First impression is of a nice, light, fresh, masala chai. Cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, . . . Would be nice in warm weather; spring, summer. Later it seems a bit harsh and perfumey, but also kinda nothing?
Wood Infusion
?
Goldfield & Banks
2016
05 Feb 2024
- -
2ml sample
Nice and sweet at the start, vanilla, almost honey. Like it less later, just patchouli, oud, lavender balanced in a way I don’t quite like.
Divin'Enfant
Antoine Lie
Etat Libre d'Orange
2006
03 Feb 2024
Night, home
1.5ml sample
Was worked up about the football, so put this on to calm me down. Big powerdery puff of baby oil. Was too strong when I went to bed, had to wash off a bit.
Bergamote 22
Daphné Bugey
Le Labo
2006
02 Feb 2024
Afternoon
1.5ml sample
Clean citrus smell to start. I sprayed it on the inside of my elbows and the shirt I’m wearing still has Fig Extacy on it a bit, so cant really judge, they seem like a nice combo though. On my wrist it disappeared really quickly?
Spray again, juicey citrus, a bit lemony, a bit sweet orangey. Turns more like bitter lime, which is nice. I’ve never smelt a bergamot, just drank earl grey~ Smells a little bit like a cleaning spray I have~~~
Like the orange flower one it’s pretty simple, can’t see how it’s worth its price. But i guess its clearly the longest lasting of the citrus ones I’ve tried, especially as it’s just citrus, others go woody (etc).
Fleur d'Oranger 27
Françoise Caron
Le Labo
2006
01 Feb 2024
Afternoon
1.5ml sample
Very floral. Never actually smelt orange flowers, now I think of it; reminds me of rose petals, jasmine. Orange leaves. Strong, slightly powdery.
Pink Heart V.6
Jacques Huclier, Nisrine Bouazzaoui Grillié
Map Of The Heart
2017
31 Jan 2024
- -
1.5ml sample
First impression was of freshly pruned roses, cut stems. Goes powdery and more artificial. Gets warmer, vanilla, maybe sandalwood. There’s a nice touch of fruit. Smokey sandalwood later, still with rose.
Monsieur
Bruno Jovanovic
Frédéric Malle
2015
30 Jan 2024
Late night, home
50ml bottle
Smells like a peaty whisky, almost like the ashes of a burned-down deli at the start. Wintery, nighty. Dry incencey, spicey, dark patchouli. Very strong, I usually only spray a little bit, needs to settle before I go somewhere. I like it a lot, and it’s what got me interested in fragrances. Feels intimate, not for parties. Really sexy. My fave. Stays strong and dry, musky fullness, old well maintained leather in a smoking room. I wonder what it’s be like with a caramely-whisky note…
Obsession Night for Men
?
Calvin Klein
2005
29 Jan 2024
Late night, home
125ml bottle
I found a ⅔ full bottle of this at a job. Yuck bodywash smell at first, too sweet, but fresh, weird combo. A little later a mild fruitiness and patchouli, very sweet, bodywash smell still there. Bland. When dry there’s some musk and vanilla, there’s one smell in there I like, dunno how to describe it, almost tobacco.
Fig Extasy
?
Mancera
2021
29 Jan 2024
- -
100ml bottle
Blind bought this because it was figgy and on a big discount. Initially not super keen, pretty sweet, fig fruit, spicey, but it’s a bigger smell than other figs I’ve tried, which I like. Later it has interesting woody smells, almost smokey floralness, warm, fig leaves. Gets smokier actually, bitter tobacco. About as much sandalwood incense as I can take, ie just a hint. Not Summery, more Autumn. Hmm maybe a real hot Summer evening outside would be good actually. fight fire with fire. It’s not casual. Fig’s still here.
Bottle’s very bland. Always a fan of a magnetic lid, even if it’s covered in tacky gold paint.
Villa Sorento
Roxanne Kirkpatrick
La Perla
2021
29 Jan 2024
- -
1.5ml sample
Starts with a strong lemon smell, but a very cleaning producty one. Gets powdery, a little bitter like citrus skin or candied peel, a bit perfumey, a bit fizzy. Gets more perfumey and old ladyy, I think this is neroli, it’s warm, but still background of cleaning products.
The sample came in a vial with no diffuser. I thought I would like this, but actually it sucks a bit.
Parisian Musc
Aurelien Guichard
Matière Première
2019
27 Jan 2024
Warm afternoon
1.5ml sample
Musky, a little powdery, very green and bitter like dandelion and freshly cut flower stems, gets more figleafy as it dries :) Later it’s just vanilla, maybe a little caramel. The dandelion and fig was nice in a musk, just a little disappointed with plain vanilla, but it was pleasant.