamon, too, which I liked. Why it can't be found on the Pure Instinct website, I'm not sure, but Walmart and Spencer's still sell it.
My cheap beloved. I spray this in my room, on my sheets, whenever it's warm out. More coconut than hibiscus. Makes me think of sunscreen.
(I like asking nice-smelling strangers what they're wearing--many of these are results from that!)
Sweet-Fruity
Fruity-Floral
Synthetic-Sweet
Fresh-Aquatic
Citrusy-Fruity
Sweet-Floral
Sweet-Gourmand
Green-Fresh
Citrusy-Fresh
Fresh-Citrusy
Fresh-Citrusy
Citrusy-Fresh
Sweet-Fruity
Floral-Sweet
Fruity-Aquatic
Sweet-Fresh
Creamy-Sweet
Woody-Powdery
Fresh-Green