What did you try today? (2023)

[cheapimitation]

B683 Extrait, a powerful modern woody fruity and new leather smell. Although it is strong I didn't find it overwhelming or cloying but it's still going the day after. The late dry down is warm and spicy, I can see why its so popular. The green apple was a great idea as I found the freshness nicely balanced the other elements, it was overall a lot more fresh and fruity than I had imagined. I'm still not sure this is for me, I really liked regular B683 but found it a bit quiet and non-descript. This certainly fixes that problem but it still might be a bit extroverted for my taste.

 

[Reiu]

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable response to Dryad. I've come to really appreciate it after sampling several times, but I still find it a bit heavy - more of a cold weather scent than I was expecting given the notes. All told, it feels quite dense and "perfumey" for lack of a better word, though the ingredient quality seems quite high. I'm nearly done with my sample and might pick up a decant at some point, but I doubt I'll spring for a full bottle.

Yes, it definitely seemed well-made and made with good ingredients! And I get what you mean by dense and "perfumey." I had mistakenly expected more of a fresh herbal green fragrance, which is where my personal preferences lean, but I can see why people appreciate it

 

[PStoller]

Vivamor - Aura Celeste

Aura Celeste’s note pyramid had me looking forward to an interesting day. Somehow, the fragrance managed to shoehorn rosewood, pepper, cardamon, and olibanum into a Pop-Tarts fruit filling. Which is interesting—but in an uninteresting way.

 

[Reiu]

View attachment 325450

Vivamor - Aura Celeste

Notes forthcoming.

The battle continues and I am eagerly awaiting your reports from a safe distance!

 

[southsequence]

D.S.&Durga - Steamed Rainbows: Take a 1992 Honda Accord out for a drive in a daily rainshower. Put a pack of fruit-flavored Mentos on the dash. Park the car in the sun for an hour. Re-enter the car and turn on the fan with fresh, humid air coming from outside.

That's it. That's the smell.

 

[hednic]

I tried Cedro e Vinho by Charme Essência which is an Amber Woody fragrance and found it to be quite pleasant.

 

[PStoller]

Vivamor - Rouge Impériale

I'm in my final Vivamor stretch, with all the remaining fragrances composed by Christian Carbaonnel and coincidentally (or not) featuring what are for me the most promising note pyramids. While low expectations may be a factor, I'm pretty happy with the first, Rouge Impériale. I'm not getting a whole lot of rose—not exactly a rare note in either perfumery at large or my collection, so I'm OK with that, even if it renders this a bit less "rouge." Overall, it leans woody, especially toward cedar. It's not sawdust, though. The suede note mixes with some deep jasmine indoles to give this an animalic tinge, thankfully more defining than the barely-there vanilla. There's not quite enough saffron, orris, and sandalwood for this to feel all that "impériale," but putting that standard aside, it's a pretty nice blend.

Now, relative to frags with similar pyramids that are richer in pricey naturals, Rouge Impériale is like really good mid-fi compared to hi-fi, and that might put you off spending $1.50/ml for it. Still, worth a sniff to see if you want to keep an eye out for when the line arrives at FragranceNet.

 

[hednic]

I tried for the first time as it arrived today, Costume Liquide by Pierre Guillaume, a woody floral musk which I found very nice.

 

[PStoller]

Vivamor - Urbane

Perusing the note pyramid, Urbane would appear to be an orange-fronted "oriental fougère," and wearing it, it appears to be the same. Basically, a twist on an eau de Portugal—itself similar to a traditional eau de cologne—and, surprisingly enough, quite a nice one. I'll have to compare it to the Trumper's Eau de Portugal that's due to arrive tomorrow. A bit pricey for what it is, but better that than, well, anything else in the line that I've tried.

*

Postscript: Had to run out to dinner, so I just went with Urbane. I embraced a friend when I arrived, who said, “Wow, you smell great!” So, another “aye” vote.

 

[d r e]

Eilish 2:
Smells almost identical to Invictus Victory. A spiced, fizzy type of vanilla rather than smooth and fluffy like the original Eilish. Smells very unisex to me

 

[RawM.I.A.]

Amouage Search and Purpose arrived at the local shop so, with trepidation due to mediocre reviews, I scored a bottle of each.
Applied Search outdoors in just above freezing temps. Shockingly good performance. A kaleidoscope of the notes top to base rotating through with some punch in the first minutes. Later, indoors, several hours of interplay while drifting more towards a smokey wood base. Playful, entertaining, and unique in my experience.
Purpose is an enigma. Raises the brow on first application and not in a particularly good way but it grows on you... slowly drawing you in. Maybe the marketing verbiage is accurate on this one! An awakening of some fashion. Need several wearings to decipher this oddly blended scent. Again unique to this nose and a most interesting addition to my collection.
Neither of these strikes me as leaning towards the designer or crowd pleasing end of the spectrum. Both exceeded my expectations and are vastly superior to some recent, more mainstream, purchases.

Can't wait to sample all 4, glad to hear they were to your liking.

Sahraa Oud by Fragrance Du Bois
A local shop started selling this house a few months ago. Have long wanted to try a few of them (thanks to Hednic) but was turned off by availability and the number of social media influencers who say they weren't influenced by receiving numerous 'free" discovery sets and full presentations. Availability was solved but not the influencers. As a result I played safe and bought bottles of Amouage and only sampled FDB. Easily would have done the opposite, if not for the influencers, who did indeed influence me.
Sahara Oud can stand on its own as it turns out. Totally wearable and very enjoyable. Leaning mainstream more than many of my oud themed perfumes. Reasonably true to the marketing.
I turn towards Agar Aura oils for this more luxurious type of experience and Cartier or Malle for a little more oud punch in a spray format.
I see a bottle of Sahraa Oud in my future once (if?) the influence of the influencers wears off.

Sahraa is wonderful, but imho Parisian Oud is even better, pls get your nose on it if you haven't already.

 

[cheapimitation]

I went to Hermes to try Un Jardin a Cythere which I wrote about here (I really liked it)

But I also tried Cabriole while I was there which I've been very curious about. It is still sold out but he said it will be coming back in stock. It is a nice comforting soapy sandalwood, kind of reminds me of Cartier L'Heure Promise which is all soapy sandalwood in the base after the puff of iris fades off. I didn't necessairly get osmanthus or honeysuckle but I think they were lending to the fine french bar of soap feel. It was nice, nothing to get too excited about but it could be a very nice spritz on before bed or comforting at home scent. It was also a very cold day and I have a feeling I'd get more out of it with a bit of body heat.

 

[teardrop]

As l'm currently on the lookout for a nutty/gourmand/woody fragrance to fill a gap in my wardrobe, l added a few contenders to my recent Luckyscent order. Yesterday l tried Praline in Maple by Scents of Wood:

This is a deeply satisfying scent of smoky woods, recognisably cedar & guiacwood, with an underlying sweetness. lt's nowhere near as sweet as the name might suggest, however, & l think a man could easily wear & enjoy it. The nutty note comes through after a few minutes, but l don't pick up on the maple syrup until around five hours in, & by this time it's quite close to the skin. The projection is low to moderate, but l only dabbed from a vial, & it was a cold day. Nine hours in there are just traces left on my skin.

Reviews on the Other Site mention spices, but l didn't detect them. Many also compare it with Replica's By the Fireplace, but l haven't tried that one, so can't comment. l really enjoyed this one though, & l recommend trying it if you're into this type of thing.

 

[ChypreInBloom]

As l'm currently on the lookout for a nutty/gourmand/woody fragrance to fill a gap in my wardrobe, l added a few contenders to my recent Luckyscent order. Yesterday l tried Praline in Maple by Scents of Wood:

This is a deeply satisfying scent of smoky woods, recognisably cedar & guiacwood, with an underlying sweetness. lt's nowhere near as sweet as the name might suggest, however, & l think a man could easily wear & enjoy it. The nutty note comes through after a few minutes, but l don't pick up on the maple syrup until around five hours in, & by this time it's quite close to the skin. The projection is low to moderate, but l only dabbed from a vial, & it was a cold day. Nine hours in there are just traces left on my skin.

Reviews on the Other Site mention spices, but l didn't detect them. Many also compare it with Replica's By the Fireplace, but l haven't tried that one, so can't comment. l really enjoyed this one though, & l recommend trying it if you're into this type of thing.

Have you tried Aimez-moi comme je suis from Caron? It's a very nice, gourmand nutty vétiver which I tried recently. Not sugary at all. Rather masculine at the start but then it gets pretty amazing and softer. You may like it.

 

[teardrop]

Have you tried Aimez-moi comme je suis from Caron? It's a very nice, gourmand nutty vétiver which I tried recently. Not sugary at all. Rather masculine at the start but then it gets pretty amazing and softer. You may like it.

No, l haven't. l'm not generally a fan of vetiver, but l'll keep this one under consideration, thanks!

 

[hednic]

I tried Attendre & Esperer by Frapin, for the first time, the latest release and I was very pleased with it.

 

[PStoller]

Vivamor - Akoya

…a signature scent worthy fragrance making the wearer feel confident … uplifting and invigorating…

Not quite. There’s a slight but distinct canned-pineapple sweetness to the lemon and grapefruit opening of Akoya. It’s not hard to tell why it’s there, since when it recedes, I’m left with a citrus household cleaning product. A good one, mind you, but not anywhere I’d hoped this might go. It might be an unintentional effect of the ginger note. Incense? Where?

 

[Akahina]

I smell chocolate and booze. My first impression is positive, hoping the chocolate fades as it's not my favorite note.

I smell chocolate and booze. My first impression is positive, hoping the chocolate fades as it's not my favorite note.

 

[Reiu]

Accidentally tonka-themed day today.

Naked Dance by Oddity
Another sample from Scent Bar. I had such high hopes for this one since it smelled quite nice on paper, a gentle vetiver-tonka lightened up with a rice note and some citrus florals. Tonka is a material I do like on its own but is so often found in perfumes much too heavy for my tastes, so I was looking forward to this one. Honestly, the worst I was expecting from this one was for it to be inoffensive.

How wrong I was. On skin it was sickly sweet play-dough rice, harsh "cedar" (by which I mean of course it was a single-note that smells nothing like cedar EOs, probably Iso E Super??), all doused with something very plastic that gave me a ear-splitting headache. No sign of tonka or iris concrete or any of the nice things listed on the note pyramid. This time I didn't hesitate and just scrubbed.

Sometimes I wish I had a better vocabulary for aromachemicals since this plastic smell is one I recognize very clearly and recurringly but do not have the name for; and yet considering how many of them seem to give me problems (prior to my discovering fragrances I actually enjoy without giving me problems ranging from headaches to asthma to allergies, I was the kind of person who used fragrance-free everything) this is one area of knowledge that would not seem to be worth the risk on the journey to acquire it.

Amber Chocolate by La Via del Profumo / AbdesSalaam Attar
Normally I keep a very respectful distance from gourmands, possibly my least favorite genre of fragrance. I am the one person I know who mostly thinks of eating and food as a necessary but achingly dull chore. I simply do not like the smell or taste of most sweet or fried or starchy food, making it easy for me to plan my meals accordingly around nutrition and efficiency, so that might have something to do with my distaste for gourmands. Seeing "vanilla" listed on a note pyramid is usually enough to send me backing away, as are the words "indulgent" or "delicious" because very often those refer to smells I cannot stand even being around (they tend to come across as overbearing and cloying to me, resulting in disgust rather than appetite), never mind get stuck with one for hours.

But Amber Chocolate came as a sample with my previous discovery set order from the house, and I suppose after scrubbing Naked Dance I was feeling ready for anything...so when if not now?

And to my surprise I find it's---well, nice. It is very much chocolate, more melted dark chocolate fondue than a chocolate bar, but the vanilla is restrained enough to keep the fragrance from becoming too unctuous. And I smell tonka, which fortunately for me comes to dominate most the fragrance. I'm very relieved to find that Amber Chooclate, at least on me, becomes more about the amber than the chocolate.

It's a simple enough composition, definitely meant for people who would be attracted by the name. I am not one of them so I'm not sure that I would wear it again but it is done tastefully and possibly the first fragrance of its kind whose company I didn't mind, which I'll chalk down as an achievement!

 

[PaTomas]

As l'm currently on the lookout for a nutty/gourmand/woody fragrance to fill a gap in my wardrobe, l added a few contenders to my recent Luckyscent order. Yesterday l tried Praline in Maple by Scents of Wood:

This is a deeply satisfying scent of smoky woods, recognisably cedar & guiacwood, with an underlying sweetness. lt's nowhere near as sweet as the name might suggest, however, & l think a man could easily wear & enjoy it. The nutty note comes through after a few minutes, but l don't pick up on the maple syrup until around five hours in, & by this time it's quite close to the skin. The projection is low to moderate, but l only dabbed from a vial, & it was a cold day. Nine hours in there are just traces left on my skin.

Reviews on the Other Site mention spices, but l didn't detect them. Many also compare it with Replica's By the Fireplace, but l haven't tried that one, so can't comment. l really enjoyed this one though, & l recommend trying it if you're into this type of thing.

This is interesting that its not so sweet with such a name. I love By the Fireplace which is on the sweet and smoky side and dazzling in its approximation to sweet burning wood. I must try this Praline in Maple as I really enjoy sweet nutty woody, but I take gourmand to be a particular, perhaps sugary sweet not within the natural wood itself, if I'm making sense.