CB I Hate Perfume

 

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meowella s.

Brooklyn, NY

I agree with all the positive reviewers below, and loved my experience there. However, the scent that I designed with Christopher and his assistant just doesn't smell when I wear it.  Maybe it's just me, but within an hour- it is completely gone. I've tried spraying it directly on my clothes as well. Same thing, no staying power. I would check it out again, but maybe concentrate on oils only.

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Elite '08

19

100

Diane A.

New York, NY

I have hated perfume for most of my life so I when I heard about Christopher Brosius and his scent-making abilities, I had to check this out.  I was skeptical.

It blew my mind.

My first visit here inspired me to learn more about the art of scent making.  It's an amazing process.  The coolest thing about CB I Hate Perfume is that you can get pre-mixed scents or you can buy individual accords and layer them on yourself.  Actually everything can be layered to create deeper, richer smells.  Some of the accords are just cool.  Examples include scents with names such as Burning Leaves, Boiled Rice, London After the Rain, and Roast Beef.  Not all of these are wearable (I think), but it is amazing when you open a vile of clear liquid and smell something that is undeniably an old leather bomber jacket.

One day, when I have a developed a better sense of the smells I like and dislike, I will ask for a custom-made one.  Another thing to mention is that the oils last longer than the water-based perfumes.

Zephyr, the dog, is pretty awesome, too.

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9

9

christina c.

Oakland, CA

CB I Hate Perfume is a restaurant for your nose! Besides having the best customer service (a giant dog greets you as you walk in!) ever, the scents will definitely boggle all sense. Want to carry around the smell of french bread with you? WELL YOU CAN! You don't have to go to a boulangerie anymore and carry it under your arm...You can BE french bread! I spent too much time with the savory scents, and I should have put some suggestions in. Not that I want to wear these, but I'd love to see how CB's wizardry would make Chinese, Indian, and Korean food smell. Or more specifically, Hot & Sour Soup, Sambar, and Kimchi.

I kept it pretty simple in the end, walking away w/Russian Tea Caravan, since I knew that I wanted it before I came- I love it, and am ready to get something muskier, warmer, and a little dirtier the next time I go back.

CB scents hit at my memory and emotions the way no perfume has been able to before. Maybe I'm a sucker for narrative (all the scents seem to have a story), but these are the type of odors that make me want to wear them and create my own story to go along with it.

Like Ahnold says, "I'll be bock!"

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Elite '08

52

200

Hannah Q.

San Francisco, CA

Christopher Brosius is doing to perfume what color does to Van Gogh's paintings.  

I have yet to actually have the blessing of visiting this mecca, though my experience with I Hate Perfume is direct - I ordered a number of CB's signature scents from his various lines as gifts this year. I trust his artistry so much that I had only actually smelled a few of the scents I ordered, but I KNEW the remainder would be mind blowing.

This isn't perfume... but it IS perfume... or really, it's what perfume should be - the re-creation of a powerful scent-memory, the creation of an experience, a denouement that can stay with you, evoking the smallest recollection of a poignant moment - more of a ghost in the periphery of your vision, a whisp.

I Hate Perfume has a handful of offerings that focus on smokiness, fire and burnt features, and these, such as "Burning Leaves" are what I naturally tended to. I love the scent my clothes collect after a night spent at a campfire, though it's usually so powerful I have to let the clothing air out for a few days before wearing, and then I get sad as the scent fades to memory. Burning Leaves didn't disappoint, and, thankfully, provides a far more subtle effect than a wool sweater that's soaked up hours' of smoke.

I was also glad that I ordered some of Brosius' cooler scents - those focusing on mossy greenness. These are so gentle and layered... what you smell when you first release the scent is not what you're going to experience thirty minutes later - the scents keep revealing themselves, playing.

I only hope more perfumers take up I Hate Perfume's mantle and begin to pursue creating truly evocative scents that play like poetry, constantly bringing the wearer to the present moment. Maybe after that, I too won't Hate Perfume.

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12

96

Ransom B.

Brooklyn, NY

First off, CB stands for Christopher Brosius who is an alumnus of Kiehls' and the founder of the Demeter fragrance line. Along the walls of the shop are over a thousand dirty bottles of scents that the shop staff will happily tell you about.

If you want to buy an already made sent, it's reasonably priced and they smell awesome, or you can create you're own. If you choose to create, which I did, they keep your recipe on file so it's super easy to refill.  

It's a very unique way to spend an afternoon, I'll say that and it's also nice to have my very own signature scent.

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12

Mert M.

Brooklyn, NY

The most amazing fragrance chemist I have ever found.
It is an art gallery for scent.
Not cheap, not expensive.
Just right.
A truly unique place.

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