Okay to give this some context, I sprayed this again after paying very little attention to it for years and in direct comparison with YSL newer fragrances Y & Myself and LNDLM parfum shined with a new kind of clarity and brilliance, like a Diamond, no actually… an uncut piece of semi precious stone among some dog turds. I like how this formulation veers more into the soft warm territory than the edt, making them quite different but clearly related fragrances. Sometimes I don’t think perfumers get credit for when they remake or reimagine fragrances, cleverly mimicking accords and playing around with structure. It’s tempting to say… “ I prefer the original” or not to fully appreciate why certain decisions have been made.
I found the opening to be very impactful and interesting the pink pastel sweetness of pink pepper and iris over an instantly enveloping pillow of musky, dusky, sandy woods. It appeals to me on a very basic level but I went through stages of feeling a little smothered by it's themes but then just wallowing in the loveliness and cozy atmosphere of it all. I could still smell it on my skin this morning, and it was a musky skin scent. Good stuff but by no means great.
I don't understand how people can compare this with Oud for Greatness. They have nothing in common, OFG is a Saffron scent with metallic undertones and it's not an Oud scent, this one is Rose Oud scent without Saffron. This one is well blended harmonious concoction with Patchouli and leathery undertones. How someone can assume that OFG would be like this if the notes are totally different? There is nothing special in this scent but it's well blended and it's pleasant. Rose is not so strong and all other notes are smooth and polished as well. I only have a sample of this one and it's not interesting enough to wear it many days to write an in depth review. It's beautiful though. Roses, resinous Oud with leather and Patchouli. Doesn't stand out from many similar ones. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
I enjoyed this perfume, I thought it was very good indeed. Comparisons to TdH are a little simplistic to me... ahhh okay.... This is genuine now. So I wore this perfume yesterday and I'm writing this review retrospectively However, I also sprayed it on a card which I popped in the top pocket of a jacket I'm wearing today and just as I was about to say how wrong and naive and ignorant comparisons to the Hermes fragrance are I kept thinking....I can smell Terre d Hermes....I thought it was my mind conjuring it!!! But seeing as I don't believe that woo, I knew it had to be something real, sure enough it was the Boadicea card. (Facepalm) Okay so bearing all that in mind I never made a particular association when first sprayed, nor did I when wearing this yesterday other than it being a peppery, citrus vetiver. I do now somewhat, however this is more luxurious than Terre D'Hermes, it really is, to the point I stick to what I was originally saying and comparisons are quite redundant, The point I was making was that they are not totally irrelevant I guess. This is speaking as someone who has recreated many different tweaks on GCMS formulas of Terre and used it as a jumping off point for my own creations and let me tell you like many corners of perfumery which are iconic and breakthrough for a reason, many others will arrive (or intentionally reproduce) a similar journey to get to almost the same destination. But the 'Almost' can be quite a broad church even if you start getting esoteric and talking about 'vibrations' and 'emotions' and such. If I'd immediately smelled Terre I wouldn't be as on board with this perfume as I am. I got more bergamot, malaise of fruit, and eau de cologne, and a sort of generic but still very nice vetiver/cedar. The drydown and card remnant is much richer and rounder even still. A minor tweak of similar materials to TdH no doubt but as I mentioned that can make all the difference.
1 spray = delicate clean musk Several sprays = wait a minute, there's a dirty skank hiding under the freshly laundered sheets and they will do ANYTHING. I love this, it's deceptively complex, a strange mix of steamed aldehydes, salty skin and zesty sparkle. Nasomatto never fails to impress me, even with the ones I can't wear, but this is a favourite.
This gets compared to Beach Hut Woman, and while the first 2 seconds when the spray is airborne DO smell remarkably similar, there is a crucial difference afterwards. Beach Hut Woman is a beautiful example of the restrained use of calone, discreetly peeping from amongst a delicate chorus of effervescent notes. White Whale has a big fishy glut of calone, or perhaps some other similar chemical, that I find irritating and nauseating, and that's just with a teensy spray from a 2ml sample.. It's horrible. If you can't find Beach Hut Woman I'd recommend cutting your losses and moving on.
Hiris is one of the Iris scents which has very original personality. It’s not dry and powdery, it feels more like wet on my skin. It’s beautiful, elegant and poetic. It’s somehow clean and fresh but not soapy one. It’s a little bit melancholic, absolutely ethereal and innocent. It’s like walking through the garden with the bare feet early in the morning. The scent is smooth and polished, it’s so beautiful and so blue. 💙 I don’t have any problems with longevity but I used to change a perfume at least a couple of times during the day. I haven’t tried this scent in the new bottle so I don’t have any idea if it’s the same. I’m happy to own this one. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
The first 10 minutes were almost a scrub situation for me. It was a cacophonous blur of heavy and biting herbs in resin. After 30 minutes, I started coming around on it. The unsweet vanilla does a lot to take the blend to a place that makes sense. I like the amber at this point and the warmth is very well done. Deep dry down is very pleasant but not as interesting and too much patchouli. Overall I'd find it challenging to wear this with any regularity. Agree with others that it's a little weak sillage/longevity especially given the scent profile.
Smells like (a very strong) Polo Blue.
This is like the congealed, coagulated hardcore essence of 70s and 80s oriental bangers, which, thanks to CDG, we get to experience without having to tolerate the aldehydes which have turned with age which come with most vintages. It's incredible, a real classic, whore-ish fanfare of a perfume and a love letter to a genre which is all but dead now.
This is an absolute banger!. Smells like a white floral, smooth honey. Not the sharp kind you find in Guerlain Tobacco Honey. This fragrance oozes with class and boardaline gourmand elegance. Truly a dressed up scent. Drydown has a slightly nutty creamy effect. Not sure what's causing that but definitely welcomed.
I seem to like all Xerjoff's scents in "17/17 Stone Label" collection and those ones from other collections which are made by Chris Maurice. He just knows how to make an excellent perfumes. Most of the Xerjoffs are somewhat so synthetic, unpleasant and poor quality but perfumes in this collection always surprises me with their beauty. Unfortunately for now I only have Richwood and Symphonium but definitely need Irisss, Damarose and Pikovaya Dama and now I fell in love with this one. Straight away in the opening you can feel how beautifully Begum has been blended. all those flowers intertwine seamlessly, creating a velvety and creamy concoction. There is a subtle fruity aroma in the background but mostly it's the luxurious floral bouquet in the utterly soft and dreamy base. Iris and Violet makes it powdery but it's not a dry make up powder. This makes me think about the dream, it feels like sleeping on the clouds, it's like a foggy day in a fairy tale and the sun creates a hazy warm light through the clouds. None of those flowers is dominating the scent. The base is harmonious combination where Vanilla, Musk and Sandalwood are the main players and other woody and amber notes keep them together maintaining the scent floral, not as "Vanilla scent" or too sweet. There is nothing Oriental about the fragrance itself imo. Begum is signature scent worthy, it's year around scent, it has a feminine touch in it. It's so relaxing, I can see it suits well the classy lady at the work. It's elegant, it's attractive and seductive. I think men would love this on women. This scent doesn't bother anyone but still it's unique. It makes irresistible bubble around the wearer. I definitely want to buy a bottle of this one. I wish I would have tried this properly straight away after I got this sample over a year ago. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
Calabria - another disappointingly cheap and forgettable fragrance from Gissah; this house isn’t making a good impression on me at all. This scent boils down to a clean, powdery floral scent with fruity nuances, but left all creativity and interest at the door. An obnoxious concoction of pink pepper, cashmere and scratchy amberwoods make up the majority of the scent profile giving it this sharp, cheap feel - accompanied by a ludicrously bad take on an Iris accord. It’s powdery, but not in a nice way - and that’s coming from someone who adores powdery fragrances. It’s just boring, I don’t really know what to say about it. It’s so unimaginative and uninspiring that nothing comes to my mind apart from how boring and basic it smells. If you enjoy it then fair enough, it’s not unpleasant, I just feel like wearing a scent like this is a waste of time and personality.
Having heard a lot of excitement over Gissah’s Imperial Valley, I was expecting something great - never have I been so let down. Are there people out there seriously enjoying this? It’s got to be one of the cheapest smells I’ve ever come across, if I didn’t already know what fragrance it was I’d say it came from Poundland. Looking at the notes, it makes you realise how much of it is just marketing. Oud, Amber and leather? Yeah, no. It’s bland, boring and overwhelmingly scratchy fresh shower gel scent - it smells like something Paco Rabanne would release. To me, the bergamot and pink pepper are in absolute overdose with nothing else going on. I cannot fathom why this is popular, I don’t think I can even bring myself to wear the sample I’ve got - walking around, going about my day knowing I smell like a 13 year old on the poverty line is not really my style, thanks.
I have a bottle from 2015. I must be losing my marbles as to me it smells very similar to Balenciaga Pour Homme. Huh?
I swoon when I catch this in the air. Criminal of Amouage to discontinue this. It's perfect.
It smells fine, fits the Sauvage bill perfectly if you like that type of thing, but WTF is going on with the milky appearance, and worse still the sticky, tacky skin it gives you. This is the first time I've scrubbed something off not because of smell, but because I felt like I had food smeared on me. Do we need perfume that doesn't contain alcohol? Not if it does that. For the record, it still smells very strong after washing, so maybe that's it. Put it on, wash off the slime, Bob's your uncle.
I hate the other Sauvages, but aside from the weird texture on my skin, I love this. It's a great resiny lavender, not too musky, and has great performance. A gem, in my opinion.
Managed to get a vintage sample of this gorgeous perfume but there's nothing flouncy or poetic about it to me, I found it quite functional and to the point. The point being leather. A unambiguous, loveable, non intrusive, realistic leather accord. Interesting that it predates big references I could make to elegant 'Russian' leather accords like the iconic floral leather Cuir de Russie by Chanel and perhaps that Guerlain one of the same name? (although alas I've never tried that :() The vibe here is much more stripped back though and simple tonality, which I totally love about this perfume. Peau d'Espagne has this creamy. fleshy, lightly powdered feel, with a hint of smoke to it. It's barely 'smoky' though I get that this has much more toned down, less exotic floral element, rather than ylang or jamine it's much more in the realms of hinting at carnation or geranium. Could it even evoke mentions of Guerlain Derby? Again that would be totally misleading! lol not having much luck here reference wise. Basically if you like the perfumes I've mentioned, classic floral and powdery leathers, you like the house (yes they deserve to be called a house) of Santa Maria Novella you So smooth, I love it.
Man, I really wanted to like this. I can’t get into the heavy cinnamon and dated spice note in the opening and mid. I also can’t justify keeping a perfume that’s only to my liking moderately during the very tail end of the dry down when it’s pretty much base notes only. I respect this perfume, I just don’t enjoy it, and it’s not for me.
This is an amber perfume, not an oud perfume, continuing the common trend to name perfumes "oud" that don't contain oud. This one isn't even trying to smell like oud. But, it is nice, very rich and elegant.
I love green fragrances and I’ve sampled quite a few now, but this one hits a real sweet spot: it’s a woody, bitter, herbal greenness that’s distinctly masculine in a vintage way. I love the presentation of wormwood here: it adds a thrilling nervous energy to the aromatic bay leaf, sage, and clove notes, like a poisonous snake slithering through undergrowth. The pine notes also blend seamlessly into the musky, leathery base, conjuring a foggy forest, not a Christmas tree. The geranium and jasmine are a surprise, as is the fact that this fragrance is so green without having any galbanum or vetiver. It feels surprisingly light and agile—effervescent, even—but it also has impressive duration and sillage. Many people have described this as a modernized version of Caron’s classic Yatagan, which I haven’t smelled, though I gather that it’s more animalic (I suspect it might lean a little too overtly masc for my taste, though I’m very curious about it). Of all the scents I’ve sniffed by Antoine Maisondieu, this is easily my favourite. I wish it wasn't discontinued! Hopefully my decanted sample lasts me until I can find a vintage bottle—or better yet, maybe ELdO will bring it back?
The overall profile of Hermann is deeply up my alley: damp earth with green elements (galbanum, black currant, vetiver), an unusual rose oil, incense, and a mysterious sheer, glassy, watery quality that’s obviously synthetic and hard to describe. Like a lot of ELdO scents, it’s challenging and paradoxical: it smells simultaneously very natural, even dirty (wet soil, decaying leaves, crushed and wilted rose petals) and like a strong “fresh”-scented soap (Ivory or Irish Spring). The rain accord reminds me strongly of the patchouli-heavy mirrored wateriness of Le Labo's Baie 19 (which I love), though without the juniper, and also of Perfumer H’s Rain Wood (and even a little bit of their Ink, since Lyn Harris loves to lace a touch of rose into her green and woody fragrances). Jorum’s Rose Highland is a similarly sharp, salty rose—herbal, rocky, marine, very masculine and redolent of chilly wind and cliffside herbs. And Aesop’s Rozu, which is supposed to embody the whole life cycle of the rose, from soil to bloom to decay, is probably the closest analogue I can think of. But Aesop, Jorum, and Perfumer H all feel very natural and organic and Hermann is much weirder, using synthetics (like Pepperwood and Geosmin) in a deliberately provocative way; rather than evoking mystery through meditative quietude, it achieves mystery by confusing your senses. (I think Baie 19 does something similar, though it’s more restrained). There are facets of this that I find really off-putting—I think one of them might be the aquatic Calypsone note, though I’ve never smelled that chemical before, so who knows—but I find 80% of the scent intoxicating. It feels polarizing to me, partly because it’s also pretty strong and definitely projects, but it also perfectly hits a mood that I love: shadowy, poetic, and enigmatic, green and earthy combined with sheer and ghostly. It’s both melancholy and mischievous. At the end of the day, I think I prefer a more natural, subdued version of this, but I appreciate that Hermann provides a thrill (and it has great longevity). Will definitely be getting use out of my sample.
It's OK, unremarkable really. It brings to mind certain masculine Guerlains, halfway between a Homme Idéal flanker and an Absolus d'Orient, but they do it better, plus the performance here is [insert wet balloon deflation noise].
Unfortunalty this comes off as juvenile on my skin, and not in an acceptable way (like Zouzou or Dans Paris by Celine, for example), and worse still, it smells cheap. That aside, I also don't appreciate the combination of ultra-sweet, milky notes and apple, it gets nauseating. I don't think it's a terrible perfume but it's not for me and I don't want to smell it on anyone around me.
