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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

Quite liked at first, smokey leather. Turned into boring leather, then smokey again. Just don’t think I’m a leather person.

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.

Got a few samples from Wild Hybrid the other day. They have a gazillion different perfumes and lots of them sound interesting. The vials they come in are a bit annoying, but at least they have a dabber (Comme Des Garçons take note); plus they’re oils, so work better in that format, I think.

I get a lot of something similar to Vicks Vaporub, like that real big chest-filling element of it, eucalyptus, camphor… Makes this seem more like an oil you’d burn rather than wear. Notes have ‘embalming resins’ in them, which I connect this to. I guess it’s also a fair bit herbal, like you pick oregano, eucalyptus, and other things, and rub them and mangle them in your hands. Otherwise it’s woody and sweet and thick and almost chocolatey, which helps tone down the Vicks a bit. I’m not too into those kindas of creamy, chocolatey smells though.

Maybe a good looking after yourself doing stuff at home smell.

When you open the bottle it has a lovely, freshly cracked black pepper smell. On my skin I get a little bit of pepper, but mostly a warm, soft leather. I feel like having to dab it on rather than spray it means it’s not coming across properly. The leather kinda turns to fluffy woollen jumper.

Dry, smokey, nice amount of sweetness.

Cedar, lavender, patchouli smokiness. Sweetness is warm, like amber, musk, maybe tonka.

Didn’t seem to change over the day.

Ooo, I quite like this. A nice citrus, a bit limey, but in between lime and lemon (I don’t remember ever smelling a fresh citron, only candied, so can’t compare), and something a bit floral, a white floral like orange blossom I actually like. A really nice, fresh, Spring perfume.

Checking the notes later there’s no mention of flowers, just citron, ginger, wood, musk, ambergris. Well!

This is another one of the city exclusives so the price is completely bonkers. AUD$255 for just 15ml, etc.

Hmmmm. Really kinda pops off my skin into my nose. I get pepper, mint, lime, but it’s kinda solemn rather than sunny like those notes might suggest.

Official notes are pepper, incense, and benzoin (amber).

Unfortunately it also smells like fly spray.