I think I mentioned, but I tried this one in London and really liked it. We got a sample this year and was surprised because it smelt completely different, quite floral.
A couple of months later I’ve had a proper wear and really like it again. I guess it was a fresh sample or something and had to develop in the bottle. Great spicy, peppery opening. Smokey. A bit too sweet, but after a while the sweetness mellows and it’s mostly peppery and smokey and sharp. Spring seems like a good season for it.
Peau d'Espagne
?
Santa Maria Novella
1901
10 Nov 2024
Sunny day
1ml sample
Ugh. So powdery. Mostly just a big powdery cloud and strong moisturiser/suncream smell. Get a little bit of citrus. Once it settles there’s a bit of pepper. 8 hours later all that’s left is a little bit of leatheriness and still that gross powder. Almost ruined a nice Spring day,
Reading notes online—I dunno what any of them are on about.
Monsieur
Bruno Jovanovic
Frédéric Malle
2015
08 Nov 2024
Cool Spring evening
50ml bottle
Wore this to go out to dinner. Hadn’t put it on in ages, just sometimes smell the bottle. Seems like it’s gotten sweeter, and the peatiness has mellowed a bit. I keep using Gualtieri things as a comparison and I’m bored of it . . . but the sweetness reminds me of his a bit, but nicer. Still really like it.
Balinese Ylang Ylang
Rebecca Akhyani
Lumira
?
28 Oct 2024
Warm Spring day
2ml roll-on sample
It was sunny and I wanted to smell clean and floral. Enjoyed it for a few minutes, but it just turned to vanilla very quickly. Dunno if it’s something to do with being an oil, and a roll-on.
Lumira was having a thing where they sent out little packs of free samples and I think the three they sent and three I’m not interested in. There is a fig one I’d like to try though.
Kirra Curl
Josh Mihan, Jules Brown
Mihan Aromatics
2021
23 Oct 2024
Warm Spring day
2ml sample
The weather’s nice, time to start trying some Summer-sounding stuff I’ve had sitting around—
First whiff I got was a bit marine, but with enough wood to make it more interesting. Within five minutes I mostly get vanilla, a bit of sandalwood, and a kinda waxy smell. I guess a hint of leather, because it reminds me of some of those soft-leather ones I’ve tried recently. Something a bit gritty and sharp comes through later, makes it spicy, herby leather, which is kinda interesting.
Yeah, I smell like a candle from the two dollar shop.
Benjoin 19
Frank Voelkl
Le Labo
2013
07 Oct 2024
Cool Spring day
1.5ml sample
I don’t have much to say about this. It’s nice, like a nicer version of an Alessandro Gualtieri perfume: sweet, smokey, a bit plasticy. Can’t imagine ever being excited to wear this.
Didn’t last long, but long enough.
I’d like to be more knowledgeable about different ambers in perfumery.
Original Vetiver
?
Aromatic Attars and Oils
?
27 Sep 2024
Sunny afternoon
roll-on
Quite minty at first, not like what I usually associate with vetiver. A bit bit fresh in that bodywashy way. Also waxy, kinda chalky smelling, soapy.
Really hard to smell anything here. Very meh.
I smell a bit of ginger after half an hour, maybe some citrus, it’s become more airy and fresh, lost the stuffy elements. I’m enjoying it now, but I still have to touch my nose to me wrist to smell anything.
Night Oud
?
Aromatic Attars and Oils
?
24 Sep 2024
Earlymorning→bed
roll-on
NB: Put this on before going to bed, so only smelt it for an hour.
Really animalic. Dog vag. Sour.
Soapy, floral, base I don’t like. Thought it might just be the oil. Notes say it’s just oud and Turkish rose. Doesn’t smell of rose to me.
Warm animalic smell as it settles, sharp smokey, a little almost BO-y.
Haven’t smelt this kind of oud before, always got it tamed by other stuff. Not something I’d wear, but intriguing…
Egyptian Musk
?
Aromatic Attars and Oils
?
20 Sep 2024
About near home
roll-on
Got some more samples of small-house perfume oils of Etsy, by this place called Aromatic Attars and Oils. Not sure who actually made this, their website credits ‘Sukran’, might mean ‘Shukran’…
Musky, powdery rose (actually iris?), strong honey smell for a bit, but that fades. Not really for me, but once the honey was gone I didn’t mind it. Smelling the bottle now it smells a bit like Clag.
Smelt a bunch of things at the shopping centre last week, trying to remember them from minimal notes.
Erba Pura
Christian Carbonnel & Laura Santander
Xerjoff
2019
19 Sep 2024
?
paper
I tried this because the bottle’s a nice colour and I thought it would be herbal and fresh smelling. It’s not, it smells like flouro yellow lollies, and bubblebath, it’s gross. Now I see the notes there’s bergamot, lemon, orange… :/
This was in Libertine, which was an annoying place to try things because all the bottles are empty so you have to ask. That bugged me, so I didn’t try anything after.
Iris Poudre
Pierre Bourdon
Frédéric Malle
2000
19 Sep 2024
?
paper
All the other stuff I tried was at Mecca.
Didn’t mind this at first, wasn’t expecting to like it, but it’s floral and powdery and bugged me after it got more and more floral. All the Frédéric Malle ones I actually wanted to try weren’t there.
By the Fireplace
Marie Salamagne
Maison Margiela
2015
19 Sep 2024
?
paper
I wanted to try a couple of Maison Margiela ones because I saw them elsewhere on a real big discount. I try these same two every time I go into Mecca thinking I might like them this time, but I never do. This one in particular is sooo sweet, not smokey or anything like I would expect from the name.
Jazz Club
Aliénor Massenet
Maison Margiela
2013
19 Sep 2024
?
paper and skin
This one in particular has always been raved about online, but it’s also too sweet—but not as sweet—and not smokey and boozey improvisational and cool like the name implies.
Gaiac 10
Annick Ménardo
Le Labo
2008
19 Sep 2024
?
skin
They has a wee table with some of the Le Labo city exclusives on it, so was excited to try some of the ones there, especially ones I wouldn’t pay $10 for a sample of…
This is the Tokyo one. As with all of them I don’t see the connection with the city and the perfume, so not sure if there’s really supposed to be one. This is kinda interesting, real sharp, like rubbing/cleaning alcohol. Faded real fast and I didn’t get anything else.
Can’t shake the feeling this is based on some weird stereotype of Japan…
Cedrat 37
Daphné Bugey
Le Labo
2021
19 Sep 2024
?
skin
Ah lime, the fruit of… Germany…
I have a sample of this, but tried it again for some reason. Mostly I got lime, didn’t pick up a floral element like I did the first time. Will probably wear this this Spring.
Tabac 28
Frank Voelkl
Le Labo
2019
19 Sep 2024
?
skin
Quite liked at first, smokey leather. Turned into boring leather, then smokey again. Just don’t think I’m a leather person.
Tom of Finland
Antoine Lie
Etat Libre d'Orange
2007
17 Sep 2024
Evening, housesitting
1.5ml sample
Very smooth, sweet (vanilla, tonka), airy leather, like that other leathery one I smelt recently. There was a bit of something more complex at the start, a little vetiver, woody, smokey, a little bit sharper and fresher, but faded fast. Doesn’t really live up to the name. More Tom Ford than Tom of Finland.
Sprayer smells harshly citrusy, but I don’t get that when I’m wearing it.