Now I'm not one who is apposed to a bit of wackiness in perfume, testing your olfactory limitations and what IS or ISN'T perfume but by the same rule I'm not on a quest to find the anti-perfume vibes and preach about their virtues, just to be contrarian for the sake of some hipster, cool brownie points. My tastes are very 'pretty' at the moment, Chanel Chic and light musky business so this was a bit of dig back into the indy dirt and I must say I don't get the vitriol? Now I did try the 'new' exclusive version, re-released and stocked at Lush's giant and beautiful new Liverpool store, so it could be different from the original. I was treated to a dark fragrance well and truly deserving of the name, earthy but not too soiled or dirty with sprigs of tarragon anise/metal and that deep licorice in the dry down, I think this fragrance is INSPIRED! I don't get any sourness or mildew? There's more than a hint of the salinated seaweed vibes going on, but they just add to the outdoor effect of this fragrance. It's a mystical outdoors though, perhaps a found footage, Blair witch forrest? Or I picture a Damp, foggy, evening in early winter, hoards of 'local folk' in white robes, burning torches led by a Baphomet figure. This is that fragrance. Now I didn't wear it properly before conducting this review and that's not the usual practice for me but I felt it needed a bit of a positive spin, because to my nose it's a really naturalistic, really decent and innovative scent. I loved it.
Sublime, soft, musky sandalwood that imparts a gentile spice found in epices and musc from this line. In fact this has the same degree of care, attention, and good breeding that those two have. Cedre was snapped up for a steal of a price along side them too and represents real value for money because the blends are great, comes highly recommended from me. I never really got pencil shaving from any cedar material but I can see how blended with sandalwood how that effect is achieved and I would describe this a 'balsa wood' soft, smooth and supple, but with a agitated surface of fine, splintery, rough hairs on the surface. The sweet spice chimes in throughout giving a discreet edge to what is primary a laid back woody musk. I love it, can't decide which is my favourite of the three I own??
They've done it! Dior have done it. They've made a parfum version of the divisive Sauvage and it's going to split opinion in the way the original and EDP did...but perhaps for different reasons? For a start, what is this modern obsession with having different concentrations of popular fragrances? Well trading off of the name and well.... MONEY... but what other reason? I know what you'll say...look at Guerlain or the women's arena in general, they've been doing this for years and I get that. However there seems to be a modern 'arms race' by two giant French brands to mimic each others production and a meticulous and cynically planned agenda to suck money out of punters without a great deal of concern for making something of value. However a friend pointed out to me that he owned all the Parfum versions Dior have created in recent years, Eau Savage, Fahrenheit, Homme and now this Sauvage Parfum. When I thought about each one for a moment you realise that they do have merit. Eau Sauvage Parfum, best one in my opinion. Fahrenheit Parfum, a tough following act like 30 years after the orignal but is very enjoyable and was largely a success if not commercially but generally with enthusiasts and even gnarled, cynical, purists like me who adore the original thought the Parfum was decent. Then there's Dior Homme Parfum which comprised elements of DHI and the Original to create something (again IMHO) better than both of them! Which brings me to Dior Sauvage Parfum. This opens for me, much brighter and with more citrus zing and feels less scratchy than the original or EDP. It then drops a subtle sandalwood effect, being closer to the skin and more sensual not projecting an permeating, aroma chemical cloud the same way as the EDP and way less harsh than the EDT. Simply put, they've dialled down the Ambroxan. I hate to just mention that one AC because there's a misconception that Sauvage's crimes are purely down to ambroxan when it's a mix of tenacious, choking base chemistry. The parfumm is still very long lasting and even a day later I can smell it on my hand and it does indeed smell of Ambroxan but it's a nice non scrathy one, no where near as cloying or projecting as the other two. The key with Sauvage is don't overspray and you'll have an enjoyable experience. I never got the hate for it, it's got lovey fresh tops, a powdery, slightly harsh but masculine, modern and minimal base. So they've made another parfum that is excellent join the ranks of the others. Few caveats to that....This version is £40 more expensive for what some will perceive(and in reality IS) a lighter version of the original. Seriously Dior that's quite a price hike! Then I started to question my appraisal, sure they (Dior/Demachy) perhaps listened to feedback about the choking effect of the other two and decided to reign it in to bring in customers on the fence about Sauvage? However, in doing so have they removed it's USP? Of being the big dominant unashamed, unabashed, chemical brute? A beast mode, bro down, staple of the modern designers, with it's aggressive Abroxan calling card? I don't know??? Blander version is maybe a little harsh because like I said, this is the best version. I bought the EDP because it was less harsh than the EDT but now this one is here I kinda wish I'd waited but on the flip...I wouldn't pay the retail price...so yeah it's a conflicted positive review.
So I had a huge rant about this on Instagram today and a lot of my creative juices flowed into thinking of innovative ways to insult and besmirch D&G for making this perfume...so basically I haven’t got much left. Needless to say you’ll get an abridged version here. Campaign/concept/falcon stopper design ALL hideous and not D&G at all. Not that they’ve ever been the Kings (pun intended) of understatement (think By D&G Zebra & Leopard print) but this is just out of sorts & the wrong tone when you look at The One campaigns for example, adopting a more kitcsh/chintzy almost to the point of slapstick parody or Jeremy Scott type approach. It’s rubbish and the opening had me sighing....about what another boring genetic fragrance it is but despite this indistinct nature, and crowd pleasing, lack of ambition, I ended up liking it quite a lot. It’s not in your face, it’s not a chemical mess and feels subtle and reasonably well judged. It’s sort of a citrus opening with that gingery kick, and spice from the pimento and a clean, woody musk, and not the positive patchouli others are describing. Perhaps a sanitised and more well behaved, synthetic type patchouli, but wouldn’t have immediately called it that. I like it though and perhaps it’s a blessing that it’s so ill judged and hideous so it might just be in the bargain bucket before long, because if it was very, very cheap and I could immediately remove the crown cap and skim it in a lake or something then I might (in a moment of madness) just buy this?
Sailor stories somehow managed to make a concept or genre that I can't abide into a really quite a pleasant thing, It doesn't make me as hard as a sailor's wang on shore leave, but I actually got some enjoyment from it. I'm not sure how Miguel has achieved that? Now I have made something reasonably similar to this called 'Seaside skanque' which was incredibly well received by others who tried it, even if I wasn't crazy about it myself. This clearly has more deftness of touch than mine and a natural feel of aquatic saltiness as you'd expect. The composition is eerily similar to mine too, Citrus top with white florals (I used jasmine-like Aroma chemicals, Hedione and neroli) he has used a jasmine like tone, which is creamy and lightens up the swashing, seashore accord of seaweed. Now he likely used seaweed absolute and mine was a combo of Ambergris tincture and traces of calone but I think the effect is kinda similar. Maybe there's calone in this too? or some other marine molecule? Basically it's creamy and warm with a salty kick, and the review below mentioning Antoine Lie is spot on that is the kind of vibe, perfectly encapsulated here. My least favourite from Miguel's four but I wouldn't wear it for taste reasons really but as a one off, I still like it. Sailor stories shows restraint and the ability to make something which is somewhat treading familiar territory and still narrowly avoids going horrible like a Secretions or a Sel Marin, Laboritivo Olfattino Salina.
So the kindness of a Instagram acquaintance allowed me to try this fragrance as he very graciously sent me a bucket load of samples. The notes he described had me interested but the actual execution left me a bit cold. I don't hate Promise nor do I find it a wild or raw experience as some have decribed. The combination of jammy rose and apple, I thought would be magic but it turns out makes a strawberry/raspberry leaf smell to me. This on top of a dry, cade like, crude leather accord which for me has some depth, because sniffing for long enough you can pick out stuff you like, but the whole thing seems to be distinctly lacking character or likeability. It reminded me of the effect of La Yuqawam Tobacco blaze, like the unpleasantly dry and pale wrapper of a bad, or imitation Cuban cigar, coupled with an ashy, staleness, stagnant and lacking vigour. It's clearly better and more rounded than the rasasi fragrance and it does have the fruity element, against the woody dryness, which usually works. It's unique anyway. I'll pass on this. Oh at this point I'll just say that my partner...she went wild for this absolutely loved it, so what do I know huh?
I try to block out all the noise I hear about certain fragrances and perfumers but it's hard to consume your favourite blogs and reviewers without Pissara coming up somewhere. I was curious about the Oud and Splendiris which were both good and very different but not until I dig into the proper florals she is famed for, do I get a true impression of what Dusita perfume is about. A friend very kindly sent me a comprehensive set of the samples I hadn't tried and this one was the first I sampled and I have to say it's pretty special. I get three main elements, but this is a fragrance that twists and shimmers with different looks, moist then dry, light then dark, fragrant then almost dulled down. This is my kind of experience...a trio of vibes, spring from this one. Orange blossom/neroli, going from herbal and bitter green edged neroli material, to perfumed, waxy, citrus orange and fleshy, orange blossom type of white florals. Then bam!!! where did all this dryness come from? It smells like summer as child, straw fields and the substance of hay absolute. I also get a milky tea, it's not hugely metallic or quintessential green or black tea, at least the way it's conventionally used in fresher fair. None of which is listed in the notes here!!! haha (Apart from the hay) Okay so... Lilly of the valley is likely giving all the white floral effect, there's gotta be some citrus even if it's not that pronounced? The hay is very strong and obvious in the heart. The clary sage/petrigrain and moss, account for the bitter herbal edge, and perhaps the tea effect too? Vanilla could be the milk in the tea and sweetness lend more sweetness with the hay? Very interesting stuff and superb quality and clarity of concept. As much of a contrarian as I like to think I am I have to admit that Pissara's sorcery is very really and I think it's working on me?
From Monday's Scent of the day which was something I initial liked but has fallen out of favour to something which perhaps has done the complete reverse of that, in Issey Miyake's L'eau d'Issey pour homme Or Encens. This is a cracking little perfume which I wasn't sure about at first due to the connotations with that Bleu Issey one, which I initially hated then years later when I saw it was no longer on shelves, panic bought thinking it was something I might be into now...it wasn't... but I have to say I didn't hate it as much. This has much more of the authentic incense about it than Bleu but it's still a bit of a throwaway designer fragrance by the same token. There's a leathery, incense accord which is not without roughness, but generally smoothed out by a sweet but not overpowering rose and creamy woods of synthy santal, but never milky and with some rough n tumble texture. It's like someone re-imagined Kilian's Incense Oud for the designer market or took the oomph out of Dsquared2's Potion Royal Black...but also, it's like neither of those. I think Raynaud's efforts for Miyake of late are both really worthwhile perfumes and inject a much needed classy edge into what is quite frankly a tired line. The nuit ones aren't too bad but some of the recent sideways-flashing, flankers have been appalling to my nose, all the chemical nastiness and none of the appealing melon, yuzu or kiwi aspects that kept L'eau even slightly wearable.
So Chris Rusak's Timbre (a fragrance I mistakenly keep referring to as 'Timber' to the man himself and he was likely too sweet to correct me) is a strange fragrance of two halves. The first, the opening and main body of the fragrance which is a stunningly well rendered and natural smelling woody scent that propelled me back to childhood, climbing tree's and very specifically getting incredibly viscous sap on my hands. This is a lightly smokey, pine, cade, vetiver tinged incense with the impression of silver birch in my head. It truly is a feat to cram that much vivid woodiness into a fragrance and for that he must be applauded. This is where my amateur perfumery experience (or lack of?) can come back to bite as I'm constantly thinking about and trying to deconstruct a composition, especially from Indy perfumers. A little bot of knowledge being a dangerous thing because this is when we enter into the second phase of the fragrance which for me smelled a great deal more synthetic. I rattled off a list of aroma chemicals and natural isolates I use in 'woody/amber' bases to Chris and only one of the materials he said was in Timbre (Cedramber) but only in a trace amount and as a supporting role to the cedar in the base. Now I think I perhaps neglected to mention that I also use cedar (Virginian and Atlas) in pretty much everything too and perhaps Timbre is teaching me a valuable lesson about just how tenacious natural cedar is, in the base, remaining as they do with all the tenacity of Timbersilk, ISO E SUPER, or ambroxan. I also got a blackcurrant nuanced, peppery, licorice, wood smell that I often get from synthetic oud (especially the Firmanich one) and often when paired with pink pepper, but Chris uses real oud in here and I have smelled this in real oud materials too so for those who say that synth ouds don't really smell like real oud...they do....(a bit) I get the oud purists point but they sort of do in some senses. The base is a smokey, rough brown paper of a thing, with elements of vetiver, resinous warmth but more seems more sterile to me, than the lucid opening. For all this waffling, and struggling with a rubix cube, navel gazing nonsense this is a superb woody fragrance and one that I would implore anybody who loves that sort of thing to check out. It promotes images of fresh air, great big skies, mountains, huge sequoia tree's and all that good stuff. I liked it a lot.
Well I thought I'd reviewed this one when it came out as a keen (or foolish?) blind buy netted me this catch. My opinion has changed somewhat, I still like this perfume but not as much as I did when it first landed on my doorstep and for much the same reasons as tobacco blaze, although that was immediately apparent. This is a kind of citrus opening, but it's not especially bright, just sort of weird, sharp, bitterness from grapefruit. The synthetic (and I do mean unnatural) smell of this perfume kinda alludes to the ethereal, fixative nature of ambergris but it doesn't smell anything like any ambergris I've ever come across. The main body is a ultra dry leather accord which is heavy on the mate, I can also see some of the greenness, the dry, papery smell of violet leaf and perhaps even the clary sage listed here? Ambergris showers does smell modern and masculine and Immediately quite a lot like Irish leather from Memo but maybe a touch smokier and more arid? It also reminds me of Molton Brown's Russian leather but without the smoothness and 'real' leather aspect. Instead this has a less vibrant and sweet leather accord which is stale and ashy, a bit like tobacco blaze but decidedly easier to tolerate. I kinda bought this to complete the set really, not always the greatest motivation and with a view to scaling down my collection, this might be getting cut? Wearing it today is enjoyable but at a crucial time in evaluating what I really need in my collection, I don't think any La Yuqawam's are going to make the grade.
I adore this fragrance. Completely fits into my tastes at the moment and it's so funny to see it described as 'pretty' in the review below because that's exactly what Musc des sable is, the prime example of a pretty fragrance. It's milky and musky in a similar sense to ambrette seed but with a construction I perceived upon first wearing knowing nothing about the brand and choosing purely for the name, was orris/sandalwood/vanilla/benzoin. The orris has a buttery texture that has a very mild almond undertone but never oversweet. Starts out soft and skinscent like but then you realise that's just it's nature and 10 hours later it's almost exactly the same, softly projecting an intimate bubble around you. Antoine Lie does have a style that is like this, with recent stuff like Jusbox 'No Rules' and even the other end of the scale Secretion magnifiques. (well come on it is milky) This couldn't be more different than those two though, this has the chic nature of a Chanel. I love it. I want it!
Completely original piece of work this, I can honestly say I can't recall a perfume like this. However, the aroma doesn't feel entirely unfamiliar and still sparks some sort of deep memory which isn't of the vivid kind more the fuzzy, hard to place sort. The 'style' if you like, is of something like Tom Ford Black Orchid, (poor example perhaps) swathes of big, woody, gourmand with a beating floral heart, evokes a deep, brown, velvety, fabric with a fuchsia pink, silky lining to me, it's textured basically. I genuinely had no clue what to expect but I was taken aback with the opening and huge amounts of dark, woods and chocolate. The chocolate is not that synth cocoa accord or even the poofy theobroma cacao it's almost as if the oud has a chocolately facet. I've smelled various varieties of oud and hundreds of oud perfumes and attars and some of them do have a chocolate nuance, perhaps there already or brought out by other materials which have chocolately undertones. I'd say Styrax Tonkenisis Defintely, patchouli, strangely and vanilla more obviously. Anyway this feels that authentic not too bitter or dark but like a chunky milk chocolate. Let's not dwell on that too much because the heart of this fragrance is a massive floral accord which has an aspect of jasmine to it (probably the Fragipani or actual jasmine?) and a more open, less heady floral (which I'm assuming is magnolia?) it's lovely though and works perfectly with the rest of the composition. As I said there's a quality & familiarity about this perfume and for that reason it charms and endears but I can imagine the long lasting nature and inherent heaviness becomes cloying. In fact I don't 'Imagine'... it absolutely DOES become cloying and I'm not just saying this for it's largely floral theme's but this would be a statement piece on a woman I imagine. The kind of woman who likes big sense florientals. Yes it's high quality, innovative, Oud Monarch rates highly in my book and I haven't even began to describe the florals the oud the chocolate in any satisfactory way...this one absolutely needs to be sampled.
I don't know a lot about Frangipani other than that they are used in Lei's, they look fruity and exotic as if the petals were fashioned from wax and probably smell delightful. This perfume is a shocker for me in the best kind of way. It's very much all of the sweet white floral bouquet from what I perceive as jasmine, with nothing impacting, overly heavy and certainly little indole to speak of. Right off the bat there's citrus with an orange/Mandarin biased accord which lasts throughout. It's juicy and vivid and coupled with the jasmine (Frangipani too evidently) it smells like a recreation of orange blossom...but in truth, Amber Cologne is much more appealing to my nose. I love this fragrance and I didn't want to because it's been hyped by at least one real arsehole in the 'community' and loads of legit folks too but it seems to be flavour of the month and although I try to say I'm above all the hype n such, I'm one of the worst for it and seek out every hype job going hoping I can bash them! :) I'm a sad man. Usually to no end though, as the initial hype is real (from legit sources) then some of the secondary hype is from the followers who look at trends and buy (or scavenge) perfume after seeing it being talked about. Bortnikov seem to have fallen victim to that (only in my judgemental eyes) and I was like 'yeah yeah...finest oud, Russian Adam, re branding etc... but the two I've tried (both very floral) have completely redefined what I think about 'that' kind of fragrance. Amber Cologne is delightful though really, stunning in fact, I can't smell the ambergris as such but the fixative quality bind everything together and there's a vaguely aquatic seabreeze smell and 'island' effect produced, with maybe some creaminess from sandalwood in the base? I loved it.
It's funny how the little things in life can bring so much joy. Nothing is more appealing than the fresh, unsullied, pure, high thread count, Egyptian cotton sheets of an unreviewed perfume, right here on Fragrantica. So I kinda wish I could pierce this silence with a more enthusiastic review. After all, I love the Talismans line and this delivers more of the same in terms of quality and inherent likeability without being too safe. The opening is a powdery, mint tinged geranium, dry but not arrid and with a pinch of earth to it. This then mutates into a cleaner more perfumed, airy feeling of roses but still with that bulgarian/turkish earth to it, this is not a sweet rose at all. It's the kind of rose that has a slight melancholy and touch of decay to it but it's generally of the more metallic and watery PEA/rosewater type of feeling as if imparted into this fragrance like the botanicals in gin. I detect a lemony citrus too and maybe some olibanum or mastic? Throughout the feeling is of a seabreeze but non of the usual cliches, I don't even what to say it's 'salty' or 'ozonic' but seems to capture those vibes. I wanna say ambergris, because this has a ghostly, spectre like presence. Talento starts out a bit lack lustre for me but in the end, there's actually lots to say about it because it's very evocative, seeming a bit stark and cold to begin with, but warming up, and revealing it's various layers very nicely indeed. So the major elements in here and they are all very complementary are citrus, geranium, mint, rose, metallic, airy and marine. I don't get the jawdropping price of this one? However the general pricing of Menditorossa is very reasonable considering the presentation of the bottles and the state of the current niche climate. It's growing and growing on me, if this sounds appealing to you then check it out. I know that Rose and geranium is a classic combo but I can't actually think of many perfumes that smell like this off the top of my head? I'm enjoying the wear today for sure.
So I have quite an exhausting regime of reviewing obligations now but would never reject Fragrantica over other platforms. I sometimes use the same review here as elsewhere and sometimes I try to find new things to say. In the instance of Bengale rouge, it's not difficult because of how seamlessly brilliant this composition is. Liz Moores has done it again, using the cozy fur of her Bengal cat as inspiration for this perfume. Imagine all the most opulent things you could stick into a perfume? The best of Oriental and Chypre offerings, nods to fantastic vintage perfumes and materials that inherently make you let out an audible, sigh of satisfaction? Yeah you just imagined Bengale Rouge. It's soft and sensual but with underlying power and here's how it develops. For me the opening smells heavily of citrus (maybe bergamot or lemon?) vanilla, benzoin and loads of labdanum, it's almost cruder and more Indy like than the smoother Guerlain's it's compared to and did have me wondering a little to begin with...is this really as refined? Fears are allayed when the heart of rose, earthy and medicinal elements of myrrh and oakmoss temper the sweetness into a smooth sandalwood dominated orris and hay like tonka/coumarin smoothness in the base. It's inspired stuff and reinvigorates the classical genres with clear nods to Jicky and Shalimar, Coty Emaraude but also Chanel Egoiste and Bois des Iles but simultaneously managing to have more Indy personality to it. I love it....It's magic!
It's rare that I venture into 'Ladies designer' stuff much anymore, but when I do I feel slightly confused by the various versions of seemingly the same scent (I didn't realise the other Illusione was for men.) Flankers seem to be more confusing on the ladies side. Nevertheless I staggered into the ladies section and this seemed to invite me. The figgy opening is luscious and ever so slightly green, but it's no Philosykos, neither is it a throwaway fig, but it leans more towards that. It's a very nice smell but not awe inspiring it has to be said. This is a fantastic brand with a real heritage for considered releases and not just banging them out for the sake of it, or endless flankers. I'd say this is a soft, fruity, musk with a kind of indistinct warmth in the base well all dried down. It has that italian cologne chic, a coastal feeling maybe reminding me of Fico di Amalfi.
This attar is super mellow and reflective, yet still has the power of oud at it's heart. It's not the most animal, or barnyard and bordering more on the strangeness and fixative quality of Ambergris and the familiarity of sandalwood but the oud is ever present. I'm not sure if it's a blend or what but the oud has the characteristics of Cambodi or Indian, but way low in the mix here, drying down to a woods which has a dark, teak stained nature with nutty heft. I loved it...I bought it.
One word for this....Stunning! Opens up with the sweeter musky resinous vibes and that characteristically sweet Ta'if (I also purchased the Ta'if absolute on it's own from Scent Salim) The oud in here is very much in the background and there's nothing animalic or challenging about it, just a backdrop for the rest of the elements. The drydown is incredibly crystal clear, super clean and tidy, it's really lovely. Now smelling it in store and out of the bottle I was more conscious of saffron (perhaps because I was told it was in there?) but on my skin it really doesn't have the characteristic sting of leathery, earth or plastic heat. Instead it's more rosey than anything but it's not loud or one dimensional and changes throughout. Love the stuff.
So Hiram Green is a perfumer that I have great affection for simply based on Slowdive, a fragrance I adore with every fibre of my being. Moonbloom is naturally stunning and Hyde, Lustre etc... deliver what is expected from the raw materials used. I'm in two minds about the compositions though, because they do heavily rely on one fantastic raw material. There's nothing wrong with that, showcasing a single material is harder than it seems and knowing just how painstaking perfumery is, it's really not that simple. However, the end result will be if you're just not that into Bulgarian Rose absolute then something like Lustre for example, is so dominant and doesn't have much else there to cling on to. I would never go as far to say it's lazy or one dimensional but it's no symphony of notes found in a classic chypre or something, but then again it's not trying to be and Hiram Green makes a deliberate, stylistic choice to make perfumes this way. Anyway, this one is an orange blossom of the highest clarity and like most scents from this brand impeccably rendered and made with the purist in mind. I'd say this is less on the lactonic, waxy, lightly powdered side you get from orange blossom's by Francis Kurkdjian or Serge Lutens Fleure d'Oranger and instead with a wetter, more fresh bouquet. It's quite green in the opening and does have some of the typical, leafy citrus of petitgrain. As it settles though the floral musk develops more sour and what I perceive as vaguely animal aspects start to chime in, lightly projecting and reminding me of the challenges I faced in enjoying Orange blossom for many years. However, when I sniff close to my skin all the sweet orange is still there and I release a sigh of satisfaction at just how lovely this white floral component can be. I have a neroli material that exhibits greener characteristics and not something I'd really picked up on in 'neroli' perfumes until I tried Pink Neroli from Abel. Not a coincidence then that they are a natural brand too. I don't usually talk about comments or god forbid 'compliments' but this has received several remarks from my family already today. My partner said I smelled like her 'old nan' she also mentioned 4711 which I totally get. Then my Mum said I reminded her of 'old lady' (she is one like but...) and said it reminded her of a Coty perfume she used to wear in the 60's or whatever and Yardley Freesia...and 4711 my mum was FULL of the perfume history knowledge today! Haha...My sister thought it was awful. This is lasting very well as expected, because despite being all natural Hiram Green perfumes last very well and Orange blossom is pretty tenacious stuff. I'm enjoying it as a multifaceted orange blossom of supreme quality and although it's less headache inducing than the Serge Luten's I think I'd rather have that as it's a bit more predictably sweet throughtout. Wouldn't be suprised if Orange blossom aficionados rank this among the very best.
To me this fragrance is an enigma. If you were to read the notes here I'm not sure you'd get an accurate picture of what's going on? Perhaps the Ylang, cashmerean and bergamot are all represented, the drift wood mood is also evoked throughout as it was in the men's version which I liked. This is something Chong and Amouage's various perfumers do really well, making fun-house mirror images of the masculine and feminine release concepts. I get a kind of wetter, tulip/hyacinth/narcissus in the opening but only for a very fleeting moment becoming sweeter more exotic, lightly powdery and violet like. It's not as sweet and characteristic as a straight forward violet, but that's all I'm capable of describing it as right now. Ionone dryness here to me. The dryness of this 'acquatic' or seaside fragrance should be contradictory but this is where the driftwood note is so apparent. It's more liked to something which has imbibed those, salinated, seawater qualities over a long period, drying out in the sun but still seeped in it, and waiting to be soaked again by the next tide. The woody attack at the start is similar to cypriol or papyrus and works well with the florals but is a bit of a challenge too. I think they just judged this right and when settled and dried right the way down this quality fades in to a much more musky, hazy character. I love Cashmerean but it's much maligned as a cheap, aroma chemical way of building a bit of warmth and structure, and although I can't ever really describe it as prominent, the effect is here in the latter stages for sure. So this is a very unusual fragrance then, which evokes the sea without resorting to the usual 'blue' cliches, citrus (well there's some) acquatic, ozone, salty, seaweed or generous application of the Calone molecule. It doesn't lean on these crutches in the same way the masculine counterpart doesn't either. I'm not mad about this fragrance and although I like the opening a lot, the mid part less so (is weird) and the drydown is good. Lasts well but is mellow, it's got a lot going for it.
Wow! This stuff is supremely smooth, I don't know what keeps happening? I keep saying I'm not a big honey fan and yet something about honey, beeswax, Immortelle just keeps dragging me back in. The word 'Indochine' reminds me of two things, The song 'Viet Nam' by The Minutemen (because there's a lyric about 'French Indochina') and The movie American Psycho (and possibly mentioned in the book I can't remember now?) there's a restaurant named 'Indochine' along with the infamous & exclusive 'Dorsia' Just shows what a simple mind I have really. In any case this is a stunning fragrance which opens like a beautiful caramel but not that overly sweet, Mula Mula caramel saturation or Ethyl Maltol, this is a very subtle and gorgeously soft caramel comprised of honey and benzoin amber/vanilla. The top notes are unusually bright and doesn't feel heavy for a woody oriental which has a caramelised balsamic and honey dominant heart. The honey actually gives sweetness but for me isn't that characteristic until after the opening has settled. Then the perfume becomes much more deeply woody and about sandalwood but I also get a breathy, alcohol and warm mammal, ambergris note, clear as day but only very fleeting making me wonder if I imagined it or smeared some Ambergris tincture on my jacket and that's what I'm smelling? This has a smoothness that is almost reminiscent of milkshake but it's not creamy or too sweet the woods and honied elements are in such a harmony, the key element to this fragrance is the skill of Guillaume himself. PG25 doesn't need to be loud or overly gourmand to make it's statement it's just a cosmic woodshop/bakery of heavenly delights and most importantly it has the element a perfume needs, light n shade, elegance and restraint...just a pleasure to wear this one. I never think I want to buy another gourmand or warm fragrance because that's my think and I often seek out different looks but sometimes you should just embrace what you like, because you like it for a reason.
This feels more like Oud than the Occult Oud, it’s that plastic sort of, loud sharpness of a medicinal leather accord type nature. This smells quite antiseptic in the opening like this stuff my fiend uses in his tattoo shop he calls ‘green soap’ it’s a kind of stingy alcoholic liquid but not an unpleasant smell at all. This is tinged with an earthy, composed moist soil smell, and patchouli which turns sweeter in the drydown to an almost vanilla sweetness. Someone has but that Profumum Roma Patchouly as a comparison and although I can see why because the earthy patchouli has a strange sweetness but in truth the Italian brand’s seems to be a lot more natural. This is very similar to stuff from barruti, that Nooud one, this has a similarly plasticy, saffronesque feel, something false or fake really, but I kinda like that. The drydown is really lovely if you find the opening to strange but this is a real changer, mutating throughout. I want to like Voronoi I really do but they make them hard to love.
'Beige' is such an apt name for this fragrance. It's Beige, and for those that think Cashmere or cashmerean is boring too, then I'd have to disagree but it doesn't apply here anyway because it doesn't smell of that either, nor does it really evoke the mood. I get this one a like more than 3-D this has some focus and a theme of 'white flowers' listed in the notes here, again alluding to how mediocre and boring this scent is. I'd call it 'Vanilla' but there's no fucking vanilla in it either! haha I got some interesting wetter floral aspect in the opening which was vaguely interesting for a brief period, touches of that tulip/hyacinth thing but very short lived. Beige opts instead for a watery, powdered touch of indistinct flowers. I'm no floral expert but when something spellbinds, you don't have to be. Not only would I never wear it but I wasn't a big fan of it. Now just to point out that I've done two negative reviews of M.INT fragrances on the bounce can I just counter that by saying I enjoyed the nutty one (I wanna say Affecting mind??) and absolutely ADORED Vibrant scent. So there's hope.
Now....some people might say to me.... Houdini...you are being negative & melodramatic AGAIN, when you say this has one of the most repugnant openings in perfume history. Yes that's right. Or when you said "...It smells like water..." I thought great I love aquatic notes, until you added "...water so fetid and stagnant you dare not venture to near for fear of contracting Legionaires or being afflicted by Cryptosporidium or something?" This is the truth though. Not a bad perfume and once this sourness has gone in the opening it's a pedestrian kind of aromatic fragrance. Elemi? sure. Leather....hmmmm...not really but if you insist. Cedar I accept is there. What could be responsible for that in the opening? Synthetic moss, in all honesty it does have that kind of mossy, lichen vibe but not nearly as interesting or faceted. I have already mentioned how I just have some prejudice towards this brand for no reason whatever, I just took against them irrationally. Truth is when we count up the ones I've liked, two it's been two bad two good, so middle of the road then. What I do like is they have a polish and a feel that the perfumers they got on board are those more classically trained types not making big Indy/niche bombs but more refined pieces. problem is they can be too refined, pretentious or boringly safe when they purport to convey new concepts. 3-D Scent is an abomination best forgotten about. An olfactory Chernobyl. The best thing to do is drill yourself a borehole deep into the earth and send this cylinder of waste, down into the depths.
