It's definitely evocative of something to do with water, but it's not the sea, it's the changing rooms/toilets in a municipal swimming pool. I don't hate the perfume, but it's too close to the toilets for me to seriously consider wearing it.
Everyone seems to agree that this is light and performs badly, I find the opposite to be true, it's a beast-mode fragrance on me, but does have a delicate vibe. On card I immediately thought playdoh, and loved that, then on skin I get more complexity, with the coriander balancing the sweet vanilla beautifully. The bergamot gives it that sheen or shimmer I normally associate with Chanel Les Exclusifs. This is definitely one of my favourite Céline perfumes.
This is a really gorgeous fresh, spicy green floral. It seemed quite unassuming when I sprayed it on but it's continuing to develop and has this lovely contrast of soapy floral and spicy cardamom sparkle. I'm really impressed as I'd never even heard of this brand. There's no synthetic screech and it manages to be strong but not overbearing.
I was surprised by how much I like this. Clean and fresh citrus with vetiver. It’s hardly ground breaking but it manages to smell bright and sharp and kinda natural (I mean it smells like something in nature rather than a comment on the amount of naturals used) and performance is pretty decent if not mind blowing. It’s substantially easier to love than the bunch of other attempts at “stronger TDH” like Sospiro Adnante (or whatever it is now) and the Montale Red Vetiver. Solid take on citrus Vetiver.
🤍 When some perfumes are so beautiful and perfect that you can’t decide which one would be better. 🤍 AMOUAGE HONOUR WOMAN (Edp) Alexandra Carlin and Violaine Collas 2011 and HONOUR 43 WOMAN (Extrait de parfum) Alexandra Carlin 2021 💯 MEN, try these ones! They perform more masculine on you guys. My husband loves to wear it, it’s gorgeous! Beautifully blended white flowers, so delicate, charming and subtle, almost paltry. But as soon as you are thinking that it’s not so special it starts to shine and all the notes from masterful base wraps around the flowers. In that moment you realize that it’s Amouage. It’s warm and a little bit spicy with leathery undertones and a signature Frankincense. Honour maintains airiness even in the dry down while Honour 43 has more voluptuous character. I love the way how the florals are made, they are captivating and sensual, almost green, Gardenia keep it fresh and Tuberose is not that typical dominant note over others. Rhubarb in the opening is a little bit sweet and sour, in Honour it’s very restrained whilst In Honour 43 it’s more realistically juicy and it lingers longer with the flowers. About the performance: Inside 43 is stronger but it’s closer to the skin. OG projects more. Outside 43 creates a huge scent bubble while OG is very gentle and mild. * Top: Pepper, Rhubarb Leaves, Coriander * Heart: Jasmine, Tuberose, Gardenia, Lily of the Valley, Carnation * Base 43: Sandalwood, Labdanum, Vetiver, Frankincense, Opoponax, Leather * Base OG: Vetiver, Frankincense, Amber, Opoponax, Leather Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
Narcissus is an interesting note, one that can often be quite polarising for many people. Narcisse Taiji manages to capture the pure white sensuality of this flower, akin to jasmine, whilst also balancing it very nicely with an array of other complimentary notes. Most notably, I get a lot of juicy pear in the opening alongside the heady sweetness of tuberose. This sweetness is balanced very well with the dry earthiness of hay before settling into a base of patchouli. The scent itself isn’t massively complex but has two polarising personalities combined into one, created very smoothly. I would be surprised if real Narcissus absolute was used in here due to the obscene cost of the material, I imagine it’s a synthetic accord but still smells really nice. It feels more soapy and clean compared to real Narcissus, but that’s just my initial thoughts. Overall it’s a pleasant scent but not a love for me.
Iris Ebène is a strange take on an Iris accord, and yet still manages to smell pretty boring and lifeless unfortunately. It’s got a strong spicy element from the combination of warm allspice with aromatic pink pepper and a balsamic base. This spicy element is freshened up by the juicy bitterness of blood orange and petitgrain before the Iris itself makes itself known. This Iris is thick and leathery, dense and powdery whilst maintaining a delicate nature about it. All of this rests on a smooth base of sandalwood and leathery musks further elevating that suede accord. Overall it’s a pleasant scent. The quality is pretty good and it’s a nice fragrance to wear, but for the retail price you’re not getting much value for the simple reason that it’s a boring smell. I find it hard to imagine this is going to be a true love for anyone out there.
So far my favorite from 7 Virtues. Fresh, juicy pear, slightly sweet scent. Fun to wear and well balanced. Very similar to Gucci Gorgeous Gardenia, indeed! I imagine wearing this during spring and summer time.
Smells like a lot of other sweet semi cloying scents at Target. Strong though, and long lasting. A little too sweet and one dimensional for my taste. Kind of a tween scent.
Good for a modern young man. Interesting enough, safe enough, masculine enough. Hard to dislike.
White pepper, powder, clean synthetic smelling boring safe distant woods. Like a young Mike Pence in a bottle. Safe and uninspiring.
Definitely braver and more original than most men’s colognes being made today. Got some lipstick, leather, anis, and shaving cream notes to my nose. Not too shabby, but not one I’d buy for myself.
Mossy sandlewood with citrus at the top. Doesn't smell like palo santo. It's almost like Eau de Citron Noir but done less horrifically and with javanol instead of ambrofixatives. It's not a bad perfume but it leaves me cold, and almost goes a bit pickley on me.
Creamy, green, slightly woody, luxurious, complex peachy tuberose. Delicious and unique, love it!
I smell this and remember a spring morning - I’m fresh out the shower, I’ve put on a soft scented body lotion and I’m applying lipstick, getting ready for the day. Creamy, melts-on-your-skin orris and rosey lipstick. This feels like a hug and sits close to skin like one. One of the quietest perfumes I ever tried. Doesn’t really last much on me either, gone within a couple hours. I would get a bottle of this for those “no perfume” days but it’s just too pricey for what it is..
This is a devestatingly good iris, joint second place with Iris Poudre just underneath the heart-stopping Iris Silver Mist (I have to say, though, that Iris Poudre isn't doing the same thing as the other two, these being dusty, grandiose soliflors while IP is more of a joyous ball-gowny fanfare of colour). This one doesn't get enough love. It's a rooty, realistic iris with a subtle, sweet sprinkle of carrot-cake crumbs. When I first smelled this, not having much experience with iris, I was quite put off, but now it's one of my favourite perfumes. It's complex, it goes on a journey, and it stands up as unique among the greats, so I'd say it's a must-sniff for enthusiasts. And if you love iris but find ISM too brothy and sinister, this could be your coup de cœur.
A copy of Fusion Sacree Obscur by the talented Bertrand Duchaufour, right down to that fricking amazing bitter/herbal celery - caramel opening, at double or triple the price point of a 125ml bottle for a 50ml bottle. You are paying extra for some fancy cardboard box and some of that extra cloying amber accord at the base. Skip this one, or skip the whole house cause you can find a similar scent for almost every bottle in the collection.
Rose Ardoise is a different take on rose. It’s bright, clean and refreshingly floral, but has an underlying spicy muskiness to it which is both strange but undeniably captivating at the same time. The scent is actually dominated by pink pepper which has strong rosy elements alongside its fresh spicy floral nature. The rose itself then sits behind the pink pepper, nurturing its sweet jammy nectar through the base. Combine this with a contrasting element of warm nutmeg and aromatic sage, and you’re greeted by the duality of warm spicy and fresh spicy. Overall this is a very enjoyable scent to wear. As I said, a different take on rose which is pleasing and satisfying to pick up in the air around you. Unfortunately I find it’s missing something, I pattern I’ve noticed with many Atelier Materi fragrances. They’re all really well made but seem to lack a bit of life behind them.
Poivre Pomelo is a lovely peppery citrus scent which is both refreshing and tantalising for the senses. It’s dominated by a very realistic grapefruit note - capturing both the sweet, juicy aspect of this glorious fruit alongside the bitter rindy side to it as well. The vibrant kick of pink and black pepper tingle at the nose, contrasting the sweet fruitiness of osmanthus which is reminiscent of soft dried fruits. A dry, earthy base of mate tea and Vetiver round out the scent very nicely too. This scent is great for the summer, it’s refreshing and sophisticated without being just another boring citrus. It’s got some deeper complexities which are really enjoyable, but for me there’s something missing to make it a true love - and yet I can’t quite place what it is.
On the opening, it's the most glacial, frosty, devastatingly beautiful flower, frozen in time and space, appearing from a sort of rooty, carroty, almost soily broth, before the tiniest soupçon of incense swirls in, making it slightly warmer, although no less sinister. I've never smelled anything like this before, and it usurps Iris de Fath as the best roots-and-all, natural, witchy iris masterpiece I've come across. Many people below mention sadness. This isn't sad to me, it's a laughing imp, yes with a wicked demeanour, but with a twinkle in the eye. There is an almost chocolatey, enveloping cloak that comes from very rich, realistic orris (see Melt My Heart), and makes this a very cosy scent to me. I guess it's like Cruella's most exquisite stole, which provides her with luxuriant comfort but may appal those who behold it. Don't listen to those who say it's unwearable. Wear it and go about your day. You'll be rewarded! Update: it's brutal in even slightly warm, humid conditions. Still the greatest iris though.
To my nose this smells like an 80s men's fragrance. As it dries down it has a sort of cigarette-infused car interior vibe. I can imagine an estate agent from Swindon smelling like this in the early 90s. It does smell like it has vetiver in it, but it doesn't smell anything like Encre Noir. I get nothing remotely oudy from this at all.
It smells very much like the OG Scandal to me, but the honey is replaced with powder. It’s really sweet and juicy!
Sadly, this was discontinued then brought back/reformulated. It's quite flat compared to the original. The OG was much deeper and rich. 2.0 just seems watered down and generic fruity. Seems to have less of the rum/wood elements that gave it depth.
