the essence of a raincloud forming in the distance
Classy, clean, easygoing, approachable, unpretentious. This to me is the best perfume Versace has out currently. It’s really pleasant and not cloying or too mature. It has a green stemmy sharpness that I don't smell in other women's perfumes. For the woman or girl who is cool and confident enough to smell clean and fresh without trying to be alluring or seductive. It’s also not too tweenish or sweet. It’s restrained and polite, and causes one to lean closer. I love it on my wife. I combined a bit of it in a .5 oz. bottle of Bowling Green and I use it as my bedtime scent. It’s the only women’s perfume I’d actually buy for myself, and yes I’m a little jealous of my wife’s bottle I bought her. 10/10
Oudh 36 Nuit took me by surprise, I must admit. For a house chiefly known for creating clones of famous fragrances, I was sort of shocked how much I enjoy this scent. I don’t think it’s an original creation however, it seems to be a mix of a handful of certain famous oud-roses. There’s a noticeable similarity to Dior’s Oud Ispahan, namely the pungent rose-water effect which dominates the scent profile. But I also personally find the geranium rather prominent too, with its sappy, slightly green and particularly salty facets heightened by the rose. To me, it almost smells like Roja Dove’s Aouds and the way he utilises ambergris in those creations. It’s a very nice scent, and I’m sure for the price it originally sold for would be a great pickup. Unfortunately I believe it is discontinued now, and for the prices I’ve seen it up on eBay for, I won’t be buying. But I’ll certainly enjoy wearing my sample.
L’Aimant, one of the crowning jewels of the Coty house, and one of the final scents before Francois Coty’s death just 7 years after this creation was launched. This is one of the very few that seems to be in production, or at least is still sold in most places at a very low cost. With that in mind I consider this to be one of the best value for money scents on the market, however I was lucky enough to find a vintage EDT. This is a floral scent through and through, but it’s neither boring nor simplistic. It oozes femininity and class at every turn, pulling you deeper into its enslavement every time you wear it. A bright, hesperidic opening of bergamot and neroli is underscored by a peachy aldehyde note, before quickly developing a gorgeously delicate heart of ylang, jasmine and rose. There’s quite a prominent carnation as well which provides a much needed warmth and, almost spiciness. I do love this scent, it may not be my favourite floral of all time, and launching just 6 years after the great Chanel No. 5 I think it could have done a little better. But despite all of that I think it’s fantastic. A true vintage style floral - the first time I met Roja Dove he explained to me that this great scent was his inspiration behind A Goodnight Kiss, a scent which I consider to be one of the greatest florals ever made.
L’Origan is without a doubt one of the most important and influential perfumes ever created, and one of the first great hits from Coty which demonstrated the true extent of his genius. With this scent he was one of the first to exploit the newly discovered category materials - absolutes. Without this creation some of the most famous and incredible scents would not have come into being - Après L’Ondée, L’Heure Bleue and Bal a Versailles. The scent opens with a pronounced hesperidic burst of bergamot underscored by neroli, before rushing into a central theme of a dominant carnation note intertwined with the delicate powdery facets of jasmine, rose, violet and ylang - which is at once sweet, slightly creamy and spicy with a highly distinctive, almost grass-like, note. The warm, almost spicy facets of the carnation are heightened by the inclusion of clove and a very subtle amber base. The ingenuity of this scent is its rich floral harmonies which nod towards spiciness without actually being spicy, an effect which is warm and vibrant with the soft sensuality of coumarin and vanillin rounding off the base. Such a masterpiece of a fragrance forever ensured Coty’s fame and fortune.
Mix Burberry Touch with Santal 33 and you have this.
Sartorial is a satisfyingly contemporary take on the classical fougere, it is the very essence of sophisticated masculinity and easily one of my favourite scents from Penhaligons. I’m not usually a huge lover of fougeres, and I’m particularly picky when it comes to lavender, but I love this one. The lavender is easily the most prominent note, it’s there front and centre from the very first spray right until the end. Initially, it’s brightened up significantly by this light, airy and metallic combination of aldehydes and violet leaf. Before long though, it settles into a warmer, slightly sweeter base consisting of smooth cardamom and delicious beeswax. It’s an odd mix of notes which simply seems to work. Despite how many notes are listed, it doesn’t smell overly complex or confusing. It remains pretty linear throughout its life, to my nose, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. From my collection of around 105 fragrances currently, this is one of only 3 fougeres I own which says a lot.
This stuff is amazing!! Guy can definitely rock this!!! Definitely re buy this again!!!
As someone with history in New Orleans I have been so excited by the fragrances being released by Hez Parfums. When Hez says New Orleans in a bottle, he is not kidding.Hurricane is inspired by one of the most popular drinks in the city and was created at Pat O’Brien’s. It opens with a sweet cherry and passion fruit mix with hints of orange and pineapple. After a short while the rum, cognac and gin are present with the woods and musk underneath. While sweet, it’s not gourmand and the warmer undertones of booze and wood start to shine through. Hurricane definitely feels like a summer evening in the French Quarter and I enjoy wearing it greatly.
It's like Oud Minérale with 30 teaspoons of sugar stirred in. It's difficult to discern much apart from the trademark Xerjoff diabetes-inducing sweetness. It's not the worst Xerjoff but I'd much rather wear something more refined and complex. Like the reviewer below, I also get tobacco, and a lot of it at that. ... OK yes, after 30 mins it's basically Tobacco Vanille, then it morphs into Ambre Nuit. This is way too sickly sweet for me, like everything from this company, so it's a taste thing. Nuclear performance which will gas everyone around you if that's what you like, I prefer not to be that guy.
Beautiful bottle presentation. This is really well blended. I liked it right off the bat. The great thing for citrus and floral lovers is that the top notes that typically wear off the fastest, last FOREVER with this one. If you are thinking of buying it because you heard it smells similar to Bowling Green, don’t. It doesn’t. Like at all. This has some nice lavender amber qualities that make it modern and some sharp herbaceous bright citruses that permeate the entire lifespan of the scent. My son and my wife called it unisex. Because she wasn’t super into it, I sold it to a good friend at work who really really was. I have no regrets blind buying it because seeing my friend get excited about it made me really happy. I also know that practically nobody else in the states is wearing this or talking about it.
I was surprised at how much I liked the smell in the air when my friend sprayed it on. I could smell it from about 6 feet away. In my experience that was the best way to enjoy it. My only qualm was that up close on my skin it has a bit of a spit smell in there among the lavender. This alone was enough for me to sell it. Oh well, it’s worth a try, but IN NO WAY did this smell like Bowling Green. If you read that it does, don’t believe it. It’s pretty one dimensional masculine lavender. I don’t know why they had to put so much dye in it either. Just make the bottle green.
PDM LAYTON IN THE DRY DOWN
This has similarities to LV lovers minus the phantom fig note. It’s quite pleasant but I wouldn’t say it’s an essential pick up, unless you fancy a cheaper frag that does similar job to Lovers.
Among Edmond Roudnitska’s fantastic creations for Dior, Eau de Cologne Fraîche often flies under the radar compared to the great presence of his other masterpieces. However, I do not think it deserves the neglect it recieves, for it is truly a beautiful scent. As eau de colognes go, this is one of my absolute favourites. It’s dominated by one of the most beautifully realistic lemon notes I’ve ever smelled, heightened further by verbena - it doesn’t smell synthetic or like a cleaning product as some lemons do. To counter this is a divinely serene creamy base of oakmoss and rosewood. For the most part, that is the entire scent, but it thrives in its simplicity for the balance between everything is perfect. Due to the fact this scent is so overlooked, you can often find it incredibly cheap online. I bought a full 60ml bottle for about £20. You will run into the risk of the top notes being lost, but I was very lucky that my bottle smells beautifully intact. Definitely seek this one out if you’re fan of lemon!
Joy is generally regarded as one of the greatest perfumes ever made, and I found myself agreeing as soon as this precious liquid touched my skin. This was a scent which, at the time, was the most expensive perfume in the world - double the price of gold bullion - which was released shortly after Wall Street crashed. Instead of shelving the project, Patou went ahead with the release and it became a worldwide sensation. I managed to find an amazingly well-kept vintage parfum online, and I truly believe this is one of, if not the, greatest floral fragrance ever created. Every 30ml bottle contains 10,000 jasmine blossoms and 336 roses with a whisper of civet - a scent profile which is undeniably joyous. It thrives in the simplicity of its composition, as there is nowhere to hide or cut corners. The success of this scent relies almost entirely on the astounding quality of the finest materials in the world. It doesn’t smell like the jasmine fragrances you find in todays market, overly clean, soapy and synthetic. Instead, it’s intensely thick and indolic, sultry and slightly lustrous with that delicate hint of civet. It’s undeniably Jasmine and rose, done to perfection. It makes you realise just how much passion and dedication went into perfume at this time. A true masterpiece.
L’Air du Temps is a scent which has been the victim of its own success, a creation which, at the time, was so marvellously unique and masterful that it’s popularity made it commonplace for many women to wear it. Because of this, it began to get left behind and its beauty and charm all but forgotten by most. It is a warm, spicy floral scent which captivates the heart immediately, seemingly moving and swirling in the air around you. A fresh, vibrant harmony of bergamot, neroli and aldehydes radiate off the skin through the inclusion of a gorgeously smooth and comforting rosewood note. Among a typically vintage floral heart, the profile is made warmer still by an overwhelming dose of carnation, but also that slightly bitter-spicy clove note. The end result is enchanting - dry, spicy and warm, wrapping the wearer in a blanket of dense florals. I love this fragrance, I think it should continue to receive the praise it deserves. I have two bottles in my collection, a vintage EDT and the current EDP. There is a great similarity between the two, but I find where the modern formulation is much smoother and more rounded with the floral heart, the vintage is far more confident and brash in its spicy facets. Both are stunning, I often layer them together as the vintage doesn’t last long on my skin.
Apparently even in the Ivy League frat houses smell of piss and stale beer. This is foul Easily recreatable at home. Get drunk, come home and take the top off your Terre D'hermes, pee in it, replace top, job done.
This succeeds where Épices Exquises failed. The profile is very similar, but this one doesn't turn scratchy with the nasty patchouli note. Here, it's more complex, balanced, and high quality. It's a lovely cardamom perfume.
It’s not a secret that I’m totally in love with Marrakech Imperial’s perfumes. I have to admit that I was afraid to test and wear Arabian Leather because I have had a very difficult time with a leather note since last winter. The name Arabian Leather sounds as well something very challenging but it’s pleasant instead. Now after wearing it for few days I’m more than happy to find this kind of beautiful leather scent with the notes which makes it so cozy, so enjoyable and soft. Those notes are not only a perfect match with sophisticated leather but they make this scent suitable for upcoming colder days and wintertime as well at least here in Europe. One thing more made me so excited about this scent: I have been trying to find great Vanilla scents. Arabian Leather is so far away from the harsh and edgy leather scent that even the people who don’t like leather maybe would like this one. It doesn’t mean that you can’t smell that note, it’s just made in a versatile and totally unisex way, and it’s blended very well with other notes. Leather is darker for one hour and after that it feels like melting on the skin and it turns more like sumptuous suede. Brown sugar is bringing the sweetness to the leather and ambery concoction together with slightly Almondy Tonka bean and luscious Vanilla. Musk completes the sensuality of this scent. Arabian Leather is sweet but on my husband’s skin there is clearly less sweetness than on my skin. On his skin the opening is present longer and you can easily detect Frankincense, it gives a nice light smoky feeling with airy Saffron. On my skin the opening disappears quicker but in this case it’s just making the scent more feminine on my skin and more masculine on my husband’s skin. Now after testing all 7 scents from the house I’m able to say that there is none which I don’t like but Atlas Wood suits my personality least. I definitely need these scents in my life. You can find the reviews of all these scents in my profile or by navigating into the each scent. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
I have been waiting that days are getting colder and I can wear this amazingly delicious fruity scent. I love it because it’s not light, girly nor boring like so many fruity scents. This is much more complex as well than many others with attempting fruity notes but not complexity with clearly three different stages but all the notes are blended perfectly instead. It’s sweet and many people would put it into the gourmand category but I don’t. The middle and the base notes make this scent a little bit mysterious keeping it easy to love regardless and it never gets dark. The scent cloud around the wearer is huge like is the scent trail. Those are not the most important thing for me but I have to say that if this scent would not have it, I think I would have never fallen in love with it. Peach and Apple are there from the start until the dry down which is not always the case in these kind of perfumes. Rum is not sharp and alcohol smelling, it’s utterly soft and enjoyable. Tobacco is not clearly smoky one, nor harsh, it’s charming with the sweetness from Vanilla. Neither of them, Rum nor Tobacco, dominates. This is one of my rare perfumes which my husband doesn’t like so much. If he says “so and so” the perfume is too sweet and crowd pleasing which is not always a bad thing. What about the scents with whose people are comparing this one: I can't stand Red Tobacco, it's a terrible synthetic bomb. And Carlisle? No, it's not the same. It's not bad but I would never buy that one. And this is not any PR. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
The most polite, elegant, classy little sparking aura of citrus and fig. The opening is incredible but dissappears in seconds and it has no projection/sillage to speak of, but I find that for situations like starting a new job, when I'm ill, when I don't want to be obviously wearlng perfume, it's perfect. Sometimes quiet is good.
Non-alcoholic mulled wine. Gourmand. The strongest thing you can hear is the cloves. A clear association as if I opened a set of spices for mulled wine, but did not add them to the wine. I think it's the best thing in the New Year, when there is frost outside, wrap yourself in a plaid, turn on a movie and apply this aroma, it will warm you up
Declaration changes more than any fragrance in recent memory. It starts off (to my nose) with a perfectly restrained cumin note that resembles sawdust (and not B.O.). It turns into a sweet floral where the neroli and the citrus shines through for the rest of the day. I liked it, and I respect it for originality. It’s certainly better than almost anything being pushed at the counters these days. I think it’s signature scent worthy, quite sophisticated, and would be a good addition to any collection. The bottle is original as well. I just wouldn’t buy it for myself. Update: Finished a 3ml sample today and this has become a memorable and somewhat addicting scent that I want to return to. For now I’m going to spend half the price on Tous 1920 the Origin EDP in hopes that is as similar as folks say it is. 2nd Update: I’m freaking LOVING Tous 1920 edp, but I respect this perfume so much that I might buy a bottle.
