When the Fragrance Community Turns Sour: Trolls, Bullying, and the Reality of Fragrance TikTok

The online fragrance community is, at its best, a place of discovery. A place where people from around the world share their love of scent, storytelling, and creativity. Platforms like TikTok have helped thousands of enthusiasts find new fragrances, new brands, and even new friends.

But like many online spaces, there’s another side to it.

Behind the polished videos and smiling faces, there is often a quieter reality: private group chats, harsh criticism, and at times outright bullying directed at creators. The same people who appear supportive in public comment sections can behave very differently behind the scenes.

For smaller creators especially, this can be a difficult environment to navigate. When someone starts to gain traction, it’s not uncommon for jealousy, gatekeeping, or anonymous trolling to appear. Suddenly a hobby built on passion becomes something that feels competitive or hostile.

The irony is that fragrance itself is deeply personal. What smells incredible to one person may not work for another, and that diversity of opinion is part of what makes the hobby interesting. Yet some voices online try to position themselves as authorities, dismissing others rather than encouraging exploration.

The good news is that these voices are still a minority.

Most people in the fragrance community are genuinely enthusiastic, curious, and supportive. They want to learn, share, and celebrate scent together. The challenge for creators is learning to focus on that positive majority rather than the small group that thrives on negativity.

Because at the end of the day, fragrance should be about enjoyment, not intimidation.

A Personal Perspective

Unfortunately, this isn’t just something I’ve observed from a distance. It’s something I’ve experienced personally.

Over time I became aware that there were small groups of people discussing me privately in ways that were deliberately negative and targeted. When you first hear rumours of that sort of behaviour you tend to brush it off. The internet can be noisy, and criticism is part of putting yourself out there.

But when you eventually see the evidence for yourself, it’s a very different feeling.

Reading conversations where people are actively trying to undermine you, mock you, or organise negativity around your work can be genuinely stomach-churning. It’s not just criticism of content; it often becomes personal. And when it’s coming from people who publicly present themselves as friendly or supportive within the same community, it can be particularly hurtful.

What many people forget is that there are real people behind these accounts. Creators are not just profiles or videos on a screen. They are individuals with families, careers, responsibilities, and lives away from social media.

The Things People Don’t See

There is also something else that many people in these spaces don’t fully understand.

I would be genuinely embarrassed to sit down and explain some of this behaviour to my family or close friends. If they saw the conversations or the way some people behave behind the scenes, their reaction would probably be very simple:

“Why are you even involved in that space? Just leave.”

And in many ways, that would be a completely reasonable response.

But the truth is that fragrance is something I am deeply passionate about. It’s not just content. It’s creativity, storytelling, and learning about an incredibly rich and diverse world of scent.

That passion is what keeps me involved, even when parts of the online environment can feel unnecessarily hostile.

Being Human in a Hobby That Pretends to Be Perfect

I have always tried to approach my content with honesty.

I talk about what I know, what I have learned, and what I experience personally with fragrance. But I also accept something that some people online seem to struggle with:

I am human.

Sometimes I might say a note slightly wrong.

Sometimes I might confuse a city where a brand is based.

Sometimes I might mispronounce the name of a fragrance, a perfumer, or a brand.

Fragrance is a global industry built on different languages, cultures, and traditions. No one in this space gets everything right all the time.

Learning and improving is part of the journey.

Pretending to be perfect is not.

A Word About AI and Modern Content Creation

Another topic that occasionally attracts criticism is the use of AI tools.

The reality is that I live a busy life. I run businesses, I have a family, and like many people creating content online, I have to balance my passion projects with real-world responsibilities.

Using AI to help organise ideas, structure writing, or refine thoughts is simply a practical tool that helps speed up the process. But I never read from a SCRIPT but I certainly chat to my AI for information and key notes etc.

But it’s important to be clear about something.

AI is not in front of my camera.

AI doesn’t film my videos.

AI doesn’t edit my footage.

AI doesn’t smell fragrances.

AI doesn’t form my opinions.

Everything you see on my channels, from the reviews to the passion behind them, ultimately comes from me.

AI might help tidy up the writing process from time to time, but the enthusiasm, curiosity, and perspective are entirely human.

Why I’m Still Here?

Despite the negativity that can exist in pockets of the online fragrance world, I still believe the community itself is worth being part of.

Because the truth is that the overwhelming majority of people who love fragrance are not trolls, critics, or gatekeepers.

They are curious people who enjoy discovering new scents, learning about perfumers, and sharing their enthusiasm with others.

For every toxic voice, there are many more positive ones.

And those are the voices worth listening to.

Fragrance should be about curiosity, creativity, and enjoyment.

Not intimidation, not bullying, and certainly not private groups trying to tear people down.

At the end of the day, scent is supposed to bring joy into our lives.

The community built around it should do the same.