Floral Recs for those who usually don't like florals

[Dark Alice]

Kabuki Ice. I despise florals...save a very few like Lulu, and the 2008 Presidential perfume. But Kabuki: Ice...is pure wine. It's an icy floral that stays true from wet to dry down.I really do dig it.

[Cactus]

"Florals for people who usually don't like florals!"

 

I think it also depends on what you do like.

 

If you are usually into green or woody scents - you might want to try Ghosts in Love. It has a wild, woody edge to it. Clean and outdoors-y. It has rose in it, but it's mostly white florals. Smells more of magnolia and muguet than rose.

[aiobhan]

"Florals for people who usually don't like florals!"

 

I think it also depends on what you do like.

 

If you are usually into green or woody scents - you might want to try Ghosts in Love. It has a wild, woody edge to it. Clean and outdoors-y. It has rose in it, but it's mostly white florals. Smells more of magnolia and muguet than rose.

You're right, it does! That's part of the reason why I included that I generally " I love warm, soft, cozy scents" - thankfully I'm also pretty curious about what people's favorite subtle florals are in general.

[Astarial]

Looking at your list of notes, I would strongly recommend Mouse's Long and Sad Tale (Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood). It's definitely warm and soft, and the sweet pea plays so, so well with the vanilla and amber.

 

Edit: You could also consider getting an imp of Prague (Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies). It's all flowers, but crocus and snowdrop are both really uncommon, and it's not at all like most of the floral notes - not heady, or cloying, or screaming of flowers. It's... fruity (almost like berries), juicy, very cheerful. A really good floral for people who don't like florals, I think.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Andyl

[fufu_berry]

Kaidan (Boom!/Irredeemable - Rosehip, plum blossom, white sandalwood, jonquil, and amber-laden incense) has been the best "floral" for me - plum blossom is gentler and more herbaceous than other florals I've tried, the rosehip gives a floral quality without becoming too OMG ROSE, and jonquil is a bit more earthy/musky than overtly floral (at least on me). En Eski Ask Siiri (Lupers - juniper, tamarisk, almond, lavender honey, sesame, myrrh, olive oil, cedar, and rose) was also pleasant - the rose is heavily tempered by earthier notes like sesame, cedar, and almond. It also has a creamy/nuttiness that might appeal if you like "cozy" scents. Cherry blossom scents like Kyoto (cherry blossom, white sandalwood and star anise) and Kabuki (cherry, red musk, and star anise) have worked well for me too, since they're not the kind of high-pitched, white floral or perfume-y rose kind of scents that usually give me a headache.

 

ETA scent notes - also, Kumari Kandam (Thick incense, clay, stone, and hothouse blooms with a spike of frost, a hint of decay, and heavy, dolorous aquatic notes) - according to my long-ago review, what I got was "Kind of a smoky/candle herbal floral with a little bit of sweetness and just a hint of something acrid."

Edited October 18, 2014 by fufu_berry

[goodnightnightvale]

I am so, so not a floral person either -- to the point where I will automatically discard any scent that has certain notes like jasmine and ylang ylang without even testing. To me, usually the problem is that perfume-flowers don't smell like the actual flower, and wind up very fake-smelling with my skin chemistry (and that's saying nothing of the fact that my skin chemistry turns jasmine into smelling like decaying rotting flowers, funeral home, and cat pee). But I've found a few that are exceptions to that rule.

 

Oh my god, thank the gods it's not just me. If I see rose, or lilac, or anything like that in a blend, 9/10 times I'll give it a miss. I amp rose to such a high degree, and it ends up smelling like such a powdery, old lady perfume. Same with lilac. It just gives me a headache.

 

Oddly enough.I got an imp of Ouija a while back, and it ended up working really well for me. It has both rose *and* lilac in it, but somehow...just works? IDK, I was really surprised and pleased, though.

[Myria Jean]

Otherwise I love warm, soft, cozy scents! Are there any floral BPALs out there that would be a good place to start for someone who generally dislikes them?

 

Venustas! It's definitely got a floral note, but it doesn't make me ill or drown everything or smell terrible (the reasons I can't do most florals). It's a warm gorgeous scent.

[astarinel]

I almost always dislike floral-primary blends, particularly white florals, but a lot of blends I love have florals as a component. However, I don't tend to like the most common notes, like rose, jasmine, or lily (which I almost unilaterally hate/find soapy/amp to all hells). My general taste skews towards lighter, sweeter scents.

 

There are some floral notes that I love and actively seek out:

orange blossom (Harlequin, Katharina)

hyacinth (Ladon)

magnolia (Josie, Hell's Belle)

sweet pea (The King's Daughter, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale)

violet (Faith, Le Serpent Qui Danse)

peony (Miss Jenny, Dormouse)

 

I only have one floral-primary blend that I love, and that's:

Pepper - Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium. This should be a floral disaster, but I love it! The notes balance really well, and "wild English roses" are apparently nothing like regular roses to my nose.

 

The only rose-rose scent I can wear is The Knave of Hearts, which is primarily pie (topped with rose petals).

[aiobhan]

I did actually try and enjoy Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, so apparently I can handle soft, sweet florals like sweet pea, as long as they don't get too herbaceous or bright.

 

I have an imp of Knave of Hearts somewhere. I love pie, so maybe I'll give it a try!

 

I passed on Venustas because of the florals, but maybe I'll try to get my hands on a decant. I love the other notes listed.

 

So many smells, so little money.

[Poenari]

I am pretty firmly in the "no florals" camp, especially white florals, rose and jasmine. I tend to wear darker scents, lots of patchouli notes, or resins. But I am in with the OLLA June 23, 1868. On my skin, it turns into a warm, deep purple lilac but not sweet or high pitched. It's grounded by the tonka, tobacco, and vanilla. I happen to love lilacs on the bush but not all those fake smelling lilac scents, and it's not even listed in the notes, so maybe my nose just turns the blend of all the other floral notes into something recognizable to me, but whatever, I love it and get compliments on it. It's a very feminine but not girly floral, as befits the character of Eve.

 

edited to add jasmine (very much a death-note, stinky on me and kills everything)

Edited November 2, 2014 by Poenari

[venusinfurs]

I'm a big time floral hater. Lillies are the worst and give me an asthma attack. I've found some versions of bpal's rose very appealing though- rose red and Persephone are gorgeous. Rose red is like a fresh, wet rose, not a perfume-y rose. Persephone has a sweet smelling rose that smells young-not like old lady perfume.

 

I also like Snow White, but the flowers in that blend are very soft. Alice is another somewhat floral scent that is softer and I can wear.

 

I stay away from lily, sweet pea, violet,and gardenia. Those seem to be really strong on me. I do better with rose, carnation and peony.

[Myria Jean]

You might like The Night-Raven (Indigo musk, wild plum, rose geranium, benzoin, night-blooming jasmine, and patchouli). I tried it today and it manages to be obviously floral, yet utterly delicious.

[nightwing]

Floral scents are totally not my thing, so I feel this thread so much. Anything jasmine or white floral goes right to my headache centers and is just unbearable. I also can't do fruity very often (plum and currant turn to cough syrupy fake grossness) so some of these are interesting departures from typical floral/fruity scents.

 

I loved Eldrich Dark, with it's wonderfully subtle rose, and I second Kabuki Ice as a really unusual and amazing floral. It's really ozone heavy on me, which cuts the sweetness of the floral notes really well.

[ModderRhu]

I often have trouble with florals, but I love these...

 

Alice: well-blended, subtle honey carnation and rose.

 

Dragons Blood: cherryish lilac. try Ladon if you like the sound of that + apple.

 

Kyoto: cherry blossom and peppery sandalwood. I love to pair this with kabuki (cherry, anise, red musk). but it's also great on its own.

 

Joyful Moon: smooth, clean, white-musky rose. hard to find but it's one of those smells you can wear anywhere.

 

Lilith and the Jarocho: crowd pleasing, inoffensive jasmine and lime. no dirty diaper jasmine smell here. this blend has a nice salty quality that plays off the lime and leaves just enough jasmine funk to make it interesting.

 

White Rose: meaty, coconutty sweet rose. this smells like the taste of coconut jelly beans with light rose.

 

Thouros: juicy/jammy lychee rose.

 

Lilith Victoria: lavender + red musk and fennel. the lavender has almost a pine-y element to it. it's interesting because the lavender keeps switching from sugary to bracingly pine-like on my skin. all while being tempered by smooth red musk. something about this blend reminds me of sunscreen, but in a good way. it's wonderful for bedtime or anytime. I love to layer this with Mme Moriarty sometimes. I get a lot of compliments when I do that!

 

High Strung Daisies: candied, happy carnation and pink pepper.

 

lady in a speckled pink kimono: there's no tea in this, but I could swear I smell chrysanthemum tea mixed in there with the sugary peony. it smells steamy and rich to me.

 

I'll edit this if I think of more!

[DovaKitten]

You might look into Pink Snowballs (pink rose, vanilla, snow), which I can only describe as a candied rose scent for people who don't like florals or cloyingly sweet scents. I know you said you tend to amp rose, but the rose in this one is so well-balanced and enough people have stated in the reviews that the scent doesn't really morph over time that I think you might be able to get away with it here.

[Sakura Tsukikage]

I really like the idea of layering Kyoto and Kabuki, and somehow that never occurred to me. I'll have to try that sometime!

 

I might not be the best person to respond to this thread, as I love florals! But what I've noticed from other people's posts is that often a heavier note that can kind of tamp down and sit on the florals can make them work for people when they otherwise wouldn't. So you might try looking for florals with red or dark musks, dragon's blood, other resins like myrrh or labdanum, or vanilla, or some combination of the above. Also more complex scents where florals might not play as big a role. I'd say Titania is very fruity and sweet and Snow White is very popular even amongst people who dislike florals, to second some of the recommendations above. Ravenous, Lyonesse, Vasilissa, and Croquet are all other scents with florals that don't read as pure or predominantly floral to me, and Vasilissa shared a bit of the same feeling as Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, in my opinion (though they are quite different scents, I somehow get a similar vibe from them). Some of the Ladies of the Grindhouse scents from Carnaval Diabolique (which are pretty complex, I think) might fit the bill here, though I've mostly tried the maybe more overly floral ones myself! But some of them have one or two floral notes and then a lot of others to complicate it/smooth it out for you, perhaps. I've also noticed that a lot of people who aren't necessarily big traditional floral fans really love carnation, though it can often go a bit too sweet in a way for me, actually.

[Atrous]

When I started wearing BPAL I thought I was a floral hater. More and more I'm finding that there are florals I really love and others that smell great if they're tempered with the right notes.

I adore Sweet Pea, Tuberose, Fruit Blossoms and just about any night-blooming flowers.

Roses, violets, carnations can smell great or they can go terribly wrong.

Some of the scents that have made me look differently at blends with floral notes:

 

Wanda - the roses and violets behave themselves

Morocco - I hate fresh Morocco. The carnation is biting. But after giving it some time to age and the carnation to mellow out its really beautiful.

June 23, 1868 - Night blooming flowers that smell antique

Rosy Maple & Reflected Vulva - both have a fruit blossom note and sweet pea. The florals are sweet and not in your face. RV might be a challenge to find though

Snow White - soft, innocent florals

Playing Tag in a Garden Full of Gods - Tuberose and a white rose that behaves.

Peacock Queen - It amazes me how much like a fresh red rose this smells.

[aiobhan]

I've found that the only floral-inclusive scent I'm enjoying is Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. Thus far, anyway. I think that's because it's amber-heavy, warm, and the floral is very subtle and delicate.

 

I'm trying some Ligeia decants that have florals in them though, so stay tuned!

[gentle-twig]

Not exactly a pure floral, but I love Lysander (Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin). On me it is a nice warm tonka scent that the wood violet and lime really help to brighten.