yet more fragrance sampling
Oct. 24th, 2022 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitSome more fragrance sampling; I've now tried all of the samples I currently have.
During the early part of this run I was beginning to wonder if my nose is defective, because there were so many listed notes I just wasn't getting, especially top notes. Then it occurred to me to test the scents on paper as well as on my skin, and hey, hello top notes! Because of this I'm planning to re-test many of my earlier samples (unless I didn't like what I did smell). I'm also thinking I should get a scent locket; unsurprisingly, it's difficult to find one that's masculine in style. I quite like this one from BPAL, which is very "Our Flag Means Death/The Magnus Archives crossover." But I'm still looking around, if anybody has recommendations.
If I tested a scent on paper, it'll say so in the review.
Also, I noticed while reading these over that I switch verb tenses a lot. I am too lazy to correct this, so hopefully it isn't too annoying.
Anyway, my reactions to Entre Ciel et Mer (Pierre Guillaume Black Collection), Costarela (Carner Barcelona), PG22 Djhenné (Pierre Guillaume Perfumerie Générale), Every Storm a Serenade (Imaginary Authors), Bosc (Bravanariz), Panorama (Olfactive Studio), Lune d'Eau (Pierre Guillaume - Cruise), 801 (Bon Parfumeur), Bohemian Lime (Goldfield and Banks), 1861 - Naxos (Xerjoff), New York Intense (Parfums de Nicolai), Elysium Pour Homme Parfum Cologne (Roja Parfums), Bois Sikar (Atelier des Ors), Musk Extreme (Perris Monte Carlo) are under the cut.
Entre Ciel et Mer, by Pierre Guillaume Black Collection (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom Perfumery notes: Ambergris, cedarwood moss, lavender, pacific algae absolute, pear, sandalwood, sea salt, seaweed, thyme, white lichen.
This was massively floral from the very start on me, and sadly, not so much lavender (which I like) as very sweet and lush florals (which I don't). There's a little bit of a salty note, but not much. Overall the effect is like some kind of "ocean scented" bath bomb. I washed it off after 15 minutes because it was so overpowering and unpleasant that I was starting to feel sick.
Costarela, by Carner Barcelona (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: bergamot, saffron; Heart: hot sand accord, mineral accord, sea salt, sea spray; Base: ambroxan, cedarwood, virginia cedar, virginia cedarwood, [amber--per Fragrantica, and I agree]
This was extremely light, at least on me. I had to reapply twice just to get more than a whiff of bergamot and nothing else. At the third dose I started to get a hint of salt/minerals, with some creaminess (ambroxan?) coming out after a few minutes and the bergamot growing softer and more floral, but in a delicate way.
Over the first hour the bergamot faded out entirey and the creamy note got kind of waxy and greasy. There was a hint of salt, but nothing like the backbone of salt and minerals that the rest of the scent needs. The salt did emerge more after the first hour, but the scent never cohered into anything.
PG22 Djhenné by Pierre Guillaume - Parfumerie Générale (Eau de Toilette, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: Lavender, mint; Heart: cocoa beans, incense, mock orange; Base: atlas cedar, cedarwood, myrrh, wheat
On first application it was much more sweet and floral than I was expecting, and the floral wasn't, sadly, the lavender but I think the mock orange. That faded in an out over the next twenty minutes, and occasionally the lavender did show up; for about the same period there was a kind of sour muskyness that wasn't nice, but that mostly faded at about the same time as the mock orange did. At this point it started turning into something like a dry boozy scent, resembling cocoa powder dissolved in brandy.
At about half an hour the myrrh turned up and became fairly dominant; it was a lightly sweet myrrh but the overall scent was still quite dry.
The review of this scent at Kafkaesque says there's ISO E Super in here, which I think may be what read to me as the sour musky skin scent in the first few minutes. At about an hour, the ISO E Super came back with a vengeance and murdered all the other notes. It was mostly soap at that point, with a bit of myrrh and cedar hanging around but wrong, zombified.
Weirdly, its progress after that wasn't as bad as it might have been. The myrrh and cedar revived a bit, though the myrrh went quite sweet and the cedar didn't do much to alleviate it. Not absolutely terrible, but still all overlain with soapiness from the ISO E Super.
Every Storm a Serenade, by Imaginary Authors (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: ambergris, ambroxan, calone, eucalyptus, pine, salty-icy water accord, sea salt, spruce, vetiver.
Well, I can't say this isn't oceanic enough. In fact in sort of bludgeons you with OCEAN: lots of salt, a kind of algae-ish quality, and an almost-ozone sharpness like it's just about to storm. (The calone, maybe?) There's also a buttery undertone that I presume is the ambergris and ambroxan. I don't really get eucalyptus or pine at any point. (This is among the scents I'm going to retest on paper.)
At about half an hour the vetiver appears, which balances the butteriness, and the saltiness and ozone get a bit less sharp. But apart from that it never really develops. It has some longevity, though--I could still smell it the next morning.
Bosc, by Bravanariz (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Juniper, mastic, oakmoss, orange, pine, rosemary; Base note: leather.
Immediately on applying there's a lovely burst of juniper, orange, and pine, which almost immediately turns a bit Pine-Sol (which, for those unfamiliar, is a horrifically pine-scented cleanser). Fortunately the Pine-Sol phase lasts less than a minute, but it's disconcerting, especially as there's a distinct, strong, almost dirty earthiness as well. It's like a damp forest floor, and it doesn't quite get to unpleasant but it's not far off.
Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't last long. The whole scent was almost gone on me in 5 minutes, and completely gone after 15. Apparently Bravanariz is known for using only natural ingredients, which are fleeting on most people and disappear more or less at lightspeed on me. Another one to retry on paper.
Panorama, by Olfactive Studio (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: bamboo shoots, bergamot, fig tree leaves, lemon, wasabi; Heart: cardamom, cut grass, galbanum, violet leaf; Base: fir, labdanum, musk, myrrh, patchouli, tonka beans, vanilla.
Initially it's really unusual and kind of amazing. When freshly applied I find it peppery and green in a complex way: sort of like cucumbers and lettuce, sort of like just-torn tree leaves. There's also a slightly sweet citrus. It's not exactly food-y, but it has a savory & sweet thing going on that I like more than I would have expected to.
Panorama changes a lot over time. In the first few minutes a fruitiness comes out, like figs (do fig leaves smell like figs?), as well as a slight greenhouse quality that I don't love, but it's not overwhelming like it has been for me in some other scents. The initial greenness fades a lot by the end of the first half hour, with the cardamom becoming a bit more noticeable, and for a while an almost boozy quality. But then, alas, it starts to get a bit perfumey. It continues to vary, getting less or more soapy/perfumey, and with some of the greenness occasionally popping back in. The myrrh shows up at about 2 hours in, but unfortunately the perfumey quality has only strengthened.
This is a scent I really enjoy for about the first 20 minutes. After that, not so much. If it could keep those initial notes I'd buy it.
Lune d'Eau, by Pierre Guillaume/Cruise (Eau de Parum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom)
Bloom notes: Amyrus, aquatic accord, juniper, mineral accord, moonlight.
Lune d'Eau confirms my fear that "aquatic," on me, translates into "humid hothouse." Luckily its hothouse phase doesn't last too long before some really nice woody and spicy notes emerge. But unluckily, layered over it all is that ineffable perfumey quality that ruins it for me. I washed this one off after an hour.
801, by Bon Parfumeur (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: ivy, lemon, mandarin; Heart: nutmeg, pink pepper, rosemary, sea salt; Base: cedar, cypress, white musk. (Bon Parfumeur's own website adds grapefruit to the list of top notes.)
There's an initial fresh citrus that fades fast, which is typical of citrus on me, and then a slight pepperiness and a greenness that to me is reminiscent of forest ferns rather than hothouse greenery. To me this is a cooler smell than Lune d'Eau (which is supposed to be icy/wintry). 801 isn't wintry: it's initially a shaded forest on a cool spring or early summer day.
A lot of the specificity fades fast on me, and at about 15 minutes what's left is a cool, salty green--not so much forest now as a cool seaside at the edge of a forest. Over time it became more salt and less green. I never really got the base notes as such, though it lasted longer than I expected before disappearing completely. Bon Parfumeur offers a hand cream with this scent, and I'm tempted, in the hopes that maybe it would hold better.
Bohemian Lime, by Goldfield and Banks (Perfume concentrate in a vial, bought from Luckyscent)
Luckyscent notes: Australian finger lime, bergamot, coriander, Atlas cedar, vetiver, Australian sandalwood.
As usual, I get a quick splash of lime (and very nice it is) that fades fast. The lime is darkened from the start by the vetiver and wood, though, and a hint of coriander rounds out the space between the brightness and the wood. However, within less than an hour nothing was left on me but hints of cedar and vetiver.
This was the first scent I tested on paper as well. The coriander was much more present that way, and the citrus was somehow more three-dimentional and complex, while the cedar and vetiver stayed in the background. It took hours for the lime to disappear from the paper.
1861 - Naxos, by Xerjoff (Eau de Parfum in a vial, bought from Luckyscent as part of their Essential 13 Masculine sampler)
Luckyscent notes: Bergamot, lemon, lavender, jasmine, cinnamon, honey, cashmeran, tobacco, tonka bean, vanilla.
In the vial this was tons of honeyed vanilla and tobacco. On paper, the citrus was more present, but still fairly faint, and the cinnamon made itself felt strongly.
On me, freshly applied, it was very sweet honey and vanilla with a bit of tobacco underneath (also sweet) and just a faint hint of citrus. My skin's habit of destroying citrus top notes didn't do Naxos any favors. It became a little less overwhelmingly sweet over the next hour, as the dryer darker notes of the vanilla came out, and by two hours it was pleasant enough in the "vanilla scent" way. On paper, the citrus lasted longer but the darker notes didn't come out as much, so it's a toss-up.
Naxos seems to get rave reviews everywhere, but on me the opening is so sweet and the drydown so simple that I guess, once again, my perfume experiences are outliers.
New York Intense, by Parfums de Nicolai (Eau de Parfum in a vial, bought from Luckyscent as part of the Essential 13 Masculine sampler pack)
Luckyscent notes: Bergamot, Sicilian leather, cloves, thyme, cinnamon, black pepper, pimento, oakmoss, vetiver, amber.
On paper it was boozy and spicy at first, with a lot of pepper and cloves, and a little bit sweet. Sort of like a hot toddy. Then the bergamot turned up, smelling more like lemon to me, and brought it right to the edge of "lemon scented cleanser."
On me it was more citrusy than boozy, with the spices not as distinct, and everything just slightly off, like a scented candle. There was also that sour-skin note I seem to get from some fragrances, and I was beginning to worry when at about 15 minutes, the vetiver emerged and everything changed. Vetiver, pepper, cloves, very very good. I tried holding the paper sample (which still had a lot of bergamot) up to my arm and smelling them together, and it was fab, which seems like a clear argument in favor of a scent locket.
Over the next few hours it got a little sweeter, and the patchouli started making itself known; it was never intolerable, but I'd rather have just had vetiver. I don't understand why so many perfumes combine them. Unfortunately the vetiver faded sooner than I would have wished, and by 5 hours it was mostly musk and a hint of patchouli.
Elysium Pour Homme Parfum Cologne, by Roja Parfums (Parfum Cologne in a vial, bought from Luckyscent as part of their Essential 13 Masculine sampler)
Luckyscent notes: lemon, bergamot, litsea cubeba, rose de mai, jasmin de Grasse, cistus, galbanum, celery seed, pink pepper, caraway, nutmeg, pepper, oakmoss, vetiver, cedarwood, cedar needles, guaiac wood, amyris, labdanum
Fragrantica notes: Grapefruit, Lemon, Bergamot, Lime, Thyme, Artemisia and Galbanum; middle notes are Vetiver, Juniper Berries, Black Currant, Apple, Pink Pepper, Cedar, Cypriol Oil or Nagarmotha, Lily-of-the-Valley, Jasmine and Rose; base notes are Ambergris, Leather, Vanilla, Benzoin and Labdanum. [These are so different that I thought I'd include them both.]
On paper it was very light lemon peel plus a mix of fresh, delicate, well-mannered florals, nothing too hothouse or overwhelming. It reminded me of (a better, more sophisticated version of) Acqua di Gio, one of the two non-BPAL scents I've ever owned a bottle of. (The other was Chanel No. 19, way back in the late 80s).
On me, initially, it was surprisingly similar to how it smelled on paper. The lemon hung on for a surprising 15 minutes, at which point I reapplied a ton because I liked it and the whole scent was becoming faint. (There is an eau de parfum of this, but apparently it's different enough that it might as well have another name.) It went a tad soapy at about half an hour and I started to worry, but then at about an hour something weird happened: the whole scent transformed into smoky vetiver and even seemed to gain in intensity. Overall I liked this a lot (much, much more than I expected to given that list of flowers), but not quite enough to buy a bottle. Sadly I used up pretty much the whole sample vial on one test.
Bois Sikar, by Atelier des Ors (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, freebie sample from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: nutmeg; Heart: cedarwood, guaiac wood, styrax, vetiver; Base: cypriol, incense, smoke, tobacco.
I didn't try this one on paper.
On me it was very smoky at first, a nice "autumn fireplace" smoke rather than a huge bonfire or a meaty cookout. Underneath there was a bit of vanilla (styrax?) and a hint of nutmeg that unfortunately didn't last.
It continued to be predominantly smoke, with a bit more sweetness and a bit more wood developing over time. I never got much of the vetiver or tobacco.
My nose wasn't at its best the day I tried this, so it's on my "retry" list.
Musk Extreme, by Perris Monte Carlo (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, freebie sample from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: aldehydes; Heart: indole, jasmine, orris (iris root), rose, ylang-ylang; Base: deer musk, vanilla.
Fragrantica notes: Top note is Bergamot; middle notes are Carnation, Rose and Jasmine; base notes are Musk, iris, Amber, Vanilla and Coumarin.
The name put me off trying this until last. But the name is a lie; there's nothing extreme about this perfume, though it's odd in several ways. And yet, as you'll see, I liked it a lot.
On paper it smelled exactly like fresh blueberry muffins with a lot of vanilla in them. Go figure.
On me, just applied, there was a little of that blueberry note but not much. Instead I got a distinct skin note/musk. On the outside of my arm there was some powdery/perfumey stuff as well, and on the inside of my arm there was something darker, resin-y, and almost like vetiver although that's not a listed note, plus something that reminded me (not in a bad way) of sweaty skin without actually smelling sweaty.
Musk Extreme changed a lot over time--what I've just described was the first five minutes.
At about 10 minutes, it was considerably sweeter and more vanilla-y on the inside of my arm, but still with that resinous quality, while on the outside of my arm it was less sweet and more of a distinct, powdery jasmine plus cloves. It continued in a kind of floral and perfumey direction for a while, then at about 40 minutes it turned dark and resinous again on the inside of my arm, while the outside was very very powdery, with a vetiver-ish note so sharp that I almost didn't like it, although I like vetiver enormously.
At about an hour and a half, the resinous vetiver-type note was gone, and it was powdery and still a bit jasmine-y floral, with a very mild musk. I almost washed it off at this point because of the powderiness.
But at the 5 hour point it played its weirdest trick yet: somehow it turned into a lime-and-lavender that reminded me a lot of BPAL's "Whitechapel." And there it stayed, and stayed, and stayed. Given how badly citrus notes last on me, I'm sure it was synthetics (apparently this perfumer is known for using a lot of them, and two are right there in the notes along with the presumably synthetic musk), but it smelled good and I was glad to still be smelling it hours later.
Musk Extreme is the first scent I've tried that not only holds up to my skin chemistry, but mostly smells enjoyable throughout while developing in interesting ways. I may buy more.
And these are my last samples and last reviews for a while. I'm sure I'll get more samples, though! Suggestions are very welcome. I'm especially wanting something with lots of vetiver and spice, with maybe a boozy or tobacco-y note, a little vanilla or amber also fine provided it's not super sweet, and preferably without patchouli. I realize that about every third masculine scent claims to be this, but so far none of them have turned out to be that on me. I'd also love recs for scents that use synthetics well, either to do interesting things or to be long-lasting.
During the early part of this run I was beginning to wonder if my nose is defective, because there were so many listed notes I just wasn't getting, especially top notes. Then it occurred to me to test the scents on paper as well as on my skin, and hey, hello top notes! Because of this I'm planning to re-test many of my earlier samples (unless I didn't like what I did smell). I'm also thinking I should get a scent locket; unsurprisingly, it's difficult to find one that's masculine in style. I quite like this one from BPAL, which is very "Our Flag Means Death/The Magnus Archives crossover." But I'm still looking around, if anybody has recommendations.
If I tested a scent on paper, it'll say so in the review.
Also, I noticed while reading these over that I switch verb tenses a lot. I am too lazy to correct this, so hopefully it isn't too annoying.
Anyway, my reactions to Entre Ciel et Mer (Pierre Guillaume Black Collection), Costarela (Carner Barcelona), PG22 Djhenné (Pierre Guillaume Perfumerie Générale), Every Storm a Serenade (Imaginary Authors), Bosc (Bravanariz), Panorama (Olfactive Studio), Lune d'Eau (Pierre Guillaume - Cruise), 801 (Bon Parfumeur), Bohemian Lime (Goldfield and Banks), 1861 - Naxos (Xerjoff), New York Intense (Parfums de Nicolai), Elysium Pour Homme Parfum Cologne (Roja Parfums), Bois Sikar (Atelier des Ors), Musk Extreme (Perris Monte Carlo) are under the cut.
Entre Ciel et Mer, by Pierre Guillaume Black Collection (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom Perfumery notes: Ambergris, cedarwood moss, lavender, pacific algae absolute, pear, sandalwood, sea salt, seaweed, thyme, white lichen.
This was massively floral from the very start on me, and sadly, not so much lavender (which I like) as very sweet and lush florals (which I don't). There's a little bit of a salty note, but not much. Overall the effect is like some kind of "ocean scented" bath bomb. I washed it off after 15 minutes because it was so overpowering and unpleasant that I was starting to feel sick.
Costarela, by Carner Barcelona (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: bergamot, saffron; Heart: hot sand accord, mineral accord, sea salt, sea spray; Base: ambroxan, cedarwood, virginia cedar, virginia cedarwood, [amber--per Fragrantica, and I agree]
This was extremely light, at least on me. I had to reapply twice just to get more than a whiff of bergamot and nothing else. At the third dose I started to get a hint of salt/minerals, with some creaminess (ambroxan?) coming out after a few minutes and the bergamot growing softer and more floral, but in a delicate way.
Over the first hour the bergamot faded out entirey and the creamy note got kind of waxy and greasy. There was a hint of salt, but nothing like the backbone of salt and minerals that the rest of the scent needs. The salt did emerge more after the first hour, but the scent never cohered into anything.
PG22 Djhenné by Pierre Guillaume - Parfumerie Générale (Eau de Toilette, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: Lavender, mint; Heart: cocoa beans, incense, mock orange; Base: atlas cedar, cedarwood, myrrh, wheat
On first application it was much more sweet and floral than I was expecting, and the floral wasn't, sadly, the lavender but I think the mock orange. That faded in an out over the next twenty minutes, and occasionally the lavender did show up; for about the same period there was a kind of sour muskyness that wasn't nice, but that mostly faded at about the same time as the mock orange did. At this point it started turning into something like a dry boozy scent, resembling cocoa powder dissolved in brandy.
At about half an hour the myrrh turned up and became fairly dominant; it was a lightly sweet myrrh but the overall scent was still quite dry.
The review of this scent at Kafkaesque says there's ISO E Super in here, which I think may be what read to me as the sour musky skin scent in the first few minutes. At about an hour, the ISO E Super came back with a vengeance and murdered all the other notes. It was mostly soap at that point, with a bit of myrrh and cedar hanging around but wrong, zombified.
Weirdly, its progress after that wasn't as bad as it might have been. The myrrh and cedar revived a bit, though the myrrh went quite sweet and the cedar didn't do much to alleviate it. Not absolutely terrible, but still all overlain with soapiness from the ISO E Super.
Every Storm a Serenade, by Imaginary Authors (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: ambergris, ambroxan, calone, eucalyptus, pine, salty-icy water accord, sea salt, spruce, vetiver.
Well, I can't say this isn't oceanic enough. In fact in sort of bludgeons you with OCEAN: lots of salt, a kind of algae-ish quality, and an almost-ozone sharpness like it's just about to storm. (The calone, maybe?) There's also a buttery undertone that I presume is the ambergris and ambroxan. I don't really get eucalyptus or pine at any point. (This is among the scents I'm going to retest on paper.)
At about half an hour the vetiver appears, which balances the butteriness, and the saltiness and ozone get a bit less sharp. But apart from that it never really develops. It has some longevity, though--I could still smell it the next morning.
Bosc, by Bravanariz (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Juniper, mastic, oakmoss, orange, pine, rosemary; Base note: leather.
Immediately on applying there's a lovely burst of juniper, orange, and pine, which almost immediately turns a bit Pine-Sol (which, for those unfamiliar, is a horrifically pine-scented cleanser). Fortunately the Pine-Sol phase lasts less than a minute, but it's disconcerting, especially as there's a distinct, strong, almost dirty earthiness as well. It's like a damp forest floor, and it doesn't quite get to unpleasant but it's not far off.
Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't last long. The whole scent was almost gone on me in 5 minutes, and completely gone after 15. Apparently Bravanariz is known for using only natural ingredients, which are fleeting on most people and disappear more or less at lightspeed on me. Another one to retry on paper.
Panorama, by Olfactive Studio (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: bamboo shoots, bergamot, fig tree leaves, lemon, wasabi; Heart: cardamom, cut grass, galbanum, violet leaf; Base: fir, labdanum, musk, myrrh, patchouli, tonka beans, vanilla.
Initially it's really unusual and kind of amazing. When freshly applied I find it peppery and green in a complex way: sort of like cucumbers and lettuce, sort of like just-torn tree leaves. There's also a slightly sweet citrus. It's not exactly food-y, but it has a savory & sweet thing going on that I like more than I would have expected to.
Panorama changes a lot over time. In the first few minutes a fruitiness comes out, like figs (do fig leaves smell like figs?), as well as a slight greenhouse quality that I don't love, but it's not overwhelming like it has been for me in some other scents. The initial greenness fades a lot by the end of the first half hour, with the cardamom becoming a bit more noticeable, and for a while an almost boozy quality. But then, alas, it starts to get a bit perfumey. It continues to vary, getting less or more soapy/perfumey, and with some of the greenness occasionally popping back in. The myrrh shows up at about 2 hours in, but unfortunately the perfumey quality has only strengthened.
This is a scent I really enjoy for about the first 20 minutes. After that, not so much. If it could keep those initial notes I'd buy it.
Lune d'Eau, by Pierre Guillaume/Cruise (Eau de Parum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom)
Bloom notes: Amyrus, aquatic accord, juniper, mineral accord, moonlight.
Lune d'Eau confirms my fear that "aquatic," on me, translates into "humid hothouse." Luckily its hothouse phase doesn't last too long before some really nice woody and spicy notes emerge. But unluckily, layered over it all is that ineffable perfumey quality that ruins it for me. I washed this one off after an hour.
801, by Bon Parfumeur (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, bought from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: ivy, lemon, mandarin; Heart: nutmeg, pink pepper, rosemary, sea salt; Base: cedar, cypress, white musk. (Bon Parfumeur's own website adds grapefruit to the list of top notes.)
There's an initial fresh citrus that fades fast, which is typical of citrus on me, and then a slight pepperiness and a greenness that to me is reminiscent of forest ferns rather than hothouse greenery. To me this is a cooler smell than Lune d'Eau (which is supposed to be icy/wintry). 801 isn't wintry: it's initially a shaded forest on a cool spring or early summer day.
A lot of the specificity fades fast on me, and at about 15 minutes what's left is a cool, salty green--not so much forest now as a cool seaside at the edge of a forest. Over time it became more salt and less green. I never really got the base notes as such, though it lasted longer than I expected before disappearing completely. Bon Parfumeur offers a hand cream with this scent, and I'm tempted, in the hopes that maybe it would hold better.
Bohemian Lime, by Goldfield and Banks (Perfume concentrate in a vial, bought from Luckyscent)
Luckyscent notes: Australian finger lime, bergamot, coriander, Atlas cedar, vetiver, Australian sandalwood.
As usual, I get a quick splash of lime (and very nice it is) that fades fast. The lime is darkened from the start by the vetiver and wood, though, and a hint of coriander rounds out the space between the brightness and the wood. However, within less than an hour nothing was left on me but hints of cedar and vetiver.
This was the first scent I tested on paper as well. The coriander was much more present that way, and the citrus was somehow more three-dimentional and complex, while the cedar and vetiver stayed in the background. It took hours for the lime to disappear from the paper.
1861 - Naxos, by Xerjoff (Eau de Parfum in a vial, bought from Luckyscent as part of their Essential 13 Masculine sampler)
Luckyscent notes: Bergamot, lemon, lavender, jasmine, cinnamon, honey, cashmeran, tobacco, tonka bean, vanilla.
In the vial this was tons of honeyed vanilla and tobacco. On paper, the citrus was more present, but still fairly faint, and the cinnamon made itself felt strongly.
On me, freshly applied, it was very sweet honey and vanilla with a bit of tobacco underneath (also sweet) and just a faint hint of citrus. My skin's habit of destroying citrus top notes didn't do Naxos any favors. It became a little less overwhelmingly sweet over the next hour, as the dryer darker notes of the vanilla came out, and by two hours it was pleasant enough in the "vanilla scent" way. On paper, the citrus lasted longer but the darker notes didn't come out as much, so it's a toss-up.
Naxos seems to get rave reviews everywhere, but on me the opening is so sweet and the drydown so simple that I guess, once again, my perfume experiences are outliers.
New York Intense, by Parfums de Nicolai (Eau de Parfum in a vial, bought from Luckyscent as part of the Essential 13 Masculine sampler pack)
Luckyscent notes: Bergamot, Sicilian leather, cloves, thyme, cinnamon, black pepper, pimento, oakmoss, vetiver, amber.
On paper it was boozy and spicy at first, with a lot of pepper and cloves, and a little bit sweet. Sort of like a hot toddy. Then the bergamot turned up, smelling more like lemon to me, and brought it right to the edge of "lemon scented cleanser."
On me it was more citrusy than boozy, with the spices not as distinct, and everything just slightly off, like a scented candle. There was also that sour-skin note I seem to get from some fragrances, and I was beginning to worry when at about 15 minutes, the vetiver emerged and everything changed. Vetiver, pepper, cloves, very very good. I tried holding the paper sample (which still had a lot of bergamot) up to my arm and smelling them together, and it was fab, which seems like a clear argument in favor of a scent locket.
Over the next few hours it got a little sweeter, and the patchouli started making itself known; it was never intolerable, but I'd rather have just had vetiver. I don't understand why so many perfumes combine them. Unfortunately the vetiver faded sooner than I would have wished, and by 5 hours it was mostly musk and a hint of patchouli.
Elysium Pour Homme Parfum Cologne, by Roja Parfums (Parfum Cologne in a vial, bought from Luckyscent as part of their Essential 13 Masculine sampler)
Luckyscent notes: lemon, bergamot, litsea cubeba, rose de mai, jasmin de Grasse, cistus, galbanum, celery seed, pink pepper, caraway, nutmeg, pepper, oakmoss, vetiver, cedarwood, cedar needles, guaiac wood, amyris, labdanum
Fragrantica notes: Grapefruit, Lemon, Bergamot, Lime, Thyme, Artemisia and Galbanum; middle notes are Vetiver, Juniper Berries, Black Currant, Apple, Pink Pepper, Cedar, Cypriol Oil or Nagarmotha, Lily-of-the-Valley, Jasmine and Rose; base notes are Ambergris, Leather, Vanilla, Benzoin and Labdanum. [These are so different that I thought I'd include them both.]
On paper it was very light lemon peel plus a mix of fresh, delicate, well-mannered florals, nothing too hothouse or overwhelming. It reminded me of (a better, more sophisticated version of) Acqua di Gio, one of the two non-BPAL scents I've ever owned a bottle of. (The other was Chanel No. 19, way back in the late 80s).
On me, initially, it was surprisingly similar to how it smelled on paper. The lemon hung on for a surprising 15 minutes, at which point I reapplied a ton because I liked it and the whole scent was becoming faint. (There is an eau de parfum of this, but apparently it's different enough that it might as well have another name.) It went a tad soapy at about half an hour and I started to worry, but then at about an hour something weird happened: the whole scent transformed into smoky vetiver and even seemed to gain in intensity. Overall I liked this a lot (much, much more than I expected to given that list of flowers), but not quite enough to buy a bottle. Sadly I used up pretty much the whole sample vial on one test.
Bois Sikar, by Atelier des Ors (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, freebie sample from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: nutmeg; Heart: cedarwood, guaiac wood, styrax, vetiver; Base: cypriol, incense, smoke, tobacco.
I didn't try this one on paper.
On me it was very smoky at first, a nice "autumn fireplace" smoke rather than a huge bonfire or a meaty cookout. Underneath there was a bit of vanilla (styrax?) and a hint of nutmeg that unfortunately didn't last.
It continued to be predominantly smoke, with a bit more sweetness and a bit more wood developing over time. I never got much of the vetiver or tobacco.
My nose wasn't at its best the day I tried this, so it's on my "retry" list.
Musk Extreme, by Perris Monte Carlo (Eau de Parfum in an atomizer, freebie sample from Bloom Perfumery)
Bloom notes: Top: aldehydes; Heart: indole, jasmine, orris (iris root), rose, ylang-ylang; Base: deer musk, vanilla.
Fragrantica notes: Top note is Bergamot; middle notes are Carnation, Rose and Jasmine; base notes are Musk, iris, Amber, Vanilla and Coumarin.
The name put me off trying this until last. But the name is a lie; there's nothing extreme about this perfume, though it's odd in several ways. And yet, as you'll see, I liked it a lot.
On paper it smelled exactly like fresh blueberry muffins with a lot of vanilla in them. Go figure.
On me, just applied, there was a little of that blueberry note but not much. Instead I got a distinct skin note/musk. On the outside of my arm there was some powdery/perfumey stuff as well, and on the inside of my arm there was something darker, resin-y, and almost like vetiver although that's not a listed note, plus something that reminded me (not in a bad way) of sweaty skin without actually smelling sweaty.
Musk Extreme changed a lot over time--what I've just described was the first five minutes.
At about 10 minutes, it was considerably sweeter and more vanilla-y on the inside of my arm, but still with that resinous quality, while on the outside of my arm it was less sweet and more of a distinct, powdery jasmine plus cloves. It continued in a kind of floral and perfumey direction for a while, then at about 40 minutes it turned dark and resinous again on the inside of my arm, while the outside was very very powdery, with a vetiver-ish note so sharp that I almost didn't like it, although I like vetiver enormously.
At about an hour and a half, the resinous vetiver-type note was gone, and it was powdery and still a bit jasmine-y floral, with a very mild musk. I almost washed it off at this point because of the powderiness.
But at the 5 hour point it played its weirdest trick yet: somehow it turned into a lime-and-lavender that reminded me a lot of BPAL's "Whitechapel." And there it stayed, and stayed, and stayed. Given how badly citrus notes last on me, I'm sure it was synthetics (apparently this perfumer is known for using a lot of them, and two are right there in the notes along with the presumably synthetic musk), but it smelled good and I was glad to still be smelling it hours later.
Musk Extreme is the first scent I've tried that not only holds up to my skin chemistry, but mostly smells enjoyable throughout while developing in interesting ways. I may buy more.
And these are my last samples and last reviews for a while. I'm sure I'll get more samples, though! Suggestions are very welcome. I'm especially wanting something with lots of vetiver and spice, with maybe a boozy or tobacco-y note, a little vanilla or amber also fine provided it's not super sweet, and preferably without patchouli. I realize that about every third masculine scent claims to be this, but so far none of them have turned out to be that on me. I'd also love recs for scents that use synthetics well, either to do interesting things or to be long-lasting.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-25 06:49 am (UTC)Suggestions are very welcome. I'm especially wanting something with lots of vetiver and spice, with maybe a boozy or tobacco-y note, a little vanilla or amber also fine provided it's not super sweet, and preferably without patchouli.
Guerlain Vetiver. Crisp and dry and beautiful, classic in a way that's the opposite of boring. Like a perfectly-weighted object.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-26 02:48 am (UTC)I really want to try Guerlain Vetiver, but it's looks like it's going to be some work digging up a sample. Now that I've done a bit of general sampling around, my next step might be a deeper dive into vetiver, I guess, since I know I like it a lot.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-26 01:55 pm (UTC)They're not all like that, but he definitely has a heavy leaning in that direction.
If one of the ones you got was Limanakia, it is a good salty beach and hot stone scent which I don't recall being sweet on me.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-28 10:38 am (UTC)Vetiver is my absolute favorie smell. I love Frederic Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire. You might also like Chanel Sycomore; it might read too feminine to you, but it's not a stereotypically feminine scent.
no subject
Date: 2022-11-07 04:27 pm (UTC)I've heard good things about Chanel's Sycomore; I'll definitely try both of these when I get a chance. (The whole feminine/masculine thing in scent can be so weird. Plus my skin chemistry seems to be odd, so things often smell different on me than they apparently do on other people.)
no subject
Date: 2022-11-08 11:16 am (UTC)I hear you re what's coded as masculine and feminine. I tend to favor scents that are labeled as masculine or neutral over more overtly feminine with some exceptions. I've got the skin chemistry that turns indolics to cat pee. Shudders