Fragrance Junkie Central

[Mochapj]

I know there are a few of us on BT that are fragrance addicts, so I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated place where we can share our thoughts.

This is not to take away from the lovely What Are You Wearing Today, Fragrance Edition thread, but more a place to post longer reviews, chat about new brands or releases, and just shoot the breeze on anything good and smelly 🙂

For me, I recently acquired 2 new decants that I've been anxiously awaiting.  Ever since Lachaton mentioned that MMM was releasing a new scent called By The Fireplace I've been itching to get my hands on it.  My decant arrived yesterday, so I'm looking forward to marinating in it this weekend.  Secondly, I recently picked up a tiny sample of Shiseido Nombre Noir.  Supposedly it is one of the most expensive failures in perfume history - made by Serge Lutens for Shiseido back in the 80s.  Of course, with a backstory like that, I was dying to get a sniff 😄

What's new on your scent radar?  Do tell!

 

[lachaton]

I love Blush Peony and Suede! Fruity florals aren't usually my favourite, but I quite like this one. I like to layer it with Wood Sage and Sea Salt!

[k617]

I love both samples that the SA gave me! I'm tempted to go back to Holt Renfrew and smell ALL of the JM scents.

When I picked up Red Roses I only smelled the floral ones.

There was...Tuberose Angelica? or something like that? That one sounded pretty but it almost knocked me out (I think it was part of the intense line or something?)

[lachaton]

I loooove the bath oil. It doesn't have a dropper though, and I like mine heavily scented... nor do I use it regularly (it's a special occasion bath oil for me). 

I'd say you can make it last as long as you'd like, depending on how much you use. I tend to just pour a little in the water. I've had mine for a few months, and I'm only halfway through it. 

[k617]

Thanks! Do you have the full sized bottle, or the little one?

[lachaton]

Full size 🙂 

[k617]

I'm sooo tempted! Maybe I will buy the smaller size to do a trial, and get the larger if I love it (which I'm sure I would).

I rarely take baths which is where my hesitation comes from...maybe once a month 😞 I prefer quick showers!

[lachaton]

I'm a bath addict, so it was easy for me to cave 😄 

But yes, in that case - grab the mini! $35 is much easier to spend, I get that 🙂 Then you can see how you feel about it.

The other thing I like to do is actually spray perfume into a bath. You don't get the benefit of an oil, but you do get the scent 🙂

[poornima]

Wearing Tauer 06 Incense Rose today. This was a blind buy, so I'm so glad that I adore it.

My skin usually magnifies citrus notes, and while I did get some of that Orange Tang smell on first spritz, it dissipated fairly quickly, and what I smelled was the most perfect blend of rose, incense and cardamom.

The cardamom is pretty prominent (on me at least), but it is probably my favourite spice note, so I am absolutely delighted to catch whiffs of it every so often. Projection is pretty solid too for the first 2ish hours, and slowly becomes less prominent, before it starts to hang pretty close to the skin. Still keep catching whispers of it, so that might just be my nose getting used to the smell.

Wore Arquiste Nanban on Friday evening, which was cold and just perfect for this scent.

Made sure not to overspray- Didn't pick up the coffee notes, but definitely smelled the leather, myrrh and the slightest hint of pepper. When I got back home about six hours later, all the leather and spiciness was gone- all that was left was sweet, woody base that lulled me to sleep.

Yesterday, I pretty much marinated in the stuff, and I actually caught the saffron note (it is gone after the first minute or so, though, and the pepper becomes more prominent), and tea, leather and myrrh. Still couldn't make out the coffee note, so not sure if I'm anosmic to it (at least in perfume), or if it's because there's so much going on that my brain can't tell the difference.

While Arquiste makes wonderful perfumes that are beautifully blended and last forever, I never loved any of their offerings enough to buy a FB (even Anima Dulcis, which is fairly unique, and a lot of perfume bloggers seem to love). I was honestly surprised that I loved my sample of Nanban as much as I did- and I'm even more glad that I love it just as much (if not more) now.

[Mochapj]

Hmm, I think you've convinced me to pick up a sample of 06 next.  I was going to avoid it because orange is one of my least favorite scents, but cardamom sounds heavenly.

I had such high hopes for Anima Dulcis, but it made me smell like mole sauce :S  I too was surprised at how much I loved Nanban, but it completely overtook me.  

[poornima]

Definitely sample 06 if you like cardamom. I'm about seven hours in, and the cardamom is still prominent in the dry down. I definitely got some of that orange tang that other reviewers complained about, but looks like my skin projects the cardamom even more, so that orange note disappeared quickly.

Re: Anima Dulcis- I totally remember thinking mole sauce when I smelled it too. And the drydown smelled like dark chocolate and cumin on me, and that cumin note especially is something that smells BO-ey to my nose and one that I don't particularly enjoy wearing. (I had the same problem with 12 Eau d'Epices- loved the cardamom and the cloves when I first wore it. And then cumin popped up, and that automatically became a nope.)

Nanban is easily the best thing I've tried from Arquisite, and I really hope they'll add more deeper, richer, warmer scents to their line. It is so perfect and cozy for colder weather 🙂

[Mochapj]

YES!  Anima Dulcis morphed into cumin BO on me too.  

That was the main reason I couldn't buy it.

I could get down with smelling like mole, but cumin/BO... no thanks.

[Mochapj]

Really ree just posted there is a new black opium coming out next year;

I'm intrigued by this one.  The new note is rice vapour accord 😮

[kethry70]

I'll have to try this one when it comes out - I adore YSL bo

[CosmicBeauty247]

thank you for this update!

what exactly is rice vapor accord? any ideas on how this will add to the existing scent?

[Mochapj]

Just venturing a guess, but it probably smells similar to warm sake 

[greenporchlights]

I used part of my Ebates payout this quarter to purchase some samples from LuckyScent!

I picked up: 

Spoiler

• SoOud - Fatena Nektar
• SoOud - Hajj Nektar
• Hiram Green - Voyage
• LM Parfums - Malefic Tattoo
• M. Micallef - Note Vanillee
• Parfum d'Empire - Tabac Tabou
• Diptyque - Oud Palau
• Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Absolue Pour le Soir
• Masque Milano - Russian Tea
• Tauer - PHI Une Rose de Kandahar
• Tauerville - Amber Flash
• Tauerville - Vanilla Flash

and LuckyScent included:

• Byredo - Rose of No Man's Land
• Montale Paris - Golden Sand
• Montale Paris - Starry Skies
• Montale Paris - Intense Rose Musk

So far the standouts are:

Masque Milano - Russian Tea (OH MY GOD)

M. Micallef - Note Vanillee

SoOud - Fatena Nektar

Diptyque - Oud Palao

Tauer - PHI Une Rose de Kandahar

Byredo - Rose of No Man's Land (surprising!)

I'll be sampling one per day for the next couple of weeks, so I'll be sure to report back! 🙂

[CosmicBeauty247]

btw, the byredo nose is a really beautiful scent. 🙂

[TriesToBoClassy]

I loved this sample! These days I want alll the roses, but especially the Byredo one.

[Mochapj]

I want to hear more about this Russian Tea stuff 😄

[CosmicBeauty247]

me too! please! 🙂

[Mochapj]

I'm in smoky coffee/tea heaven.  

I'm marinating in my newly acquired Arquiste Nanban and I love it just as much as when I was sampling it.  

I've tried a lot of things this week;

-DS & Durga Debaser

- Andy Tauer Carillon Pour Un Ange

- Andy Tauer Lonestar Memories

- Andy Tauer Reverie Au Jardin Pour Elle

- Andy Tauer L'air Du Desert Morocain

- Olfactive Studio Panorama

- Olfactive Studio Chambre Noire

- Olfactive Studio Autoportrait

- Olfactive Studio Still Life

- Olfactive Studio Flashback

- Ex Idolo 33

- Arquiste Anima Dulcis

- Arquiste Nanban

- Tom Ford Venetian Bergamot

- Tom Ford Plum Japonais

- Tom Ford Tuscan Leather 

- Tom Ford Bois Rouge (d/c)

- Tom Ford Rive D'ambre

- Tom Ford Noir de Noir

- Tom Ford Shanghai Lily

I have such a backlog of samples I decided to start getting aggressive with sampling them.  I made a good dent, and weeded out things I didn't like.

Feeling pleasantly satisfied to be going into a new week slightly lighter in my sample stash.