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  • Ambergris Ambrette House Exploration Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Oud Review Smoke Vetiver

    Neandertal: Them, Us, Light, Dark

    The indie perfume brand Neandertal boasts some of the most achingly cool bottles I’ve ever seen, one of the hottest talents on the indie perfumery scene (Euan McCall), and several glowing Luca Turin reviews…

    8th March 2021
  • Aromatic Citrus Cult of Raw Materials Floral Fougere Fruity Scents Green Floral Hay House Exploration Iris Lavender Neroli Orange Blossom Review Rose Tonka Tuberose White Floral

    Les Indémodables Part II: Iris Perle, Fougère Émeraude, Rose de Jamal, and Chypre Azural

      Iris Perle   Username checks out. In its totality, Iris Perle is an opalescent soap bubble of freshly peeled mandarin over soapy-waxy-fatty mimosa clasped in a child’s slightly sweaty paw, but studied closely…

    1st March 2021
  • Ambergris Aromatic Collection Cult of Raw Materials House Exploration Independent Perfumery Review

    Les Indémodables Part I: Vanille Havane, Oriental Velours, Musc des Sables, and Cuir de Chine

        Vanille Havane   Vanille Havane is an undeniably good smell. How could it not be? It is basically a Greatest Hits tour of some of the most feelgood smells in modern niche…

    15th February 2021
  • Floral Oriental Fruity Scents Hay Honey Incense Independent Perfumery Leather Musk Review Tuberose White Floral Woods

    Tyger Tyger by Francesca Bianchi

    There are three types of tuberose fragrance and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Category I is Photorealistic Tuberose, which is where you find the dewy ‘ripped from nature’ takes like Carnal Flower (Malle),…

    2nd February 2021
  • Ambergris Balsamic Frankincense Green Incense Independent Perfumery Leather Review Smoke

    Spell 125 by Papillon Artisan Perfumes: Love in the Time of COVID

    I keep trying to sum up Spell 125 by Papillon Artisan Perfumes for myself in one of those snappy two-liners that Luca Turin excels in, but it is a testament to the perfume’s shape-shifty-ness…

    25th January 2021
  • Aldehydes Amber Ambergris Attars & CPOs Balsamic Chypre Cult of Raw Materials Gold Lists Oriental Osmanthus Oud Resins Review

    Gifts of the Three Magi: Going for Gold

    Gold is the most challenging of the gifts of the three Magi, of course, given that, unlike myrrh and frankincense, it is not a fragrant material in and of itself. I could write about…

    30th December 2020
  • Amber Animalic Aromatic Attars & CPOs Balsamic Citrus Cult of Raw Materials Frankincense Incense Lists Resins Round-Ups Scent Memory Smoke Spice Thoughts Woods

    Gifts of the Three Magi: Frankly Frankincense

    Each of the gifts of the three Magi carried a special symbolic meaning – gold representing kingship, myrrh foreshadowing the death of Jesus (myrrh being commonly used as an embalming and purifying ointment in…

    11th December 2020
  • Amber Aromatic Attars & CPOs Balsamic Citrus Cult of Raw Materials Herbal Honey Incense Lists Myrrh Oriental Osmanthus Oud Resins Review Woods

    Gifts of the Three Magi: A Myrrh-athon

    Myrrh is the sulky emo teenager of the resin family. From soapy to waxy to mushroomy to medicinal, let's do a deep dive on this most recalcitrant of resins. …

    30th November 2020
  • Aromatic Balsamic Citrus Herbal Incense Independent Perfumery Masculine Review Sandalwood Smoke Woods

    Kerosene Part 2: Blackmail and R’Oud Elements

    Mining the same marshmallow-meets-campfire vein as By the Fireplace by Maison Martin Margiela, albeit only about a hundred times more pleasant and natural-smelling, Blackmail captures that exciting feeling of anticipation your tummy gets at…

    16th November 2020
  • Amber Aromatic Balsamic Herbal Incense Independent Perfumery Oud Resins Review Sandalwood Smoke Spice Tobacco Vanilla Woods

    Kerosene Part 1: Copper Skies and Broken Theories

    Copper Skies Sometimes you want a silky pâté that rolls around velvetily in your mouth for a few seconds before dissolving into perfumed air, and sometimes you want the thick, meaty savor of a…

    20th October 2020
  • Aromatic Balsamic Chypre Fruity Chypre Incense Leather Patchouli Resins Review Suede Woods

    Kintsugi by Masque Milano

    Kintsugi by Masque Milano smells the way those mysterious salted fruits and chutneys in an Asian restaurant taste – perfumey, bitter, and dark in a way that sucks all the moisture out of your…

    13th October 2020
  • Balsamic Citrus Coffee Collection Cult of Raw Materials Floral Fougere Green Floral Incense Independent Perfumery Iris Jasmine Lavender Leather Musk Oriental Osmanthus Oud Resins Review Rose Round-Ups Saffron Sandalwood Smoke Spice Spicy Floral Thoughts Violet White Floral Woods

    Areej Le Doré Agar de Noir, Musk Lave, Cuir de Russie, Grandenia, & Santal Galore

    The challenge for any reviewer in reviewing the Areej Le Doré releases is that (a) either you’re late and the perfumes you’re writing about are no longer available to buy, or (b) you’re on…

    28th September 2020
  • Honey Maurice Roucel Milk Musk Review Spice Tea

    Hongkong Oolong by Maurice Roucel for Nez, the Olfactory Magazine

    What a beautiful and refreshingly to-the-point fragrance. In the tinderbox of nowtimes where the fuse is short and the flashpoint just a meter downwind of someone having a bad day on Twitter, Hongkong Oolong…

    14th September 2020
  • Cult of Raw Materials Independent Perfumery Musk Oud Patchouli Resins Review Woods

    The Cult of Raw Materials: Treewitch by Teone Reinthal and Antiquity by Areej Le Doré

    A common assumption in evaluating all-natural fragrances – thanks in large part to the Cult of Raw Materials that has sprung up around top-tier artisanal, distill-it-yourself houses such as Bortnikoff and Areej Le Doré…

    10th September 2020
  • Amber Animalic Balsamic Chocolate Honey Incense Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Oriental Patchouli Resins Review Sandalwood Spice Tobacco Tonka

    Sticky Fingers by Francesca Bianchi

    The more I wear Sticky Fingers by Francesca Bianchi, the more I’m convinced it is the Bengale Rouge of the Bianchi line, by which I mean a deliciously thicc n’ fuzzy oriental that’s characterful…

    19th August 2020
  • Aldehydes Amber Ambergris Aromatic Balsamic Citrus Floral Jasmine Musk Review The Discard Pile White Floral

    Ormonde Jayne Jardin d’Ombre and Ambre Royal

    Neither of these 2016 Ormonde Jayne releases – Jardin d’Ombre and Ambre Royal – are my kind of thing, even though there are interesting and even beautiful moments in both of them. But I’m…

    14th August 2020
  • Collection Fruity Scents Gourmand House Exploration Musk Neroli

    Ormonde Jayne La Route de la Soie Collection

    As you might have guessed from my recent series of posts, I am a big fan of the house of Ormonde Jayne. After having invested in several full bottles and having worked my way…

    19th June 2020
  • Amber Aromatic Balsamic Chypre Citrus Collection Floral Floral Oriental Green Floral Herbal House Exploration Iris Jasmine Musk Orange Blossom Resins Review Rose Round-Ups Spicy Floral Summer Violet White Floral Woods

    The Ormonde Jayne Core Collection

    Ormonde Jayne set out its mission and values in its original core collection, and to this day, it remains the standard bearer for the brand. I’ve written about some of the perfumes in the…

    15th June 2020
  • Incense Masculine Resins Review Smoke Spice The Discard Pile

    Serge Noire by Serge Lutens

    The topnotes of Serge Lutens Serge Noire‘s smoky, dried fruit incense draw me in every single Goddamn time, like a mermaid’s song. And then I am dashed cruelly against the rocks that are this…

    20th May 2020
  • Ambrette Aromatic Blogging Carnation Citrus Collection House Exploration Iris Jasmine Musk Oud Review Rose Sandalwood Spicy Floral Suede Thoughts Vanilla White Floral Woods

    The Ormonde Jayne Gold Collection

    Rose Gold Rose Gold opens with a fiercely fresh green rose that briefly hints at the rose in Ta’if before folding its lemon-rind-and-black-pepper topnotes into the folds of a richer, pulpier rose that smells…

    19th May 2020
  • Aldehydes Ambergris Aromatic Balsamic Citrus Collection Floral Floral Oriental Fougere Green Herbal Iris Leather Osmanthus Oud Review Rose Sandalwood Spice Spicy Floral Suede Tea Tobacco Woods

    Ormonde Jayne Four Corners of the Earth Collection

    Ormonde Jayne Four Corners of the World collection upped the ante on the already amazing core line, exploring key raw materials drawn from, well, the four corners of the earth: oud from India, tobacco…

    6th May 2020
  • Aromatic Citrus Floral Fruity Scents Gourmand Green Green Floral Osmanthus Review Suede Tea Thoughts White Floral Woods

    Ormonde Jayne Love Trio: Sensual Love, Passionate Love, and True Love

    Ormonde Jayne is a brand that I turn to for sophistication and polish. I'm looking past the core collection of original releases and asking: what did Linda do next? Part I is on the…

    30th April 2020
  • Animalic Aromatic Floral Independent Perfumery Jasmine Review Rose Tonka White Floral

    Quasi Un’Absurdia by Chris Rusak

    Quasi Un’Absurdia by Chris Rusak is a rare joy. In the modern hodge podge of brutal woody ambers and syrupy eau-de-department-store florals, instances of classical beauty are few and far between. So a minute…

    13th April 2020
  • Balsamic Coffee Fruity Scents Gourmand House Exploration Independent Perfumery Leather Oud Review Smoke Spice Vetiver Woods

    Parfums Prissana and Strangers Parfumerie: A Sampling

    I’m fascinated by the individuality of the models at play in the indie perfume sector. Some houses, like Diane St. Clair and Papillon work slowly, releasing an average of one perfume a year (if…

    12th February 2020
  • Ambergris Animalic Aromatic Balsamic Chocolate Independent Perfumery Review Sandalwood Smoke Spice Woods

    Eris Parfums Mxxx.

    Mxxx. by Eris Parfums is an almost embarrassingly sexual scent – the result, I imagine, of an experiment to cross breed the silvery, driftwood aroma of a far-off beach bonfire with the boudoir-ish scent…

    7th February 2020
  • Chypre Floral Fruity Chypre Green Floral Independent Perfumery Iris Review Smoke Spice Spicy Floral Vetiver

    Eve and Pandora: Two Perfumes by Diane St. Clair

    I don’t know how to say this without sounding condescending, but one sniff of Eve and Pandora, the new duo of perfumes from Diane St. Clair, is enough to tell that there has been…

    4th February 2020
  • Aromatic Floral Green Green Floral Hay Herbal Independent Perfumery Iris Milk Review Woods

    Dusita Le Pavillon d’Or

    Although I’ve always worn make-up, my reasons for doing so have varied dramatically over the years. As a teenager, my first and only concern was to make my face into a blank mask to…

    6th December 2019
  • Amber Animalic Balsamic Hay Herbal Independent Perfumery Myrrh Oud Review Saffron

    Fallintostars by Strangelove NYC: A Review

    Fallintostars by Strangelove NYC is clever because it pairs the 15th century smell of Hindi oud – the dank, rotting, wet wood smell of animal hides piled high in a medieval dungeon – with…

    27th November 2019
  • Aromatic Green Independent Perfumery Review Rose Rose Oxide Thoughts

    Douleur! By Bogue

    Douleur! by Bogue, a collaboration between Freddie Albrighton, a tattoo artist and erstwhile perfume blogger, and Antonio Gardoni, the beloved beardie of Bogue Profumo, has already garnered quite a bit of reaction on the…

    20th November 2019
  • Amber Gourmand Honey Independent Perfumery Review

    Zoologist Bee

    Have you ever been walking along the street and suddenly feel so good that you burst into a run? Zoologist Bee is that for me – a burst of positivity that settles on you…

    12th November 2019
  • Amber Floral Incense Independent Perfumery Review Spicy Floral

    Hiram Green Voyage 2019: A Review

    Hiram Green Voyage 2019, huh. I remember little of the original Voyage other than (a) I liked it a lot – or at least enough to spend €25 on obtaining a precious 5ml decant,…

    8th November 2019
  • Ambergris Animalic Balsamic Floral Hay Herbal Honey Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Musk Resins Review Smoke Spicy Floral Suede Vetiver Woods

    Francesca Bianchi Lost in Heaven and The Black Knight

    The amount of depravity Francesca Bianchi subjects orris root to, I don’t know to be scared of meeting her in a dark alley – or take her out for an Aperol Spritz. People are…

    30th October 2019
  • Blind Smelling Blogging Review Thoughts

    Adventures in Blind Smelling: Rose et Cuir, the Fragrance Foundation Awards, & Other Stories

    I used to think that fragrances were like books, in that the more you experienced, the more your mental library expanded.  But that’s not true.  When I read a new book, the bookshelves in…

    21st October 2019
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Recent Posts

  • Neandertal: Them, Us, Light, Dark
  • Les Indémodables Part II: Iris Perle, Fougère Émeraude, Rose de Jamal, and Chypre Azural
  • Les Indémodables Part I: Vanille Havane, Oriental Velours, Musc des Sables, and Cuir de Chine
  • Tyger Tyger by Francesca Bianchi
  • Spell 125 by Papillon Artisan Perfumes: Love in the Time of COVID

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