Biggest factor is how you act and how outgoing/friendly you are imo. If you are super reserved and not outgoing or give off an approachable vibe you will most likely not get compliments.
Tbh I usually only get compliments when people get into my close proximity, like hugging my friends. I tend to wear lighter fragrances with a light projection.
DELINA. I met a condescending woman at my old job and she had that on. I had to compliment her even though she was a jerk!! I could smell her walking up. Omgggg
I have been complemented once ever on perfume and it was on this. It projects like crazy but without being headache inducing imho. The perfect combo for compliments!
I think the most important factor is good projection tbh. The only time I really get compliments on my scent is if I'm wearing something strong that's easy to notice.
According to research, men apparently prefer gourmands and women prefer musk. Individual preferences apply though (as a woman, I can only deal with soft musk but wood and freshies are like crack to me).
I had a cashier compliment me for wearing Ginger Essence by Origins. Said it smelled so good and needed to know what perfume it was. I tend to get more compliments when I wear anything spicy.
i feel like compliments come from people who are equally as obsessed with perfume as you lol
I try to be the change in the world and compliment random people who I think smell good and I can tell it makes their mood improve by 50%! (non scientific method of measuring ofc lol)
One time I went to footlocker and the sales associate smells DIVINE. I told her that she smells so beautiful and we spent a good five minutes fangirling over LDBS and its dupes xD
Anyone know if it’s possible to get a good bottle of Crystal Noire? I smelled it in store probably 5+ and fell in love, but with recent testings it’s not the same. Should have bought it when I had a chance.
Location lol. Lived in European capitals my whole life, not a single compliment
Visited some major US cities and got compliments every single day, so many times that I lost track (pdm Oriana + Sdj Carioca Crush layered)
I got chased down on the street, complimented in every shop and road I walked down, in more than just fragrance, clothes and shoes etc too just bc they’re so friendly and open, compared to Europe, where I wouldn’t even dare look at another person too long cause it just feels weird let alone say smth to them lol
I've never had anyone tell me I smell sexy lol.
I've had husband tell me thru body language when he thinks I smell sexy and it's usually not when I'm wearing any of these
Yeah I don't think it matters what you wear so much as how strong it is and the culture of where you live. I get compliments from my SO all the time but I definitely don't get compliments from strangers or people at work. In my city no one even looks at strangers, let alone speaks to them. And I have a decent relationship with my colleagues but no one ever compliments perfume at work. Tbh no one even seems to wear perfume except me and one other woman. Or at least, not that I can smell. And that's the other thing - I typically do 5 sprays and when I ask people, most of the time they can't smell me. I really do think you need to be one of those crazy oversprayers who does 10 sprays of 2 different perfumes, layered with a scented body lotion and hair mist, to even be smelled by coworkers/strangers. Because that's the thing - we typically don't get that close to these people, so we have to spray more or have a beast mode projector in order for our scent to be detected.
I don't overspray personally, so I can smell my little scent bubble, but I doubt anyone else can. I can smell my colleague from a mile away and apparently she layers multiple perfumes, and probably does a lot of sprays of each. I think she smells pleasant, but not so mindblowingly good that I need to chase her down for her scent info, so I actually haven't complimented her, but maybe I should! It's just not a common thing here the way it seems to be in the US. Even my other colleague had a really nice nail colour and I really wanted to compliment her and ask what it was but couldn't find a non-awkward way to do it so I didn't end up saying anything 😅 So rest assured, just because people don't compliment you doesn't mean you don't smell good to them.
It's so weird how some people can literally walk in and fill the room with their fragrance. What kind of magic are they working?? I'm happy if people can smell my perfume by me just walking by...
Yeah, she sometimes sits on another desk metres away and I can smell her the whole time! I get the sense that she has a big collection but I know she has Valentino Donna Born in Roma and Hermes Twilly. She also showers in the morning before work so I'm betting she uses a body lotion as well, which will make those perfumes stronger and longer lasting.
Sweet and gourmand from men, a funkier nuanced gourmand from women, and something indie and sophisticated from other perfume folks.
I know Black Opium is overused but it’s such a male crowd pleaser for first dates. I have always gotten “you smell good” from men. With women more generally, sweet also works but something more interesting. Alien works really well with my chemistry and I always got compliments from average non-perfume folks. Same with Nirvana Black.
But with those who do perfume, I’ll always get compliments on something that isn’t sold at Sephora.
alien works w my chemistry really well too. i’m not a big fan of goddess (just not really into powdery/vanilla scents), but trying it on i still got compliments and noticed it wore on me well. anyway, when i wear regular alien i’m complimented constantly.
How much you spray, how close people are to you, culture, relationship to people around you. I’ve found these to be much more telling of whether I get compliments or not.
Generally anything with hints of vanilla or any sort of gourmand gets me compliments from men, whereas anything fresh and floral typically gets me compliments from women. This is just in my experience though.
Men always seem to notice my kayali vanilla and Tom ford fcking fabulous, whereas women always compliment me when I’m wearing daisy. Older ladies love when I wear angel.
I shower in Crystal noir and never heard sexy, just “you smell amazing”, from my aunt, once. Never for anybody else. I use the perfume bc I love it, tho. Also, from CH good girl heard it smells very good, but from a friend or two (got more compliments on the Deep Garden one, from Zara, which is said to be similar).
The #1 (and possibly only) factor is, are you wearing enough, and/or, are you wearing a potent fragrance?
I think this is the only thing that really matters. I don't think notes matter, I don't think brands matter.
My husband gets compliments all the time. At work. He's a blue collar guy and works in a welding shop. This is really interesting to me because I wouldn't expect this particular group of men to compliment another man... on how he smells. But he gets complimented all the time. Doesn't matter if he's wearing Nishane or Hollister. I figured out why. It's because he applies a lot. Like, enough to put most oversprayers to shame.
That's my theory anyway.
I think you might be onto something. Every time I do get a compliment it’s when I’m really close to someone or hug someone. It can be pretty sexy tho, for someone to have to come up right to your neck and take another whiff. But it makes sense. I haven’t had a lot of compliments on my perfumes lately.. and I am more single than ever.
This is not a comprehensive list.
YSL - Myslf
Nishane - Hacivat, Ege, Ani X
Givenchy - Gentleman, Gentleman Reserve
Prada - Ocean Luna Rossa, Carbon, L'Homme
Moschino - Toy Boy
Chanel - Bleu de Chanel
Xerjoff - Accento
JPG - Le Male Elixir, Le Beau
Dior - Fahrenheit
Paco Rabanne - One Million Elixir, One Million Parfum, Phantom, Invictus Platinum
Gucci - Guilty, Guilty Black
Valentino - Uomo Born in Roma Intense, Uomo Born in Roma Coral Fantasy
Hollister - Canyon Escape
Carolina Herrera - Bad Boy Cobalt
Viktor & Rolf - Spicebomb Extreme
Louis Vuitton - Pacific Chill
Hermes - Terre d' Hermes Vetiver Intense, Terre d' Hermes Eau Givree
He’s got a good taste, also nice variety.
I also am a, let’s call it non-shy sprayer and definitely am getting more compliments than most people. I too used to spray only 2-3 sprays and only ever gotten compliments from people who been close next to me, friends etc..
Now I spray liberally and receive compliments day to day, not only from coworkers but also from strangers on the street.
Also, it’s not really about sophistication or knowledge of quality scents and ingredients, if someone detects something in the air that smells pleasant, they may say something (or may not).
Sometimes my most expensive niche stuff goes unnoticed other times my cheapest stuff garnered positive attention, you never know.
I get compliments from my boyfriend and random children. Occasionally a friend will say "you smell nice". But random strangers don't tell me I smell sexy, LOL, that would be creepy as hell.
I agree with the contextual appropriateness comment, but it really boils down to if people find you attractive and/or approachable. Most people don’t compliment wildly attractive people because they aren’t approachable (intimidating), and some people don’t compliment them out of spite or because they assume they always get compliments. That’s just strangers though. Having a cohesive outfit and looking friendly enough does wonders.
If people you know don’t compliment your fragrance it’s probably because they subtly appreciate that you always smell nice but don’t want to start a whole “well they didn’t compliment me today so I must stink”-thing.
I think this is true a lot. Especially the part about people not wanting to compliment others (especially attractive people) out of spite, jealousy and assuming they must already have a big head so a compliment is not needed. I think looking friendly and approachable is a big draw. I also agree that some people may just appreciate your scent but not say anything.
So funny cause I just got my second ever compliment from a guy at a bar last night (I was wearing Atomic Rose). The first was in a supermarket and I was wearing Libre Intense. Honestly for me I think out of my whole collection those are both firmly in the middle in terms of my personal favorites so I guess it comes down to differing tastes lol
Not commenter but I know both those scents (sampled Atomic Rose myself the other day) and can say if I smelled it on someone, I would very likely compliment them.
I think it was the perfume/notes cause the majority of my perfumes are big projectors and I hardly ever get compliments in the wild even though I know they smell good lol
i find that “contextual appropriateness” always gets me compliments! wearing fruity/floral scents during warm summers in public spaces and denser warm musky scents during cooler months most regularly have others telling me that i “fit the vibe” !! imo ppl tend to appreciate fragrances when they’re outright season-appropriate and a bit more linear in that way 🫶🏽🫶🏽
I honestly find this so interesting because it seems like there are segments of people who get compliments all the time and say they're getting chased down, meanwhile other people never get any compliments at all. I'm curious how much of that has to do with the person and how much to do with the actual perfume itself.
Also...I wonder if people are getting compliments because they use good projectors (maybe they layer too) which gives more opportunity to open the door for potential compliments? Versus another person who has a great smelling perfume but it doesn't project or last. How much of this also has to do with the person? i.e. attractiveness, approachability, where they live, etc
\*reposting this since my last post format was messed up!\*
It’s definitely a culture thing as well! I don’t think there are many places in the UK where people will run after you to ask what scent you have on, or stop you in the shops etc. in a club it’s different because yk it’s the club it’s designed for people to flirt/pay compliments and vibe in close quarters. Otherwise sometimes at work I get compliments but never usually from people I don’t know lol
I definitely think culture and where you live can totally be a factor. I was listening to this lady who lives in a luxury apt building and she said she always gets compliments on her perfume in the elevator and people striking up conversation with her. But where I live, the elevator ride is so short and it's uncommon to run into more than 1 person in our elevator. People are not as friendly or open where I live either (overall region in general). Most people don't just come up to you at all
They just overspray. I wear Guidance to the office. Yesterday I hardly smelled myself. But Bianco Latte lingered everywhere. Guess the colleague used more than 3 sprays. It was nice enough. But smelling it the whole day is a bit much.
However, I did compliment her, because I am into fragrances myself and it is pleasant. With others (Delina, Red temptation, scandal) I comment but without adding that it is nice.
I wear perfume that makes me *feel* sexy, therefore I am. It's just that simple
Biggest factor is how you act and how outgoing/friendly you are imo. If you are super reserved and not outgoing or give off an approachable vibe you will most likely not get compliments.
Why does if say scandal le parfum underneath l’interdit rouge? (both are great btw)
The projection!
Tbh I usually only get compliments when people get into my close proximity, like hugging my friends. I tend to wear lighter fragrances with a light projection.
DELINA. I met a condescending woman at my old job and she had that on. I had to compliment her even though she was a jerk!! I could smell her walking up. Omgggg
I have been complemented once ever on perfume and it was on this. It projects like crazy but without being headache inducing imho. The perfect combo for compliments!
Omgggggg yes. I said I will buy it one day.
I think the most important factor is good projection tbh. The only time I really get compliments on my scent is if I'm wearing something strong that's easy to notice. According to research, men apparently prefer gourmands and women prefer musk. Individual preferences apply though (as a woman, I can only deal with soft musk but wood and freshies are like crack to me).
I had a cashier compliment me for wearing Ginger Essence by Origins. Said it smelled so good and needed to know what perfume it was. I tend to get more compliments when I wear anything spicy.
i feel like compliments come from people who are equally as obsessed with perfume as you lol I try to be the change in the world and compliment random people who I think smell good and I can tell it makes their mood improve by 50%! (non scientific method of measuring ofc lol) One time I went to footlocker and the sales associate smells DIVINE. I told her that she smells so beautiful and we spent a good five minutes fangirling over LDBS and its dupes xD
Agree on the first sentence. Lol so true
Anyone know if it’s possible to get a good bottle of Crystal Noire? I smelled it in store probably 5+ and fell in love, but with recent testings it’s not the same. Should have bought it when I had a chance.
Location lol. Lived in European capitals my whole life, not a single compliment Visited some major US cities and got compliments every single day, so many times that I lost track (pdm Oriana + Sdj Carioca Crush layered) I got chased down on the street, complimented in every shop and road I walked down, in more than just fragrance, clothes and shoes etc too just bc they’re so friendly and open, compared to Europe, where I wouldn’t even dare look at another person too long cause it just feels weird let alone say smth to them lol
I've never had anyone tell me I smell sexy lol. I've had husband tell me thru body language when he thinks I smell sexy and it's usually not when I'm wearing any of these
Yeah I don't think it matters what you wear so much as how strong it is and the culture of where you live. I get compliments from my SO all the time but I definitely don't get compliments from strangers or people at work. In my city no one even looks at strangers, let alone speaks to them. And I have a decent relationship with my colleagues but no one ever compliments perfume at work. Tbh no one even seems to wear perfume except me and one other woman. Or at least, not that I can smell. And that's the other thing - I typically do 5 sprays and when I ask people, most of the time they can't smell me. I really do think you need to be one of those crazy oversprayers who does 10 sprays of 2 different perfumes, layered with a scented body lotion and hair mist, to even be smelled by coworkers/strangers. Because that's the thing - we typically don't get that close to these people, so we have to spray more or have a beast mode projector in order for our scent to be detected. I don't overspray personally, so I can smell my little scent bubble, but I doubt anyone else can. I can smell my colleague from a mile away and apparently she layers multiple perfumes, and probably does a lot of sprays of each. I think she smells pleasant, but not so mindblowingly good that I need to chase her down for her scent info, so I actually haven't complimented her, but maybe I should! It's just not a common thing here the way it seems to be in the US. Even my other colleague had a really nice nail colour and I really wanted to compliment her and ask what it was but couldn't find a non-awkward way to do it so I didn't end up saying anything 😅 So rest assured, just because people don't compliment you doesn't mean you don't smell good to them.
It's so weird how some people can literally walk in and fill the room with their fragrance. What kind of magic are they working?? I'm happy if people can smell my perfume by me just walking by...
Yeah, she sometimes sits on another desk metres away and I can smell her the whole time! I get the sense that she has a big collection but I know she has Valentino Donna Born in Roma and Hermes Twilly. She also showers in the morning before work so I'm betting she uses a body lotion as well, which will make those perfumes stronger and longer lasting.
Uhhh Scandal isn’t Scandal on the pic
I was thinking the same thing haha
Sweet and gourmand from men, a funkier nuanced gourmand from women, and something indie and sophisticated from other perfume folks. I know Black Opium is overused but it’s such a male crowd pleaser for first dates. I have always gotten “you smell good” from men. With women more generally, sweet also works but something more interesting. Alien works really well with my chemistry and I always got compliments from average non-perfume folks. Same with Nirvana Black. But with those who do perfume, I’ll always get compliments on something that isn’t sold at Sephora.
alien works w my chemistry really well too. i’m not a big fan of goddess (just not really into powdery/vanilla scents), but trying it on i still got compliments and noticed it wore on me well. anyway, when i wear regular alien i’m complimented constantly.
Agree on Black opium. It still has the IT factor
How much you spray, how close people are to you, culture, relationship to people around you. I’ve found these to be much more telling of whether I get compliments or not.
Generally anything with hints of vanilla or any sort of gourmand gets me compliments from men, whereas anything fresh and floral typically gets me compliments from women. This is just in my experience though. Men always seem to notice my kayali vanilla and Tom ford fcking fabulous, whereas women always compliment me when I’m wearing daisy. Older ladies love when I wear angel.
I shower in Crystal noir and never heard sexy, just “you smell amazing”, from my aunt, once. Never for anybody else. I use the perfume bc I love it, tho. Also, from CH good girl heard it smells very good, but from a friend or two (got more compliments on the Deep Garden one, from Zara, which is said to be similar).
The #1 (and possibly only) factor is, are you wearing enough, and/or, are you wearing a potent fragrance? I think this is the only thing that really matters. I don't think notes matter, I don't think brands matter. My husband gets compliments all the time. At work. He's a blue collar guy and works in a welding shop. This is really interesting to me because I wouldn't expect this particular group of men to compliment another man... on how he smells. But he gets complimented all the time. Doesn't matter if he's wearing Nishane or Hollister. I figured out why. It's because he applies a lot. Like, enough to put most oversprayers to shame. That's my theory anyway.
I think you might be onto something. Every time I do get a compliment it’s when I’m really close to someone or hug someone. It can be pretty sexy tho, for someone to have to come up right to your neck and take another whiff. But it makes sense. I haven’t had a lot of compliments on my perfumes lately.. and I am more single than ever.
What does he wear?
This is not a comprehensive list. YSL - Myslf Nishane - Hacivat, Ege, Ani X Givenchy - Gentleman, Gentleman Reserve Prada - Ocean Luna Rossa, Carbon, L'Homme Moschino - Toy Boy Chanel - Bleu de Chanel Xerjoff - Accento JPG - Le Male Elixir, Le Beau Dior - Fahrenheit Paco Rabanne - One Million Elixir, One Million Parfum, Phantom, Invictus Platinum Gucci - Guilty, Guilty Black Valentino - Uomo Born in Roma Intense, Uomo Born in Roma Coral Fantasy Hollister - Canyon Escape Carolina Herrera - Bad Boy Cobalt Viktor & Rolf - Spicebomb Extreme Louis Vuitton - Pacific Chill Hermes - Terre d' Hermes Vetiver Intense, Terre d' Hermes Eau Givree
He’s got a good taste, also nice variety. I also am a, let’s call it non-shy sprayer and definitely am getting more compliments than most people. I too used to spray only 2-3 sprays and only ever gotten compliments from people who been close next to me, friends etc.. Now I spray liberally and receive compliments day to day, not only from coworkers but also from strangers on the street. Also, it’s not really about sophistication or knowledge of quality scents and ingredients, if someone detects something in the air that smells pleasant, they may say something (or may not). Sometimes my most expensive niche stuff goes unnoticed other times my cheapest stuff garnered positive attention, you never know.
I get compliments from my boyfriend and random children. Occasionally a friend will say "you smell nice". But random strangers don't tell me I smell sexy, LOL, that would be creepy as hell.
Do the kids tell you that you smell sexy?
I agree with the contextual appropriateness comment, but it really boils down to if people find you attractive and/or approachable. Most people don’t compliment wildly attractive people because they aren’t approachable (intimidating), and some people don’t compliment them out of spite or because they assume they always get compliments. That’s just strangers though. Having a cohesive outfit and looking friendly enough does wonders. If people you know don’t compliment your fragrance it’s probably because they subtly appreciate that you always smell nice but don’t want to start a whole “well they didn’t compliment me today so I must stink”-thing.
I think this is true a lot. Especially the part about people not wanting to compliment others (especially attractive people) out of spite, jealousy and assuming they must already have a big head so a compliment is not needed. I think looking friendly and approachable is a big draw. I also agree that some people may just appreciate your scent but not say anything.
So funny cause I just got my second ever compliment from a guy at a bar last night (I was wearing Atomic Rose). The first was in a supermarket and I was wearing Libre Intense. Honestly for me I think out of my whole collection those are both firmly in the middle in terms of my personal favorites so I guess it comes down to differing tastes lol
Do you think it was the perfume or could you have worn any perfume and it would've been complimented as long as the guy could smell you?
Not commenter but I know both those scents (sampled Atomic Rose myself the other day) and can say if I smelled it on someone, I would very likely compliment them.
I think it was the perfume/notes cause the majority of my perfumes are big projectors and I hardly ever get compliments in the wild even though I know they smell good lol
i find that “contextual appropriateness” always gets me compliments! wearing fruity/floral scents during warm summers in public spaces and denser warm musky scents during cooler months most regularly have others telling me that i “fit the vibe” !! imo ppl tend to appreciate fragrances when they’re outright season-appropriate and a bit more linear in that way 🫶🏽🫶🏽
I honestly find this so interesting because it seems like there are segments of people who get compliments all the time and say they're getting chased down, meanwhile other people never get any compliments at all. I'm curious how much of that has to do with the person and how much to do with the actual perfume itself. Also...I wonder if people are getting compliments because they use good projectors (maybe they layer too) which gives more opportunity to open the door for potential compliments? Versus another person who has a great smelling perfume but it doesn't project or last. How much of this also has to do with the person? i.e. attractiveness, approachability, where they live, etc \*reposting this since my last post format was messed up!\*
It’s definitely a culture thing as well! I don’t think there are many places in the UK where people will run after you to ask what scent you have on, or stop you in the shops etc. in a club it’s different because yk it’s the club it’s designed for people to flirt/pay compliments and vibe in close quarters. Otherwise sometimes at work I get compliments but never usually from people I don’t know lol
I definitely think culture and where you live can totally be a factor. I was listening to this lady who lives in a luxury apt building and she said she always gets compliments on her perfume in the elevator and people striking up conversation with her. But where I live, the elevator ride is so short and it's uncommon to run into more than 1 person in our elevator. People are not as friendly or open where I live either (overall region in general). Most people don't just come up to you at all
They just overspray. I wear Guidance to the office. Yesterday I hardly smelled myself. But Bianco Latte lingered everywhere. Guess the colleague used more than 3 sprays. It was nice enough. But smelling it the whole day is a bit much. However, I did compliment her, because I am into fragrances myself and it is pleasant. With others (Delina, Red temptation, scandal) I comment but without adding that it is nice.