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…
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Ambrette Aromatic Blogging Carnation Citrus Collection House Exploration Iris Jasmine Musk Oud Review Rose Sandalwood Spicy Floral Suede Thoughts Vanilla White Floral WoodsThe 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…
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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 WoodsOrmonde 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…
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Aromatic Citrus Floral Fruity Scents Gourmand Green Green Floral Osmanthus Review Suede Tea Thoughts White Floral WoodsOrmonde 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…
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Animalic Aromatic Floral Independent Perfumery Jasmine Review Rose Tonka White FloralQuasi 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…
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Balsamic Coffee Fruity Scents Gourmand House Exploration Independent Perfumery Leather Oud Review Smoke Spice Vetiver WoodsParfums 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…
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Ambergris Animalic Aromatic Balsamic Chocolate Independent Perfumery Review Sandalwood Smoke Spice WoodsEris 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…
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Chypre Floral Fruity Chypre Green Floral Independent Perfumery Iris Review Smoke Spice Spicy Floral VetiverEve 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…
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Aromatic Floral Green Green Floral Hay Herbal Independent Perfumery Iris Milk Review WoodsDusita 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…
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Amber Animalic Balsamic Hay Herbal Independent Perfumery Myrrh Oud Review SaffronFallintostars 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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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Ambergris Animalic Balsamic Floral Hay Herbal Honey Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Musk Resins Review Smoke Spicy Floral Suede Vetiver WoodsFrancesca 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…
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Blind Smelling Blogging Review ThoughtsAdventures 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…
