Do Tastes Change?

I spoke to Rob Armstrong (Youtube Reviewer) about whether tastes change over time, particularly as you get more into fragrance as a hobby. Below is the transcript, my words in bold.



So, you've been wearing fragrance for how many years Rob?

I have been wearing fragrances for exactly one year.

And you didn't wear aftershave or anything before this time?

When I was approximately 15 I had a bottle of Le Male as a gift, I also at the same time remember having L'eau D Issey but I am sure they ended up in a cupboard never to be worn after the novelty of dousing myself in Le Male had worn off !

So would you wear either of those frags today?

Yes I own both of them today
And yes i would an do wear them

Do you think your tastes have changed since becoming a "Frag-Head" (Fragrance enthusiast)?

Oh yes absolutely, in a year my taste has changed significantly from my first purchases a year ago.

OK, so you would still wear the two frags you wore when you were 15, but over the past year you've found that your taste has changed significantly, tell me more about that.

I always had fond memories of the only 2 fragrances I owned, so I suppose I was always destined to buy them again to see if they held up.  But since my first purchases a year ago I bought a bottle of Acqua Di Gio and a bottle of Paco Rabanne Invictus after smelling a sample wipe in a men's magazine.  

I though they smelled nice so I bought them.  For the next few months I kept trying fragrances in a local department store and built a collection of bottles that I considered smelled nice.  

At that point I did not have the experience to even identify what the fragrances I owned actually comprised of, then I found this facebook group and my eyes were opened to the fact that there were more fragrances available to the consumer than the standard department store fayre.   

After months of trying a lot of fragrances my taste has changed whereby I now can identify the "DNA" of a fragrance and actually decide if I would want to smell like that. 

There has been a lot of hit and misses along the way but I suppose I now have what I would call a preferred type of fragrance, although that is now possibly in the midst of change once again having recently discovered some new fragrances once again.

Cool, thanks for elaborating, that gives a good insight into the start of fragrance as a hobby.

Do you think that your tastes have evolved as you have learnt more about what you are smelling so that you now know more specifically what you like?

Yes I would say that. After gathering knowledge through the facebook group my appreciation for fragrances has evolved from a basic train of thought that "This smells nice." to a train of thought that says "This smells nice, what can I smell? Is it synthetic?" and "I would want to smell like this."  

For example I went through a phase of buying and wearing fragrances just because I thought they were individual, so for some reason my mind used to say, "This is different, I should buy this."  but now I am able to identify what I actually like.

OK, so tell me more about what you like in a fragrance now that you've been into it properly for a year.

The most important aspect is performance,  I do like "bang for my buck". I like to be able to apply at the beginning of the day and still enjoy the fragrance at the end of the day. In terms of scent I do love very sweet or boozy scents, I think that profile suits my general personality although probably not my appearance!  Although very recently I am enjoying the very masculine and classic scents alongside the classic type ADP colognes.

So do you think that your tastes could be different in a year or more time?

It's difficult to say, in the past few months I have had samples or decants of what I would say could be representative of the vast majority of styles of fragrances, I have tried Al Rehab oils to Roja Dove Amber oud and a lot in between, but on the other hand, I am sure there are many fragrances that I am yet to discover so never say never.  

In terms of would I expect my taste to evolve?  I would say probably not, I have moved out of my "comfort zone" on a few occasions when I have tried samples and have literally scrubbed them off, I cannot see myself venturing into oud oils etc. plus there is the element of only really wanting to own fragrances I will actually wear.  

For example I wear fragrances for work mostly, I do not particularly have a very active social life etc, therefore to a certain extent, I suppose I want my fragrance collection to be in the realms of what could be regarded as "safe"  albeit with my own little "flair"

I can understand that Rob. It's good to know what you like.
Thanks for your time today.

Cheers Andy! Thanks for the opportunity.

Have your tastes changed? Tell me in the comments.