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Is there a common scent used in cosmetics you can't stand?
Is there a common scent used in cosmetics you can’t stand? Share!
I don’t like floral scents generally, so a lot of the rose, violet, etc. scented products don’t do it for me. As long as I can’t smell then applied, I’m fine. A few of the higher-end skincare ranges that have fairly floral fragrances are often too much for me. I also don’t like anything super, super sweet and fruity – like a synthetic sweetness.
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Yes. Other than the vanilla type scent Mac uses in their lipsticks, I do not like scents in lipsticks at all. Some people actually complain when lipsticks don’t have scents. I’ve never understood that. The worst ones are the really perfumey scented kind.
Oh my god, those retro Revlon ones…GAG!
i hate the plastic smell in lipsticks and lip glosses… gross!!
I agree! I hate floral scents, especially rose! I bought my first Burberry lipstick and was so disappointed with the rose scent! Also, not really a common scent, but I hate anything peach scented lol.
HA! I thought I was the only one who had a special loathing for peach scented cosmetics!
i can’t stand the smell of l’oreal and covergirl lipsticks. i can handle revlon and nyx even though they smell sort of chemical/soapy, but i just hate the ‘old’ makeup smell that covergirl and l’oreal lipsticks have. very glad to have switched to mostly mac 🙂
L’Oreal’s lipsticks. Yuck.
I really can’t stand that candy taste and scent used in glosses and lipsticks, it’s really too sweet and sugary!
This isn’t as common but sometimes, the mango-melon scent (and even taste) of the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks is a little overpowering and “Lipsmackers” for me. But a lot of my friends like it so I guess it’s just me…
Eww! The ysl gets me everytime – yuck! Love the lipstick, loathe the scent! X
Ohh I hate it so much too! It’s way to fruity for a lipstick and tastes/smells very unnatural. It’s a shame because I really like YSL things but ewwww it grosses me out!
Guerlains violets.
Definitely!! I do not like lavender and can’t stand it in many products. Coconut as well, but that isn’t as common as lavender. Definitely the stronger florals can sometimes be a bit much for me too!
Yes… LAVENDER!! It’s a distinct smell. Unfortunately. And while others may find it soothing, I absolutely hate it with a passion! Ugh, I can’t stand the smell.
Some other pretty unpleasant fragrances include eucalyptus and clove.
I despise artificial cherry/berry scents like NYX mega shine lip glosses.
i really hate artificially-sweet scents, like strawberry. vomit.
I prefer my cosmetics with no scents at all when possible! I’ve had eyeshadow with baby powder scent (yuck!) and while that doesn’t bother me as much as scented lipstick it can be pretty bothersome.
Lipsticks with any taste to them at all are unusable for me. ):
I don’t mind the actual scents, as long as they aren’t derived from anything that will physically irritate my skin. I know alot of people aabhor L’Oreal, but it’s actually one of my favorites.
I don´t mind rose, fruity or floral scent in cosmetics in general, as long as the scent isn´t overwhelming or nauseating. I do love the scent Chanel lipsticks, Lancôme lipsticks, Guerlain and Mac lipsticks have, and as for Ysl I don´t adore the mango scent but I don´t dislike it either. What I can´t stand is that synthetic, strong and gag inducing scent AND taste some drugstore lip products have, from the lipsticks to the glosses, some lower end brands have such a repulsive scent and feel that lingers. Particularly I bought a little while ago a cute little lip gloss in an ice cream cup packaging. There where no testers and I bought the product for the packaging but the smell is so nauseating: a strange, sweet, synthetic scent, obviously I will never use it, but it smells so gross! Thankfully it only cost the equivalent of 2 dollars, so I will just throw the product away and fill the packaging with another gloss. But it really almost made me want to hurl!
I cannot stand the scent of rose. I love vanilla scented lip products as long as they don’t linger forever.
Estee Lauder lipsticks. Just plain yuk. MAC’s vanilla- tolerable. Dolce and Gabanna’s rose- hmmmm.
YSL Volupte-mango or whatever fruity smell- ehh, it’s ok. Tom Ford- vanilla ?- whatever.
Estee lauder lipsticks smell? I went and just smelled my sole EL lipstick and thankfully it doesn´t bother me, but the scent isn´t that strong to begin with. I don´t love it but I have no hate, thankfully.
I don’t like lavender. And that is used in so many products.
I really dislike floral scents, especially rosy scents. I do love fresh scents, especially most YSL products.
Lavender. I cannot stand lavender.
I guess for me it’s less about a specific fragrance, it’s just anything really strong, like whatever they use in Amore Pacific, Lancome, and those Physicians Formula ‘Sexy booster’ blushes–instant headache with all three. Also, I cannot fathom why a company would heavily fragrance a skincare line. I agree with the other posters re: the L’Oreal lipsticks as well.
I guess beauty is in the eye (or nose) of the beholder, you have no idea how much I love the smell my Lancôme lipstick has, I hadn´t bought from the brand in years, and I just bought a lipstick and I love the smell (which admittedly is strong) , I haven´t smelled any L’Oreal lipsticks but since so many people hate it I would probably too.
Watermelon! It can be found in lipbalms and maybe other lipproducts as well. I can’t stand it. I don’t like real watermelon, so that explains.
I can’t stand vanilla, cocoa, chocolate scents in my cosmetic products but most of all, when it comes to color makeup I can’t stand any scent at all.
All of Guerlain’s products give me a migraine (except the old le terra inca powder, LOVE that scent). This is the only reason why I very rarely buy Guerlaun products. I would love to have some of their lipsticks, but the headaches they give me are bad enough to send me right to bed. Burberry blushes and lipsticks are also really bad. I have trouble with Chanel lipsticks as well, but I can tolerate them. I prefer all makeup to be unscented. The only scent I’m okay with is mint, vanilla and fresh fruit scented lip products.
Maybeline, cover girl are the worst for me. I actually like Rimmel, givenchy and Mac smell.
Omg I don’t know what scent it is (could someone indulge me?) but YSL Rouge Volupte STINK. I love them and can’t express how many I’d buy but oooh what is that smell? It’s fruity, tropical something-rather.
I heard someone say once it’s ‘mango’. Who the hell would have a MANGO scented lipstick?????
It´s mango indeed and it is strong, I´m so sorry you hate it 🙁 , these lipsticks have such great quality and packaging, my Holy grail pink lipstick is one of them and I like it enough to use it all the time. I don´t love the smell but I tolerate it, sad these great lipsticks don´t work for you for that reason.
Well, to me it’s more natural to put mango on my lips (fruits in general) than any floral scented product. I’m sorry you hate the scent (personally it’s one ot the few I can tolerate), I know how much the wrong scent can ruin an otherwise great product.
I’m happy to see I’m not the only one here! I own one YSL lipgloss (I commented a few scrolls down) and it actually nauseates me to wear it. I’d buy more, but fear the Mango scent! Peach scent is the same for me as well.
I love scented products. But the scent has to be fairly good quality, I can stand strong smells. I hate overly chemical nondescript fruity smell, although just chemical fruit don’t render the hate. I can tolerate strong smelling powder/foundation or mascara, but I prefer creams & lippies and glosses to have rather sheer and neutral smell or the scent I really like. So the most common hate goes to cheap lipgloss scent (I hated Essence, Manhattan, Wet’n’Wild gloss scents). I bought them, but rarely used, so it was just a waste of money. Now I choose high end ones.
I completely agree about the syrupy synthetic scents, they give me an instant headache. I was swatching all of the Balms lip products and I’m SO glad I thought to sniff them, because I’d never be able to wear them. I also can’t stand a lot of melon scents. I intially wasn’t wild about the mint scent of Bobbi Browns High Shimmer Lipglosses, but I actually really like it now!
I like most scents…except those that smell gross, very waxy…i guess they’re unscented or idk. I prefer no scent cause perfume is drying but that’s hard to find and they also add something to make it seem like it has no scent(covering the icky natural one) which idk if it’s good or not.
Anything that has a soapy undertone! I’m okay with florals and fruits when they’re done well, but that’s pretty rare.
Without fail that old school plastic lipstick smell. It just feels like you’re putting on your mum’s lipstick from the 80’s
Cherry in lipstick! The smell of cherry and almond is so similar. It’s too sweet and massively gross. I’m fine with mint or vanilla, though.
Mint
Not sure if it would classify as ‘common’, but the scent of some of Estee Lauder’s lipsticks makes me gag. To me, it smells like rotting strawberries. Ugh.
Ideally for me, everything would be unscented, so it doesn’t interfere with my perfume or body lotion. I can’t stand rose or violet scents. Or anything powdery. Citrus is fine. I don’t have a problem with sweet scents per se, but they shouldn’t linger. Sweet’s fine as a top note, but it should immediately dissipate. When it lingers, I get nauseous or a headache. Since makeup can’t organize it’s scent like perfume, they shouldn’t be used at all.
Fake cherry or grape. It is sickly sweet and just reminds me of cough syrup.
the scent of coconut makes me nauseated..
oh gooosh, I hate scented lipsticks, fine if you can’t smell it when applied its ok, but when it lingers -terrible! MAC lipsticks are that way but I actually like the vanillish sweet scent of them so I wear a lot of MAC. My friends all hype Kate Moss for Rimmel lipsticks so I bought several, well what can I say-cant wear them at all, the nasty smell is killing me and making me nauseous… yaaaak
YSL’s lipgloss mango scent. I have one from quite a few years ago and even though the colour is perfect I could never wear it. The smell makes me nauseous. At first I thought it was bad but no, it’s just the way they smell.
oops, the mango scent isn’t really common! Sorry! I should have paid more attention LOL
As much as I love real cinnamon, cinnamon scented products make me feel sick. And bubblegum is always a no-go.
Plasticy lipsticks. -ick!
Also when companies put SPF into their products & fail to “cover up” the smell and its a bad mix up of the sunscreeny smell and whatever fragrance they added
That classic floral scent in lipsticks. L’oreal, Lancome, D&G, Burberry all have it, it’s gross and often tastes bitter. Also lanolin in lip glosses, also bitter and the smell does not dissipate.
Peach. I have no idea why.
I agree, Christine, I hate anything floral or fruity, a/k/a “Old Lady Smell”. It’s put me off L’Oreal lipsticks, some of the older Revlon ones (the ones in the green tube), and I was recently so disappointed by the watermelon fragrance of some of the new Milani lipsticks (although I like them enough to try to work around it). Fragrance definitely has an impact on what I do or do not purchase. Although I do like vanilla or coconut, I would prefer all my products to be fragrance free.
Estee Lauder’s signature fig scent, I find it overwhelming. I rarely use my Pure Color Lipsticks because the scent gives me headache. 🙁
I cant stand any perfume smells in my cosmetics. To me, the worst offenders are Lancome and Estee Lauder. I can’t use anything from Lancome, except eyeshadow. I can’t use any lip products from Estee Lauder. If the scent is more natural, coming from essential oils, I can tolerate it. For example, most Josie Maran scents don’t bother me, and Hourglass No. 28 primer serum is fine too.
Omg hate rose scent
I’ve never been bothered by scents in cosmetics. Maybe that’s the reason why I have tons of different perfumes in my fragrance collection…my nose is very welcoming! Weirdly, one of my favorite smells is that medicinal Noxzema smell in the Cover Girl Clean line. I don’t know if they even still use that scent, but it reminds me of my teens.
I loathe gourmand scents in bodycare, with vanilla being the exception. I would never wash my body with a shower gel that smells like chocolate or cupcakes.
Nars lipglosses. My goodness, the worst smell ever! For it to be so pricey it could have a better scent.
Whatever scent Maybelline uses in their lipsticks is so sickly sweet it makes me nauseous. Otherwise, most scents I don’t find irritating, even if they’re pretty strong.
Lavender in kids products! I don’t need my kids to smell like a spa and plus my son has eczema and lavender irritates it, yet it’s in EVERYTHING!
I can’t stand the Cover Girl lip products because they all have some weird floral scent. Guerlain face products have the violet scent that really bothers me, so I can’t use them, but I wish I could!
Vanilla. I really despise vanilla flavored lip glosses or lip sticks.
Monica
I second you with that, there are some flowers I cant stand,and also synthetic sweetness is also a no no for me
Most fruit scents turn me off. Cherry, grape or strawberry are fine if done well, but often they’re not. Peach, melon, watermelon and fruit punch are vomit inducing though. They can really ruin an otherwse great lippie. Not a fan of coffee either.
I HATE scented products. I suffer from migraine headaches and most perfumes are a trigger. It is disappointing beyond words to find a product or color I like, but have to take it back because it smells like roses, jasmine or anything artificial. :<
See, now I want to know what products out there smell like violet. It’s actually really tricky to find a decent violet scent that isn’t covered by candy sweetness, or drowned out by violet leaf. Straight up Parma Violet is one of my favorite scents ever, and it;’s near impossible to find.
I also agree with you about the floral thing. I hate the smell of roses in a beauty product.
Really do not like Estee Lauder’s fig scent on their lipsticks. I’ve got one color I really love but I can’t bring myself to wear it.
Anything that’s supposed to mimic a tropical fruit. Fig, mango, melon… The scent on Estee Lauder and YSL lipsticks makes me gag- I have to leave them open a bit to de-scent them a little. I don’t mind any of the others, though.
I hate all scents,, i wish all make-up was unscented 🙁
i actually really hate the smell of most “unscented” products, unless they’re like all organic crunchy granola kind of beauty products (which tend to smell grassy which i REALLY like. mm, grass.) they tend to smell very plastic-y and clinical and i would honestly prefer something lightly perfumed to cover up that smell. mac’s vanilla scent in their lipstick is one of my absolute favorites and sometimes i’ll uncap my lippies just to smell them, lol.
Vanilla, I hate vanilla scent with a passion, it is often times too sweet and fake its nauseating. Of course, real vanilla (scratched from the bean) smells heavenly but the fake stuff in lipsticks is awful.
Chanel rouge coco lipsticks! I cannot stand that rose-something smell, it gives me headaches and I cant wear them.
The one scent I really cannot stand is the scent of sunscreen that is used in the Rimmel Stay Glossy 6 hour gloss, I have the black one and it smells exactly like sunscreen.
I like some florals, but not in my skincare or lip products. Lancome L’Absolu Nu I really liked, but it had this terrible floral powder scent and taste that made me return it. I can’t stand powdery scents.
Cosmetics-wise, I generally can handle a pretty hefty range of scents, but the one I absolutely could not handle – to the point of giving the product away – was NYX lipgloss. It was just the most overwhelmingly synthetic, fruity scent I’d ever come across, and it actually made me recoil the first (and last!) time put it on. It really took me by surprise because I didn’t have that problem with their lipsticks.
Skin products, on the other hand, I’m very selective about. Coconut, floral, fruity, etc. scents in creams or bodywashes can actually nauseate me, and some of the lilac oils really irritate my allergies. This is part of why I rarely wear perfume – they just congest me like crazy!
I will always love Lip Smackers flavors/scents but that’s because they are usually authentic in the flavor they mimic, and you buy them knowing that. On another hand, some of these high end lines making lipsticks smell like perfumey flowers-absolutely not. No to L’Oreal, YSL and Lancôme lipsticks. I love the scent of MAC’s lipsticks, but have never purposely purchased the previous brands said only because of that awful cheap fragrance they use in them. I can buy a $1.75 Lip Smacker and get a MUCH better flavor/smell for what you’d pay for the high end. I’ll stick to my MAC, BE Moxies, Revlon and Bonne Bell Lip Smackers 🙂
I absolutely despise any food smell in my cosmetics, skincare, or hair care products. I do NOT want to smell like coconut, berries, vanilla or anything else that is edible. I prefer to eat food, not wear it!
Contrary to most of the other ladies here, I have come to the conclusion I am an oddball in that I LOVE that “old lady smell” of some cosmetics, and I love floral scents (as long as they are not overpowering) and I especially love violet 🙂
One of the high-end cosmetics companies has a scent in their skin care that I can’t stand. I think it is Estee Lauder. Yuck!
I like the fragrance, except when I can taste it. I like flavors, even when I can smell it. The fragrance helps me determine when the product goes bad. I push it to the limit. When my lipstick smells like wax crayons, time to go! Ditto with powders. Lose the fragrance, lose the item!
Allergic to just about all of them but also don’t like the scent in makeup. Is it ever needed to improve the actual performance of the product? Or is it used to mask an odor that is naturally in products?
Floral scents (especially rose), fresh/clean scents, orange, and grape. =P
BITTER ALMOND! I can’t stand it. And plastic smell in lipsticks and lip glosses.
I may be a minority, because everyone tends to rave about them, but I hate warm foodsy type of scents in anything, they make me want to gag. Strong vanilla, coconut, cinnamon, chocolate, walnuts… yuck. I also hate cheap chemical scents and reallllllly artificial fruit scents (which remind me of the worst quality fruity drinks ever from a dollar store).
However, I like florals, slightly perfumy scents and most of the fruity scents (I have a knack for everything that have a lychee scent!)
I can’t stand any scent in any of my makeup, makes me ill and even if it didn’t I just don’t feel the need to have added perfumes in everything I put on my face competing.
Whatever Coty Airspun Loose Powder smells like. I love the stuff, it’s fair enough for my skin, it’s lightweight and leaves my skin looking flawless. But I have to hold my nose when applying it.
Smells like floral, powdery.. something. Kinda reminds me of death, and I am having a hard time wearing it.
Like death?! HAHAHAHA! 😀
Probably the worst smelling product (for me) that I actually use are Guerlain lipsticks. I wish they smelled like…oh, pretty much any other lipstick I have.
Anything heavily perfumey, I can’t wear without getting a headache, so I’m usually pretty careful about what I end up using on my face, as a base, or as skincare.
Mint, YUCK! D: I only like mint in my gum and my toothpaste.
Mint, mint mint! I hate it. In food, toothpaste, everything. A lot of companies are starting to use it in lip products, especially cheaper end ones. I’m looking at you e.l.f.. Apparently I’m in the minority who loves anything sweet and food scented. I’m a junk food junkie–there’s no such thing as too sweet for me. I’ll take anything sugar, vanilla or cocoa scented. How can you complain when something smells like cake. I mean, who doesn’t like cake?
Usually I don’t like strong floral scents, e.g. the Burberry blushes can be overwhelming, but I love them nonetheless :D. I strongly believe fragrances should be left out of cosmetics, I don’t see the point of them.