What did you try today? (2023)

[PStoller]

Soivohle - Misetu (2006)

Named after Liz's beloved feline friend, Miss Tu. An exotic floral, with a touch of animalic-inspired earthiness. White lotus, magnolia, orris, elemi, tobacco, moss, woods and balsams. Old world elegance with modern sensibilities.

Upon its opening, I thought Misetu was going to be a big nothing. Or rather, a not-so-big nothing. Then came the crescendo, suggesting top notes had long since fled my sample vial. The rest indicates Miss Tuesday was an overfed kitty, as this is a rather fatty concoction, big round notes competing for space and attention. A somewhat indolic jasmine wins, which is not my preference.

It could be this sample is simply too far past its prime. With no way to be sure, I’ll just pass on any Misetu bottles that might come my way.

 

[cheapimitation]

Yes it's really nice! Fairly subtle as oud goes, sits close to the skin but lasts forever and warms up nicely as I experienced with Strangelove. It is fairly simple but again the complexity comes from all the subtle facets of the star ingredient. Laurent has a very particular way with oud that becomes very recognizable throughout the line. The others I've tried have nearly the same basic oud accord to my nose plus the flourish of the added ingredient (ginger, mint, rose etc) so I personally would find it redundant to own more than one unless you just can't get enough of her oud accord. It's hard to describe but I would say her oud is first very smooth and emphasizes more the bright (almost sour but not in a bad way) and hay like aspects of oud rather than the smokey and dark side of oud. I do get wafts of smokey/incense from Oud and Oud as it warms up on skin, almost like whisps of a burning ember, but it never feels heavy.

I'm glad I got just plain Oud and Oud, but if I was to get one more I might go for Oud and Menthe. I haven't yet smelled Oud and Santal, Oud and Musk or Oud and Rose.

Had to come back to this because I'm wearing Oud and Oud today. Maybe it's the rainy damp weather but today the stink is really coming out. There is definitely a horse stable or driving past a cow pasture smell present in this. Laurent must love horses because I find a horse stable accord in a few of her fragrances for Cartier.

 

[Toxicon]

Parfum d'Empire - Mal-Aime. I've been doing the Wednesday Vetiver sync all day (first with L'Occitane Eau de Vetyver, then Cacharel pour l'Homme), but what can I say? I got restless to try my latest samples on skin. I gave this one a light application from the dabber bottle on the back of my hand... and this is fascinating. Green, fresh (in the sense of bursts of chlorophyll, rather than anything citric, ozonic, or aquatic), bitter, and really quite strange. This absolutely lives up to the marketing copy - it smells "natural" and evokes the weeds it is meant to evoke. Apparently this has nettle absolute, and I believe it. I still get some similarity to the nettle note (or a similar weedy aspect) in Naomi Goodsir's Nuit de Bakelite, but this is much quieter, a wearable take on weedy weirdness. As it dries down further, I'm getting the iris and something warmer rising up to meet me. Gorgeous and strange.

 

[mermaidsetparfum1]

Amouage Guidance which I’m liking quite a bit.

 

[hollywoodforever]

Had to come back to this because I'm wearing Oud and Oud today. Maybe it's the rainy damp weather but today the stink is really coming out. There is definitely a horse stable or driving past a cow pasture smell present in this. Laurent must love horses because I find a horse stable accord in a few of her fragrances for Cartier.

Ha! Is it a good stink?!

 

[hollywoodforever]

I have ~10 generous samples from Parfums Divine. Really excited to try this house. Tonight's SOTE is:

Divine - L'homme Infini
Coriander; Cedar, Black Pepper, Vetiver, elemi, Oak, Agarwood; Amber and Benzoin.

Lovely, lovely, LOVELY dry woods. Nothing novel here, in fact it's got an almost designer DNA. Imagine: "Tom Ford, but make it FRENCH."

I'd describe this as kind of an "ebony wood" but a little powdery, possibly with cinnamon, and yes, a generous serving of iso-e super. Not my favorite ingredient, but I can tell this thing would have beautiful sillage.

It's pretty sexy! And I rarely think that about men's fragrances!

4/5

 

[hednic]

Oud British by Maissa Parfums which was another love from this house.

 

[d r e]

LMG Peachcello Petillant:

Smells like a peach champagne, pretty much what the name suggests. There's a gently bitter fizzy note that balances the sweet peach. Enough sweetness to satisfy a craving but doesn't seem to become sticky or syrupy.

After the opening fizziness wears down, it becomes more like if you could hyper smell peach skins, pretty photorealistic.

It smells good, nose feel is on point, surprisingly good projection, leans feminine but not overboard.

 

[PStoller]

Soivohle - Nightjar (2010)

Nightjar (named for the long-winged, short-legged bird) is a sensual gathering of flowers including mimosa, osmanthus and frangipani absolutes, a hint of freesia and fig leaf, grounded by earth, moss and leathery woods.

Nightjar's listed notes make it look like it's going to be a sweet, steamy tropical floral. In my wearing, I found it light and breezy—floral, yes, but with none of the Hawaiian Tropic coconut oil weight that I was frankly dreading. So, yeah, long-winged but short-legged. This still isn't really my bag, but if you're in the market for an easy-going take on this theme…um, good luck finding a bottle.

 

[Schubertian]

Le cri (Le cri de la lumière) Parfum d'Empire. Sadly I didn't really get the beauteous rose and iris with aldehydes that everyone and their dog is raving about, but instead of lot of dusty musk. I think possibly ambrette seed doesn't suit me (I also did not love Chanel no. 18). I love iris with and without rose, but this one is a pass.

Iris Malikhan Maison Crivelli. Like, a bit surprisingly because of the vanilla. Vanilla not too prominent, very nicely balanced. Still, I'm not completely sure if it might not get annoying due to being quite sweet and powdery. I think I'd like a decant or travel spray, and compare to Ormonde Jayne's Vanille d'iris which I only tried once on my hand and quite enjoyed.

1889 (Moulin Rouge) Histoires de Parfums. Fruity iris, rose, delightful! Not too powdery, and the the hint of leather felt grounding. The vibe felt strongly vintage and very feminine, almost like I'd need a pair of cute heels and a vintage dress to carry it off. Still, I really liked it.

 

[TheWiffMaster]

A continuation from Grant's 2022 thread:

Please use this thread to discuss which fragrance you tried for the first time, or that you sampled today.

Try and add a bit more context than just the name of the perfume - perhaps a few words about what you thought about it, or what led you to try it?

If you have a lot to say about the fragrance you've just tried, please consider starting a new thread about it as well

Link to old thread: https://basenotes.com/threads/what-did-you-try-today-2022.52244

 

[TheWiffMaster]

ADG Dupe at Walmart I was curious to know if there'd be any difference in longevity as original ADG doesn't last for me and I must say the dupe was spot on but longevity was the same lol I love fragrances but something about my chemistry eats them up.

 

[Blue_Eyez]

I am going down the rabbit hole of Kilian booze line over the past few days. It's been fun. I may be interested in a couple The only one with alco name I have not tried is vodka on the rocks.

 

[TheWiffMaster]

I am going down the rabbit hole of Kilian booze line over the past few days. It's been fun. I may be interested in a couple The only one with alco name I have not tried is vodka on the rocks.

Have you tried the cremo bourbon and oak ? It's a great warm boozy scent with a nice dry down and performs well without breaking bank.

 

[Blue_Eyez]

Have you tried the cremo bourbon and oak ? It's a great warm boozy scent with a nice dry down and performs well without breaking bank.

I have not. The line is not available where I live. But thanks for letting me know

 

[hollywoodforever]

Side by side comparison:

• Pierre Guillaume - Swim/SX
  
  • Smells like it could be going somewhere interesting - aquatic/rosewood/ylang/musk. It's very subtle - I was ready to dismiss it, but it is blooming into a sort of ultra-minimalist version of one of my all time favorites: DUNE by Dior. May be worth a full wearing to figure it out.
• Pierre Guillaume - Sunsuality
  • This one begins more charismatically. Kumquat, lemon, ginger, with sandalwood immediately detectable. Then it sort of gets muddled and very ho-hum smelling.

Meh! There are too many FABULOUS perfumes out there to spend time on things which are middle-of-the-road and expensive...

 

[hednic]

Wood Platinum by Maissa Parfums which I loved.

 

[sakecat]

Histoires de Parfums This is Not a Blue Bottle - from a Scentbird decant...which explains the following:

Bottle pictured: This is Not a Blue Bottle 1.4
From the Histoires de Parfumes site
Top notes: Davana, Lavander, Cardamom
Heart notes: Ylang-Ylang, Tonka Bean, Benzoin
Base notes: Patchouli, Labdanum, Opoponax

Description: This is Not a Blue Bottle 1.1
Histoires de Parfumes describes this as - Attractive Patchouli Ambery; Unisex
Top notes: Hypnotic Aldehyde, Electric Orange
Heart notes: Metallic Geranium, Polar Honey
Base notes: Magnetic Amber, Ethereal Musk, Attractive Patchouli
Scentbird's description tracks with this.

What I actually smell: I suspect it is This is Not a Blue Bottle 1.5.
I wound up with an ozonic "acquatic" ambroxabomb.
Not velvety amber.
Not an "Attractive patchouli."
My partner walked in soon after I sprayed it and exclaimed "It smells like potpourri in here."

Unfortunately, Histoires de Parfumes no longer has this linked on their US website.

Fragrantica has the notes forBlue Bottle 1.5 listed as:
Top notes: Ozonic notes, Aldehydes and Citruses
Middle note is Floral Notes
Base notes are Ambroxan, Musk and Mineral notes.
With what I am smelling on my arm- this description totally tracks.

Such is the risk - buying from decanters.

 

[PStoller]

Soivohle - Violets & Rainwater (2008)

Violets & Rainwater was inspired by the smell of flowers after the rain. It is composed of a fine Parma Violet accord with a hint of dirt and petrichor. It is based in a radiant musk with vanilla and a touch of moss.

Violets & Rainwater starts out smelling more or less as described, save that the Parma violet accord leans overly sweet and the petrichor more metallic than damp stone. The additional body of the base justifies the sweetness of the violet note to some degree, but it doesn't so much "fix" the petrichor as mute it. Of course, it doesn't really matter how closely the scent hews to the stated intent, so long as it smells good in the absence of the narrative. Alas, without the narrative and a convincing damp earth accord, it's just violets, musk, and vanilla. It's OK for that, but If I have a violet itch, I can scratch it better with either the classic (vintage) Berdoues Violettes de Toulouse or the modern TRNP Violet Firefly 22.

 

[DoctorM81]

First time wearing A Rose For... by Floris. A classy, distinguished rose, perfectly unisex and with impressive longevity, at least today! A very enjoyable wear.

 

[Tea_Lilly]

Vintage La Rose Jacqueminot, EDT. Synch sampled with my dear friend @kosui no kaori

Started with a sharp burst of what I thought was alcohol but was probably aldehydes. A strong, lovely fresh rose accompanied by a warm, pleasant animalic note.

A few minutes later the rose is more of a dry rose composite. This is less green and a more lush rose than Caron Rose.

An hour in, I get a bit of violet and powder along with the lovely rose – which is starting to fade. The animalic warmth also seemed to fade.

Another hour/few hours. The animalic warmth reappears. I smell a bit of rose but perhaps a little indole. I’ve been fascinated by how the notes of this perfume seem to take prominence and recede only to take prominence again. It could be based on just how warm my arm gets as to what oils release their scents.

This is a lovely, lush rose with warm, animalic depth – without being overblown or murky. I believe this smells like a high quality modern perfume. If this weren’t a diamond studded unicorn I would definitely want a full bottle.

 

[JBHoren]

Darren Alan Perfumes Vintage Novel

The last one¹ from the "6-piece Discovery Set" I purchased a month ago. What's "bad" about it? The sprayer on the sample is awful — I had to pump and pump and pump (and then pump some more!) before it sprayed any juice. Talk about ejectile dysfunction! But I'm sure the sprayer on the bottles is better. Now, what's "good"? Everything else. The rose-oud opening is beautiful... and it lasts (unlike the "15-minutes of fame" I get from too many other brands). The transition from head to heart notes is slow and smooth, and I only realized it had happened after it had happened. The rest? I'm only two hours-in, so we'll have to be patient. [hat-tip to @Varanis Ridari for his review]

Update: One of the reviewers wrote:

The dark rose elements mix with smoothing saffron and Indonesian oud to give a bit of a sour medicinal feel, but not barnyard at all.

I confess that right now, five hours-in, I'm sorely tempted to give a shpritz of Scatamalis... add just a bit of "barnyard".

¹ The others were: Bathory, Sacred Smoke, Devil’s Share, Hekate, and Sweet Repose

 

[Schubertian]

I tried two VC&A samples, neither is my jam.

Bois doré. Mostly tonka, a little tobacco and vanilla. I'm really not a fan of tonka so it's a pass.
Orchidée vanille. Vanilla - and something else that makes this smell a bit like a shower gel I've used in the past... perhaps it's the almond? Anyway, supermarket showergel is not what I look for in a perfume. Pass.

Neither smells remotely worth the price they are asking.

 

[DeathArrow]

Occupation for Men by Perfume Parlour, which is a clone of Invasion Barbare. Not sure yet if this modern take on a fougere is full bottle worthy.

 

[hednic]

Jardin D'Essai by Parfums Maissa which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

[Maize & Blue]

While we were shopping today, stopped at Dillard's real quick to sample a few more of the Creed lineup that I haven't smelled yet. They were:

-Original Santal
-Viking
-Viking Cologne
-Neroli Sauvage

Original Santal would have to be my favorite of that group I tried out, followed by Viking Cologne. Viking itself was a hard pass, although it seems just like with Aventus, I prefer Aventus Cologne over it, so it looks like the same thing with Viking. Always fun to try out new smells, though!

 

[PStoller]

Soivohle - Anniebelle's Rose (2011)

Anniebelle's Rose is a lovely fresh rose scent with the green edges of the leaf and thorn, spices and a hint of carnation, inspired by a sweet yet fiery lady cat with long red hair.

"The dominant top notes in Anniebelle's Rose are bergamot, galbanum, and anise. The perfume also contains pandanus attar, which is a tad pungent, but you don't get that right out of the bottle."

The BN directory entry has a non-hierarchal pyramid containing 21 notes/accords—not Patou 1000, but, still! Liz Zorn made it out to be much simpler in her response to a BestThingsInBeauty blog review, quoted above. Of course, that doesn't get into the heart and the base, where (amongst other things) the rose resides. This oil absolute transitions from the greenish opening into a beautiful rose, one that sneaks up on you and then stays—not unlike, say, a sweet-yet-fiery cat. As for such alleged notes as ozone, hazelnut, and wool blend, they weren't perceived, but they weren't missed.

By 2012, Anniebelle's Rose was an archived scent, available as a special order, so don't expect to find any either new or in the aftermarket, though perhaps Liz Zorn would still mix up a batch upon request. As there are other fine natural rose scents out there, this is not a tragedy; but if you care for roses as much as I do and you happen to stumble across a bottle of this one, I'd advise you to snap it up.

 

[DeathArrow]

Emperor by Perfume Parlour. I love this one. It is a copy of the discontinued Tsar by Van Cleef & Arpels. I will get a full bottle for sure.

I smell a symphony of notes, a very complex perfume, very much unlike most of today's fragrances which are more akin to rap songs in complexity. There are lots of things manifesting their presence in this one, lavender, bergamot, rosemary, pine, leather, jasmine, wood and tons of herbs and flowers I don't know of but I can feel they are there.

It's a beautiful fresh and green fragrance. While I see this being perfect for the warmer months, I still feel a big pleasure to wear it in the middle of the winter.

 

[Schubertian]

Two by Filippo Sorcinelli - just on my hands at first.

Rosa Nigra. Supposedly a rose impression without any rose. Yes, I can see that; but it also smells not-rose: I thought peach, and it turns out it was right. Freesia also makes sense, though thankfully it's not screechy. Fruity, rosey, a little powdery. A completely different scent from all the church incense from this brand. I like it, though I'm not sure I'd wear it often. Unisex. This does have musk and the dreaded "cashmere wood" but it doesn't bother me, at least yet.

Voix humaine 8. At first, church incense and ancient wood. Yes, like being in a church. I find this similar to Contre bombarde 33, but less dark and stark; the sweetness comes out sooner and more prominently. I'm not sure about "milk mousse"; I get woody vanilla (whereas in Contre it's caramel). I like both of them. They aren't perfumes I'd necessarily wear for going out but rather something I'd wear on my own as a kind of meditation. (Edited to add: I guess this is what I hoped Encens suave would be, but Encens suave had something in it that I felt as scratchy and synthetic and that didn't agree with me.)

 

[hednic]

66 Avenue by Maissa Parfums which I loved

 

[PStoller]

Soivohle - Domino Viole’ (2008)

Domino Viole is a lush absolute of dark earthy violets, oakmoss, oud, herbals and musk, with a sprinkling of jasmine absolute, orris root, roses and lavender.

First introduced in the fall of 2007, later released in the spring of 2008. Inspired by the perfumer’s desire to create a bold sugar-free violet with moxy.

My vial of Domino Viole’ is an EdP rather than an absolute. The dark violet is here, but—as with some of my other Soivohle samples—time has absconded with its top notes (if any) and a measure of its moxy. So, I just sloshed the whole tube on. Given how enticing this muted skin-scent is, I suspect I’d swoon over a fully intact version. But, also as with most of my other Soivohle samples, Domino Viole’ has been discontinued, so I might never know for sure.

 

[hollywoodforever]

Rose de Jamal - Les Indemodables
Damask Rose, Moroccan Rose, Atlas Cedar, Mint, Lavender, Pink Pepper

Rose de Jamal is a deep, rich, and natural smelling perfume. Les Indemodables says that this formula includes 5.5% rose absolute by volume - all sourced from the Moroccan plantation of a farmer named Jamal, for whom perfume is named. Cute.

The mint does nothing for me, but I think Rose de Jamal is at its best deeper into the drydown, where the rose is both woody and wine-y, with a touch of incense. It's not for me though. It feels like a very nice rose perfume that has been tinkered with to make it "more masculine." Rose de Jamal stays very close to the skin right from application, but does project a bit more in the heat. Not a strike against it, just a note! I enjoyed sampling it.

3/5

 

[hednic]

Ambre Fatal by Maissa Parfums which I found very nice.

 

[JakeStiebs]

Tobacco & Tonka Bean Banana Republic

This one reminds me a lot of CK One Shock. EdP strength!

 

[Julian.B]

Indigo smoke - Arquiste: excellent, best fruity tea scent that I've tried.

Royal tobacco - Amouage: dissapointing, maybe its my problem with Peru balsam, I don't know.

Battito d'ali - Profumum roma: nice combination, cacao and coco notes bring originality.

Gentle Fluidity Silver - Francis Kurkdijan: not gorgeous, not bad, more elegant than I expected, juniper berries don't saturate.

 

[Schubertian]

Nubica, Le Couvent. Vanilla and patchouli. Not sweet, which I appreciate. Light and rather transparent (well it’s by Jean-Claude Ellena). Completely unisex. I do like this and somehow it smells like sunshine to me. I’ll have to compare with Eau Duelle, which I also like.

Lune Feline, Atelier des Ors. I see what they mean, there is a strange tarry note here with the vanilla. It’s different for sure, but I can’t say I find it enjoyable. Eh, pass.

 

[TheWiffMaster]

Currently at home but I wish I could sample more things from armaf and lataffa. Not even sure a store around me even sells thier stuff.

 

[PStoller]

Soivohle - Moroccan Orange

An orange blossom scent with an agrestic herbal top note of golden hay, and a touch of animalic musk, with citrus and sweet orange. Mellowing to a full soft orange flower and light sensual musk. Built around a fine orange flower absolute from Morocco.

Moroccan Orange really is a lovely natural orange scent, and I'm glad my sample has held up reasonably well over time. It doesn't turn candied or "creamsicle." The jasmine and assorted spices keep things interesting, but they're never intrusive; they just temper the sweetness and give the orange a more floral aspect. Nicely done.

 

[DeathArrow]

Greek Origins extrait de parfum by Perfume Parlour. Awesome awesomeness. I'm sure that with later wearings the awesomeness will become even more awesome.

 

[DeathArrow]

Currently at home but I wish I could sample more things from armaf and lataffa. Not even sure a store around me even sells thier stuff.

You can order online.