When Parfumo Fails...
Exploring and reviewing fragrance beyond the confines of Parfumo.com.
When Parfumo fails, I review anyway. Parfumo is my preferred website for documenting my fragrance collection, however, the issue with Parfumo is that its database doesn’t have every perfume that I own. It totally makes sense considering I own some strange things, but I prefer to have my fragrance opinions written down somewhere so I can refer back to them. That’s what this is. It feels like a crime to review some lovely, well-thought-out indie scents next to something from a dollar store, but I have nowhere else except my own mind, which fails me constantly.
I want to note that I’ve tried getting fragrances submitted to Parfumo, but it’s tedious and requires a lot of information that I don’t know how to find. Like, how do I figure out who designed a perfume bottle? My submissions also always get rejected, so this is all I have. Hopefully, things will change after I press the “Publish” button.
Susan Alexandra Glorious
This fragrance is the main reason for writing this. Glorious is Susan Alexandra’s first fragrance, a fragrance oil, released alongside a matching candle. It fits in perfectly with Susan Alexandra’s brand, playful and nostalgic. It’s hard to keep a straight face in their stores as all of their designs are so joyful. Glorious is perfect for a quirky, crafty adult (like myself) or a very fancy young child.
Glorious is a floral grape soda fragrance. I personally love artificial grape scents. When I was 9-10 years old, I had a “goofy grape” scented hand sanitizer that was probably from a dollar store. I thought it was the best scent in the world, giving the illusion of soda and bottle cap candies. I’ve been chasing that high ever since. This scratches that itch, although this is far more refined and grown up with notes of violet and musk. It’s the perfect combination of clean and fun. The bottle exemplifies this as well, being a simple rollerball with a cute flower charm on the cap. I understand that since it’s a perfume oil, it has to be a rollerball, and rollerballs tend to have less exciting bottles, but I would love to see either a larger size or EDP down the line with a more custom bottle. Susan Alexandra is such a fun brand aesthetically. I know they can make a great perfume bottle if not limited by the confines of the fragrance itself.
I remember going to a fragrance swap in August 2024 at Susan Alexandra’s LES side location when the idea of a Susan Alexandra fragrance was playfully being thrown around. I can’t remember which notes were recommended for the then fictitious fragrance, but fruity floral was an idea for sure. At first, I was envisioning a more tropical, juicy, pink, fruity floral, with notes of pineapple and hibiscus; something that matched their store’s pink and yellow interior. However, I’m incredibly pleased with what they actually decided to go with. Glorious evokes the 2000s while being totally unique to the 2020s. I love that it was created with layering in mind. I’ve been layering mine with BBW Venice Dolce Berry, which really brings me back.
I Profumi di Firenze Fior di Latte
This fragrance in particular is one that I’ve tried submitting to Parfumo with no luck, despite other fragrances from the same brand being in their database. Maybe they’re not accepting it because it’s a tie-in with a movie? But that doesn’t stop the countless Minions fragrances on that website. Okay, rant done. Fior di Latte is one of my favorite perfumes of all time, and it’s a tie-in with one of my favorite films of all time, PERFUMANIA (2025, dir. Charlotte Ercoli). Fior di Latte has notes of orris, honeysuckle, and vanilla, which all come together to create a deep, yet fleeting, chocolatey, spicy, creamy, and mildly soapy fragrance. The drydown is ultimately like a powdered hot cocoa. Unfortunately, it only lasts about two hours unless you’re really huffing your own skin. It’s incredible for layering. I like to layer it with either Lush Chelsea Morning, Lush Vanillary (both are the solid formulas), or Dolce and Gabbana Devotion. It lends itself well to other gourmands without being tooth-rotting.
Fior di Latte is like nothing I’ve smelled before, and I hope they never stop making it. I would recommend it to someone who’s gourmand-curious, like they don’t usually go for gourmands but love the idea. After watching PERFUMANIA, I understand how this perfume drove Mark to insanity.
ScentXplore Sweet Escape
This was given to me in a fragrance declutter by a friend. I don’t wear it super often because it goes on strong, however the drydown is pleasant. It’s smokey, woody (bamboo specifically) vaguely honeyed, with a powdery patchouli base much like smelling Nag Champa incense sticks before they get burned. It leans more masculine despite smelling like the inside of a witchcraft store. The longevity is really good, lasting about 6 hours. I much prefer it in hour four than I do in hour one.
I don’t often reach for this fragrance. I find its vintage quality and immediate loudness to be a lot for everyday. I also don’t love the bottle design; it’s very first draft/focus group. It might be a part of my regular rotation if I were more spiritual or didn’t work at a doctor’s office. However, I have more weird boho earthy fragrances I like more that I also don’t wear nearly enough.
MCH Beauty Kimberly Sweet Cherry
This is the Five Below Dupe of the KKW Kimoji Cherry fragrance, which I remember smelling at Ulta years ago, enjoying it, but never getting my hands on it. It’s been so long that I don’t even know if it’s a good dupe. It’s actually not that expensive secondhand, however, I’ve never cared enough to buy it secondhand. The spirit of Five Below is strong, especially when it comes to things that run out. I always end up buying the type of candy that I only realize is some bullshit upon exiting the store. Perusing the fragrance aisle of any store that has one is a must for me, even if they only have the worst fragrances of all time, like Five Below.
I like cherry fragrances and think most of them smell like cough syrup regardless of price, so I bought the cheapest one available. There’s no reason for me to buy an expensive cherry perfume with this belief. Kimberly Sweet Cherry doesn’t last long. It’s not unique. It’s a little bit carbonated and classically juicy upon first sniff, but after a few minutes, it settles into that famous divisive artificial cherry. It’s not very strong and disappears when there’s an attempt to layer it with anything else. There are other better cheap cherry fragrances (like Le Monde Gourmand Chérie Cerise or fine’ry. Not Another Cherry (which I’m aware is also a dupe)) that are more worth your money.
Montauk Mist Montauk Beach Rose
Montauk Mist is a brand local to Montauk, New York, so I obviously don’t expect them to show up on Parfumo. Their website also has little to no information about the products, besides the price. It’s as niche as you can get. Montauk Beach Rose is a classic clean musky rose. It’s light, airy, and almost windy. As it sits on the skin, it develops a salty quality. It’s mostly inoffensive, except for the rose note, which is often polarizing. However, the rose is not juicy and syrupy like other popular rose scents. It’s light and powdery, venturing into white floral territory. I received this as a gift and don’t find myself reaching for it often, despite liking it. However, I don’t love rollerballs, and I have the rollerball of this fragrance, as opposed to the atomizer. It’s definitely a cute souvenir to get someone if you find yourself in Montauk.
Haute Vie Ibiza
If you’ve ever purchased anything from FragranceNet, you’ve probably also received this sample. They used to send one in a purple package too that I can’t remember anything else about. I’ve never owned a full bottle of this fragrance, I don’t believe it exists, even though I see it online, but the sample that goes untouched in my collection haunts me. I think I even emptied out a few of these samples before, not because I used them, but because I’ve emptied them to put other perfume in.
Hautie Vie Ibiza is one of those stupidly strong wet summer florals that I don’t care for. I’m able to confidently pick up notes of sea salt and jasmine, but I also smell lily-of-the-valley and honeydew. The formula is seemingly vintage. I only have a sample that’s a dabber instead of an atomizer. This might be the only fragrance in existence that benefits from the lack of an atomizer. Spraying something this strong into the air seems like an attack on those around the wearer. If you live in a state where carrying mace is illegal, this is the next best thing.
Otaku Scents Gojo
With some of these, I was scared they were too niche or unserious to count. But then I remembered it doesn’t matter. The fragrance police aren’t coming. Anyway, I bought this in either 2021 or 2022 at the height of my Jujutsu Kaisen obsession. It’s a classic cologne-y men’s fragrance. You could say it’s generic, but not bad. It’s peppery and bright, however, the mandarin notes in combination with the pepper note can come across as sweaty, which I personally have no problem with.
American Girl Real Beauty Strawberries and Cream
When you Google this fragrance, this horrifying picture I took and posted on Reddit is the first result. This fragrance is a classic case of “Is it good or am I nostalgic?” I think it is good though, since I never even owned it as a kid, but I remember one of my friends did, and I loved borrowing hers during playdates. That being said, I smell any strawberry fragrance that comes across me in hopes it smells like this. The strawberry note is super artificial. The “cream” aspect comes across as whipped as opposed to a heavy buttercream. It has an overall tartness, which I’m unsure if it’s there for realism or because this fragrance is quite old and turning on me. Artificial strawberry is something that I think shouldn’t be hard to find in fragrance, but finding that good creamy Strawberry Shortcake doll fragrance seems impossible to find without it having a weird sour milk note.
There have been two fragrances that scratch that Strawberries and Cream itch. One has been unfortunately discontinued, but the other is luckily very accessible. Hot Topic Riverdale Strawberry Vanilla Fragrance is a mouthful and it’s a slightly lighter carbonated take on Strawberries and Cream; it’s been discontinued and don’t even think about buying one secondhand because they’re stupidly expensive and also please save all the secondhand ones for me. The other fragrance is Le Monde Gourmand Fraise Fouettee, which is a classic smooth strawberry milk. It’s gentle, sweet, and inexpensive. Very “baby’s first perfume.”
Honorable Mention
Tsu Lange Yor The Garden
The Garden consists of three fragrances, Fig, Orange Grove, and Tomato. Fig is the only one listed on Parfumo, which is shocking since the three were released together with the intention of layering. I haven’t tried any of these, but I love the idea. I’m especially shocked that Tomato isn’t in the database since tomato fragrances have been having a moment lately.
Is your favorite fragrance unavailable on Parfumo (or Basenotes or Fr*grantica)? If so, please tell me what it is in the comments!