This perfume has only three notes—ink, coffee, and vetiver—and it’s supposed to evoke the smell of a man reading a newspaper in a café. I’m always hunting for an ink note and this one is among my favourite that I’ve smelled: it really does smell just like a newspaper. I can almost feel the newsprint on my fingers, inky letters rubbing off on my hands as my head fills with serif letters like a Cubist collage. Like many ink notes (Encre Noir or Fzotic’s Lampblack, say), this one is isolated from vetiver and it’s amazing how you get the distinct print-shop blackness along with the gentlemanly woodiness of the vetiver as fully separate smells, bound together by the caramelized aroma of roasting coffee beans, sweet and bitter at the same time. It’s airy and transparent, as if it were being conveyed to your nostrils by the steam of an espresso machine, and it conjures a very specific atmosphere. I picture a coffee bar in a black-and-white Italian neorealist movie (or the train-station scene in Italy Calvino’s 𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳), with rain outside, windows and glasses fogging up, everyone looking distinguished in grey suits and hats, raincoats and umbrellas. The vibe is mysterious and slightly melancholy, serious and bookish. I absolutely adore the fragrance, but the projection is extremely subtle, which might just be because I’m dabbing from a vial, but I really have to press my nose against my skin to smell it at all. It’s not a longevity issue: I can apply it in the morning and still smell it eight hours later, but it never gets beyond a skin scent. It’s also very linear, smells exactly the same through the whole duration. I really want to see how it performs when sprayed, because I love it, but it would be hard to justify a bottle if it’s always going to be so weak.
Sweet Ash is the sweatpants of fragrances—the kind you reach for on those days when comfort is key. Like shedding the day's roughness and sinking into something worn soft. As if comfort itself could hold memories of secluded landscapes and long, winding paths. A bit of wilderness, a chip of bark, a prickle of pine needles, a frill of moss, pressed and preserved, wrapped in a vanilla-scented hankie, tucked deep in a pocket where it's been gathering warmth and memory. It's the fragrance of a morning spent entirely indoors, sunlight filtering through half-closed curtains, creating a soft haze like a scrap of woodland folded and kept close. This is what you spray on when you're curled up on the sofa, feet tucked underneath you, a favorite mug of coffee steaming nearby, a collected volume of windswept travelers' borderland wanderings balanced on your knee—a quiet companion to those moments of absolute stillness, of being completely at ease, while only the characters in books are adventuring.
Simply one of the most delicious masculine fragrances I've ever smelled. Magnificently smooth, sweet incense smoke laced with pungent but perfectly blended spices on a bed of leather and woody notes. It smells quite a lot like CDG 2 Man, but only the resinous amber drydown (the best part, imo), not the powdery-aldehydic opening notes.
When I was initially sampling it (from a dabber vial), I found Scorpio Rising even more velvety and refined than 2 Man. I was surprised, since you'd expect a perfume referencing Kenneth Anger’s infamous homoerotic occult biker film to smell a bit more dangerous, right?
Then I got a bigger spray sample and the difference is noticeable! From an atomizer, you get way more pungent, aromatic top notes (not just the warm-spicy ones) that feel a little skunky and swampy. Cannabis isn't a listed note, but the smoky-leathery-herbal facets combine to give a touch of bong water or body odour—which honestly makes me a little less enamoured with the fragrance but definitely evokes more of the occult-70s vibe that I had expected. Still an extremely sexy fragrance overall—pricey, but gorgeous.
To me, this is a “breakfast” perfume. It’s supposed to evoke a Japanese temple but I find its woody incense notes come across like a really nice shaving cream—masculine but not aggressive. Combined with the hint of coffee, the vibe is that you’re a guy who has a beautiful apartment in Kyoto (maybe your high rise has a view of the temple), tastefully furnished in Danish teak modernist furniture. Your stereo system is hi-fi. You have a subscription to Monocle. You’re waking up on a sunny day in a great mood because your creative projects are coming together just as you planned. You’re excited to get to work.
Centre Stage is one of the latest releases from the house of Thameen, a house I’m not too familiar with if I’m being honest. This is an interesting scent, one with facets I really enjoy, but also ones I absolutely detest - it presents me with a bit of a dilemma. This overwhelming surge of lavender hits you in the face upon first spray, with particular focus on the dry, peppery facets of this flower. There’s almost a classical, powdery aspect coming from the orris and white florals, which I find myself really enjoying. However this seems all but brutally ruined in the most barbaric way by an unwelcome overdose of amberwoods. If these amberwoods were not present, I’m confident I might even love this scent, but unfortunately they are - and so it remains only a like. I don’t understand the thought process, to boost longevity? It’s not worth ruining what could have been a beautiful scent.
I have long since been a lover of Cartier’s Oud Vanille, and so it’s high time I explore more from this line. Continuing with the theme of simplicity, Oud & Pink is all about oud and rose. I find it’s more focused on the rose aspect, with the oud being more of a whisper in the background. This rose note is surprisingly bright and pulpy, with a sharp, almost salty nuance as though there were a presence of geranium. It has the effect of a gentle, sweet rose-water; is unknowingly easy to wear, with only a touch of bitterness to suggest the subtle presence of an oud accord. Whilst I do enjoy this scent, I do wish the oud was more present. I don’t love it the way I do Oud Vanille, for the simple reason this is not the sort of rose I tend to gravitate to, as it is a note I’m rather picky about. Smells great though.
The Moon is a fabulous representation of a fruit oud perfume. Raspberry is one of my most hated notes of all time, in fact I hate almost all raspberry fragrances and could probably count the ones I do like on one hand - this is one of them. Whilst it’s not my favourite of the Desert Gems, it is gorgeous. The raspberry is intensely sweet and ripe, almost sugary like a purée, accompanied by other red berries and forest fruits. This sweetness is made velvety and exotic by an overdose of jammy saffron and rose, before developing into its thick, dark, almost powder oud and leather base. It’s not as bold or daring as The Night, which may be a relief to some, but that stinky-ness was a characteristic I loved. I would say this is my least favourite from Malle’s Desert Gems collection, but that doesn’t take away from the fact this is an absolutely stunning perfume.
To me, this is a “breakfast” perfume. It’s supposed to evoke a Japanese temple but I find its woody incense notes come across like a really nice shaving cream—masculine but not aggressive. Combined with the hint of coffee, the vibe is that you’re a guy who has a beautiful apartment in Kyoto (maybe your high rise has a view of the temple), tastefully furnished in Danish teak modernist furniture. Your stereo system is hi-fi; you make your coffee in a Moccamaster; you have a subscription to Monocle. You’re waking up on a sunny day in a great mood because your creative projects are coming together just as you planned. You’re excited to get to work.
Decent quality
A bargain at $40. Milky, slight coffee scent, but a little rubbery.
Vanilla and Tonka bomb!!
Sunrise in Sydney is my favourite in the Bujairami niche line so far!
Classy cirtus banger for sure!
This is so good, and I got this and Cognac Cafe for $40 when Galleria went out of business. This smells a lot like Layton, but without the performance. I love it.
I don't buy for a second that this is just labdanum. As a previous review said, it has a lot of cashmeran, this being the dominant note for me. It's a thin and piercing synthetic smell, like everything from this house, probably using the cheapest possible ingredients (and why not). As Bisch creations go it's on the wearable side, although I agree with the aforementioned reviewer that it gets annoying, because it's completely linear and lacks any sort of hook or charm. Not really a perfume, more like one of the molecule scents (05 Cashmeran to be specific but less repulsive).
Opening is a blast of spices, aromatics, a sweetness from fig, spicy green from Cistus and patchouli, and to my nose, leather and tobacco. The tobacco notion could be the vetiver mixing with other notes tho.
It's like a sweeter Blazing Mr Sam for a minute.
The balsamic smoothness coming from the vanilla, and sandalwood? Soften the edges of the spices.
The slightly bitter note of tea adds contrast.
As it dries down the fig becomes more apparent. I usually find fig too cloyingly sweet but it's really nice here.
A few hours in and it's mostly a soft sweet fig. Almost like a body lotion. I wish the spices etc lasted longer.
A really beautiful scent regardless.
Oooh.. This is a sexy creation for sure. One of my wife's favourites.
Stora Skuggan's Pine is definitely pine: bark-rough, evergreen-needled, mineral-edged, and windswept. But beneath its damp-sapped woodland weight is ...a weird, savory surprise? Picture it: a late afternoon light filters through pine branches, thick and amber-green. The forest closes in—not a real forest, but a micro-memory invented just for this moment. My chihuahua, also a figment of my imagination, darts between tree trunks, a teacup blur of muscle and movement. The air is pure, bracing conifer at first. Sharp. Resinous. Each breath knifes my lungs, cold and green. The trees rustle, and a weird, whistling wind carries an unexpected scent. Corn chips, the warm, salty smell of a dog's toe beans. My little pupper bursts from a thicket, tail wild, dirt-smeared, slightly feral. In his mouth: a raven's skeleton. Bleached bone, delicate as paper. The forest seems to pause. I grab him to me and hold his small, trembling body close. He drops the fragile corpse at my feet. The dark branches fold behind us, dense and silent.
It’s a good mass appealing fragrance. However, it is old and there are so many other fragrances that smell and project so much better. If you’re looking to get an Aqua di gio fragrance, grab the Profumo (black bottle).
10/10 best fragrance I’ve ever smelled. Very pricy, but it’s worth it.
9/10 solid fragrance! I would definitely recommend to get the extrait version because it projects and lasts so much more.
Smells amazing. Fresh, bright and opens like a dream. The dry down has some earthy notes which some might say is a bit dusty and mineral-y
Lasts about 8hrs on skin and 10+ hrs on clothes
I get so much burnt candied orange from this! I have the body spray and body wash, as they were on a deep discount. I don’t mind the body wash, as the scent doesn’t really stick around and it’s milder. But the body spray just does not do it for me. I get way too much orange and tartness, maybe that’s the bourbon. Either way, the reviews I read were misleading. I wanted deep delicious bakery smell, and I got tart and sour fruity vanilla.
I was surprised by the scent. I absolutely love it.
Perfection. In the same ballpark as Angel’s Share. Delicious cinnamon, honey And vanilla. Good performance, but mostly a special occasion wear.
