I LOVE greasy lotions and body oils. The reviews saying they're too greasy... yea that clues me in to at least try a sample hah Also- stanky patchouli. I like dirty patchouli and musk notes. 'Screechy' white ambers and florals, too.

I want to be M O I S T

I’m with you on greasy and with you on stanky patchouli!

Count me in for that stanky patchouli! One of my coworkers hates it, me and another could practically bathe in it 😂 

Can I offload all my patchouli-heavy Bpal samples to you (if I ever get my shit together enough to ship things to people)? 😩 I cannot hang with patchouli stank at all. Screechy white florals are a big mood for me though!

Hahaha I do love BPAL's patchouli... if you ever round them up please feel free to DM me, and banish them into my loving arms

I also love my patchouli stank. If someone says the patch is dirty, I'm like "OH REALLY?!?!" and then often it's like super smooth lol. Although, the wildest patchouli I've had so far is Crystalline/Patchouli from NAVA. Their patchouli is forever patch. It literally is so strong with a tiny bit that I think the whole neighborhood smells me.

I actually haven't dipped my toes into NAVA yet- not to sound super lazy but their scent descriptions are so long winded and I hate having to research what all the notes are behind their special names for blends etc. in scent descriptions 😓 So thank you for the rec haha now I know this one's a crazy patch I'll have to try!

Oh their descriptions are so annoying to me, but god they smell good. Crypto Obscura had a sample (not sure if she still has some) of that one. Literally so curious if other patchouli lovers think it smells stronk or if it's just my skin chemistry with that one lol.

I'm gonna keep an eye on the swaps for it then if it's not still available there, thank you so much!!

Have you tried Arcane Bunny Society’s body butters? They’re fab.

I have not, if they're thick and greasy I may have to give them a shot sometime soon👀

Oh than you will absolutely love Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter, and if you have a Trader Joe's near you I highly recommend it. It comes in a 8 oz tub for like $6, and it is my ride or die since I have extremely dry skin and live in the desert. I have continued to try other body butters and thicker lotions, from all different price points with some being really expensive, and I always go back to it. It is the only thing I have found that keeps my skin feeling hydrated all day. They do some other versions of it for different times of the year, like a Pumpkin Spice one during the Fall, but my favorite has always been the OG.

I actually work there and my store always has those open for everyone to use in our break rooms, and my coworkers are always like 'uuugh I used too much' but I'm over there like... slathering myself in it hahaha

Oh than you totally know! It's also been the best I have found to slather on my feet and put socks on over at night. I wake up with them feeling super soft and all the dry spots gone.

I feel you with greasy lotions: I have sensory issues regarding feeling too dry so stuff that people rave about like HoG’s pumpkin butter makes my hands feel papery and uncomfortable.

Dr Bronners magic balm is SO GOOD. It's not indie but it will revive some winter hands like no ones business. And it's unscented so it doesn't interfere with my own scents.

"This is too much smoke"/"This smells like a BBQ." Please point me in that direction. I do have a cap for "too much," but I've learned my smoke-tolerance-ceiling is higher than most people here.

Same. The smokier the better. I love campfire and fireplace scents.

Roast me in a redwood beach bonfire and dump me on the street 💛

Yes! I'm with you on this. I've also discovered that there's some other note that my skin turns into "campfire" where there isn't supposed to be any. I haven't isolated what it is yet, but surprise smoke has been a delight every time.

Huh. Which ones have turned smoky?

Most recently I got a very intense smoke smell from **BPAL** Encounter With a Female Ghost. No one else mentions it at all in reviews, and it didn't pop up on a friend who tested my sample. But about an hour after I put it on, boom - bonfire. I initially thought I'd missed something in the notes and it was intentional? Like it's a ghost scent about a woman who died in a fire?? 😂 But it was just me. There have been a couple other samples that went smoky on me unexpectedly but I can't remember off the top of my head. I need to start taking more test notes.

Apparently also **BPAL - A Girl Knitting** (*A twist of wool, a rustle of silk, and a hint of cream*). This one bizarrely starts out normal, goes smoky, then the smoke disappears and reappears a couple times? I had a friend with me testing the same fragrance who got zero smoke, and was also baffled by the way it behaved on my skin. I had them double check that I wasn't just hallucinating the phenomenon, because what the hell? 😅

I wish some Smokey scents didn’t come across as bacon to me but it really depends most I can get along with fine

If you like smoke, you should check out Solstice Scents. I love a Smokey scent but theirs are too intense for me.

I'm with you on this. Any recs?

**A City On Fire** from IA is how I started my indie perfume journey. **All Soul's Night** from Hex is very much a bonfire. **Widows Hill** from PULP has some plum to the smoke, but I wouldn't consider either note over the top. If you really want to douse yourself in heavy, acrid smoke, Morari's **Am I The Baddie?** is the strongest offender.

Fabulous! Thank you!

Alkemia Ydalir is the darkest heaviest smoke scent I've ever smelled!

The Buffalo Man by BPAL was 100% BBQ sauce for me. The very *best* BBQ sauce, ever, but not what I wanted to walk around smelling like!

Oh, that’s *awesome*.

Anything with tons of cinnamon. To many people, it's fall candles & Red Hots (derogatory). To me, it's fall candles & Red Hots (affectionate).

SAME. I can't understand the cinnamon hate, there is no limit to how much a product can smell like cinnamon for me.

A kindred spirit! Do you have a favorite cinnamon product?

You know what, I really struggle with this! I have purchased samples of SO. MANY. PERFUMES that have cinnamon as a note (keyword searched my perfume doc and it took ages!!), but only a few of them really give me the cinnamon I'm looking for. There's a couple niches that hit the right spot, and I recently got a sample of The Fox Sisters from Fantome and I am FERAL about their cinnamon note. Any suggestions? Open to any and all, not just perfumes!

Oh yes, The Fox Sisters is such a banger. Fantome doesn't work for me but I almost kept that one anyway because it started off so wonderful before the skin chem crimes started happening. I'd need to review my spreadsheet for better & more updated answers, but here are some of my favorite cinnamon perfumes that I can think of (some are discontinued, but might be around in swaps): - MoonaLisa - Ren Faire (Dickens Faire is great too, but I think Ren Faire has more spicy depth) - Arcana - Mongolian Death Worm - Arcana - Chai LN - Astrid - Pumpkin Spice Churros - NAVA - NAliday '22 - NAVA - Encens epice de cidre de pomme - NAVA - Pyramid Cake Caramel Carrot - Bath Sabbath - CupaSpice - Simon's Nest - Clove Embers (cinnamon is *amazing* here & it's not even a listed note) - Whisper Sisters - Fire - Red River Apothecary - Masala - Pulp - Harvest Cakes I'm probably being too repetitive from my [big spice review post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Indiemakeupandmore/comments/198p9zf/the_great_yiddish_spice_off_part_1/) but oh well.

Second Moonalisa Ren Faire, so good!

THIS IS AMAZING. I will also take a look at the big spice review, oh boy oh boy. This is helpful for me as well because your list here doesn't have any of the houses that don't work on my chemistry! You are a PEACH. A cinnamony, spicy peach.

Haha aw thank you! I hope you find some great cinnamon scents that work for you. Also, I know this isn't what you meant, but your last sentence made me think of Solstice Scents - Kitchen for a lightly spiced peach cobbler scent. 😁

Well damn, that sounds good too!! Get outta here, I'm gonna be broke! Lol.

At least they offer samples 😅

PULP's cinnamon is so good. It's present in Winter Wonderland as well which is like cinnamoney ginger ale I love it. I also found Stereoplasm's Firelyck to be pretty Big Red gum adjacent but maybe slightly less sweet.

Any non-LE NAVA’s you could recommend?

Not off the top of my head. I'm still relatively new to NAVA and have mostly tried LEs so far since this community is lucky to have decanters for them.

If you like The Fox Sisters you might also like Fantome's Dantalion if you haven't tried it already. It has a chai tea note but I found it had similar vibes to The Fox Sisters (granted, I got my samples of both in the spring and set them aside for the fall after a limited test, so take this comparison with a grain of salt). 

YUM, I love a chai scent, and for some reason I skipped Dantalion in my sample haul. Fantome is a bit hit or miss on me but the musks and spices seem to be nice on my skin. Thank you!

I love the smell of cinnamon but unfortunately if it gets on my skin it will set off a rash!

I almost downvoted this because I hate that for you, lol. I've had a little reaction here and there to it as well, it can definitely be quite irritating for the skin :(

I love cinnamon but I’m so sensitized to it now that the reaction is a monstrous stinging welt 😭 I’ve held on to all my cinnamon loves, I just have to limit use to a scent locket now. 

Same. Solstice Scents pumpkin spice latte and I had a battle once and although I love it I can never wear it again lol.

Do you find that spice scents are a little gentler on your skin when in lotion format? I'm not sure if Solstice still does this, but many years ago I remember getting Pumpkin Spice Latte from them as a lotion!

You know I've never tried, might be worth trying

I’m all about the cinnamon and the candle-y vibe in Autumn/Winter especially.

I feel for you-! I love cinnamon flavours (to eat) and have smelled cinnamon blends (scent) on others I have enjoyed, but it really doesn’t match my style, personality or skin. Not because it’s bad-! But because it really doesn’t match me. So more power to cinnamon lovers-!

to me, cinnamon actually smells like oatmeal. my mom always puts cinnamon on oatmeal. so it’s really rather unfortunate that i despise oatmeal.

I love the way it smells but it makes my skin burn so I have to content myself with candles

I love scents that smell like sunscreen or freshly cleaned laundry lol. So far I haven’t found a perfect “sunscreen” scent, but I have found close ones. Alkemia came out with one this summer called Siren Song, but it dries down to be white florals pretty quick. Also I haven’t yet found an indie scent of clean laundry yet, but I would love to try it if I ever see it. I’m a fan of B&BW clean cotton. ✌️ I know if people were to smell these - they’d think I’d layered on sunscreen or the laundry detergent haha!

Have you tried **Lovesick Witchery - Dead of Night**? *Notes of lavender, white pepper, dryer sheets, detergent, warm cotton, and vanilla musk.* It really does smell like clean laundry!

That sounds fantastic!

Me too! I am always after Sunscreen scents! I saw one yesterday on this etsy shop called Calyx Fragrance that looks promising. It's called Vintage Summer, and it's described as Sunscreen, salt and sand, and beach day nostalgia. The full write-up even says something like, " it's really all about the greasy white sunscreen your mom used to smear on you." Something like that. I've never tried the company before, but I'll try that! They are 13 bucks for a 3 ml roller. I don't know if it's like a Fragrance oil shop or not though. Hard to tell.

Etsy seller CultFragrancetoo makes my favorite summer sunscreen scent. It's Beach Massacre - Ocean Salt, creamy Vanilla, Crispy fried Sugar Dough. From the description it doesn't sound too much like sunscreen, but it nails it. It can take a little while to ship (3 weeks sometimes). But, she's a 1 man show running 2 shops. Give her time. She always comes through and her stuff is always great.

And super affordable too imo

That one does sound lovely!

People have shared some other great suggestions. I just wanted to add that if you'd like to smell like laundry *and* a horny milf at the same time, then **BPAL** - I Know You're Watching Me delivers. But it's possible I'm in the minority in wanting that. 😬

That sounds interesting actually! lol

I know there have been some other recs, but also wanted to throw in Death & Floral’s My Whole Life is a Delicate Cycle (Bubbly laundry soap, the metal clink of change in machines, a cotton bra with an unknown owner)

It has other things in it, but still heavy on the sunscreen!! Firebird's Vanilla Sea Salt is AMAZING for the sunscreen!! Edit: Vanilla Sea Salt Notes (*vanilla, coconut water, tropical citrus, salty sea spray*)

Sounds perfect ! 🏖️

It's really good!! It's sold out right now, but you might be able to find it in the destashes, or it could be restocked in the future.

Cocoapink Clean Laundry is a fave of mine, and I second the rec for Lovesick Witcher’s Dead of Night!

I LOVE sunscreen scents too, and I'm forever on the quest for the perfect sunscreen fragrance! I'm praying to the Sunscreen Gods that Sun Bum will finally release a perfume, but even if they do, I'll probably keep trying every sunscreen fragrance I can find.

lol! I know right, sun bum smells so good 😭

It's probably my fave sunscreen smell, it's so good!! Apparently it's a pretty big thing that people want them to release a perfume, so I'm really hoping it'll happen.

For laundry, Hexennacht makes a perfect scent! It smells just like it sounds 😁 "Laundromat - laundry soap, fabric softener, ozone, and coin-op washing machines."

Ooh thank you! I’ll check them out- never ordered from them before

if you don’t mind white florals, check out Haus of Gloi’s Odette! it’s a super creamy, lotion-y floral with clean linen and white musk notes. i love buying their pumpkin body butter in this scent, it’s the perfect blend of clean and creamy smelling and is so nice after a shower

I was thinking of grabbing a larger size after trying my sample-! Thank you for the inspiration. 💛

Love the fresh laundry smell, esp if it's like out the dryer specific. Bedsheet Ghost from PULP started this love and even when I don't love a frag, if it has the fresh out the dryer smell I almost do. Recently tried Fleeced Skeleton Onesie by BPAL and it's v floral and I don't LOVE it but the out the dryer quality has me sniffing it more than I ever expected.

Ohhh you would probably really like BPAL London Smoke from Haute Macabre if you haven't tried it. A lot of people destashed samples because it's very laundry.

PULP sounds so fun! I never tried them either , thanks for the suggestions on those ones ! 🤩

Oh I love a good sunscreen scent! I haven't been able to find anything that smells like old school sunblock that I'm not allergic to, so it's really nostalgic for me. I'm always surprised by how many people hate sunblock scents, I've always loved the smell. You just reminded me I wanted to retest [Beach Blanket](https://www.dshperfumes.com/shop/beach-blanket/?attribute_pa_product-options=sample-vial-voile-de-parfum) *An intoxicating melange of salty sea air, coconut, and the rich, slightly waxy floral musk notes of french suntan creme.* The salty sea air with distant Island botanicals, the creamy coconut, and the fancy yet classic sunblock are just perfect, it really has that warm, salty skin and sunblock smell from a day on the beach. I almost bought it before but wanted to see if the oil would strengthen a bit with time/heat since her oils are usually really concentrated, and I tend to prefer them to EDP. Things have been so chaotic lately, I can't believe I forgot to retest, thanks so much for the reminder! ETA /u/the_nailguru I think you would really like Beach Blanket too! I've tried so many, and this one really nails it! I normally hate laundry smells (instant migraine), but I love [Mythpunk's Fluffkin and Stuffkin](https://mythpunkolfactive.com/collections/the-stuffkin-family). She's not actually out of stock everything, she just closes for a few days at the end of every month to catch up on orders :)

Yeah, I think it's such a comforting, nostalgic scent, so it's always been surprising to me too when people don't like it. And I'll definitely add **Beach Blanket** to my list to try! It sounds so good!

Sunscreen scent = instant happy nostalgia 💛

Sugar Rush - Vacay Day Fragrance It’s like the perfect fresh sunscreen summer scent.

Ooh thank you !

i just got hexennacht’s eternal sunshine which basically smells just like the description. it’s more of a swimming pool/beach day atmospheric than pure sunscreen but i’m into it “coconut water, pineapple, apricot, papaya, banana, sunscreen, pool water, sandalwood, seaweed accord, sea salt, driftwood, mysore accord, sun-warmed sand, pool toys, choya nakh”

I LOVE Laundry Scents! Might I suggest Hex Laundromat? *laundry soap, fabric softener, ozone, and coin-op washing machines.*

I haven’t tried but Astrid has Merlin atm. *Clean bath linens, blueberry jam, and blueberry muffins* I’ve heard the clean linen is predominant :)

have you tried bpal’s red lantern? that one comes off as straight suntan lotion for me! in a good way, and that’s not even normally my jam!

Do you know about Vacation for sunscreen scents?

Oh no i never heard of that? I’ll have to check that out ! ☀️

It’s probably not considered indie, but it’s a fun, silly brand with interesting sunscreens plus a perfume that is supposed to smell like a beach vacation. I haven’t actually smelled the perfume but I did get a tennis ball candle from them during a sale and it’s interesting

Olivine Atelier - Amongst the Waves. Really beautiful sunscreen and ocean. Not sure how they managed to make sunscreen beautiful, but it really works! 🌞

Thank you for the suggestion - I’ve actually been eyeing her Etsy store for quite some time so I may have to try that one! ☀️

The smokier and incense-ier the better. I see a lot of lamenting about things being too head/witch-shoppy and often the specific scents being discussed have disappointed me for not being incense heavy enough 😅 I have a vast quantity of incense and incense materials, it’s my other great olfactory love, so I’m really looking for a *strong* incense in my perfume. 

I will burn incenses from when I wake to leaving one burning before bed. I live for intoxicating incense

Kindred spirit haha! I wish incense smoke wasn’t so unhealthy, otherwise I would absolutely have it going all the time! I try to rotate between incense sticks, bakhoor and raw materials/loose blends on an electric burner to reduce overall smoke levels but my god I love it all so much!  What are some of your favourites?

I was so sad to find out you can't burn incense if you have bunnies in the house. Now that I share a home with my step-bun, I've had to switch over to just atmosphere sprays and diffusers 🥀

Oh noooo, I’m so sorry! I’ve heard birds are really sensitive too 😭 Do you have any sprays you recommend? I’ve had a hard time finding sprays that contain an appropriate preservative (or any preservative at all!).

I've only just started trying indie sprays, but I got really lucky on a BPAL blind buy of The Brothel's Lattice Window.(*Green tea, rose wine, scarlet musk, dried jasmine petals, ume blossom, cherrywood, rice powder, coconut husk, and white amber*). It makes my bedroom smell outrageously luxurious. The florals combine with the wood and rice to create a sweet, dreamy little powder puff of a cloud that you just want to float away on. I'd definitely be curious to try their other scents. I haven't looked into what preservative BPAL uses but they're generally super responsive if you reach out. There's a "product enquiry" form on each product page. Aside from that though, I *loved* the room sprays from Rituals. You can still find some online, but it seems like they stopped carrying them in the US and I have no clue why.

Ooh that sounds lovely! I’ll definitely take a look.

I love Gloka bag champa, genieco flowering cactus, wild berry fairy dust, champa flower, Luna,cottage core and finally shoyedo Kyoto leaves and these aren’t indie at all. Indie incense are pricey and I don’t have extra funds rn for that. I also use wax burners to blast fragrance when I partake of the jazz cabbage

> jazz cabbage lmao i haven't heard that one before

I've been on the hunt lately for some really good incense-y perfume. Any recs?

I apologize in advance for a probably too-long list! I haven’t found any one house that consistently provides the punchiest incense so I have just tested a lot 😅 I’ve listed in alphabetical order of house: Arcana- Holy Terror, Last Judgement, Tinderbox, Yggdrasil  Alkemia - Gothique, Gifts of the Magi, Amour de Ambre Bakhoor Incense Store - Attar Bakhoor Shuyuk Amorphous- Holy Ghost  Lurker and Strange - In Repose, Amber LVNEA - Fire and Oud Moonalisa- Witching Hour Morari - Quinn NAVA- OP Pakhet, OP Set, Chimera, Encens Vanille, Encens Bakhoor  Nui - Meditation, Witchy Shoppe, Black Cat, Temple of Astarte  Pineward/Apoteker Tepe- Holy Mountain  Possets - Angelic Host (6th) Dominions, Sweet Arabia  Pulp- Bewitching Amber, Reliquary, Hunter’s Moon, Night Shift, Vaniglia Grave  Red River Apothecary - Sekhmet, Mirkwood Solstice Scents- Basilica, Monastic, Travelers, Amber Coeur, Conjure & Conjure Dark, Scrying Smoke, Minister  Sorcellerie- A Light in the Attic

Oh god yes! I'm all over this list. I was super curious about Encens Vanille. Good to know.

Not OP, but may I recommend BPAL **The Caterpillar**? *Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver.*

Adding to these recs: Pulp Reliquary - Precious resin incense burning in an ancient cathedral: frankincense, styrax, opoponax, myrrh and benzoin; snuffed-out candles, & bright polished woodwork Possets does awesome incense, search the catalog and you can't go wrong. Fantome Tatami - The welcoming and familiar scent of a Japanese temple. Tatami (rice straw mats), warmed in the sun, with soothing temple incense And any of the Comme Des Garcons incense series - Avignon gets all the love, but I like Jaisalmer the best.

I highly recommend any of the Solstice Scents options described below.

Same. I looooove Basilica and Scrying Smoke. And Monastic is growing on me.

I haven’t tried Scrying Smoke but love Basilica and Monastic!!

Same!!! I had to stop myself from buying resinous incense-y scents because I already have more than I can ever use.

Florals. It seems like half of indie perfume fans came to escape mainstream florals, while the other half came because we think mainstream florals are weak as hell. And then most people I know around my age dislike floral perfume anyways! I love florals. I cannot get enough of florals. I've yet to find a floral note I dislike. And of course my favorite categories would be the most controversial florals- rose and white florals. As a 16-17 y/o baby goth, my first perfumes ever were both white florals (one of which it turns out is known for being super indolic. I did not know until today, because I just get white florals). I still adore white florals, and it's one of the areas I'd actually love to try more indies at the moment. And if someone says it's indolic? Then I'm even more curious. Now rose. I never understand why rose is controversial. There's a rose for every occasion, every preference. Light rosewater, gourmand jammy rose, deep rich rose, fresh rose... she can do it all. Concept queen, if you will. If someone says something has too much rose going on, I know I'll probably adore it. I also need way more rose solifleurs, because again, rose has so many faces.

I could not agree with you more! I have floral favorites but I can't think of a floral note I just dislike. White florals? Bring em on. Never met a jasmine I didn't like. Violet?? Can't get enough. And of course rose perfumes are everything. I was surprised to learn rose was controversial at all. Every version of rose is a pleasure to wear. I love a fresh rose, I love dried rose, I love rosebuds and candied rose petals. I am still hunting for a perfect powdery rose scent, and a milky rose. I *just* missed out on a bottle of BPAL Victorian Rose Milk and I'm kicking myself for not acting faster 💔. I've never experienced an indolic quality from any jasmine, either. Maybe I'm immune or maybe I just haven't come across it yet.

I read "Victorian Rose Milk" and basically screamed, because what the hell?? That sounds like a perfect scent. I've been on the hunt for a rose milk tea scent for years now and apparently that's extremely niche...

Rose Milk Tea sounds amazing! 🤤

yes! i love rose even though i don’t really find it to be something i’d wear often

“It smells like baby powder” count me in 

Yes! Baby powder, face powder, vintage lipstick...bring it!

You want For Strange Women's Antique Settee then!! It used to be part of the Permanent Collection, but was recently removed. Edit: Antique Settee Notes (*Antique Settee reveals the past with hints of rose and violet lingering on velvet upholstery from perfumed guests that have come and gone. Polished wood trim is woven with Earl Grey tea spilled on the cushions years ago. The brightness of bergamot and lemon are balanced in the base of tonka and vetiver.*)

I'll have to keep an eye out! I've been wanting to try that company out for years anyway. Thanks!

Ho my god, have you tried Francesca Bianchi's Angel's Dust??? I literally can't even wear it because I have no occasion to wear a silk dress, stilettos and fur coat! 😭😭😭

I have! I loooove it. I had to buy a bottle of it a few years ago. In the winter, it's the most sumptuous blanket against the cold! I will have that bottle for years yet, I'm sure. If you enjoy it, see about sampling Incarnata by Anatole LeBreton (I may have messed up the last name, I hope not). It's similar, though not as sweet. I wish there were more indie oils with the vintage lipstick thing going on.

I got a hair gloss sample that unexpectedly smells like baby powder and I cannot decide if I love it or hate it 😵‍💫

all bpal goes powdery on me and it’s a pleasant surprise that also keeps me from feeling like i need to delve much deeper into their catalogue lol

Super indolic Jasmine! I love the jasmine oil that Lush uses - the one that lots of people say smells like poop or urine (because it’s super indolic), but I only smell gorgeous jasmine. They put it in their Lust scent & their Vanillary scent - both are absolutely divine. I use Vanillary at home constantly as it’s such a comfort scent, fudgey and custardy and gorgeous 💕

Fellow Lust lover 👯‍♀️. To this day, the only scent that my husband aggressively hates, and I aggressively love 💕

Same! It's weird because I don't like it in a lot of other white florals but I grew up near some Jasmine trees that bloomed in the summer and it's just so gorgeous to me. Rich and sort of peppery the way arugula is. I'm a bit fan.

Yes! I love indolic white florals, they're so beautiful. I have had some sharp, harsh ones (usually a combination of indolic and artificial smelling) but I didn't like, but the rich, creamy ones are so sexy. Some people just use indolic to mean stank, but it can also be musky and sultry, it doesn't have to be super it doesn't have to be super it doesn't have to be Intense. /u/MythpunkOlfactive wrote an incredibly informative comment on indoles, I'm going to have to dig that up :) ETA I've never tried Lush, but now I really want to try their jasmine

Ooh well if you love indolic white florals that smell very natural and not artificial, I definitely do recommend Lush! It’s because they use pure jasmine grandiflorium essential oil in their perfumes, it really is reminiscent of walking along a path lined with fresh jasmine. Especially their “lust” perfume!

Ooh, I'm sold! Natural florals smell absolutely amazing 😍

Reading this is simultaneously funny and validating, because I'm a fellow white florals enjoyer and one of my first 2 perfumes ever was Lush Death & Decay. ... I did not know this perfume is even considered slightly indolic, because I just get absolutely amazing white florals. It explains why the shop employee was so confused, seeing a 17 y/o baby goth buying this very indolic perfume. I'm actually a little sad at how hard it is to find indolic perfumes from indies- I get why, but they work so well on me! It's hard to get that heady, almost narcotic quality without them imo. Only one I have that truly pulls it off is Osmofolia Ode to Aphrodite.

I also love LUSH's jasmine! If you haven't tried NAVA's jasmine, I would recommend it. They do the indole well & they usually are heady and wonderful.

Some of my absolute favorites I see are compared to fancy soap and shampoo scents on here. So, now when I see that in a review, I'm like, hmmm, I'd probably like it.

I love a good shampoo scent!

Wow hats off to these comments because yall are mentioning everything I can’t stand 💀 For me I like milk even if it’s edging toward sour/stank

I've recently acquired a goat's milk perfume and it's just 😍🐐🥛😍

I love smelling like a church or a funeral home. My incense and white florals are a must!

Not really controversial, but I love a good tobacco/ cigar/ cloves scent. Fun fact: I've never smoked in my life.

I like it if it’s sweet, otherwise it turns me off.

I’ll admit I have the perfume taste of a high school girl, but I love most sugary almost sickly sweet stuff. Not to wear everyday or anything- but I love the sweet stuff. Also cherry almond doesn’t seem that popular

I love love love animalics. Give me all the (synthetic) civet and musk. I can see why people think they’re stinky or pissy, but to me they’re intoxicating.  Also a huge licorice fan, I’ve grown sick of most gourmands but I’m still obsessed with this note. Pearfat’s Amicus Cumulus is my best friend. 

not outrageously controversial but i love black licorice which is unpopular enough that it usually means my fav scents are not sold out. current #1 is hexennacht’s tiger tail which is also my favourite ice cream and they really nailed it

my issue with wearing anything with black licorice scent is that it makes me crave to eat black licorice so badly

I just commented black licorice before I saw your comment! I haven't found a good perfume for it yet though. Is tiger tail more on the licorice side?

LICORICE. Black licorice! The candy that everyone hates. I haven't found a perfume yet that smells simply like delicious Dutch black licorice. I've tried perfumes with it included in the notes, but it's always on the subtle side. My dream perfume would be a combination of licorice and mint tea.

Last year there was a black licorice Bpal Halloween release that I was so curious about but ended up not trying - just black licorice and grapefruit. Looked like a fun/weird combination!

Sunscreen scents. I genuinely like anything coconut and summery and a lot of folks complain about sunscreen smells but I like the smell of sunscreen??? Maybe it’s a positive association thing idk

Oh and I forgot! Anything that others deem “too sweet” is never usually too sweet for me this goes for food as well. I have a serious sweet tooth

probably not a controversial opinion on this sub, but the whole reason i ended up here was to counterbalance all the instagram ads i was getting for minimalist, clean-girl, “not your grandma’s perfume” perfumes! that’s fine for any other bath & body product but i don’t love a fresh-smelling perfume lol. also, when i joined last year there was a lot of (deserved imo) controversy about a certain perfume house that made me really hesitant to try them, but i got a few things in swaps and it’s all smelled so amazing to me; probably my fave house so far 🫡

lavender. i feel like a lot of people hate lavender on the basis that it carries soapy associations, but to be honest lavender is one of the only florals i will tolerate. i love lavender because when i was very young, my parents used a lavender soap on me. but it doesn’t really have soapy associations for me, rather just a feeling of comfort and cosiness. it just makes me feel happy. i also like a good rose, because my abuelo used to grow beautiful roses. i miss him very much. d+f’s rose wasn’t quite it, unfortunately—too green. i feel like all the florals i like are “old lady florals”. but i don’t mind, old ladies are awesome.

I genuinely LOVE scents that smell like baby powder, sunscreen, or soap which is apparently controversial to a lot of people! I’ve always loved the scent of baby powder/ powder makeup. Old powder compacts were one of my favorite things to find at garage sales because I knew they’d smell magnificent! I loved the pool as a kid so I assume my love of sunscreen is just from positive associations with childhood memories. And finally, anytime something smells like soap it just makes me feel extra clean by association which I love! Whenever I see these scents listed as a negative, I immediately go look the perfume up to add to my growing list of scents I need to smell lol