Biggest surprises in Perfumes The Guide 2018?

[scentseater]

With the electronic version of The Guide 2018 released, has anyone had an opportunity to run across any interesting tidbits?

 

[Duke Hunt]

That Alaia got 5 stars.

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

That Alaia got 5 stars.

:beer:

I wanted to feel that way, but got more wow out of Wanted (1 star plus much scorn)!

 

[Duke Hunt]

The big one was Aventus @ 4 stars though.

 

[the_good_life]

Luca has caught on to the fact that Ellena didn't put much care into his Hermès stuff anymore at some point. I never thought much of the Jardin series to begin with, but Mr. Li is the first one to get a thumbs down here.

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

Luca has caught on to the fact that Ellena didn't put much care into his Hermès stuff anymore at some point. I never thought much of the Jardin series to begin with, but Mr. Li is the first one to get a thumbs down here.

YES. Nil made me wake up, buy it, and go back and collect Méditerranée, and I tolerated the overall oddity of Mousson for its wonderful magic moments. Toit was the first one where I hemmed and hawed, but eventually got it - I think - not kidding - have to check - :rolleyesold: - LOL. But M. Li just lost me. Unnecessary.

 

[cacio]

I remember he had been very positive on Alaia and negative on Li somewhere before (stylearabia perhaps?)

 

[Diamondflame]

Parfums di Nicolai New York Intense. 'powdery biscuit' according to Luca Turin is apparently a 5-star masterpiece.

The big one was Aventus @ 4 stars though.

You can thank epapsiou for that. :wink: See Post #14 in old thread.

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

...


You can thank epapsiou for that. :wink: See Post #14 in old thread.

That thread is now hilarious in retrospect! :beer:

 

[pluran]

That there are even a hell of a lot more things I want to sample than I expected.

 

[zachong]

Parfums di Nicolai New York Intense. 'powdery biscuit' according to Luca Turin is apparently a 5-star masterpiece.



You can thank epapsiou for that. :wink: See Post #14 in old thread.

That sounds promising! I remember him saying about the original that even in the hands of a master perfumer it couldn't be saved from reformulations. Now I've got to hunt it down.

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

That there are even a hell of a lot more things I want to sample than I expected.

YES!

This reminds me how the first guide changed my wardrobe. I tried many new fragrances based on a desire to sample all of the 5-star fragrances, and most of the 4-star scents, as well as the 1-star. I obtained many of them (including 1-star), always noting the truth of what Luca and Tania had written.

 

[Kaern]

the 4 stars for Aventus was flagged up some time ago

Monsieur Li is the only one I like from the Jardins -- oh well :embarassed:

 

[Dane]

Biggest surprise is that I don't recognize most of the perfume houses - I feel like an old man listening to Top 40.

Sadly, I'm also at the point where I don't care to seek out the unknown.

 

[Deleted member 26209986]

That there are even a hell of a lot more things I want to sample than I expected.

Same here. I've started a list of perfumes to find while in duty free coming up. Several houses I've never heard of before (living in a rural area for 3 years will do that).

 

[Scarce]

:beer:

I wanted to feel that way, but got more wow out of Wanted (1 star plus much scorn)!

Why? It's atrocious mall stink.

Even here, more people talk about the stupid ammosexual bottle than what's contained therein.

Garbage.

 

[Scarce]

Biggest surprise is that I don't recognize most of the perfume houses - I feel like an old man listening to Top 40.

Sadly, I'm also at the point where I don't care to seek out the unknown.

Same here. A lot of houses I've never heard of before, and I thought I was reasonably up on this stuff.

Seeking out the unknown used to be a lot more fun, but the realization that even if you find the latest new great thing, it's likely to be $250 for 50ml, or $10 for not even a 1ml sample. That's enough to give anyone pause.

 

[Duke Hunt]

Same here. A lot of houses I've never heard of before, and I thought I was reasonably up on this stuff.

Seeking out the unknown used to be a lot more fun, but the realization that even if you find the latest new great thing, it's likely to be $250 for 50ml, or $10 for not even a 1ml sample. That's enough to give anyone pause.

Yes and to add insult to injury, by the time you do finally pull the trigger it’s either been reformulated 10 times or suffering from “batch variation”.

 

[Dane]

Same here. A lot of houses I've never heard of before, and I thought I was reasonably up on this stuff.

Seeking out the unknown used to be a lot more fun, but the realization that even if you find the latest new great thing, it's likely to be $250 for 50ml, or $10 for not even a 1ml sample. That's enough to give anyone pause.

Seriously - and the one sample I thought I would seek out sent me a message saying they won't ship to Canada. Sigh.

 

[Kaern]

It's what I said in another thread -- 'Niche' is becoming a con for most people

Designer fragrances are a con to but it's costing us less to learn the lesson

 

[Dane]

It's what I said in another thread -- 'Niche' is becoming a con for most people

Designer fragrances are a con to but it's costing us less to learn the lesson

Agreed.

 

[Deleted member 26209986]

Same here. A lot of houses I've never heard of before, and I thought I was reasonably up on this stuff.

Seeking out the unknown used to be a lot more fun, but the realization that even if you find the latest new great thing, it's likely to be $250 for 50ml, or $10 for not even a 1ml sample. That's enough to give anyone pause.

I know in the next year I'm gonna have to tighten my perfume budget. I often sit on buying certain perfumes until I'm absolutely sure I want to spend the cash on a full size. Even buying samples has become a belt tightener.

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

Why? It's atrocious mall stink.

Even here, more people talk about the stupid ammosexual bottle than what's contained therein.

Garbage.

Why not? It's the best of generic masculine fragrance and the best of cleaning products in one scent! :wink: :evil:

 

[sobejjj]

1) I am surprised there are no entries for Le Labo or House of Matriarch.
2) I was surprised about Areej le Dore's low scores at first, but than I thought that Mr. Turin probably sniffed a lot of real deer musk and high quality ouds, so it's not such a novelty for him and the compositions themselves aren't that great I guess
3) I am sad surprised ELdO's Une Amourette got low score, I think it's great
4) I am happy surprised Orto Parisi line was bashed, I think they're terrible and overhyped af!
5) I am happy surprised Mr. Turin is a fan of smoky fragrances, it is my favourite genre

 

[EMK]

That Alaia got 5 stars.

Alaia deserves 5 stars. *blows raspberry*

Two big surprises for me:
1) Hermès Twilly getting 5 stars (not that I dislike it, just rather unexpected!) and
2) Hermès Twilly being listed among the top ten masculines.

 

[sprclldr]

I've been perusing the new guide for a couple of days now and here are some impressions.

1. Francis Kurkdjian's creations are apparently not Luca's bag. At all.
2. The Aventus rating, though obviously controversial, is to me not all that surprising.
3. Serge Lutens is out and Luca loves trashing his creations.
4. Roja Dove, too, is relegated to the nether regions of Luca's review scale. I mostly agree.

In general, I get the feeling Luca leans towards high ratings for houses and fragrances that push the artistic envelope. Which is not surprising.

What is surprising, is the glaring omission of so many houses and perfumes. You may think that the guide is a large update, but I cannot understand why so many houses and perfumes are simply missing. Despite being readily available.

Examples: Le Labo, Xerjoff, Boadicea the Victorious, etc.

 

[tensor9]

So is the 4 star Aventus review high or low?

 

[kbe]

Why not? It's the best of generic masculine fragrance and the best of cleaning products in one scent! :wink: :evil:

Not to mention it's also a nifty floor wax AND a commercial grade paint remover..

 

[thediamondsea]

I'm still processing (and only up to letter D), and I'm trying not to skip ahead to looks at some of my pet loves and pet peeves to see if they get mentioned. (Although I did skim the 5 star ratings just to make sure that nothing inexpensive I've been thinking about buying made the cut; because, FWIW, I actually love Alaia (and I also love the Blanche variation); so I had to pull the trigger on a tester bottle sooner than I had planned. I literally watched the Fragrancenet inventory drop from 6 to 1 within 2 hours today.

One very pleasant surprise was in the dedications: congratulations, Pluran--your name is in lights.

 

[Darjeeling]

the 4 stars for Aventus was flagged up some time ago

Monsieur Li is the only one I like from the Jardins -- oh well :embarassed:

thats ok. I quite like it too. Enough to get a small decant. Still prefer Nil. I can understand how Li could be viewed as a generic, cynical pitch to the Asian market.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

So is the 4 star Aventus review high or low?

It's a high rating. 5 is a masterpiece. That he liked Aventus is the biggest surprise so far... I'm still in the As. I'm kind of glad he didn't like MFK because the three that I've sampled did nothing for me...I blamed myself.


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[Diamondflame]

I’m just as surprised at Twilly’s stellar rating. Didn’t feel it deserves the 5 star and still don’t. 3 at the most. I guess the ‘masterpiece’ bar has been lowered in recent years of slim pickings.

For seasoned noses like Luca, anything that’s been done before clearly warrants nothing more than a 3 star. Something novel even if ultimately not particularly wearable tends to rate higher.

Anyway, controversial ratings are what drive online chatter and ultimately the book sales.

 

[Vmaster]

When I saw the 4 stars for By Kilian Moonlight in Heaven, my only thought was: "Wow, Luca has good taste, just like myself."

Personally I enjoyed reading the ebook. It was a humorous and thought-provoking read.

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

...

Two big surprises for me:
1) Hermès Twilly getting 5 stars (not that I dislike it, just rather unexpected!) and
2) Hermès Twilly being listed among the top ten masculines.

Agreed with the surprise on both counts - and I had even blogged about the scent in line with BOTH of those opinions!

I think Twilly is a bit of a daring wear for a guy, but the ginger and sandalwood are so strong, that the tuberose almost becomes the iris-role gender-bender of an otherwise male fragrance.

One other point. I think it's extremely possible that "fragrance gender" is about to undergo a rapid QUANTUM DESCENT from a separation that was mostly "cultural gender" to one that is mostly "natural gender". Stated another way, the "actual" rough dimorphism of gender fragrance preference may emerge from an earlier, more polarized state, that was much more cultural. If people are allowed to "find what they like and people like on them" without the baggage of "does the make me smell like the wrong sex?", we may reach a steady state of much greater fragrance overlap between men and women. There would still be difference, but it would be much finer and possibly even scientifically interesting.

The point further being that calling Twilly d'Hermes "masculine" may well have been ahead of the curve on Luca and Tania's part.

Not to mention it's also a nifty floor wax AND a commercial grade paint remover..

You know you love functional fragrance when the first thought about a new Febreze is "I wonder who did it..." :wink:

thats ok. I quite like it too. Enough to get a small decant. Still prefer Nil. I can understand how Li could be viewed as a generic, cynical pitch to the Asian market.

I half-suspect that if I spent enough time with Monsieur Li, I would have some kind of epiphany and fall in love with it, but I just don't feel like it's worth the effort.

...

One very pleasant surprise was in the dedications: congratulations, Pluran--your name is in lights.

That was awesome! :beer:

I’m just as surprised at Twilly’s stellar rating. Didn’t feel it deserves the 5 star and still don’t. 3 at the most. I guess the ‘masterpiece’ bar has been lowered in recent years of slim pickings.

For seasoned noses like Luca, anything that’s been done before clearly warrants nothing more than a 3 star. Something novel even if ultimately not particularly wearable tends to rate higher.

Anyway, controversial ratings are what drive online chatter and ultimately the book sales.

Do give it another sniff. For me, it was paying attention to the smart joining of the ginger and sandalwood with the tuberose to create a spicy "texture" in it, that made me really appreciate it!

When I saw the 4 stars for By Kilian Moonlight in Heaven, my only thought was: "Wow, Luca has good taste, just like myself."

Personally I enjoyed reading the ebook. It was a humorous and thought-provoking read.

Moonlight in Heaven is certainly a DIFFERENT fragrance, and I think that's a big part of the rating!

Yes, I am finding that the new Guide has all the charms of the old one. :happy:

 

[Diamondflame]

Thanks Redneck. I think I should spend a little more time with Twilly. It IS androgynous, though.

Affinessence Vanilla-Benzoin
Really? €335 per 100 millilitre? FFS.

Lol. Is FFS the expletive I think it is? From 2 words to 3-letter reviews, eh?

 

[Redneck Perfumisto]

Thanks Redneck. I think I should spend a little more time with Twilly. It IS androgynous, though.

Affinessence Vanilla-Benzoin
Really? €335 per 100 millilitre? FFS.

Lol. Is FFS the expletive I think it is? From 2 words to 3-letter reviews, eh?

WOW! I skipped over that one!!! LOL!

 

[Duke Hunt]

Going through the guide this morning and making a few notes of things to test. Another **** review which I found rather surprising is Boris Bijan Saberi. As a big fan and wearer of his clothing label, I had massive hopes for this one and was expecting something uber niche and powerful. The end result was a light, inoffensive and what I would call a Geza Schoen “B-side”.

 

[Vmaster]

Thanks Redneck. I think I should spend a little more time with Twilly. It IS androgynous, though.

Affinessence Vanilla-Benzoin
Really? €335 per 100 millilitre? FFS.

Lol. Is FFS the expletive I think it is? From 2 words to 3-letter reviews, eh?

You are correct. :thumbsup:

 

[mwx1010]

I was a little surprised by the stinginess of some of the rating, but having thought about it it makes sense - the first book covered off a lot of the classics whereas this is more focused on the current state of play.

I’m up to “G” so far - the big surprise for me so far is that (as mentioned above), Luca really doesn’t seem to like MFK.

 

[Duke Hunt]

I was a little surprised by the stinginess of some of the rating, but having thought about it it makes sense - the first book covered off a lot of the classics whereas this is more focused on the current state of play.

I’m up to “G” so far - the big surprise for me so far is that (as mentioned above), Luca really doesn’t seem to like MFK.

Seems so, but ostensibly it seems like he hasn’t sampled his best work, I.e Absolue pour the Soir.