The morning began with my wife asking apprehensively if I was going to be wearing the same scent as yesterday (Bois du Portugal by Creed); when I responded with a "no", she said that was the second worse scent I had ever worn (the worst being Cuba by Czech & Speake) and to "please, never wear it again" (her emphasis).
So I decided to go in a different direction today and put on Virgin Island Water by Creed. This would be the first time she had smelled it on me, so I was interested in her feedback. VIW has a quick citrus opening that fades very rapidly to a low-level sweet coconut muskiness to my nose. I approached her after the citrus had died down and asked her for her initial reaction - which was "nice - coconut!".
Later I had an informative scent discussion with my wife as we commuted into work. I asked her how she was doing with the VIW as it was drying down and she said the longer she was around it, the more it smelled like a piña colada - and the more she didn't really care for it since she wasn't a piña colada fan. Not a thumbs down, but also not a thumbs up - more of a "so-so" or "meh".
So I asked her what the VIW strength was like and she said that it "filled the car with a strong coconut smell", which surprised me as I could barely smell it at all. What I smelled more strongly than the VIW was the scent in her hair spray and other cosmetics (she doesn't wear any dedicated scents at all). So I was dumbfounded by her perception.
At this point I asked her about the Bois du Portugal I had worn yesterday, and asked what specifically it was that bothered her about that one. It was the sandalwood and lavender combination; a heavy emphasis on both, but with a much heavier emphasis on the lavender.
Turns out that lavender in particular makes her lungs feel tight - to the point that she has a hard time breathing, which was a complete revelation to me. I love all things lavender; we have lavender shampoo, lavender bar and liquid soap, grow lavender in our herb garden, have lavender sprigs in the guest bathroom, and I never - in the 20 years we've been together - knew it was bothering her!
Soooo... No lavender from now on. And based on her reaction, I'll be getting rid of the Virgin Island Water as well.
Oh, also meant to note the following:
So I decided to go in a different direction today and put on Virgin Island Water by Creed. This would be the first time she had smelled it on me, so I was interested in her feedback. VIW has a quick citrus opening that fades very rapidly to a low-level sweet coconut muskiness to my nose. I approached her after the citrus had died down and asked her for her initial reaction - which was "nice - coconut!".
Later I had an informative scent discussion with my wife as we commuted into work. I asked her how she was doing with the VIW as it was drying down and she said the longer she was around it, the more it smelled like a piña colada - and the more she didn't really care for it since she wasn't a piña colada fan. Not a thumbs down, but also not a thumbs up - more of a "so-so" or "meh".
So I asked her what the VIW strength was like and she said that it "filled the car with a strong coconut smell", which surprised me as I could barely smell it at all. What I smelled more strongly than the VIW was the scent in her hair spray and other cosmetics (she doesn't wear any dedicated scents at all). So I was dumbfounded by her perception.
At this point I asked her about the Bois du Portugal I had worn yesterday, and asked what specifically it was that bothered her about that one. It was the sandalwood and lavender combination; a heavy emphasis on both, but with a much heavier emphasis on the lavender.
Turns out that lavender in particular makes her lungs feel tight - to the point that she has a hard time breathing, which was a complete revelation to me. I love all things lavender; we have lavender shampoo, lavender bar and liquid soap, grow lavender in our herb garden, have lavender sprigs in the guest bathroom, and I never - in the 20 years we've been together - knew it was bothering her!
Soooo... No lavender from now on. And based on her reaction, I'll be getting rid of the Virgin Island Water as well.
Oh, also meant to note the following:
- She really likes Bay Rum as a scent, with the emphasis in the scent being on the bay and/or rum and less on the cloves.
- Citrus anything is good.
- I asked if she would like to sniff any of the samples I have before I put them on and she said it would be useless - that the raw scent doesn't give her enough of an indication of how it would react with my skin.
- She asked that I don't ever put on a scent right before we go out to eat a nice meal, as it would interfere with her enjoyment of the food.
Last edited:
