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  • Animalic Balsamic Floral Herbal Incense Oud Resins Review Rose Sandalwood Spice Spicy Floral

    Baruti Indigo: A Review

      Spyros Drosopoulos of Baruti is one of the most consistently original perfumers I have ever encountered.  Baruti Indigo is a case in point.  This is a perfume built on a series of weird…

    21st March 2023
  • Aromatic Chocolate Chypre Fruity Chypre Gourmand Immortelle Patchouli Rose Single note exploration Smoke Spice Woods

    Personal Pantheon of Patchouli Perfumes: PART II (The Deviations)

        Fragrances in this group – the patchouli deviations – tend to be more perfumey, abstract, and therefore more individual in character.  Some of these deviations treat the patchouli as a fixed point…

    6th March 2023
  • Amber Aromatic Chocolate Patchouli Round-Ups Single note exploration Thoughts

    Personal Pantheon of Patchouli Perfumes: PART I (Patchouli Bellwethers)

      I adore patchouli.  But is it necessary for me to own every iteration?  No, of course not (she said sternly to herself).  My problem is that, because I love patchouli so much, I…

    28th February 2023
  • Animalic Chypre Floral Fruity Chypre Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Oakmoss Review Ylang ylang

    Fruit, Flowers, and Funk: Hedonik Obsessive Devotion

        I love that in the promotional materials, Francesca Bianchi refers to the fact that champaca absolute has a fleshy, ‘human bodies’-like smell.  It really does.  In perfumery, champaca is managed in one…

    21st February 2023
  • Aromatic Balsamic Hay Immortelle Patchouli Review Rose Spicy Floral

    Le Mat by Mendittorosa: A Review

        Le Mat is a study in decrepitude.  Picture a time-release reel of a rose blooming violently and then slowly desaturating in hue from a pulpy, blackened red to brown, dirty gold, and…

    3rd February 2023
  • Aromatic Designer Green Review Woods

    English Oak and Hazelnut by Jo Malone: A Review

      English Oak and Hazelnut is one of the most generic-smelling things in my collection but also one of the most mindlessly pleasant.  It is the only Jo Malone fragrance I have ever bought,…

    31st January 2023
  • Amber Balsamic Honey Patchouli Resins Review Rose

    Dior Mitzah: A Review

    Dior Mitzah is a silky veil of vaporized rose honey, spices, and patchouli that pushes no buttons other than those of pleasure and comfort. And I am fine with that.…

    13th January 2023
  • All Natural Ambergris Animalic Attars & CPOs Chocolate Civet Collection Cult of Raw Materials Independent Perfumery Mukhallats Musk Review Rose Saffron Sandalwood The Attar Guide Thoughts

    Areej Le Doré Exclusive Attar Collection: Thoughts and Reviews

        Thoughts   As of 2023, anyone stumbling onto Areej Le Doré for the first time might be a bit confused about what the house does and what it stands for.  After all,…

    10th January 2023
  • Amber Ambergris Animalic Aromatic Balsamic Chocolate Independent Perfumery Review Smoke Spice Tobacco Tonka

    Sundowner by Tauer Perfumes: A Review

    Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Unless it's Sundowner by Tauer Perfumes and then you're in for something a little more special and unexpected than your regular humdrum tobacco vanille-like take. …

    14th December 2022
  • Aromatic Attars & CPOs Fougere Green Hay Herbal Immortelle Mukhallats Oakmoss Patchouli Review Saffron Spice The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide to Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics: Reviews N-Z

    Last installment of the Attar Guide to Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics: Reviews N-Z,. If you love shamama attars, then you're in for a treat.…

    12th October 2022
  • Aromatic Attars & CPOs Fougere Green Herbal Mukhallats Oakmoss Review Saffron Spice The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide to Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics: Reviews D-M

    The Attar Guide to Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics: Reviews D-M. Lots of inky mossy stuff, as well as soap and spice and all things nice. …

    10th October 2022
  • Aromatic Attars & CPOs Fougere Green Herbal Lavender Mukhallats Oudy Concentrated Perfume Oils Oudy mukhallats Patchouli Review Saffron Spice The Attar Guide Vetiver

    The Attar Guide Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics: Reviews A-C

    The Attar Guide Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics: Reviews A-C. Pungent patchoulis, sparkling saffron, healing herbs and amazing aromatics.…

    10th October 2022
  • All Natural Ambrette Aromatic Attars & CPOs Herbal Mukhallats Patchouli Saffron Spice The Attar Guide Vetiver

    The Attar Guide: Earth, Herbs, Spice & Aromatics

    The Attar Guide Primer on all the earthy, herbal, spicy or aromatic materials most commonly used in attar, mukhallat, and CPO perfumery. From charila, choyas, and patchai to bakula, saffron, and cypriol, if you…

    7th October 2022
  • Amber Ambergris Animalic Aromatic Attars & CPOs Collection Cult of Raw Materials Frankincense Green Floral Herbal Honey Independent Perfumery Jasmine Mukhallats Musk Oakmoss Oud Oudy mukhallats Patchouli Review Rose Round-Ups Sandalwood The Attar Guide

    Areej Le Doré History of Attar Collection (Fragrances): Reviews

    Reviews of all seven fragrances in the Areej Le Doré History of Attar Collection - a triumphant ode to the beauty of Indian perfumery…

    4th October 2022
  • All Natural Attars & CPOs Collection Cult of Raw Materials Floral Independent Perfumery Review Sandalwood The Attar Guide Thoughts

    The Areej Le Doré History of Attar Collection Thoughts and Reviews

    The Areej Le Doré History of Attar Collection is a reference 'smelling' library for those interested in the traditional attar genre…

    16th September 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Collection Dominique Ropion Frankincense Mukhallats Oudy Concentrated Perfume Oils Oudy mukhallats Review Saffron The Attar Guide The Business of Perfume Thoughts Vanilla

    The New Generation Amouage Attars: Thoughts and Reviews

    Amouage's new attars ≠ the OG attars. In fact, they are not attars at all but niche perfume oils. And they're good but not $540 good.…

    13th September 2022
  • Aromatic Review Rose Spice Spicy Floral Woods

    Smyrna by Le Couvent

    Smyrna by Le Couvent is a peppery rosewater scent that feels like Rose Poivrée or Rose 31 soaked in stain remover and run through a hot cycle. …

    8th September 2022
  • Aromatic Chocolate Green Herbal Iris Leather Masculine Review Smoke Spice Spicy Floral Suede Vanilla Woods

    Iris Malikhân by Maison Crivelli

    Iris Malikhân by Maison Crivelli is a dissonant, borderline unpleasant and weirdly habit-forming fragrance that is only nominally about iris. …

    22nd August 2022
  • All Natural Aromatic Floral Green Herbal Musk Resins Review Rose

    Rozu by Aesop

    Rozu by Aesop fills a Rozu-shaped hole in my heart that I never even knew was there. A fresh-earthy-spicy-woody rose that gives me joy. …

    20th August 2022
  • Animalic Carnation Cult of Raw Materials Independent Perfumery Iris Musk Review Sandalwood Violet

    Iris Ghalia by Ensar Oud

    Iris Ghalia by Ensar Oud pits a silver spoon iris against the great unwashed hoards of zoo animal secrete. Somehow, just somehow, it works.…

    17th August 2022
  • All Natural Animalic Aromatic Chypre Cult of Raw Materials Green Hay Herbal Independent Perfumery Jasmine Leather Masculine Musk Oud Review Sandalwood Spice Woods

    Chypre Sultan by Ensar Oud

    Chypre Sultan by Ensar Oud is a proper chypre, by which I mean that it smells like a chypre, not that it is at all proper (which it is not). …

    11th August 2022
  • Review Vanilla Woods

    Vaniglia by Santa Maria Novella

    Vaniglia by Santa Maria Novella smells reasonably like posh gelato in the air but like burning black plastic on the skin. (Minority opinion). Sometimes I like it, sometimes it gives me the dry heaves.…

    9th August 2022
  • Aromatic Citrus Floral Fruity Scents Green Floral Musk Review Suede Summer Vetiver Violet Woods

    Gatsby 22 by Ormonde Jayne

    Gatsby 22 by Ormonde Jayne is a fresh, citrusy floral musk that's definitely not for me but perfect for a modern-day Daisy Buchanan…

    9th August 2022
  • Amber Animalic Iris Leather Masculine Review

    Cuir d’Iris by Parfumerie Generale

      The secret to Cuir d’Iris is that it is simultaneously sooty and wet.  Bone-dry cedarwood and iris kick up dust eddies as stale as the air from a newly-fired radiator.  Floating in this…

    8th August 2022
  • Aromatic Attars & CPOs Balsamic Cult of Raw Materials House Exploration Incense Mukhallats

    Oudologie: A Sampling

      Reviews about attars and mukhallats for my Attar Guide aren’t conjured out of thin air.   When I write about a Sultan Pasha or an Abdul Samad Al Qurashi oil, I come armed with…

    2nd August 2022
  • Amber Ambergris Animalic Carnation Musk Resins Review

    Fiore d’Ambra by Profumum Roma

    Fiore d’Ambra by Profumum Roma is the rare amber that confronts rather than comforts. Which makes sense, because it's barely an amber at all. …

    22nd June 2022
  • Amber Cult of Raw Materials Musk Oriental Review Vanilla

    Shalimar Millésime Vanilla Plantifolia by Guerlain

    Shalimar Millésime Vanilla Plantifolia by Guerlain is a lot of words to say 80% Shalimar spliced with 20% of an expensive niche bakery vanilla like Lira or Tihota, but I am surprised at just…

    14th June 2022
  • Animalic Chypre Citrus Cult of Raw Materials Floral Independent Perfumery Oakmoss Orange Blossom Review Spicy Floral Tuberose White Floral Woods Ylang ylang

    Casablanca by St. Clair Scents

    Casablanca by St. Clair Scents is a tour de force of the indie BWF (Big White Floral) perfumery, perfect for modern day sirens and sexpots.…

    13th June 2022
  • Aromatic Chypre Citrus Green Independent Perfumery Leather Masculine Musk Neroli Oakmoss Review Woods

    Libertine Neroli by Francesca Bianchi

    Fresh but dark, bitter and woody-musky, Libertine Neroli by Francesca Bianchi is a fantastic neroli-oakmoss chypre that nods at 1950s classic masculine perfumery without getting pulled into it completely. …

    8th June 2022
  • Amber Attars & CPOs Balsamic Incense Mukhallats Resins Review Round-Ups Smoke The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Resin Reviews K-T

    The Attar Guide: Resin Reviews K-T wraps up the Resin portion of the Guide, with some very mediocre indie oils bringing up the rear. …

    7th June 2022
  • Amber Attars & CPOs Balsamic Cult of Raw Materials Frankincense Incense Mukhallats Myrrh opoponax Resins Round-Ups The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Resin Reviews B-I

    The Attar Guide: Resin Reviews B-I covers of the most barn-storming, sturm-und-drang incense scents in the genre. Frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, and amber arm huffers and shirt-cuff sniffers, come get your resin freak on.…

    4th June 2022
  • Amber Attars & CPOs Balsamic Cult of Raw Materials Frankincense Gold Incense Mukhallats Myrrh opoponax Resins Review Single note exploration Smoke Spice The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Resin Reviews 0-A

    The Attar Guide: Resin Reviews 0-A is the 50 Shades of Amber (and Amber Absolute knock offs), which, I guess, is as good a place to start as any. If you love the…

    31st May 2022
  • Amber Attars & CPOs Balsamic Cult of Raw Materials Frankincense Incense Myrrh opoponax Oriental Resins Round-Ups Single note exploration Smoke Spice The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide to Resins

    The Attar Guide to Resins - a brief guide to the difference between myrrh and sweet myrrh, frankincense and benzoin, and what even is amber anyway? A sweet and smoky exploration of sticky bush…

    30th May 2022
  • Ambergris Animalic Aromatic Balsamic Citrus Cult of Raw Materials Incense Leather Myrrh Neroli Oud Resins Review Saffron Spice Summer Woods

    Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura

    Aquilaria Blossom by Areej le Doré X Agar Aura is a woodsy citrus-oud-leather scent that surprises with its simplicity and lightness. Remarkably uncluttered for an oudy scent, and with only minor floral facets (an…

    26th May 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Oud Oudy Concentrated Perfume Oils Review The Attar Guide

    Oudy Concentrated Perfume Oils (CPOs)

    Wrapping up the Oud section of the Attar Guide now with a final set of reviews, this time specifically looking at oudy concentrated perfume oils (CPOs), which run the gamut from the bougiest of…

    25th May 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Oud Oudy mukhallats Review The Attar Guide

    Oudy Mukhallat Reviews: D-W

    Oudy Mukhallat Reviews: D-W, covering some of the most beautiful oudy mukhallats ever made and others you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.…

    23rd May 2022
  • Ambergris Ambrette Floral Independent Perfumery Iris Myrrh Orange Blossom Review Smoke Spice Spicy Floral Violet White Floral Woods Ylang ylang

    Hera by Papillon Artisan Perfumes

    Hera by Papillon Artisan Perfumes is a surprisingly abstract, resolutely non-literal take on the theme of a bridal perfume. As complex and as bittersweet as marriage itself, rather than the picture perfect shininess of…

    22nd May 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Oud Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Oudy Mukhallat Reviews: A-C

    Reviews of oudy mukhallats A-C, with an aside on cultural misappropriation in the attar or mukhallat world. …

    19th May 2022
  • Amber Balsamic Gold Herbal Incense opoponax Oriental Resins Review Single note exploration Spice Uncategorized

    Empire des Indes by Oriza L. Legrand

    Empire des Indes by Oriza L. Legrand is a soft, spicy opoponax scent that stands out even against the gazillion other opoponax perfumes I own…

    17th May 2022
  • Aldehydes Ambergris Animalic Attars & CPOs Chocolate Civet Cult of Raw Materials Floral Honey Independent Perfumery Jasmine Leather Musk Oakmoss Review Tobacco Ylang ylang

    Civet de Nuit by Areej Le Doré X Sultan Pasha 

    Civet de Nuit by Areej Le Doré X Sultan Pasha is a collaboration between Russian Adam of Areej Le Doré and Sultan Pasha - a retro floral bomb with a purring civet and lascivious licked-skin…

    28th April 2022
  • Cult of Raw Materials Oud Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Pure Oud Oil Reviews: P-Y

    The Attar Guide's Pure Oud Oil Reviews: P-Y features great examples of how creative distillation techniques can produce big surprises! From an oud oil by Rising Phoenix Perfumery that smells like a double espresso…

    13th April 2022
  • Cult of Raw Materials Oud Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Pure Oud Oil Reviews: L-O

    The Attar Guide's Pure Oud Oil Reviews: L-O looks at oud oils that range in aroma from wild mint, baked lamp, and soot-blackened walls to truffles, cèpes, myrrh, aged patchouli, humus, prunes soaking in…

    11th April 2022
  • Cult of Raw Materials Oud Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Pure Oud Oil Reviews: D-K

    The Attar Guide's PURE OUD Oil Reviews: D-K covers some of my very favorite pure oud oils ever, from the stunning, honeyed Medieval panforte of Agar Aura's Hirta and the honeysuckle floral-ishness of Ensar…

    9th April 2022
  • Cult of Raw Materials Oud Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Pure Oud Oil Reviews: 0-C

    The Attar Guide Pure Oud Oil Reviews: 0-C. Kicking off the oud review section with PURE OUD OIL reviews. Oud, the whole oud, and nothing but the oud, so help us God. No fillers,…

    6th April 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Oud Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: The Different Styles of Oud

    The Attar Guide: The Different Styles of Oud. From berrylicious Cambodis and feral Hindis to sparkling Borneos and jungly Maraokes. …

    4th April 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Oud Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Why Oud Smells the Way it Does

    In Part II of the Attar Guide Oud Primer, we ask: why does oud smell the way it does? Species, terroir, manner of cultivation, distillation techniques - they all play a part. Like with…

    31st March 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Oud Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: The Challenges of Oud

    Oud, glorious oud. Part I of the Attar Guide Oud Primer, addressing the most common challenges that a newcomer will face when exploring oud for the first time. From the challenge of accessing samples…

    29th March 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Review Sandalwood Single note exploration The Attar Guide Uncategorized

    The Attar Guide: Sandalwood Reviews P-S

    Part II of II: The Attar Guide's sandalwood reviews from P to S, covering everything from an exceptional Ava Luxe take on the classic Guerlainesque animalic-wood of Jicky, a couple of surprisingly satisfying sandalwood-like…

    28th March 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Review Round-Ups Sandalwood Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Sandalwood Reviews 0-M

    Part I of II of reviews of sandalwood attars, mukhallats, and CPOs. Everything from Mysore marketing shenanigans in the indie oil sector to slightly dodgy souk oils and the real deal from artisans like…

    24th March 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Sandalwood Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Sandalwood: A Primer

    A primer on sandalwood - what makes it smell so special, the different types, the availability of Mysore sandalwood, alternatives to sandalwood, and the role of sandalwood in attar perfumery. …

    23rd March 2022
  • Ambergris Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Review The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Ambergris Reviews G-Y

    Chapter 28 of The Attar Guide: Ambergris Reviews G-Y, in which we explore ambergris attars that smell like everything from fruit rot and coconut to resin and mucked-out stables.…

    4th March 2022
  • Ambergris Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Ambergris Reviews A-E

    Chapter 27 of the Attar Guide takes us reviews of ambergris-focused attars, mukhallats, and CPOs from A to E, and from stinky fishing tackle to the silkiest white chocolate souffle and even a roll…

    2nd March 2022
  • Ambergris Attars & CPOs Cult of Raw Materials Mukhallats Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Ambergris – A Primer

    Chapter 26 of the Attar Guide, and we're talking about ambergris. First a primer. to be followed by reviews of ambergris-focused attars, mukhallats and CPOs. An attenuated version of an article first published by…

    28th February 2022
  • Attars & CPOs Floral Mukhallats Review Rose Spicy Floral The Attar Guide Tuberose Vetiver Violet White Floral Ylang ylang

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (T-Y)

    Chapter 25 of the Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (T-Y) - the last of the Floral Reviews and the last of the Attar Guide in 2021 - compares, inter alia, several Abdes Salaam Attar attars…

    17th December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Chypre Floral Green Floral Jasmine Mukhallats Review Rose Saffron Spicy Floral The Attar Guide White Floral

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (S)

    Chapter 24 of the Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (S) takes us from a room-busting 1970s-style rose chypre by Al Rehab that costs peanuts to the rare Sultan Pasha attar that got the better of…

    15th December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Floral Green Floral Jasmine Mukhallats Orange Blossom Patchouli Review Rose Saffron Spicy Floral The Attar Guide Violet White Floral

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (P-R)

    Chpater 23 of the Attar Guide and we are in the P-R section of the Floral reviews, so gird your loins for lots and lots of rose this and rose that (and a couple…

    13th December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Floral Floral Oriental Green Floral Mukhallats Orange Blossom Review Rose Spicy Floral The Attar Guide White Floral

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (M-O)

    Chapter 22 of the Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (M-O), featuring, inter alia, a very passable Noir de Noir dupe, a feral narcissus attar that may cause sexual hysteria and a perfume pretending to be…

    10th December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Floral Green Floral Iris Jasmine Mukhallats Orange Blossom Osmanthus Review Rose Saffron Spicy Floral The Attar Guide Tuberose Violet White Floral

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (J-L)

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (J-L) takes us on a tour through several really trashy Malle dupe oils, mega-expensive jasmine niche oils, and some sublime gardenia attars by Strangelove NYC and Sultan Pasha. Read…

    8th December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Floral Green Floral Mukhallats Orange Blossom Review Rose The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (E-I)

          Eidyya (Amouage) Type: mukhallat     Eidyya, a mukhallat presumably linked to the celebration of Eid or the giving of gifts for Eid, is a potent floral affair with a deeply…

    6th December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Chypre Floral Green Floral Mukhallats Review The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (B-D)

        Badar (Al Haramain) Type: mukhallat     Badar is a honey-forward mukhallat that sounds more exciting than it really is.  (It also looks more exciting than it is, packaged as it is…

    3rd December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Floral Green Floral Mukhallats Orange Blossom Osmanthus Review Rose Sandalwood Spicy Floral The Attar Guide Tuberose Violet White Floral Ylang ylang

    The Attar Guide: Floral Reviews (0-A)

        007 (Hyde & Alchemy) Type: concentrated perfume oil     No. 007 is a little bum fluff of a thing – a peachy honeysuckle that leans waxy rather than green or fresh.…

    1st December 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Mukhallats Musk Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Musk: Reviews O-Z

      Oriental Musk (Kuumba Made) Type: concentrated perfume oil     Oriental Musk is a light, clean musk built around the idea of Egyptian skin musk but spruced up with some spice in the…

    26th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Mukhallats Musk Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Musk: Reviews K-M

      Kama (Ava Luxe) Type: concentrated perfume oil       Kama is a musk fragrance with a briefly fecal topnote that sees it frequently compared to the famous Muscs Khoublai Khan by Serge…

    24th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Mukhallats Musk Review Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Musk: Reviews 0-H

      010 (Hyde & Alchemy) Type: concentrated perfume oil     No. 010 is a pink-smelling scent with a cheerful cherry blossom note pitched halfway between fruit and flower.  The opening is not half…

    24th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Mukhallats Musk Single note exploration The Attar Guide The Business of Perfume

    Musk: Technicalities, Legalities, and Ethicalities

      From here on out, we are going to go material by material, grouped according to the most important scent families for attars, mukhallats, and concentrated perfume oils.  Each section will start with a…

    24th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Mukhallats Musk Single note exploration The Attar Guide

    Musk: Perfumery, Profiles, & Ethical Alternatives

      Musk in perfumery   Musk is one of the four great animalic bases of perfumery, the other three being ambergris, civet, and castoreum.   When smelled in isolation in their pure state, all four…

    24th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Independent Perfumery Round-Ups The Attar Guide The Business of Perfume

    The Attar Guide: Concentrated Perfume Oils (CPOs)

      The final category of oil perfume is that of concentrated perfume oils.  You might get to this section and groan.  After all, are attars and mukhallats not concentrated perfume oils?  The short answer…

    15th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Oud The Attar Guide The Business of Perfume

    Foundational Essential Oils: Part 2 (Oud)

      Although I will be doing a much deeper dive on both sandalwood and oud in their respective sections, I wanted to use this chapter and the previous one as an introduction to the…

    12th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Sandalwood The Attar Guide The Business of Perfume

    Foundational Essential Oils: Part 1 (Sandalwood)

      Sandalwood and oud are truly essential oils, in that they are the building blocks of their respective styles of perfumery.  In traditional Indian attar perfumery, fragrant materials are distilled directly into sandalwood oil,…

    10th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Mukhallats Resins The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Middle-Eastern Mukhallats

        Now we come to Middle-Eastern mukhallats.  First, let’s get etymology out of the way.  The word mukhallat simply means blend in Arabic and refers to a mix of pre-distilled attars and ruhs…

    8th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Complex Indian Attars

      Complex Indian attars are the result of a multi-distillation process, whereby several fragrant materials are co-distilled in the same deg or created by mixing several distillates and attars together after distillation.   In…

    5th November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs The Attar Guide

    Indian Single-Material Attars and Ruhs

      Traditional Indian attars (and ruhs) can be divided roughly into two groups.  First, there are attars made by distilling a single material, like, for example, rose or vetiver. (These are the subject of…

    3rd November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs The Attar Guide The Business of Perfume

    The Attar Guide: Traditionally Distilled Attars and Ruhs

      Attar – an old Persian word for perfume (ațr, pronounced atir) – is the world’s earliest form of fragrance still in existence today.  The word ‘attar’ is used in some form in most…

    1st November 2021
  • Attars & CPOs The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Some words to the wise

      One big misconception I have come across while exploring the world of oil-based perfumery concerns purity.  Attars, mukhallats, oud oils, and concentrated perfume oils (CPOs) are, technically speaking, pure perfumes because they do…

    29th October 2021
  • Attars & CPOs Shopping The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: The Practicalities

    Alright, before we get into the fun stuff, let’s get the practicalities out of the way. Certain questions and concerns consistently pop up when people start getting into oil-based perfumes, such as: How much…

    27th October 2021
  • Attars & CPOs The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Why attars? Why oils?

    The longer form of that question being: why wear an attar or oil-based perfume at all when there are plenty of perfectly good spray perfumes out there?   Actually, there are several reasons.  …

    25th October 2021
  • Attars & CPOs The Attar Guide

    The Attar Guide: Introduction

    Chapter 1 of the Attar Guide: An introduction…

    22nd October 2021
  • Hay Iris Leather Musk Patchouli Review Spicy Floral Violet

    Le Labo Iris 39: A Review (Sort of)

      I have yet to come across a review that captures what Le Labo Iris 39 smells like to me, so I’m going to take a run at it myself.  Despite the advertised violets…

    15th October 2021
  • Floral Green Green Floral Hay Independent Perfumery Review

    L’Amandière by Heeley Paris

    Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez have an extraordinary turn of phrase, don’t they?  One of the many things they have written that has lingered in my mind for years is their description of L’Eau…

    12th October 2021
  • Animalic Citrus Floral Fruity Scents Gourmand Honey Independent Perfumery Orange Blossom Patchouli Review Sandalwood Vanilla White Floral Woods

    Anamcara by Parfums Dusita

      The fact that something as weird and borderline confrontational as Anamcara by Parfums Dusita was workshopped in a Facebook group known for its strict ‘say something nice or don’t say anything at all’…

    6th October 2021
  • Aromatic Cult of Raw Materials Independent Perfumery Musk Oakmoss Round-Ups Single note exploration

    Rule Evernia: An (Ormonde Jayne) Essay on Oakmoss

    Evernia by Ormonde Jayne takes its name from Evernia prunastri, the species of lichen from which oakmoss absolute – the star ingredient here – is obtained.   It is interesting that Ormonde Jayne, one of…

    22nd September 2021
  • Amber Animalic Fruity Scents Green Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Review Ylang ylang

    Luxe, Calme, Volupté by Francesca Bianchi

    I was going to start this review by saying that despite having studied French literature in college, my only experience with Baudelaire was with his poem Les Fleurs du Mal, but then I Googled…

    16th September 2021
  • Balsamic Coniferous Green Independent Perfumery Oud Review Violet Woods

    Ormonde Elixir by Ormonde Jayne: A Review

    Ormonde Elixir is 45% Ormonde Woman, 45% Ormonde Man, and 10% oud oil.  I’m not mad at those percentages. The oud smells like the real deal has been used, and in more than holistic…

    31st August 2021
  • Ambrette Animalic Independent Perfumery Iris Leather Musk Review Suede

    Flesh by Pekji

    I blame my workload for a lot of life stuff that just doesn’t get done, including, inter alia, regular exercise, parenting that extends to more than rubbing their little heads fondly as I pass…

    29th July 2021
  • All Natural Ambrette Balsamic Independent Perfumery Review Vetiver

    Vetiver by Hiram Green

    For all that vetiver famously possesses an olfactory range stretching between hazelnut, roses, and earth, it is always unmistakably ‘vetiver’ in the same way that patchouli is always patchouli. You’ll notice, therefore, that descriptions…

    21st July 2021
  • Amber Floral Fruity Scents Gourmand House Exploration Incense Independent Perfumery Jasmine Review Scent Memory Smoke Spice Tea White Floral Woods

    Three by Frassaï: Tian Di, A Fuego Lento, and Teisenddu

        Based on my sampling of three perfumes from the Argentinian brand Frassaï, I can say that this is exactly the kind of thing that one hopes to see from modern niche perfumery…

    16th March 2021
  • 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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