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Iquitos

Alain Delon

fragrance_weirdo

Alain Delon Iquitos is a weird combination of rose, clean bubbly aldehydes (soapy smells) and dirty animalic stuff. It’s revered as a classic. But to be honest it smells horrendous to me. It’s so brutal and jarring in its use of clean and dirty together that it doesn’t work at all. Think of it like this: a seriously sex dependent lothario takes a short break from sex for a moment to wash himself with his grandmothers best rose soap. He doesn’t change his clothes. That’s what this smells like. It might appeal to some but for me this is a hard pass. Sorry. Not sorry.

6 years ago

In the interests of total transparency Carter very kindly sent these samples to me (I was intending to support the project anyhow) he’s nice like that and he knows full well that my views, however insignificant, will be honest and forthright, and if I don’t like something or think it’s objectively or technically lacking (again if you believe I qualified to comment) then I will say so. I think he invites the critique and probably relishes it, I know I would. I’ll just start by saying all three exhibit a really attuned skill for a self taught perfumer and someone who I find to have a really interesting perspective on lots of things, not least on the art of perfumery and perhaps some notion of what it should represent. I wish I painted pictures with my words and got all poetic about these scents because they deserve it, but my reviews are usually relentlessly boring fixation with materials and ‘how did they do that?’ Sort of musings. So Playlinda to me the most compelling & perhaps the most comforting blurb explaining its origins and inspiration. I think it’s the most ‘commercial’ (that sounds terrible) but it’s more accessible one for folks I reckon, but completely free from Cliche as I’ve smelled nothing even remotely like it. The opening is like a somewhat fatty, lactonic, yellow floral. Playlinda is a seaside scent but it’s not obviously so, warm skin, even that ambergris effect of saliva on skin but not in a sultry or salacious way. It’s reassuring. It threatens a hint of coconut or shay butter for a moment but completely subverts that feeling with dusty, sandy, salty fruit vibes, and cozy musk. Peach is supposed to be the big playa (lol) in here but the fruity accord doesn’t immediately scream it to me, and that’s not a sign of failure because I’ve seen plenty of reviews mentioning it vividly, so what do I know. I haven’t spent enough time with Playalinda, but I felt it necessary to give my first impressions here. It’s very good, and just shows the effort that goes into an Indy perfume to create real art, that has a truly personal narrative. You don’t need to be told that it’s deeply personal, you can smell it.

6 years ago

So I’ve smelled Ruth’s creations for other brands and I was intrigued to see what her own brand would be like and boy oh boy is this line special. I’ve only tried three so far but they are all show stoppers! Massively rich and complex compositions, not elegant or singular focused stuff you might create for a brand (a rose one, a leather one etc etc..) with a brief but rather truly artistic, statement pieces to showcase what an excellent perfumer Ruth clearly is. Signature to me opens with a saffron like twang, heavy, heady but strangely plastic and elastic, spiked with exotic fruits and cassis. It actually smells quite sharp and resinous like artificial Oud base, but nothing specific like ahhh that’s black agar or Firmenich, Oud bois or whatever. This is perhaps just materials conspiring to make something very complex, which is basically what a synthetic ‘Oud’ base or accord consists of. Broadly masculine I’d say and it’s initial strength and boldness is very captivating and I’d suggest highly appealing to folks who like modern fragrances that bang hard particularly in the opening. Something about this line reminds me of the brilliant Christophe Laudamiel and his work with Strangelove, perhaps these are less obviously built on amazing natural raw materials, but something about the feel and complexity is similar. A massive endorsement.

6 years ago

So it’s been a while since I’ve recoiled in horror at the opening of a fragrance. I mean (Versace) Eros is bad enough but his tears fucking stink! 🤣 No in fairness the challenge of this scent is something I relish and tears of Eros is a massive challenge but already as it’s settling, it’s twinkling facets of jade greens and turquoise blues are really starting to elicit a more positive response, this gets better and better as it dries down. There’s a huge, wet floral note of hyacinth, I mean it’s not even that element which is unpleasant, but usually in isolation not my favourite thing. I think it’s just the opening is such a concentrated mass of ‘stuff’ brutalising your nostrils, I mean I grimaced 😬 I actually grimaced 😬. It’s metallic, resinous (galbanum or Angelica perhaps?) ozonic, it’s more than breeze or seaside this is not at the ‘side’ it’s a Mariana Trench, marine depth charge of a thing! I think it’s absolutely inspired! Hugely memorable anyway. Tears of Eros is not my scene but I can get off on occasion to stuff like this because it’s such bold, unique, perfumery. Something about the style of the drydown reminds me a touch of French Lover and that’s a very positive association indeed. I can’t believe the flip flop from, intrusive, and atrocious opening to something very nice indeed when settled, just goes to show you shouldn’t judge a perfume too quickly and harshly, I kinda had a funny feeling in my waters that it was going to get better. I’d say, of the three I’ve tried so far ...this one is probably my favourite just due to the sheer artistry can’t wait to wear it properly. UPDATE 09/06/21 Can I just say that when talking to people who asked me what where the highlights of my 2020, I say 'Tears of Eros' I CAN'T STOP THINKIING ABOUT IT. I really can't, and yet everything I said above is accurate. It's one of the most interesting works I've smelled in a long time, it's a pure piece of olfactory art. I described it recently as 'Heavy metal Hyacinths' and that's pretty accurate, If I bought a bottle I'm not sure if there would ever be an occasion suitable? Perhaps if Iron Maiden started doing gigs at the botanical gardens or something? Paul deserves massive credit for this and his line in general, it's really hard for an indy perfume to balance polish and really wacky new ideas but he seems to strike a really good balance.

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6 years ago

Polo Red Pride Edition

Ralph Lauren

fragmental

People voting it down because it's a Pride version. 🤦♂️

6 years ago

Does anyone know if this smells like Halfeti Cedar? It has similar notes...

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6 years ago

Colonia Fiorentina

Profumo di Firenze 1954

houdini

This is quite simply what people expect from a neroli fragrance, waxy, fresh in the vein of 4711 or Neroli Portofino (which although later) is the staple of this genre and is an actual neroli fragrance in that sense rather than a cologne. My experience of natural neroli materials is anything from a greener, truly unique smell to a hardware store or recently painted wall, rather than the fatty, white floral accord so indicative of ‘neroli’ based perfumes, but I digress. The opening of this is a stunning, If slightly short lived zing, with the natural metallic quality of petitgrain joining it and immediately fresh with the ripe, creamy, white floral accord. It’s a beautiful thing and although the initial zing is short lived, the citrus and white floral combo is perfect for extending and boosting the citrus aspect and for me rivals the power of a neroli Portofino for example but has a much classier, classic cologne delivery. It’s more of a Floris or M&W 4711 type fragrance and just in between as the citrus settles into more floral dominance there’s hints of basil type herbs maybe a bay leaf or a touch of spice? It’s carefully made and well executed perfumery. The bottles from this brand are simple but elegant, the price is great, I can’t fault them other than to say that this is slightly more dominant with neroli than suits my tastes but occasionally I will rock this and enjoy it. On a hot day you could do a lot worse than cooling off wearing some of this. Highly recommended.

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6 years ago

Dolce Prospettiva

Profumo di Firenze 1954

houdini

Right here’s the lowdown. Having owned Terrarossa for a couple of years now, and being made aware of this brand by my pal Dana (the brilliant A nose knows) I’ve been tempted to get the others for a while and I’m not disappointed with this blind buy. Here is a true first impression of this fragrance, immediately sweet orange top, cascades down into a gourmand, so it’s a chocolate orange, great combination but hard to pull off. (For a novice like me, because I’ve tried) The reason it works here is because it’s not too sweet and has evolved into a fatty, creamy lactonic orange orange blossom when dried down. The main thing I took away from this was (bearing in mind I just said it wasn’t too sweet) a mildly inflected, bubblegum note. This is not the crappy saccharine note of cheesy men’s designers of late, it smells of Jasmine or tuberose in that natural, slightly bananary sense. Dries down much more vanilla and similar to a million femme marketed fruity vanillas, but maintains a nice chocolate/benzoin right to the death. I think when you look at this as a whole, from unique start to somewhat predictable finish, it still has a huge amount of merit, I mean I’d wear this, and will of course, being a rare fragrance of this type that I actually like, opening with such an interesting and well constructed flourish as it does. Do I love it? No. I like it though. It’s nothing like Serge Lutens Fleurs d’oranger BTW except for an orange blossom note/accord in here.

6 years ago

A stronger, longer lasting, deeper version of the EDP. I find it very similar.

6 years ago

It’s not for everyone. It smells like I’d imagine a dental surgery on a spaceship. All very hard and sharp metallic edges. There’s an apple note but it’s a futuristic apple. Not made of fruit. It’s made of aluminium. Which I guess is why we need the dental surgery. Long lasting. Durable. Metallic. Sometimes I catch a whiff of it in the air and think it's delicious, and then I find the metal again. And it's obnoxious. This is a marmite fragrance. And I still can't decide if I love it or hate it. It's about 97% hate. But just maybe I could love it. Which makes no sense. Good day.

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6 years ago

Rosendo Mateu Nº 5 Floral, Amber, Sensual Musk

Rosendo Mateu Olfactive Expressions

fragrance_weirdo

Slightly nutty amber for me. Huge performance. Beautifully executed. Reminds me slightly of Xerjoff Amber Star. Others will disagree.

6 years ago

I’m not amazing at recognising notes. In fact I’m quite poor at it. Maybe better than your average muggle but certainly it’s not my super power. I particularly struggle with differentiating herbal notes. So as soon as I smelled this I was pretty pleased with myself as the tarragon note was so obvious. It’s got a herbal greenness to it but also an almost aniseed note. It’s unmistakable. It immediately conjures up memories of cooking with my mum when I was a kid and using tarragon. Of course tarragon isn’t listed. So much for my self congratulation. But whatever. To me this is a citrus and tarragon fragrance. Verging on aniseed. It’s very polite and dries down to a pleasant ambergris and earthy vetiver base. Very very classy as you’d expect from Guerlain. Not beast mode. But ideal summer wears

6 years ago

Very honoured to be the first entry on this perfume because Chenoir is absolutely fantastic! It’s a valuable lesson In understatement for Indy perfumers who seem to insist on this murky, witchy, brew approach whereas Amanda thinks in structure and simple accords, coming together to make far more than the sum of their parts. This is basically a transparent, herbal, green fragrance with an old meets new Chypre sensibility. The bergamot and oakmoss providing the classic elements delicate, flora muguet and modern woods in the base providing the modernised contemporary elements. There’s a light resinous warmth in this too. The lasting impression is made by the oakmoss and far from being an oakmoss fragrance I’d say if you really want to smell something which unashamedly places it at the centre of the composition, then I can honestly say you’d be hard pressed to find anything better? Certainly not from an Indy perfumer, these days. I love Chenoir it’s fantastically fresh and wearable, but interesting and truly like nothing else out there. The price is fantastic for the quality and I get to support a UK perfumer. This deserved the Golden pear. Just get it! You will not regret it.

6 years ago

Wanted this for so long, finally got it in time for the Summer, which it doesn't really seem people's recommended time to wear it. The thing is, I'm not totally sold on the seasonality of perfumes, all the more because I think this is the type of scent that blooms with the heat, since I've caught it smelling kinda sweaty on me (and right after a shower, so I know it wasn't really me). Obviously it's "sweaty" in a nice way. Well, not really nice, it's sort of dirty actually, it's the slutty vibe the perfume is supposed to have. But it's not a constant feature, and possibly the temperature helps it develop this way. So to the people missing this facet my suggestion is spritz it during a hot and humid day and see if anything changes. Curious as to know if it changes during the colder months and becomes a tame(r) powdery floral.

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6 years ago

Salome

Papillon Artisan Perfumes

houdini

Okay so...it's official...Salome is my favourite perfume from this brand. I had to make sure, when Liz announced Bengale rouge I was about to purchase Salome but then thought I wait to see what it was all about. Which was fine but BR couldn't knock the crown off Salome. It opens with a cumin leather infused, smooth, mildly vegetal remiscent of raw, leathery, castoreum tempered by more rounded orris butter or somethin? This is reinforced later with dry Ionone smells later on. The main effect which points to classic oriental/chypre hybrid a la the late, great Mr Guy Robert is the contrast of clearly animalic undertones with powdery florals. On top a gentle but firm, carnation accord blooms, a little powdered but not really, the whole effect is quite masculine. It was on me at least and I said this of Salome if a man wore it I'd likely gesture to him in some blokey acknowledgement of his keen interest in very finely made, classic perfumery. If it was a woman I'd likely be begging at her stilettoed heel, like some submissive dog/manslave! The animalic nature giving Salome a mildly sexy charge. I'll say this though, it's full bodied and uncompromising and yet I find it a total pussycat and carefully applied it's so very pleasant and polite. The animalics in here are clearly handled with a very deft touch and Liz is in her element making these creations which nod at vintage perfumes, all in a genre of their own. Some Indy perfumers use animalics in a very hamfisted way, banging a load a civet replacer in and calling that an animalic accord when for me it lacks nuance and sinks like a stone to the bottom of the composition only to languish and likely still be detected on your skin days later. (to be fair you can smell Salome the next day) No doubt Salome probably uses Civet replacer but the overall musks seem to have been carefully woven and blended into the very fabric of what Salome is. It's muscanone, mallow warm, sweet musks and the more authentic, deer, pissy animalic shangrilide and animalis type too but perfectly balanced. I think it's completely mesmerising stuff. It's artistry isn't something to be broken down in the kinda tedious, armchair way I pluck and poke at possible materials used. Just wear it and revel in it. Superb.

6 years ago

Yuzu fragrances are slightly disappointing on the whole, I can't remember many to be honest (either deflating or reinforcing my point there) oh actually Caron Yuzu that's nice but also forgettable.(see?) This is nothing like that really, I think of Yuzu as zingy, bitter lemony, grapefruit but very much its own signature citrus smell. You expect a punch, at least a jab of citrus, instead you get quite a big, fleshy, fruit, much more exotic, almost mango like to me. An off kilter middle-ground between Two L'Artisans for me, Timbuktu (seriously) and Batucada. It's like a tropical fruit with the oddness of that bamboo accord, mildly green but with a slightly sweaty edge of spice. I love the way it ends up on skin because it's rounded, clean, musky, a bit warm at heart, and not just some lifeless citrus cologne that burned brightly at first but fizzled out just as quick. I get an earthy, spice to this hence the vetiver inference, and illusion of very mild caraway or cumin. This is a fascinating little creation from a very creative and quality house. Personally, I'm not that taken with it but I find it worthy of praise, certainly for fans of fruity fragrances, this is a stranger alternative to try.

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6 years ago

Exceptional Because You Are for Women

Exceptional Parfums

ladydonttekno1

This is Vera Wang Sheer Veil-lite meets water hyacinth (see: Aguape/Malachite Special Edition). The packaging and juice color also look kind of similar to VWSV. Totally getting the pencil shavings, which frankly is kind of cool. I don't hate it, but I already have enough VWSV to last me through the afterlife.

6 years ago

Stunning. I bought this for my girlfriend because she’d fallen in love with it from a 2ml sample. I can always tell when she’s put it on, the fragrance fills our home. I can often smell it from the room next door, sometimes even when I’m downstairs. It’s beautiful, elegant, not too complex and easy to wear. Comes out more woody on my skin. Follow me on Instagram: @TheScentiest

6 years ago

This is a delight. A spicy delight. It's a masterclass in black and pink pepper, both grainy, sharply seasoned and oddly sweet. The under body is a creamy wooded deck slightly exposed and dry with Cardamom, well worn. It's an absolute spice bazaar of a thing. Has the restraint and sophistication you'd expect from this brand, but it's not 'pretty' in that sense. It's the perfumer showcasing all the little facets of these spices without being heavy handed with them as they so easily could be. I found it a revelation considering it was one I hadn't tried and wasn't really aware of. If you like spices, this is incredibly accomplished use of them. Rare that I write a review from first sniffing, update to come once I wear it.

6 years ago

So cuir Cavalier is a no holds barred leather. A modern, twangy, patent leather, jockstrap of a thing. Masses of saffron adorn this fragrance and pretty much dominate and having used saffron extensively I can attest that real good Iranian/Spanish Saffron tinctures are quite fleeting things, despite their power they are true top notes. This is a carefully constructed and realistic saffron accord, perfectly complimented by castoreum and oud (I suspect) which are fixing and giving similar dense, yet transparent qualities. The tingle that this gives to your nose is quite something to behold. It's not woody particularly and animal-like rather than truly animalic. I detected a faint, wet floral in the opening too, freshening and giving a marginally more classic direction to what is essentially a pretty modern fragrance. Immediately I described the aesthetic as 'floral leather' in the same way I would with Cuir de Russie (Chanel) or something? Not that they smell anything alike. I look forward to wearing this for it's bite and it's purrr and because I love saffron, but I've a feeling this might polarise.

6 years ago

What is happening here? Why have I not reviewed this? Did my review get voted out of existance? How could I let such an oversight go unchecked? For a while at least it was my favourite MDCI but revisiting the samples from this house again this week I've realised that Claude Marchal's vision for this brand is one I admire, and everything is good. I don't feel I had the level of maturity to appreciate the full body of work the first time around. At that point I had rejected the nicely, nicely, French perfumery approach and was seeking the visceral, wacky thrills of niche and Indy perfumers. Having got that out of my system I still arrive back at Cuir Garamante and I'm stunned by just what a great perfume it is. The opening is leathery, indulgent and does smack of lots of things I was into at the time of first trying and probably why I didn't pursue CG more intently. So... from memory then, I got an incense sandalwood and vanilla vibe accented with resins and it kinda is that still. However, upon todays trial I get much more of an unusual and enticing quality of rose wrapped in a hyper creamy accord comprised of sandalwood materials, not nutty or cedarish, pencil shaving but not a million miles from palo santo actually. Now that stuff is an almost unusable material for numerous reasons but mainly the off putting creepy rubber and mint facets, and it's ipecac, sickliness to boot. However some strange nicer quality of Mysore sandalwood is captured in this fragrance and with the rose it can evoke one classic perfume. Chanel Egoiste. The selfish man's choice for smelling great, however this is even more rich and densely layered with that labdanum/resins effect and a sort of gourmand, shortbread accent. There's top notes too, it's not all bases and mids and that is what makes it shine through and ultimately the leather quality of the name too. It's more magic from MDCI and it's not even my second or third favourite now but I still love this thing!

6 years ago

So many fragrances out there, I keep coming across stuff I tried years ago and didn't review, this is one such fragrance but usually it's because they were so so or frankly not worth bothering to pen a review about. (not that it's EVER stopped me before mind you) Anyways.... This is a towering colossus, a monumentally superb amber, with everything going for it. I get sweetness in the opening a dusting of cinnamon then into a relentless, headstrong and molasses thick amber, with mild chocolately nuance of benzoin. This is not a labdanum or incense heavy amber it's a prime balance of everything you want in an amber with a dry, natural 'old books' vibe through to reassuringly not over saccharine, gourmandness. It's a decent fragrance and very reasonably priced for the quality. It reminds me of Ambra Aurea for sure, Italian amber if you like? It's great I can't sing it's praises enough.

6 years ago

Does this really smell like Drakkar Noir? (I'm not slagging off DN BTW...I like it) NO! it definitely doesn't to me. Nobile is an interesting green, citrus chypre/fougere/cologne with that warm, rounded base, perhaps some sandalwood chiming in after a typically fresh and mossy start. I find it invigorating, quality men's business, lightly spiced and more complex than I can even bother to describe. Nobile is not a fragrance that one needs to spend a great deal of time explaining or describing. Nobile is manly, straight forwardly functional but not without Italian flair. Nobile just is. If you can find it and you love a good quality men's throwback fragrance that I defy you to find fault with then.... DON'T seek out Nobile, because I want that bottle you are watching on eBay. ;)

6 years ago

I wore this the other day and I suppose I like it? It's rose ffs! However I found it to have a soapy, slightly annoying trail that you could taste. Seriously. Modern, musky and diffusive. It's smells different at a distance to close up. Close you get some lightly vanillic, clean musk infused with rose and at a distance more sweet, fatty rose. This is a perfumed, perfume and evokes...no screams the colour pink. As such I felt very self conscious wearing it, and that's not me at all. I think it's because there's no oud, no woods no patchouli or the usual suspects to speak of and nothing as a counterpoint or anchor to the relentlessness of rose accord in here. It's complex in and of itself but not enough for me to get onboard. I'm not one who utters this particularly often but Rose perfection is too feminine for me.

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6 years ago