One of the worst iris frags I've ever smelt. Pure animalic poop with powderyness. This can't compete with Harmonious
D'ya know what??? I'm really glad that Cedrat Boise is NOT even featured in the first few 'reminds me of's' on this page because I'd heard some folk saying that this new Aventus was similar to that abomination but gladly however un called for, stupid, cashgrabby, outragously priced, appealing to people I feel I'm way above (I'm kidding Aventus fanboys!!!), and redundant as I feel this release might be....it's not the olfactory equivilent of the child from the Omen AKA Cedrat boise. A fragrance which starts out inoffensive and basically an Aventus-ish riff but soon becomes oppressively horrid. Anyway enough about what it's not...what IS IT? Well...a bit disappointing. However, saying that would imply that I perhaps had high expectations for Absolu Aventus, I didn't. What it delivers is a slightly rejigged Aventus formula and I quite like Aventus. Despite having sold my old 'Vinatge' lol bottle (because someone told me what it was worth!!!) I do quite like the fragrance and as a cultural and industry icon I can't fail to recognise it as an epoch shattering, golliath of a fragrance. But the facts are thus...This has a really nice fruity opening, possibly more complex and less turbo pineapple accord than I recall from the original (whichever BATCH it was?) which is all nice and such but the base feels more grown up, more cuddly and luxurous maybe, this is a parfum type version afterall and it defintely feels that way. However, the reason I liked Aventus in the first place was for all it's knockabout, hollowness it had oomfph in the form of a hard, almost cheap, relentless, woody accord that feels muted and a bit more rounded in this version. Where's the really smoky element of cedar and birch which made Aventus truly pop when it first appeared on shelves? It's just not quite there for me, although this is a worthy representation of what I think the spirit of Aventus is about. It still captures that, I'm not saying it misses the mark and I'm sure collectors will just want it for the sake of it, even if they feel underwhelmed by the smell. For £325 for 75ml I personally wouldn't bother, but I'm not the target of this one, by any means. Absolu has been informed by the world around it, a world it helped to create a decade or more ago. It's a bit like when a band pioneers a certain type of music and then you listen to their new record 20 years later and feel as though they now feel obliged to be more like the bands which came after them, who were actually inspired by them in the first place, in this craxy feedback loop. Feels a little tired because ultimately they haven't really moved on. I suppose that's how music, fashion and ultimately all art works, so it's not a complaint merely an observation and the motives to continue Aventus are clear, it's a big juggernaut of a thing with money and expectation and affection from it's fanbase. Update 06/02/24 So I've worn this again today and feel as though I need to comment yet again on it, because the practicalities of wearing it are evident, it's a very enjoyable thing. I'm having a blast, all is well with the world and no doubt folks who catch a whiff of me are impressed with how nice I smell and this is not to be underestimated, Aventus didn't dominate and arguably change the fragrance world forever, without good reason. I think my review above was just reiterating that no flanker following in it's wake could ever do the same. To state the bloody obvious! but what it might/will do is make a few quid for Creed. That's a given. So I don't know whether I noticed this (I can't even be bothered skimming through my own review above haha) but the notes here don't list birch and that's wholly accurate because I don't smell that characteristic I remember so vividly from the original release of Aventus way back. It's not smoky or birchy because it's deliberately not supposed to be! I'm here for the fruitiness and added freshness and even the woods conjuring a bit of something near that, but it's nowhere near as ballsy as the original, this tweaked formula offers something slightly different, I can't comment as to whether that's a good or bad thing. This smells good.
BORTNIKOFF Lao Oud (2021) Extrait de Parfum Unisex Bortnikoff’s ouds are quite easy to love but there are four which are more challenging than others. One of them is Lao Oud (others Sayat Nova, Oud Loukoum and maybe Triad for some). The master himself says “the note of Oud has never been so strong and animalic” in his perfumes. I don’t think it’s so animalic (for beginners definitely yes) but it’s very dense, dark and mysterious. Lao Oud is a blend of the exceptional Oud oil, the richness of Lao Coffee, and the Frangipani like sweetness (not listed here though) but it doesn’t remind me of freshly roasted coffee beans. It’s rather a some kind of the most darkest coffee syrap which has aged in the wooden barrels together with spices. There is a whiff of sweetness from which I smell honey and flowers with subtle animalic tones. You can smell a very dark Cacao, it’s not chocolate like but like that dark cacao powder which you didn’t wanted to be used in your drink when you was a kid. The whole blend is extremely sumptuous and unforgettable, it’s complex and addictive. Lao Oud is very close to Indian but it is much softer. Actually earlier I was thinking Oud Monarch to be like Lao Oud is. I was never thinking there is something that easy in Bortnikoff’s collection like Oud Monarch and I was thinking that Lao Oud would be too much for me. This is like a next step from Oud Monarch but there is a huge possibility that I’m just in the next level while exploring ouds, I love very animalic and edgy ones. I enjoy a lot of this masterfully blended piece of art. Top: Pink Pepper, Magnolia Middle: Beeswax Absolute, Cinnamon, Chamomile, Peru Balsam, Cacao Absolute Base: Oud from Laos, Tonka Beans, Crocodile Wood, Coffee, Oud from India, Vanilla Absolute, Birch Tar, Guaiac Wood Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
Enormous fruity rose - like a masculine riff on Delina. Great value for money and huge performance
Carine surprised me - it’s not a brand I was familiar with and this is the first and only scent I’ve tried from them. Initially it opens up with the most wonderful rose and patchouli combination - the rose is dark, crimson and slightly jammy whilst the patchouli is slightly earthy and deliciously smooth. As you can tell I absolutely love the opening on this one, but unfortunately after a couple of minutes this lovely accord becomes dominated by fairly typical white florals. For me, this flattens the overall scent and leaves it smelling quite boring in a way - it would’ve been fantastic as a classic rose-patch combo. If this fragrance was linear from its opening and continued that deliciousness, I would have bought a bottle of this straight away. But unfortunately, the white florals let it down for me and so this is not a love overall.
Amber fougere to me, would have been better named as Oriental Fougere - I don’t get much amber from it. It opens refreshingly pleasant with bergamot and lavender, providing that typical fougere element, before a large array of pepper joins in: white, black and pink pepper stimulate the senses significantly. It’s from here that a sweet, resinous freshness creeps in coming from the elemi and frankincense, leading way to a very polite vetiver and touch of incense. Unfortunately I don’t get much more from this scent, before it soon dies down on the skin. This is a pleasant enough fragrance, however I find it to be rather mediocre overall. It’s incredibly overpriced for what you’re getting - it’s very gentle on the skin in my opinion and doesn’t have much character to it. It’s simply a fairly simple and mass appealing pepper affair with fougere qualities to it.
Why is this so good? I just don't know, but it's one of the only perfumes I have that I can happily wear for days on end (sometimes not by choice if it gets on my coat for example!). It's also one of the strongest perfumes I know which manages not to be suffocating or screechy, that said I do go easy on the sprays. Unique and bold. I love it. Update: The strongest note by far in this perfume is vanilla, unlisted here. It's very rich. One spray too many and it will lead to deep, visceral, lasting nausea. I said above that it doesn't get suffocating, well I was wrong about that! I do love this, but I also feel it should be handled wearing a hazmat suit. It's really not easy to wear, and it's the second most indelible perfume I've ever encountered (after Radical Rose). Update: Oh good god. Every time I apply this I'm like AHHHHH it's amazing, I forgot how good it is.... so so good, and never quite the same thing twice.
The opening reminds me a lot of Lover's Tale due to the strong, buttery, natural smelling Orris, but then it becomes more dank and green. It's great, but I don't need both. Still, every fragrance I've experienced by this house has been excellent, a real coup de cœur for me.
Call me a JCE/Malle dickrider if you must!!!! but this is a lovely, elegant, little perfume and I mean what did people expect from Ellena at this point hey? His style is this minimal, simplistic, lightly spicy thing, I'm amazed at the fact he can keep churning out mildly deritive/self aware/carriacture of his own style stuff but somehow bring something new to the table, especially this genre, one he helped to define with L'eau d'hiver looming large in my memory and subseuently spawning stuff like Dior's Bois d'agent, this doesn't really smell like either of those but if you like them then be in store for a treat. So I was told this was heavy, heavy clove and not much else, by several, usually reliable sources, but what a load of old shite they were talking, yes there's a clove note but it's super balanced and understated. This is a nuanced and laid back approach to an orris/iris accord based perfume which I find almost impossible not to enjoy, I mean a potential critisism (if you really must?) could be that it's a bit, boring, beige, whatever, but I think it's pricisely the tone that they were trying to achieve and for me this is something of a safe but return to form for Malle after a couple of duff releases in Synthetic Jungle and the pretty apauling (albeit you might find a favourable review by me on here because I did quite like it at first, but do not any longer) Uncut Gem. I enjoy this. I'm sorry. I'm still impressed by JCE's work, it's not big and shiny rah rah look at me, Orris opulence which again a valid critique might be for this money and Malle Branding it should be, but I' throw back to that, a lack of understanding of the brand/brief and the perfumer here. Mark my words this is a grower, not a shower and time will tell on Heaven can wait.
OMG! Ths is absolutely massive! Yet it's still a little more reserved and feels less raw and sexy (for want of a better word) than the original Opium which is an immense, classic perfume. This is much more of that kind of hardcore chypre with apricot powder and a carnation sort of feel to me. However running quite prominantly unerneath it's a huge amber accord and I can get that myrhh/opoponax could be driving the whole thing. That unpretty 'wild flower' effect of Opium comes through too, the marigold accord perhaps? I mean I doubt you'd even be visiting this Fragrantica page unless you're a hardcore perfumista and if you find a well kept sample or bottle of this I almost guarantee that Opium Secret will deliver a proper perfume experience and something you will somewhat be expecting. You'll love it basically. I know I do.
Nice perfume, but you can just buy Lalique Pour Homme instead and go on holiday with the money you save.
A horrible, cloying, sweet, basic mess like a kid would buy for 4 euros from a bazaar 🤢
Similar nausea-inducing clash of notes to Ani, which makes me feel sick. There's also something which catches in my lungs, plus something else which makes me feel like I'm going to get a headache. After a few hours it smells similar to Angélique Noir and doesn't make me feel sick any more.
SilencetheSea takes you on a dark and brooding voyage, exploring everything strange and terrifying about the depths of the ocean. It opens with a green, bitter note of Angelica which paves the way towards a dense and unforgiving oud. Frankincense adds a silhouette of smoky darkness, whilst narcissus elevates the green, animalic edge of the opening. Before long, the star of the show makes itself known - the pure, unadulterated ambergris. This is the truest ambergris I’ve ever smelled, with nothing taken away just to better suit it to western tastes - this is complete animalic glory in all of its challenging facets. This genuinely smells like what I imagine the inside of a whale would smell like; it’s fishy yes, but not how you would expect, the fishiness is fleshy and meaty, thick and tough. The truffle adds to this fleshy accord, giving you fungal hints like the flesh of a mushroom. This fragrance is incredibly hard to wear, and will probably get negative reactions from those around you. I agree with what others have said that this shouldn’t even be classed as a fragrance: but instead as a work of art, an olfactory experience encased in a beautifully modest bottle. This will test your mind and push your senses to the limit, making you question how much you really understand about the art behind perfume. Smelling this up close is almost nauseating. My nose is overpowered by the fleshy, fishy accords and struggles to find enjoyment from it. However, in the air I pick up the most incredible sillage - a dense and salty marine breeze whisking me away to a cloudy thunder-stricken coast with every breath I take. I would advise not wearing this perfume around the neck is it can become overbearing, but instead on the arms and legs, you will better appreciate this scent from afar. I’m still undecided whether to keep my bottle. On the one hand I do think it’s an incredibly creative and masterful work of art, with fantastic quality of ingredients. However, the scent is so challenging to wear I do wonder if it will actually get used - I mean what situation could this possibly be worn in? I’ll most likely just spray on my arm here and there when alone, and ponder what lies in the depths of the ocean…
Oud Silk Mood with some extra piss, both fresh and stale, like a piss-soaked mattress sprayed with expensive air freshener.
Loved the opening and thought I might be in for something akin to Fate Man by Amouage after that waft of cumin, and blasting of piney citrus, incense. The drydown is much more of an olibanum dominant affair though and my critisism....a little too much so. It's a bit linear for me but I have to say either the accord or most likely the olibanum used is of excellent quality, it really does shimmer with a silvery goodness and in lesser hands may not be a liable perfume (despite being fantastic material) but here it's sheperded to a much finer and more polished place than the usual crop of indy, incense perfumes. I like it, but I'd like it more if those spicy top notes stuck around a little longer and if it really put the boot in and cracked up to 11, I'd probably rave about this perfume and it's lovely olibanum centric themes.
Sure Gigi7891, if the yellow liquid in Grandma's dusty old bottles is her own fetid PISS then fine, I'm swept away by your imagery. I'm not a massive fan of this type of perfume but I know that JJ is (also see below reviews) and it's not a total mystery to me why much more hardcore perfumistas than myself, love this kinda shit! I genuinely wish it was a taste I could acquire in my more mature years, like stinking bishop cheese or very, very, very, peaty Scotch but it's fucking gross, so why would I? haha. Miel de Sois might be a crude comparison (again for experts in this type of stuff) but I got that immediately, I was like ahhh this is like that Serge Lutens which, smells of piss. It's that resinous, honey effect and hyper woodiness which comes off to me as a park bench seeped in a dehydrated person's, nut brown, urine! Okay so I get that honey and beeswax can be changeable in smell, flavour, look etc.... due to the very nature of the way they're produced, and not that I'm suggesting perfume is collections of unadultered (or indeed even contains) natural materials, but this 'beeswax' perfume falacy seems to persist. Okay perhaps I haven't smelled all the different types and origins of beeswax but I got into making leather goods over the pandemic (long story) and the process involved lots of beewax and I ADORE the smell. It's much more cozy and haylike, almost gourmand and my reference beeswax perfume.is Hiram Green's Slowdive. This also has somewhat herbal qualities, and that bready, wheaty thing about it, and as it settles to skin it's much less offensive than the opening hour, just not really a direction I'm too interested in.
Wondeful perfume, embarrassing affiliation to a lame celebrity who wears a giant, glans-shaped hat. Who cares though, I'm still wearing it! It's violety and smooth with a sort of hot chocolate undercurrent (patchouli?), but not at all sweet. Very strong too, even after showering. It's very similar to Fahrenheit, but stands up on its own.
My friend's kid sniffed my arm and shouted "pizza!". I like the perfume, but I'll never ever be able to wear it again without thinking about that.
Dazzling and fun. This is not the sassy girl who tells everyone she's a bad bitch who takes no prisoners, this is the bad-ass boss bitch who actually takes no prisoners, and doesn't need to tell everyone about it. Youthful, but serious and complex, it reminds me of whisky and diet cokes when I was 18 in terrible dives, but in a charming, nostalgic way. That said, it's also a cracking spicy, patchouli, sparkling retro amber bomb which stands the test of time. It's unapologetically sweet and loud, but not suffocating or headachey. And it's dirt cheap. Love!
Après L’Ondee edt was originally launched in 1906 by Jacques Guerlain. This new edt was launched in 2021. Unfortunately I haven’t had a possibility to try an old one. This beautiful classic scent is delicate and tender. It’s clean and powdery with Iris and Violet but there is a bright sparkling breeze which is somewhat opposite to the overall melancholy feeling which the scent is sharing around you. This is very calming and charming scent. Vanilla is softening it in the base keeping it cold anyway. I don’t see this similar to L’Heure Bleue in any kind of way except Iris note and glamorous whiff from the past. “Created six years earlier, Après L’Ondee has more watercolor and pastel aspects than L’Heure Bleue.” For me Anis is not dominating - I have seen people who think that it’s too strong note here. Guerlain’s Carnation accord combines notes of Rose and spice. This is very vintage style and I’m totally in love with these kind of scents nowadays. It’s not overly soapy anyway nor baby vibes heavy. Après L’Ondee is not so long lasting on the skin but spraying on clothes you can make it last easily all the day. I’m very curious about Insolence too. I think I need to add it soon. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
🌹Radical Rose (2020)🌹 Aurélien Guichard I don’t know if there is nothing left to say about this heavenly intoxicating, beloved, voluptuous rose. There is a perfect balance between three popular notes mixed with Rose: Patchouli, Saffron and Labdanum. This scent is mellow and brash with inviting earthy touch in it and without Vanilla it never gets sweet. It’s stupendous with an enormous projection and sillage and everyone will notice your scent before and after you. If you are considering something like this I think you should check out as well Parfums De Marly Delina, Amouage Rose Incense, Penhaligon’s Cairo and Tom Ford Rose Prick. They are all different but in the same modern “beast mode” Rose category. I like to layer Radical Rose with Falcon Leather. MATIERE PREMIERE is the French phrase for “raw material” and the scents are built around one central natural ingredient so they are quite simple and easy to layer with each others. There are Saffron and Labdanum in both of those two and a leather note in Falcon Leather is made of Finnish Birch Tar. “Perfumes contain between 85% and 92% natural ingredients. They are vegan, phthalate free and without any colouring agent.” Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
A mission impossible completed. 💛 Discontinued Amouage Ubar is finally in my hands. (Creations Aromatiques 1995) This is very unisex. So beautiful vintage style white floral. Nothing like white florals nowadays. Very sensual. Intoxicating. Elegant. Very oriental with balsamic and ambery base. All those flowers are dipped in them. As glorious as I was thinking it is. ✨✨✨ Thank you @profumeriezanon in Udine, Italy making one of my dreams come true. They had amazing collection of Clive Christians btw. Top: lemon, bergamot, lily of the valley, tangerine, orange, litsea cubeba and violet leaf Heart: jasmine, damascene rose, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, tuberose, freesia, and palisander rosewood Base: civet, vanilla, sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, copahu balm and black amber In-depth review later. 06/24 Unfortunately I haven't smelled the original perfume, which was released in 1995 and discontinued later. It has been described to be even richer and woodier than the version which was released in the new bottle in 2009. Mine is the new version which has a magnetic cap and therefore it differs the most from the original being anyway more floral and having less incense in it like non magnetic cap version as well (what I have red). Ubar is an amazing beautiful vintage style white floral. It's nothing like white florals are nowadays and it can't be compared with them at all. I do see the point why it was discontinued since it's challenging, it's not crowd pleasing at all and it smells a bit outdated even if it was reformulated already into easier version. But for me all that complexity makes it so special. It's so multi layered, it's so amazingly blended and every time I wear it I can find new things, small little nuances, different kind of emotions. I love the fact that I can't separate first that overpowering Tuberose which has been made in the same kind of ways in too many perfumes and that heady Jasmine which has nothing new to offer. This is like a time machine to the past. It's very sensual. Intoxicating. Elegant. It's passionate and somehow sinfully lustfull. It's deep and it's strong like many perfumes before mid 90s and it's even a little bit more of everything. The scent is very oriental with balsamic and ambery base. All those flowers seem to be dipped and soaked in them, for a long time. Uber is as glorious as I was thinking it is but I can't stop thinking about the non magnetic cap version, or even the original one. Regardless, I will enjoy my journey with this one since it's stupendous. I just have to be careful with it, no over spraying like with most of my perfumes. Some day when I'm in the right kind of mood with her, I will analyse more the scent itself. She deserves all my attention. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
To me, Marfa is a really lovely smelling perfume, but it's a pretty well trodden path and not one I'm all that interested in from a personal collectors point of view, if I'm honest. Sure, I will rock some of the most iconic 'womens' perfumes and not bat an eyelid but some femme tropes are even a bit much for me. This fragrance treads dangerously close to that ground. Marfa is predominantly a chewy, gourmand, wooded, amber accord X 'Exotic' floral accord. Smash them together and you get this. I must say that the complexity and transistions in this perfume, scream superior quality and for this price they should. The opening couple of hours was a little oppressive and Muglerish, the vanilla is caramelised and the tuberose hyper sweet but once you get past that and it mellows, it's a really lovely experience and I can't fault it. Fits in to the modern/classical aesthetic I think the brand is trying to foster.
