fragrances
reviews
My Signature
627 reviews
I'm a sucker for a unique scent, and this is a real banger. Abstract floral índole and pissy honey mix with aldehydic shimmer and dirty patchouli providing an otherworldly, crazy, whimsical affair. Something about the sci-fi audacity is remniscent of Uncle Serge's more whacko scents (Fils de Joie for example, due to the crepuscular honey-índole haze). Oh, and the incense is very Lutens-y, and provides a smoky base for the mostly high-pitched opening to settle onto. Does it smell like ink? I'd say it does as much as Encre Noir does, but from a totally different angle. Honestly, they both serve some sort of inky element, but if it weren't suggested by the name and copy, I'm not sure it would occur to me. But that's fine, I think they've done a stellar job with this perfume. It's by far my favourite Byredo and the only one of theirs I could be bothered to seek out. I'm not sure when/where/if I can wear this, but I'll definitely rock it for myself of an evening, and perhaps will apply delicately in advance of going out to let it dry down before I take the metro! Side note: this is the same sort of crotchy wee smell as in Sadonaso, but here it's a lot more bold, so for all those who complained that Sadonaso wasn't shocking enough, maybr this could sate your thirst. Another side note: I'm starting to suspect that the sillage smells like actual urine with a little dash of urinal cake juice. Still love it though.
Very embarrassing name, Bois d'Orage being much more appropriate, poetically linked to the inspiration (Angéliques Sous La Pluie) and not at all embarrassing and/or indicative of French cultural hubris (there's no word for hubris in French). The perfume is great, but is surprisingly fleeting considering how robust the opening is. Still, I love it, and if asked I say I'm wearing Bois d'Orage.
Surely a contender for worst perfume name ever!
Where is all the love for this perfume?! It's so wonderful, and unique. The only thing I've smelled that comes close to this is Adorem by Nez which, while I love that, pales in comparison to Kalahari. Not much more I can say other than try to get your nose on it if you like incensey, chocolaty, non-gourmand delights. It's also giving me coffee, of the really dark, dry variety.
I've tried many Avon perfumes and they're all surprisingly wondeful. This one, not so much. I does indeed smell like J'adore, but a sort of bargain basement J'adore.
Positives: it smells good and a little goes a very long way Negatives: as young students might mix a party cocktail by chucking every known type of booze into a bucket so they can get totally obliterated, here we have every known popular powerful fixative mixed up, providing an utterly relentless, totally linear scent that honestly just wears me down after an hour. I can imagine wearing this at a festival where it's going to get messy, but my perfume will survive it all. But those days are behind me. Conclusion: great for young people who like to party, pretty unwearable in most other contexts I think. It's not a polite scent.
Absolutely glorious, life-changing opening swiftly dries down to a very lovely, but very familiar Tobacco-Vanille type base. Not bad at all, and if I didn't have Tobacco Vanille I might consider buying this, but the magic is in the opening and unfortunately it doesn't last very long.
What sounds like an interesting array of notes is totally obfuscated by heavy musk. On my skin a get loud, cloying musk and coconut, but I have to shove my nose into it to get the faintest suggestion of anything else. It's like aqua universalis painted over with musk so you can't smell it properly.
Doesn't smell natural at all, sort of cheap synthetic, general florals and hypersweet synthetic vanilla. Mercifully it's not too overpowering but the scent lacks any sort of depth or edge.
Woody amber fixatives which once you spray on, are impossible to remove FFS
