So musk fragrances like this are often overlooked or dismissed as being 'nice' code for boring or at the least uninteresting, but I love them! So my review is skewed through the filter of this bias for subtle musky scents...bear that in mind. I really enjoyed musk therapy, I did it's beautiful but it has off steps which don't allow it into the upper echelons of my personal musk elite, for two reasons mainly. 1) The opening. The top notes are 'blackcurrant' which always excites me when I hear that, but rarely does it deliver, this has a smell of the classic cassis base used in lots of perfumes but whereas it's usually support to citrus and other materials (which probably are here too) it's very much out in the open, sort of exposed in such a minimal fragrance, and that's why musks of this type are so hard, because there really is nowhere to hide. It's funny because I like the smell of cassis base but I don't like it's effects when it's too noticeable, just a personal preference. 2) The musks do have that clean, touch of aldehdydic soap to them, and a floral, muguet touch that's also fine really, it's a minor gripe and one of a kind of neo-musk, purist. By that I mean the likes of Mugler's Over the musk somehow has the ability not to have to worry about entertaining you with a floral heart or anything, it's just a relentless pillow of musk, with occasional twinkles of notes popping out and playing peekaboo, like blissed out figures staggering out of the mist a rave or something? Stupefied and wanting to hug you and tell you how much they 'Love you man!' The drydown of this is a milky, creamy, beautiful sandalwood, vanilla, musk and yeah I really like it a lot, but I can't help thinking musk therapy is cheating really. Even the name makes it almost a cynical nod to the fact it's doing this. It is therapeutic. To clarify when I say cheating that's not me contradicting what I said, a musk like this is not as easy as people think it is to achieve. Real heads will enjoy this perfume I'm sure and I have too, any fault is nitpicking really but it simple doesn't make me feel how Malle, Serge, Mugler, Les Indemodable, Essential etc... It didn't move me emotionally and I think the top notes threw me. Other than that a lovely prefume, certainly worth checking out.
I had high expectations for Rose trombone, the few I tried prior from this brand are excellent and there's been some seriously good rose perfumes of late from brands like Les indemodable, Matiere premiere, and even Moschino's Toy Boy which is bloody fantastic!!! I was hoping to be treated to something of real beauty and don't get me wrong this is a good fragrance, but it's got tough competition from the ones I mentioned. The depth of this really comes in the drydown, somehow becoming more rosy however I'll start from the beginning. So my first impressions on the strip were of an aldehydic, sharp, soapy, rose perfume which I'm not apposed to from those descriptors, in fact that's quite appealing, but something just didn't gel for me. However, smelling it much later on the strip and wearing it today, my impressions of the opening on my skin is of a much more rounded affair, frankly I don't know where the fizzy aldehyde thing has retreated to? It's still sorta there? Rose trombone is comprising those fruity, jammy elements of rose almost with a kind of plastic, dolls head, playfulness, and the mild bubblegum, soapy aspects, but still not really that rosy. Although my sister commented that my car 'smelled like rosewater' I'd say this is more creamy and waxy than a transparent rose watery perfume but clearly it fills the air with rose vibes even if you're not that aware yourself. To be honest I don't really know where this sits in terms of a rose, it's very accomplished and as I mentioned earlier gets rosier somehow, and vanillic with a good mixture of emotions, it's a subtle rose but present on skin all day and creamy it's pretty lovely and feels modern, and as I say if some rose fans are crazy about this and for the price etc...I'd say fair enough.
So composition wise, I could be harsh and say that this is a mess, and I do kinda think that but what I have to accept is that this kind of perfume simple is not my aesthetic. (I've borrowed this term from my pal Clayton to describe natural perfume I really want to be bitchy about in a diplomatic and measured way.) So bare that in mind. Also bear in mind that I've read the notes because I blind sniffed it a couple of times and didn't really have much of a clue what the perfume is trying to do, my guesses were patchouli and tonnes of ambery resins and that it much of the opening to be fair. The wierdest thing I'd say is that the opening does have a herbal, spicy nature to it (I wish it was overtly fennel) but I'd say dominated by smoky patchouli and thick, amber it reminds me of Slumberhouse (dunno which one?) just the whole thing, it's that classic, natural perfumery, onslaught. The florals really start to kick and you get that brushy, dry, amalgam of pot pouri or a hippy shop, jos sticks and whittled shit all fighting for attention. The opening is EVERYTHING, and I don't mean that in the popular, positive way people say (women & gays mainly, so all my IG perfume pals basically haha) like they might say 'Britney is EVERYTHING' or whatever? I quite literally mean this is a chaotic, primordial brew, jutting out whatever you want it to! Which is kinda good perfume I suppose? It's a tough one for me. I'm confused. However, then something seismic occurs and as someone who irritatingly prides themselves on predicting the plot of movies or TV series, and to be fair with a pretty reasonable degree of accuracy (not that it's anything to be particularly proud of) I'd have never guessed who Kashi was going to evolve. The temperature gets a touch more chilly and then a chalky, powdery, peach infused, smell of osmanthus really begins to dominate. I'D NEVER HAVE PREDICTED THAT TWIST!!!! NO WAY!!!! It's not all fun and games though, smells like decayed roses and dry Geraniol from some natural absolutes and breathe deep of the drydown and you get the nuttiness probably of the sandalwood in the base. I mean this is clearly a really good fragrance and I'm not, not enjoying it. Kashi just ain't my bag. I see this variety of natural perfumery as too reliant on great, raw materials (not a bad thing necessarily) but not enough about composition and finesse.Perhaps I'm being unfair and snobby but there you are. Kashi is rescued from being a total soup by that prominent Osmanthus, which made it much more palatable, interesting and added a kind of freshness to what would've other wise been a bit of a witchy, and stuffy affair.
Avant garde is a very pleasant floral leather. The actual leather accord in here is a very nice one, accurate to the smell of real leather but with a strange and fleeting banana note in the top, which I'm assuming is perhaps from a heady floral like jasmine or ylang which often evoke this banana sensation. It mellows to a dry, iris on my clothes and occasional wafts of violets but not in any sense overt, this is a floral leather with the emphasis on the leather. Having tried lots of leathers and Irises recently it doesn't take me a lot to get 'up for' one and I'm immediately down with this, loved it on the strip and it's a pleasurable wear. It's got a synth, future, plastic and wood vibe, with some sweetness it's very in keeping with the brand's carefully nurtured aesthetics. I like it, I just wish I loved it, but it needs to make more of a statement to stand out for me. Good but it's a bit like my report card at school, has potential but needs to apply itself. :)
When I first heard the name @bybozoparis I was a bit confused. It seems such a peculiar name. It’s actually the name of the founders Grandfather, Fatah Bozo. The brands founder Khalid Hamoudi grew up in Kurdistan and the fragrances are all EDP and focus on natural ingredients. Presentation is nice and clean with a cool white box and a really cool logo. The caps are bespoked gold jobs and look way better than I’ve been able to get the photo to show. Fragrance wise this one is called In Law. It’s mostly saffron and vetiver to me. It opens with some bergamot (not listed) and some aromatic cloves but pretty soon transitions to a rooty vetiver with a little spice from the saffron and some depth from the Oud. This isn’t an Oud centric fragrance - rather its there in a support role to the vetiver. I’m having something of a vetiver fest at the moment. Perhaps it’s the change of the season. This one fits right in. Performance is pretty good. It’s not a monster but it’s no slouch either and that’s fine. The word that keeps coming back to me with this one is stylish. This is a stylish perfume.
Oh dear. This is a bit of a funny one. I've been across 110th street at night and it don't smell like this, believe you me. I think this is a bit muddled in the pursuit of making something unique, which is an admirable motive for getting in a bit of a mess in the first place. The opening gives me warm to hot spices, I'll go along with nutmeg, clove, perhaps a little cinnamon and even saffron, but the sweetness is an unusual cheap cherryade/maraschino cherries, benzaldehyde and coumarin, which is dying out as soon as it hits your skin because it's offset by hollow, papery woods and faintly floral ionone, driness and that bready, milky, tepid cup of half english breakfast, half chai tea, feel from something like Dries van Noten by Frederic Malle but frankly not as complex or interesting. This effect will forever remind me of the scent that pioneered this vibe which for me was Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens. To be fair it's not quite as relentlessly, foodie and odd as the Malle, When I sprayed this on a test strip I really liked the late drydown of musks and whatever left in the base of this fragrance, it really does smell beautiful but that happens all the time with fragrances I don't really like and is the classic addage, too little, too late, to the point where that lovely smell on the strip might not going to be detectable on my skin. (it isn't) Not a good start for the brand then for me but I have high hopes about a few of the others.
Any Frankincense heavy scent will naturally evoke the main reference perfumes like CDG Avignon, Mark Birley etc... depending on which direction they go in. To me this is reminiscent of Reve d'Ossian by Oriza Legrand and that's praise indeed because despite what I see as disparate vibes (which could be prone to clashing) coming together, it works. In fact it makes for a really interesting creamy effect to a highly resinous perfume. I'd say the resins are green, sharp, translucent, fizzy, and citrus tinged. It smells of very high quality olibanum, and elemi or mastique backed by some heavier stuff, even benzoin perhaps linking into what is to me a vanilla type base. There's a really fine line when adding milky/creamy to sharp & angular you've gotta watch it doesn't become curdled and gross like a Cedrat boisee (Puke!) or something. I really like the effect of this and although I can draw comparisons and say this isn't unique, it's not a case of a stock. forgettable incense release which shows no flare at all. It's good, from a good brand which offers some excellent fragrances at a reasonable price.
Oh Natalie. Be still my heart, this is absolutely gorgeous. My first outing from this brand and I was a bit sceptical about them at first, didn't really know if they were legit or just some gimmicky crap but through trying a few and hearing opinions from trusted friends, I get that this is a really cool brand with something to say, beautiful, anti-cliched perfume with nice quality packaging and reasonable pricing, all the tick boxes really. I'm usually rushing past the 'freshie' to get to the leather and iris, or incense perfumes and as good and not just rehashing as they are Electro Limonade stood out to me as a potential early favourite from L'Orchestre. It reminds me of something from childhood it has that fizzy, sweets quality, but definitely the refreshment of a long drink on the veranda, ice cubes bobbing about, me in a thong yada yada... you get the imagery. The hue of this perfume is pink! Right away, I wanted to say pink grapefruit but it's not sharp or bitter enough for that, definitely pink though, and lemonade does feature but not necessarily everything. So it says rhubarb here and I'd have to sniff again but the interplay of a rhubarb material could be giving this citrus a twist more ferocious that the fruits squeezed into Electro Limonade or the one at the end of Usual Suspects. (bit of pop culture humour for you there. What? fuck off! I'm a dad, we do dad jokes) The base is a very well put together light woody feel, giving a teenie, tiny bit of oceanic vibes but nowhere near trying too hard to evoke the seaside, this is a cocktail to be consumed anywhere. So fresh, so lovely and fairly long lasting too, combining a modern citrus vibe that I'm not familiar with, so yeah big success with me and coming into summer might be just the thing I need. Great start L'Orchestre.
Well, it's only fitting that I should bust yet another Fragrantica cherry and nothing gives me more satisfaction than doing it with Boys. (I think that came out right?) Anyway, Boys is an extremely fun fragrance. It's a bit of fun! I get too wrapped up in the seriousness and minutia of fragrances and Boys is one that I just let wash over me, metaphorically speaking of course. The opening is bonkers, and it's seriously like a floral/musk deluge a kind of fragrant avalanche. Boys brassily exclaims, “Right I've begun. It's your problem now! Deal with it!” Conversely, it's not vulgar or rude, it's hilarious in fact. It's cheeky, scampish and quite charming really. Put a smile on my face anyway, and I think it's important that all fragrance do different things and don't just live in a relentlessly stuffy and strait-laced world. I don't mean the daring and edgy stuff we are told about in marketing from companies who wouldn't know an original idea if it slapped them in the face. I'm talking about real statements and real olfactory stories, told by real people, not voted on by committees in marketing offices. I'm talking about the purity of concept, the idea and inspiration followed through in a logical manner to a fruitful conclusion. The fact that I know ahead of time, Boys intended to be a sort of tongue in cheek, highly kitsch, Technicolor data dump, is no less impactful when you experience it for yourself. What I'm saying is, I think I'd have known that intent was there just from the smell alone. I feel it almost shooting out vertically into the air with a cheesy, white musk accord (which I actually quite like non ironically anyway) but the fact that it's seemingly not juxtaposed with the indolic or earthy or 'lived in' gives the sense of a turbo air freshener, all the while though you can tell something more complex is lurking. That chintzy effect fades into the background almost as quickly as it arrived and you are greeted with a creaminess (which persists throughout), a kind of ionone dryness, and mild rubbery, medicinal mixture of jasmine/banana medicine and cucumber facets. Before then morphing into what I would consider the main accord (and purple hue of the label) starts to build and that's the violet accord. It's a wonderful, sweet, powdery, classic violet in the sense of something like Violetta from Penhaligons, that kind of similar vibe but the confectionery aspect of Boys just feels as though you are wearing one of those edible sets of beads or something? Just gingerly nibbling one off Freddie's description of 'Parma violet dust' is spectacularly accurate, because despite its prominence in the composition, it does feel like a dusting of powder. The thickness and extra confection is supplied by a more custard like vanilla (more ethyl vanillin that vanillin) and transparent wood/musk base. It’s great because it fits in with the whole theme of flumps and unicorns and rainbow carpet shampooing machines and all that shit, but it’s still not too sweet and somehow retains an air of sophistication. A real accomplishment. Don’t get me wrong I’d have to well and truly be in the mood for Boys, it’s not an everyday perfume (I mean that’s a stupid statement because I never wear something two days in a row anyway but I’m referring to ‘normal’ people), unless you are pretty eccentric, and like to rock lilac shell-suits and/or have rainbow dreadlocks or something? It’s fun, but it’s not silly. I think in terms of this in the context of the collection, they all have a floral nature to them, despite not one being an actual floral perfume per se, and that seems to be Freddie’s happy place, his jump off point. The clean, musky, floral blast in the opening & violets almost throughout being Boys florality. Many musicians and producers start with a high energy beat or the bass or a hook or artists start with a basic principle or framework or a sketch or maquette. I’m not even saying that it has to be a starting point necessarily but it’s a way of getting into working and creating in a similar sort of way. It’s rare for an artisan perfumer to have such style. I usually say it in a negative sense in that they have ‘bad habits’ or crutches to lean on like Orris butter (who the fuck doesn’t like that?) but every now and again there’s someone who has real vision and creates something uniquely ‘them’. I’m not saying Freddie is there yet, but there’s shades of it in this excellent opening trio and I’m interested to see how his works develop from here on out because I feel his seminal piece is yet to come.
This is okay. The people who think this smells like Floraiku I am Coming Home are just straight wrong. I don't mean "perfume is subjective" wrong, I mean they're embarrassingly wrong. You could not get two scents any more different. I am Coming Home is a minimalistic tea scent, with a zesty, zippy fresh ginger in the top. This is far more complicated, far sweeter, the tea note is not a minimal, photorealistic approach, but rather an abstract concept wrapped up in a ball of sweet resins and amber, of which there is none in the Floraiku scent. Do not buy this based off of that similarity, you will be disappointed. Anyway, now that point is made, Winter Palace. Yeah, it's okay. Overpriced in my opinion. It opens well and is actually very unique for a while. You get a bitter orange and tea note along with some cloudy resins and that is all quite nice, a smart mix of sweet and savoury. After about an hour it falls back to skin level with very poor projection, though on the flip-side, it does feel quite classy. At this point it's basically a mix of a nice, dusty, slightly powdery musk, somewhat irritating bubblegum and soft amber. Like I said, it's alright. That sounds dismissive, but it's not that, it's just that it's not a bad scent by any stretch of the imagination, it's just nothing special either. It does not live up to the hype for me, but is perfectly serviceable and would make a very classy scent for some middle of the road wear, like a dull day at work or maybe a first date where you don't want to be risky, but ultimately it's just a bit boring and uninspiring. I'm also not really sure what this wants to be, honestly. It's far too shallow for a true niche scent, but probably a bit too "weird" for someone who only buys designer perfume. Instead it just flounders somewhere in the middle, waltzing into the realm of obscurity. Unisex, leaning feminine. Poor sillage but 6+ hours of longevity when you get close in. Nice bottle, which is probably the best part of the whole thing.
So this immediately appealed to me because of the name. A smell with 'tooth' in the name conjures the dark and decayed rather than a pristine, titanium white, wall of enamel. I suspect Mabel's teeth are pretty fucked up. So this fragrance is quite the intriguing blend, to say it's a gourmand is a little reductive and far too simplistic. If I said 'Pissy treacle toffee' to you...what would you think? I know, I know, but in a GOOD way! I don't know if there's myrrh in this but if you wanted to replicate the effects of myrrh, (I don't know perhaps there's other resins in here and everything else making them lean in a myrrh direction?) this is what you'd probably do. Create a kind of nutty toffee accord (with god knows what materials?) and somehow not have it be oppressive or the crude caramel accords of many overly sweet and in my opinion, gross perfumes. This has that blackest, black of treacle, such it's sweet but it's not cloying, there's a depth to it. The mild pissiness is like a trace of shangrilide musk or something natural perhaps in here giving me that impression but it's so subtle, it just adds more animal warmth, doesn't detract from the overall cosiness. It has a kind of arid, witches broom, sweeping leathery immortelle into the mix, which again ties in with Freddie's language of florals, a thread which ties together even the most disparate and far from traditionally floral themed perfume in this collection, Mabel's tooth being the least 'floral' I'd say. I recall saying before (on IG) that Boys pushes out and is much more about your trail or aura, while the other two (Mabel's tooth being one) nuzzle in and become much more skin oriented scents. I really like it. It's complex original, it's not light and doesn't feel too finessed (although it probably was over a long time) that's not a criticism either, rawness is a virtue. Mabel's tooth is all about bass hum, although it does have some spikiness when initially sprayed, which I assume is from the aldehydes mentioned.
Preface: Freddie very kindly sent me these pre-release samples to review, which I am very grateful for and hopefully by now you know that I speak my mind and I know Freddie appreciates the honest feedback and constructive critique, but when I say all three from this initial launch are excellent, then please believe it's not soft soaping because we are mates (well online acquaintances at least) or something. These are objectively good given the criteria that these are made by a self taught, artisan perfume, debutante. Freddie will be known to fans of Bogue for his collaboration on Douleur, an abrasive and out there composition, be sure to expect a more serene trio from his own brand, but no less innovative in it's approach. Sooo, I'm wearing Bernadette, Evelyn, Margaret, Theresa today and I'm really impressed with it. To me the floral accord in here is massively impressive. At first I wasn't really sure what the floral accord was emulating but as it dries down I get the creamy, lightly spiced aspect of carnation. It's very clever. My carnation accords tend to be very matter of fact and loaded with clove, methyl diantilis, bourbon geranium, this seems less literal and that is precisely the reason I like carnation (particularly in men's perfume) is that it's not overt. I think that's due to Freddie's process, being don't make a carnation accord and then try to shoehorn it in, finesse it in gradually to the entire composition. It's like I love labdanum but I feel it's a catalyst material, a modifier, most blends benefit from it, but when an amber accord or even a perfume, smells too much of it, I get switched off by it. (too much of a good thing I guess?) I think Carnation (albeit a collection of materials) is the same way, it belongs in a perfume but needs to be surrounded. Anyway... The fruity aspect of BEMT is a peachy/apricot is integral and it feels thick and textured, not the light peach fuzz you might expect in a classic chypre. The overall feel is one of spice to be honest and it reminds me still from the first impressions, to wearing it properly today, of Jamaican ginger cake washed down with that thick apricot pulp. I guess the spice of the clove in the carnation is giving a gingery roughness or by association when often used together. This gingery feel is so interesting because it's complex, it's like a hearty stem ginger, complete with the fibrous texture you get, but also a little crystalline but not too fiery. The florality has that quintessential natural smell like dried petals and a woody/floral smell of un-burned incense sticks, that's only very lightly in the background though. I was immediately drawn to this and I still am to be honest, but I need to wear the others properly to better contextualise the collection as a trio. BEMT is lovely perfume, it's just so pleasant to wear and smells like nothing else I can think of. Great first outing.
Okay so I'm not being needlessly hyperbolas here because it's Jeremy but Date for Men is horrendous!!!! I saw someone say it's like Ultramale, compared to Date, Ultramale is the expression of Beethoven's Third symphony or the majesty in the brushstokes of Matisse or some shit like that? DATE IS ABSOLUTE CRAP! Offensive. Overly strong. Messy composition with a lack of focus. Too sweet and simultaneously not. It's appealing to the moronic in my opinion. There are deodorants that smell similar to this, (but better) and I'm not being snobby because deodorants smell good, it's not a diss, but if you took that vibe and turned it up to eleventy stoopid!!!! and stripped away any appeal it might've had to apply to an armpit, an armpit which you can't really smell unless you go out of your way to do so. Also strip it of any irony or self awareness and charge top dollar for it as a luxury perfume. I just simply cannot abide it. It's awful in every respect. I was nice about Office, I really was, I even sort of quite liked it for a moment, but it was too loud, noisy and annoying to wear, which rendered it a bad perfume, being strong and mental and all that stuff but it wasn't as cynical and bereft of any redeemable features like this one. Date is a hateful perfume. This perfume, hates perfumery and actively rages against (not in a good way or the way Jeremy thinks it is) It's the uniformally conventional, lone wolf. Date just doesn't get it. I think it might even be misogynist (I sound like a tedious liberal here) not the concept, or it's commander in chief, (which by no small coincidence, inherently are) the actual SMELL itself! lol which I suppose is an achievement, of sorts. No, but I kinda think if this is supposed to be a Hetro Date (which despite Jeremy's protests let's say for the sake of argument it is) then you'd probably have to have contempt for all womankind to rock this on a Date. I mean that's unfair to gays as well, because why should any men have suffer this perfume either? or anyone for that matter. If you can't tell already, I really didn't like it.
I get if you don’t like Sauvage you might sniff this and think it has a rudimentarily similar structure and you’d probably be right but this is no clone. No way, no how. It’s bark (or should I say screech?) is worse than it’s bite because it’s all over after some initial fireworks. To me it’s more of a violet/cedar with dry, peppery woody elements and modern Fougere artefacts. Very disinterested in it, not a pleasure to wear no hidden depth as you get with Sauvage. I’m just not a fan of this.
I like it. It’s a really gorgeous interpretation of the iconic Fougere, Le Male. If you like any of the edge and brutality of the older versions of Le Male (to anyone who owned a bottle in the 90’s) then you will probably think this is a sanitised sweetheart iteration of even the current formula. It’s softer, sweeter, vanillic coumarin and the musks are really beautiful with a light vaguely fruity top note I mean it’s a modern Fougere accord of powdery sweetness and barely there lavender, what’s not to like. Safety first from Bisch and Garcia-Cetto but it’s just a pleasant fragrance, much in the way those ones with the angular bottles were, but this is much closer to the origins of this classic. Dull opinion but I’d wear this perfume, it’s nice. I might even buy it.
I usually write much more detailed reviews on here than I do elsewhere but today I'm not sure I can be bothered saying much about this, and that kinda speaks volumes about the fragrance generally, not that I've completely made my mind up on it, let's see how we get on shall we? So I'll start with somewhat of a conclusion I've reached regarding H24. That is the answer to...'does it stand up to Hermes' usually pretty stellar output?' and the answer is... not really. Then I thought about it and really I'm comparing masculine output like for like, 'is this the new Terre d'Hermes' basically? Because I was never very keen on Voyage and then the other masculine Hermes fragrances are thin on the ground Equipage and then Rocabar I think is not specifically masculine (could be wrong?) anyway they are knocking on in years, not like they aren't great. (wow this was supposed to be short!) I guess I'm saying that I've heard much talk of how innovative this is and how it's not just another boring 'freshie' but only from Hermes themselves, marketeers and mouthpieces who all have a vested interest in shifting units for the man. But I'll give it to you straight! The top notes are a kind of greenish, vague citrus and I get cassis base. Then the 'hot iron' accord really does become prominent, making for a polarising effect. I'm not saying I recognise materials or I know how this is achieved, just that I definitely get hot iron. Furthermore I do know that Habanolide (a musk material I'm very familiar with) which to me is the woodier end of the soft, clean musk spectrum, and gives this effect. It's noted by the authors of scent and chemistry that Alberto Morillas pioneered this 'hot iron' accord in the late 90's early 00's combining habanolide, helvetolide and galaxolide (probably a host of others too) and probably in overdose, to achieve this steamy effect. I think in H24 the steam has a strange dry quality and is a bit more woody and harder, bostered perhaps with cashmeran, woody ambers etc... and while there's a rouhness or edge, it's stylistic because the blending is clearly, seemless. There's a 'modern' base to it giving clean, fixation and an occasional suggestion of fougere qualities of the new wave, Sauvage variety. (Again style wise this smells nothing like the Dior to me) So there's good and bad. I mean while I don't 'like' it, there's nothing particularly likeable about it. H24 doesn't bring me joy or revulsion the way a perfume should, it doesn't really illicit much of a response. It's not even in the sense of Dior Homme (2020 version) which this is being compared to because it's a major houses, designer release, which no one asked for. However, despite not extensively sampling it I quite liked it and all the vitriol about it was a little unnecessary all because Dior made the huge faux pas of sticking it inside the same bottle as their beloved classic Dior Homme. This Hermes is slightly more challenging because no one is doing a vaguely green opening, musky hot iron perfume, at the moment so technically it is 'a bit different' and they've opted for a new aesthetic release instead of insulting our intelligence with yet another limp and lifeless flanker. So I guess there's that. The wannabe perfumer in my finds something technically interesting (but still not really) and the artisanal loving, overly emotional perfume fan in me is left unsatisfied by a slightly souless release. I'm not sure what to make of it basically??? I think enjoyment of a perfume can grow but this would have to grow at an unprecedented rate to become a Terre d'Hermes or whatever? Jury is still out. I'm going to wear it more and see.
For anyone that really studies fragrances, some comparisons seem reductive or inaccurate, it's often the subtle differences and not the similarities in a fragrance, (especially your favourite fragrances) which make it what it is. So having said all this Angel's share is slightly derivative of the fragrances it's compared to here, but it's those little differences I just mentioned like it's top notes for example I get a good dose of a sweet orange and oakwood (a particularly good material for boozy effects) it's also more gourmand, with a caramel note. However the ultimate effect of Angel's share renders it redundant because I own Oajan and a refined version of this vibe in Ambre Narguile. Because it does go to that spiced, tobacco, mild cherry which could also be Herod or Tobacco vanille and also the honeyed character of Back to black, the dirty vanilla dried right down even starts to yield licorice facets, maybe Lempika? Again referential, it's a bit this or a bit that....but perhaps that is what makes this so wildly popular or to use a popular 'Fragcomm' term....'HYPEBEAST'!!! I'm so down with the kids. ( I utter as my son walks 10ft in front of me, pretending not to know me) The only reason I'm not on board with this is probably the gourmand focus of the formula & probably the price, the fact that Oajan is a massively louder, more spicy and bombastic, slightly less sickly version of this. I really loved the opening of Angel's share and despite being boozy I don't think it captures what I assume is the brief of recreating the Angel's share (Something Sarah McCartney has done recently) and it's objectively quite a nice perfume but I was bored with it after 10 mins to be honest not because it's unpleasant just that large portions of this formula are extremely familiar, not in a bad way...just nah!
I had such high hopes for this. I love violet, but I tend toward the leaf rather than flower. Was kind of excited by the reviews mentioning that it smelled like violet candies (LOVE Choward Violets) but this is not that. What it IS (on me, anyway) is an absolute doomcloud of powder. It's not dusty, but it's THICC to the point of being oppressive. I'm typically a heavy sprayer, but only 2 spritzes and I'm gasping for breath. What's left behind that is an extremely artificial scented toy (raw umber says My Little Ponies, and that seems apt). I completely get why some people are smitten by this, but chemistry or otherwise is rendering this putrid on me.
Harsh root beer blast up front that quickly softens. Not particularly fizzy, just soft and sweet after the initial olfactory assault. Definitely NOT citrus aromatic at all. It's gourmand, if anything. Notes here are WAY off. Fragluxe site says: "This fragrance has a blend of wood, vanilla, and fresh, spicy amber."
So Mona di Orio was one of the early niche/indy brands I tried, certainly dating back to the older flacons which I think I remember seeing in Harrods possibly?. However, due to my overload and frankly the saturation of the market, I never really bothered to revisit them and frankly back then I probably didn't understand the sophistication of the works by the late Mona di Orio. However, visiting them afresh with discovery set in hand, I'm being treated to a masterclass in perfumery vibes which don't conform to stereotype. This is a later release, and is it really an Osmanthus or an oud? Well it's sort of neither and it's sort of both. Yeah. What it is, is a pretty perfume which opens with a fresh, powdery, chalky, fresh, lightly peachy osmanthus which is immediately unlike the style of a recent osmanthus I tried, the latest from Crivelli. However, it immediatley reinforced with a hazy, creamy woody musk accord, and light ambery effect. It's blending of the very best, not a angular jut or a steep slope in sight. It immediately makes me scan about for oud and it's a very well behaved oud, anyone expecting anything hardcore will be disappointed, but the tenacity and undercurrent just points in an oud direction, and while you don't get the characteristic 'cheese on the breeze' of even the most politely behaved work from a Ormonde Jayne containing real oud, you do get the sense that it's there but never manifests completely, and some will be happy with that. I actually thought of M7 myself, so to see others think too (plenty of down votes as well) is completely understandable. It conjures the same vibes while smelling nothing like it, so don't get your panties in a bunch it's not misleading to compare to the YSL in terms of style. As I wear this today, I'm really falling for it, truly I think while it's instantly impressive, it's also a bit of a quiet grower, steadily charming me. It's as a perfume should be, every present, evolving but never overstepping it's bounds and I think the orangey/peachy freshness and floral quality (which permeates top to base I feel) in there gives this a really lovely feel. Very Impressive stuff.
Okay so Immediately I said, ooooooh I like that!!!! Because this is a real blast from the past. My past the 90's my formative years immediately I proclaimed with a degree of certainty "Santal Volcanique smells like Gucci Envy!" I stick to that but as I think back with jaded and faded recollections of Envy, another fragrance (from the same era) looms into view and it's D&G By for Men.because they are both crudely, milky, luminescent sandalwood's from an era of hope, an everything's gonna be alright sort of time. These came after the aquatic, goldrush and have been touched on in niche and peripheral designer scents since, but never really had a full-on renaissance. This is fantastic and immediately transported me back to a trip to Scotland as a teenager, amazing what fragrance can do. I get lime (and perhaps the listed ginger??) in the top but it's not a caricature or even very prominent, and a kind of gentle spices I associate with Kenzo Jungle (also sort of of the period) on a majestic sandalwood, it's musky powdery but with a masculiity, creamy woods given masculine bite with cashmeran or something perhaps? The blending is superb and the fact it evokes two great fragrances in Gucci and D&G but this is even more refined I feel. Take Floris Santal for example a fragrance with similar attributes this seems to be much fuller and thicker. This one and the iris are both top spot from the house for me. Brilliant!
So here's the thing I don't like this kind of papyrus fragrance, it's that wet, fresh, but with a haunting background of incense type papyrus, rather than a big dark nagamotha/cypriol. This vibe/accord was made popular by Santal 33 from Le Labo and the association is instant and it would be so easy for Crivelli to copy, however I'd actually say that this has a different character. It does! It's a wholly palatable and in depth study of this note/accord and whether my tastes are changing or what I don't know, but I can appreciate it for what it is without wanteing especially to wear it. There's a fresh cucumber/celery note in here with coriander seed, it's oddly spicy, herbaceous fresh and just like santal 33 gets better the more it wear on. I think if you're a fan of this genre you'll appreciate the similarities but also the differences.
Again, I'm blinding sniffing at this and the name made me expect carnation (no Idea why?) but no. You are however treated to a really beautiful floral, not quite watery or green enough to be flower shop or hyacinths nor is it indolic or characteristically exotic or waxy enough to be anything else. Not having a great repertoire of florals I'd say this is a white floral, muguet, gardenier perhaps? in the opening at least because as it wears on becomes more like a light jasmine but I've got to say it's cliche free. This kept my attention and excitement throughout, in the centre in leans towards a kind of benzaldhyde, cherry/almond note, which comes out of nowhere frankly. Then into that pale aloof jasmine that real jasmine lovers probably won't dig because it's not full blooded enough. As a modern 'white floral', I found it excellent, truly worth checking out and a fresh, floral I'd gladly wear in the height of summer or something? I wouldn't buy it though. Bertrand and Crivelli have done well here.
Hah!!!! No way! I haven't smelled Feminite du bois for years, but I did recently acquire a formula for it and made it up. Bois datchai instantly reminded me of it and I made the comparison to FdB in a recent review on IG not knowing whether the formula I had made really did smell like the Shishedo/Serge fragrance (I recalled a much more plummy cedar but like I said genuinely couldn't remember it) but seeing others have made the connection here makes me feel vindicated and props to my pal who sent me the formula. Anyway, this is clearly much more refined and subtle than the one I knocked up, but the overriding sense is of a black tea in the opening and a progressively spiced wood, based around that kind of Sheldrake, cedar architecture. The freshness and greener quality is essentially from rosewood, which is rich in natural linalool which works across the board with everything in this. ie: tea/wood I really like it, I love that it doesn't rely on musks (particularly) or sweet or pleasantly palatable perfumery notes, and yet it's not challenging either. The Femininte du bois references could be reductive too because I've not smelled it for so long but this stands it's ground and regardless revisiting that era/corner of perfumery might not be such a bad idea? If you're a fan of L'Artisan perfumer or Serge Lutens this is nod in your direction.
