Beast-mode skanky jasmine sheen. Love it
If you've smelled Molecule 05 you'll recognise the cashmeran in Alien. To my nose it's 50% cashmeran, 30% ambroxan or some such similar amber base and 20% sweetened jasmine. It's undoubtedly genius and groundbreaking, and it's all the craftier for it's simplicity.
I love Mojave Ghost. One of the first in my collection. Fresh, interesting, and non-committal. If I don't know what to wear, I grab it, but in spring and summer. In winter, it's only if I want to bury my nose in the cap, smile, and that's it. Byredo is a master of violet, so here it is just like home: made with care, surrounded by the best components: magnolia, milky (not dill) sandalwood. A wonderful light fragrance.
At the first test in the store - I fell in love: what flowers (gardenia), what sweetness, but not cloying! I have to get it. I've been wanting a good gardenia for my collection for a long time, I'm searching for it. For my tuberose, I need a sister. And here comes Baciami: "Hello!". But the gardenia didn't stay long, leaving vanilla in its place. Vanilla is, in principle, the DNA of my collection, but I needed gardenia. I'll keep the bottle for now, maybe the gardenia won't run away in cooler weather. I'll be waiting)
I approached the stand not thinking I would leave with a purchase, but I did. The next day, I ordered three bottles. I must say, I like what is happening with Bvlgari right now. I hope they gain many fans in the near future. I took Spettacolore along with Baciami, thinking the latter would be my favorite of the two. Now I think it’s almost the opposite. I just collect irises, I generally love vanilla, but not every type—only the thick, contemplative ones with nuances. The combination of iris and myrrh (at least to my nose) gives a sense of menthol, freshness, that cold, chilling feeling that even makes my skin tingle. That’s the mint I was looking for, but without it smelling like toothpaste or a men’s shower gel. I don’t detect any powder, although I was really looking forward to it. There doesn’t seem to be any citrus either. I’m curious how this fragrance will behave in the heat. At temperatures of 20-23 degrees, it’s very pleasant.
It has a slight hint of Mosquitol to it. Even when we went to the dacha, I applied the fragrance, but the mosquitoes were not bothered at all. I gave a small bottle to my mother-in-law, and I hope she genuinely enjoys it. It's a pity to read about the similarity to Oud Satin Mood. Oud Satin Mood is interesting, while Beautiful & Wild is Mosquitol. I wonder what inspired the creative director to give such a name to this fragrance composition.
I was surprised about this and Narcotic V. both how comfortable, subtle and sleek these are. Both were the blind buys for me and I was waiting something more edgy and challenging like many of Nasomatto’s perfumes but these are really safe yet not boring in any kind of way. Both are office safe as well since they are not projecting too much, staying quite close to the skin and the lasting power is good anyway. NASOMATTO: Pardon This is really lovely and I think this is quite safe as well if you are not looking for an extraordinary artistic creation like many of Gualtieris. Pardon is special for sure, but this ended up to be really easy going pleasant scent for everyday wear as well. I was waiting a rich chocolate note but it’s not like that so this is not gourmand nor too sweet. It’s inviting and even romantic elegant scent but in the masculine way. Notes which I detect here are some warm spices, gentle oud, dark soft round chocolate note from Pathouli, maybe Tonka but Sandalwood and Vanilla at least in the base embracing the other notes mysteriously yet gently together. There is some florals in the blend for sure but to be honest I can’t name any, not even Mangnolia which is mentioned in several sources. This is a great, well blended masterpiece. Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you follow me IG @ninamariah_perfumes
I was surprised about this and Pardon both how comfortable, subtle and sleek these are. Both were the blind buys for me and I was waiting something more edgy and challenging like many of Nasomatto’s perfumes but these are really safe yet not boring in any kind of way. Both are office safe as well since they are not projecting too much, staying quite close to the skin and the lasting power is good anyway. NARCOTIC V: Very classic and safe choice for Jasmine and Tuberose based scent. This is more Tuberose though. It opens up heady but settles down very quickly being sophisticated, well blended and pleasant to wear. I used to say that this is “the cleanest” Tuberose which I have tested and which I own - it’s so pure, so innocent yet sensual in the same time and there is not many notes stealing the show of these narcotic white flowers. it’s very linear while lasting power being good. If you like Jasmine and Tuberose I can guarantee the you will love this creation. Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you follow me IG @ninamariah_perfumes
Subtle. At first I was put off by the forward iris, until I started sniffing my skin. Then I got hooked. It is chocolatey, but it's more rooty than I would have thought, and there's depth and complexity. The touch of bergamot on the opening makes it magical. I love anything that mixes sparkle and earth, and this does it sumptuously. If you want to smell expensive and ethereal, this is it. Other perfumes do this too, but this one has no sharp edges. Even the oud, which comes through a bit later, is gentle, with just enough funk to make it real. Projection and sillage are enormous and it lasts forever, so a 15ml bottle will go a long way.
One of the best of this ilk For the price it puts MFK to shame, as if this was packaged in an MFK bottle for 300 euros I'd believe it. However that's more of an indictement of MFK than than high praise of Prada. What I like about Prada is they use Ambroxan and Ambrocenide sparingly (take note MFK and Dior). A powdery, lavendery blue fragrance that stands out from the rest. Also, the iris is strong, so if you like Armani Code Parfum, this is cheaper and better. Now I'm into the drydown and the vetiver comes through. This is a very good, complex fragrance with stages, great for the price.
Prada L’homme is well known for being the go-to clean and soapy scent. It opens initially with a bright neroli, contrasted by a kick of pepper and warming cardamom. From here it quickly develops its iconic powdery heart of iris, violet and geranium. The base of amber and patchouli isn’t so noticeable, instead it serves as providing some much needed strength. Unfortunately the performance for me is lacking, and during the opening at least can come across rather synthetic and muddled. Once it’s settled however, it’s a very pleasant iteration of a clean and soapy Iris. It was daring to market such a delicate soapy floral towards men in the designer market, but being the success that it is tells you all you need to know. It smells great, however I think Infusion D’Iris Cedre also from Prada does this scent profile much better.
Within the Aoud line, Musk Aoud strays the furthest from the original composition. It initially opens very bright, soft and sweet with a sparkling hit of rose, jasmine and ylang with a slight sharpness coming from lemon. From here the clean musky base develops beautifully. Instead of aiming to replicate natural deer musk here, Roja has demonstrated the innocent beauty of ambrette of the highest quality. Rather than smelling dirty and animalic, the musk is sweet, floral and almost soapy. An array of woods mingle with smooth leather and oakmoss to give the base a creamy, addictive finish. Musk Aoud has to be the best interpretation of ambrette I’ve ever smelled, it’s gentle and subdued yet so incredibly addicting and alluring. There’s a hint of the original Aoud scent profile in the background, however this fragrance goes entirely in its own direction. I really enjoy wearing this one in the spring and summer as the heat really brings all these notes to life.
While Le Male has a classical significance in the fragrance world, I find current formulations to be a bit of a synthetic mess. It opens with a heavy dose of lavender front and centre, with a touch of warm cardamom and a sharpness coming from mint and bergamot. It’s got a relatively spicy heart of cinnamon and caraway, with a sweet base of vanilla and tonka. The main combination of notes here is lavender, mint and vanilla - while the lavender and vanilla work nicely together, to me the mint feels out of place and comes across a bit sickly, reminiscent of Eros almost. There’s no denying this is a classic release in men’s fragrances, but these days it just doesn’t hold up when there are far better options out there. I’d say if you have the money, just get Reflection Man and be done with it.
Lady White Snake is an overdose of clean white florals - it’s intensely feminine and quite sweet. It initially opens with a thick burst of honeysuckle and tuberose which could be polarising for some, with touches of orange blossom to sharpen it up. Magnolia and Jasmine soon appear, adding to the array of clean and soapy white florals and leaving you with something quite pretty. A musky base of leather and Amber soon present themselves as well, which provide depth and longevity to an otherwise very bright and clean scent. This fragrance is very good, but I wouldn’t say mind blowing. I struggle to understand how this can be unisex either as it’s very very feminine. While white florals are usually very light, airy and quite weak, this scent is thick and potent with no performance issues for me.
Montabaco Verano is fast becoming one of my favourite summer fragrances, it’s not the most complex scent but there’s something about it that’s just so addicting and satisfying to wear. It opens with the most incredible juicy grapefruit note backed up by juniper, sage and a touch of orange - all surrounded by a soft airiness. A soft and gentle floral heart of rose and magnolia are introduced with a subtle tea note before developing a more strong and masculine base. The tobacco here isn’t like any other I’ve smelled before, it’s got that slight smoky earthiness but it’s so gentle and bright that it works brilliantly in the warm weather. The key players that make this scent so addictive are the grapefruit, Iso E Super and ambergris - leaving you with something so incredibly smooth and refreshing to wear. This is hands down one of the best grapefruits I’ve ever smelled and will always have a place in my collection.
I can see why Ombre Nomade is Louis Vuitton’s most famed fragrance - it ticks all the boxes. It’s a very classy and expensive smelling rose-oud, made to be mass appealing whilst still remaining complex enough to captivate people. On my skin this scent comes off very strong with the rose, which is more prominent than anything else. The rose does smell a bit synthetic, however that’s not an especially bad thing, it kind of works with the rest of the notes. A smoky oud sits in the background adding depth and darkness while a touch of raspberry adds an addictive sweetness. This scent is enjoyable to wear and definitely lives up to the beast-mode claims, it’s one of those scents you can smell from a couple feet away just by taking the cap off. While I do love this scent, I can easily imagine that if I wore this regularly it would become very tiring and obnoxious, this is for those occasions where you’re really craving that powerful blast of oud and rose.
Marquee aims to capture the class and grandeur of the theatre, but doesn’t. It opens quite soft with a synthetic mess of assorted fruits accompanied by rose, before being joined by a powdery voilet and sweet vanilla. Not sure what these things have to do with the theatre but no matter. This fairly simple concoction then settles on the skin as what can only be described as a very basic soapy floral with little to no character. It’s sweet, airy and slightly powdery but lacks depth and quality unfortunately. It bears a similarity to Fatal Charme, but more soapy and less powdery - I’d say Marquee is the inferior version to this scent profile as it comes across a bit boring. If you simply want to smell good and enjoy very basic soapy florals then you might love it, but for me it lacks heart.
Don envisions the idea of ultra-masculine and rugged symbols of the mafia. It’s a fairly simple and linear scent, with the main players being a dry, smoky tobacco paired with a sharp whiskey. In the background, gunpowder adds even more smokiness while the sugar brings a touch of sweetness. This fragrance is pleasant and probably great for tobacco-lovers out there, but personally I find the quality is lacking here - a pattern I see emerging from quite a few of Xerjoff’s JTC fragrances. The notes just seem a bit synthetic and cheap to me, and aren’t blended together all that well. At some points during the fragrance’s life, it reminds me of Penhaligons Halfeti slightly - but not nearly as good. Overall this isn’t a bad scent but it’s not worth the price Xerjoff is asking for, it’s pleasant at best but that’s all it has to offer in my opinion.
Ascot Moon aims to recreate the Royal Ascot horse racing show through scent, by embodying the atmosphere of high society gathering on a large green. It recreates this idea very accurately I’d say, but not in a good way. The scent itself is composed of an overdose of this realistic grass note, backed up by an earthy base of oakmoss, patchouli and some warm spices. There’s a headache-inducing basil note which comes across very synthetic and almost like plastic, which does not react well with everything else here. Ascot Moon was a blind buy for me as I found it for a very low price, but after trying to get along with it I just can’t - and will be selling it on. This fragrance is intensely green and grassy to the point it becomes nauseating, the quality and blending is not what you’d usually expect from Xerjoff unfortunately.
Loving JJ’s review of this, which is written far more eloquently than this hand will muster. I tested Fundamental today, wearing it to work. Brave, you might say. However, no. I’d disagree. It’s a charming avant garde scent, with an unusual composition that also feels rather familiar. The bitterness of dusty grape skin entwines with the texture of beeswax and Tuscan iris, feeling musty like a wine cellar, or a cavernous undercroft of a church in which there has been too many accidental spillages of the Eucharistic chalice. It smells entirely odd off of paper, but on skin this thing is magic. Follow me on Instagram: @TheScentiest
Beautiful, but my goodness this is strong (I have 2015 batch), be careful with the sprays. Used prudently it's a delicate chiffon of intruigue, one spray too many and it's a sweet honey gas bomb which will have people gasping for breath, and it lasts forever. Update: very similar to Relection Woman, which is better. They both have a fuckton of calone, but RW wins with the resiny incense base.
Crazy strong,, eternal and enormous sillage. Classic incense aroma to die for. Very addictive and good quality in a sort of old school way. Not sure I'll wear it out and about but it makes for an opulent bedtime spray or two. Warning, this becomes a choking hazard if you overspray or spray too near the face. One on each inner elbow then apply wrists to elbows works marvels for me.
Some scents are easier for me to review going through the notes and some scents are much more easier to put into words through imaginary visions. Black Gemstone is the latter one, especially since I saw the whole exact list of notes after having smelling the scent for many days while thinking my review and how to capture the atmosphere of Black Gemstone. If I could only use two words to describe Black Gemstone SPIRITUAL and CALMING would be those words. This scent is a huge experience to my soul and my inner peace - even if peace in there is rare though. In the first scene of this scent there is a huge cave with enormous, powerful and cold walls of the stone - the stone is dark like is the mysteriously smoky resinous air inside the cave. Air is dry and it hasn’t been raining for a long time. From somewhere, the smell of dark trees wafts into my nose but I don’t see anything. I’m alone in this endless darkness and I fall into a melancholic state of mind. In the second scene of this scent I’m still in this cave with black walls of stone. There is raining outside a lot and the humidity in the air together with the drops of water dripping from the cave walls make everything smell more rich, warm and sweet, almost fruity and the air is soft and tender. The campfire is warming me and my mind but the air will never become stuffy from the burning wood, it’s easy for me to breathe. I feel safe and hopeful. Black Gemstone is a real gem. It’s resinous, balsamic and woody and it starts from cold shades and slowly turns into sweet and warm side. It’s easily recognizable SHL and definitely one of the most unique perfumes in the world. Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you follow me IG @ninamariah_perfumes
Created to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of The Royal Opera House Muscat in 2022 I have been wearing Turandot now for many days just to find the words how to describe it. Chypre is what Dove does definitely best and Chypre Floral Turandot is definitely no exception. Turandot is a passionate perfume full of emotions and very rich in flowers and some fruits. It opens up with uplifting aldehydes and citrus which is barely detectable and straight away you will be surrounded by a huge cloud of flowers (Rose de Mai and Magnolia being dominant in the middle, Iris on the base) and somewhat delicious touch of Blackcurrant and Peach. None of the notes are straight out on a tray, but have been shredded into a million pieces and blended towards perfection. This puzzle, where is the picture of the intact tray with flowers and fruits, is completely impossible to put together ever again. It’s like a beautiful compact powder which has dropped on the floor. Turandot is an evocative, mellow and dense blend, it’s delightfully brash compared to any other floral blend of Roja. It’s very sumptuous. Even if there is Princess Flower as a one note and Turandot was the imperious Princess in China based on a vivid fantasy I would say that Lakmé would be a scent of a princess and Turandot would be a scent of a queen. This fragrance is unashamed and bold, not shy and snooty. The base of Turandot is warm and woody and there is slightly earthy and mossy undertones with a depth from Labdanum. The presentation of Turandot is phenomenal like is the presentation of the previous perfume - amazing and delicate Lakmé - made for The Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman in 2019. Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you follow me IG @ninamariah_perfumes
Amazing perfume, with an arresting, dazzling opening. One of my favourite ouds.
