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What scent do you dislike the most in makeup or beauty products?


What scent do you dislike the most in makeup? Share!

I don’t like strongly floral, highly perfumed moisturizers in general–I tested ones from Amorepacific and Benefit, and I just couldn’t handle it all day long.

Thanks to reader CeeBee for today’s question idea Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.

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Kristen Avatar

I know people love them, but I cannot stand the smell of the YSL lipsticks. That peachy or whatever smell. I love the colors and formula but I will never own one because of the smell. Really, I can’t take anything makeup wise with a strong smell. The soft, subtle smell of vanilla in MAC lipsticks are fine, but if I can smell something while it’s ON my face, I’m going to take it back/throw it away.

Lisa C Avatar

I’m the same way. I can take most any smell (love the Guerlain) but the YSL is way too much for me. I won’t buy any lipstick of theirs because of that alone.

xamyx Avatar

Actual “scents” don’t bother me at all, but if the “source” of the scent is an irritant (ie, certain oils, heavily perfumed products, etc…), I simply avoid the product/brand. For example, CoverGirl used Noxell, which was found in Noxzema, and while I didn’t mind the smell, it really dried out my skin. I also find alot of “luxury” branda are heavily perfumed, so I don’t take any chances.

Lauren Goodnight Avatar

Strong candy vanilla or super sweet scents are hellish in cosmetics! The chocolate thing Too Faced has going right now is enough to nauseate, and I thought Guerlain’s violet scent was bad! I had no idea. None. The scent from IT cosmetics’ CC lip gloss is one of the worst offenders because it NEVER dissipates.

PJ Avatar

I hate the strongly fragrances products, especially the nigher end skin care that smells like something a grandma would wear or a strong bathroom spray smell. (Chanel No.5 comes to mind of what older lady/grandma smell is to me.) If it goes away (any fragrance) fairly quickly I can deal, but if it lingers or pops up later in the day that is a no go for me. Either put no fragrance or be subtle with it.

Ryou Avatar

All of them. Fragrance in make-up and facial skincare products make my eyes water and my skin itchy. It’s not like it’s necessary or beneficial, anyway. :/

Tori Avatar

It’s rare that I’m bothered by scented products, but the worst for me is the dreaded lipstick play dough smell 🙁 The only other scent I can think of that I find offensive is the one in the Maybelline Color Elixirs – a bit too cloying for me.

Sunny Avatar

I’m not big scented skincare products at all unless we’re talking about essential oils, or something that is only scented to the degree of Caudalie products.

When it comes to makeup, fig is the one scent I can’t stand. I never liked Estee Lauder lipsticks for that reason, and this is why I can’t really wear Edward Bess ones, either.

Hue Rocks Avatar

I have the Laneige BB Cushion and its strong floral scent is overwelming, specially since you have to apply it all over your face. This may me think twice before trying another product of this brand. Another scent I dislike is SHEA BUTTER, I realized after buying the Occitane hand cream. I dislike it so much that I didn’t even bother to use it as a foot cream, so no I just don’t buy any product with shea butter. So overall I don’t understand why some products such as face products have so strong perfume if there is no cosmetic or skincare reason behind. I would understand products having scent of active ingredients, but in most cases this is not true.

Elizabeth Avatar

I might be a weird one but I absolutely detest vanilla scents in lip products! For me, vanilla is too heavy a scent to smell all day long. I have to agree that Benefit uses quite a good few strange scents in their products that I don’t enjoy. 🙁

Jane Avatar

Guerlain’s floral scent they use in their make-up products. Ugh. Can anything smell more matronly. Maybe I’m not their target audience (I’m in my 40’s) thus they add the scent to dissuade me from purchasing their products.

Brynn Avatar

Great question!
Really strong scents of any sort bother me! But here are the latest two issues I’ve dealt with.
One, Lancome. My mom likes them a lot, and she gave me the little samples of makeup and skin care that she received when she made her latest purchase. The skin care has so much fragrance that I can’t wear it at all, and while the makeup doesn’t have as much, it’s still too much for me.
The second thing is skin care/makeup that claims to be for sensitive skin, then has fragrance added. And if it’s just marked “fragrance” or “parfum”, then you can’t tell what it is. I have two friends who are highly sensitive to certain essential oils, and it’s very difficult for them to find products to use, so the rest of us keep an eye out for anything new and let them know if it’s something they can buy or not.

Andrea Avatar

Anything that might smell like roses… Gives me headache. I really don’t get the scent thing. Just got a VERY expensive EL moisturizer that is supposed to do magic to your face. I was ok paying a fortune for it, but the scent just drove me nuts… Made me totally sick. Returned it. I don’t want to smell like a funeral place whenever I go to bed.

Donna N Avatar

I am *highly sensitive* to rose-scents—I don’t have problems with the REAL THING-just in perfume and cosmetics, so any products that have that are a BIG turn-off for me.

Sandra Avatar

The floral scents are the worst. My friend recommend Boujouis blush to me. I paid a ton on shipping. She told me it had a nice scent. It smelled liked like old makeup with old lady perfume scent. The color was nice but the scent. It was so strong. I left it outside in the patio open, hoping some of the scent would go away. The neighbors complained of the scent too. I couldn’t even give it away, nobody could stand the scent.

Pami Avatar

It’s funny, I just got the Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Violet Volt, and when I removed the cap I thought wow, I love this watermelon fragrance! (and I generally prefer to have unscented makeup products!), so I was pleasantly surprised. It is a very strong fragrance so I could see how it could easily be a terrible product if you don’t like that particular scent.

Debra Avatar

Overly floral and too herbal (smells like something is being covered up).

A few years ago I ordered a Dolce & Gabbna lipstick (not yet available in local stores) and it smelled like gasoline and roses. I tossed it and found a much better replacement from NARS.

Lisa Avatar

All of it. I spend a lot of money on perfume, I don’t want to smell fake vanilla or fake rose or fake floral or whatever from products I’m wearing for color or treatment. If I can smell it once it’s on, it goes back.

Bitts Avatar

I hate the old Salon Selectives green apple scent, and the Aussie grape scent. The Aussie one smells like Dimetapp cold medicine to me. I also hate most fake vanilla fragrances, or anything particularly sweet, especially if it smells like food.

I definitely prefer floral, herbal, woody, or green scents. And just to contradict myself, I LOVE the fragrance of Suave Moroccan Oil products, and my signature perfume is Estée Lauder Sensuous, both of which have a strong vanilla component!!

Anne Avatar

I just returned Fresh Peony Bright Essence because I couldn’t handle the earthy, river bed smell. I don’t like a camphor or mint smell in lipstick or balms, either.

Rachel R. Avatar

Anything super-flowery and/or perfumey and/or talc-smelling; baby powder (allergic to baby powder scent in anything); licorice, anise or fennel; rose ( hubby is allergic and some brands just go overboard), patchouli, artificial grape/orange/cherry, and cotton candy. (I never like cotton candy scent, but I recently got a beautiful LORAC lip gloss that was so strongly cotton candy scented, I almost vomited when I first whiffed it.)

Jan Kelley Avatar

I really hate rose and lavender or any strong floral. In fact, the first thing I do before buying any lip or skin product is smell it! I really love unscented products. But, I don’t seem to mind light vanilla scents.

Genevieve Avatar

I am deeply suspicious of any scents in makeup -especially skin care products and foundations because these are usually irritants to my fair skin. So when a product is advertised as hypo allergenic and it has a scent I know that the makeup brand is fibbing. Strong scents can give their wearers migraines. Manufacturers should not bother putting scents into their products.

Caroline Avatar

I detest fruit-scented anything. I do NOT want to use any product that smells like vanilla, pumpkin pie, raspberries, or anything else you can eat. Grapefruit scent is especially awful in my opinion.
Some high-end products (Estee Lauder skin care comes to mind) also has a very annoying smell that bothers me and just won’t go away. I can smell it all day long. Ugh.
Contrary to so many others here, I LOVE the scent of Guerlain’s products, especially the violet scent. I think it is one of my all-time absolute favourites. But I am a huge Guerlain fan to begin with 🙂

Karen Avatar

I love fragrance but not in my skincare and makeup items. I like the scent of Caudelie in some of the lip products from MAC and NYX. I just tossed a mini tub of Vaseline in Rosy because of the awful smell.

Dtothel_o Avatar

I can’t stand the smell of the red rimmel Kate lipsticks. I also don’t like the smell of loreal & maybelline lipsticks but they’re more tolerable than the rimmel.

Andrea Sherman Avatar

Ughhhh. I hate vanilla, coconut in ANYTHING. For lippies, I hate peppermint, tea tree, Play-doh like smells (they smell all plastic and spoiled to me). Cinnamon is another bad one for me……..

Lisa Avatar

Strong fruity fragrances in shanpoos conditioners etc! So Nauseating! Fragrances in the highend cosmetics lines don’t bother me, I quite like by Terry’s rose & Guerlains Violette, etc.

Nancy Dav Avatar

Lip products that smell heavily of plastic or butts (Nars lipglosses before they were redesigned). The turkish delight smell was something else…

Pami Avatar

Chemical, plastic and rancid scents are all deal-breakers, as are strongly scented skincare products e.g. Estee Lauder and Lancome. The exception to that rule is if the scent is a natural ingredient (like a pure essential oil), and I’m buying it partly because I love the fragrance. A perfect example IMHO is Kerstin Florian Neroli water. H-E-A-V-E-N!

Natalia Avatar

I’m actually quite tolerant to fragrance in makeup and sometimes even enjoy (Lush comes to mind), so I cannot say it is an issue for me generally. But! I just cannot! stand the smell of MUFE Rouge Artist Natural lipsticks and absolutely hate how it tastes on my lips. It’s so unnatural and “plastic” to me.

It is a real shame, since the formula is really moisturizing and conditioning, which is what I keep telling myself the rare occasions I reach for it 🙂

candleashes Avatar

I don’t like perfumed makeup and skincare product in general. Having any scent in my moisturizer bothers me. I know people love the way MAC lipsticks smell, but I really wish they’d take that artificial vanilla scent out of them, it’s not one bit appealing to me. Same thing for the TF chocolate products. The rosy scent of PF blushes is ok, but I’d also rather it not be there. I’m not completely turned off by floral/sweet scents in general, I’d just rather not have any scent at all. Grassy and hospital scents I can’t stand at all though – something I often find in skincare products.
In general, the only things I’m ok with being scented are lip balms and lotions. And those you usually come in many scents to choose from per formula.

AbigailOD Avatar

Oh I love the AmorePacific scent! That’s funny, To each his own, right? 🙂 What I find I don’t like most is Watermelon scent on anything. I love it as food, but not much as artifical scent on anything. =/

Emilie Avatar

I don’t really know how to describe it, but I HATE smells that are heavy. Like, you know how some scents are light? Not that they don’t smell as much, but they’re just more fresh or relaxed. I don’t mind floral, or and specific type, but if it smells too sweet or like it weighs you down more than lifts you up, I hate it. I probably explained that horribly, I wonder if anyone else gets it.

I also just don’t like rose scents. Generally, those can get too sweet too fast.

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