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!

 

[pocketvenus]

@badgirl2, if you see the three dots on the bottom right of a post and click it, there's a bookmark option 🙂 I've never tried it though, not sure how it all works

[Samtian]

If anyone tries Bleu Satin from Parfums MDCI I'd love to know your thoughts!

[pocketvenus]

@Samtian, I haven't tried this one but there's a thread for this fragrance on the Basenotes forum you might want to check out. The thread starter was not pleased with the fragrance, describing it as simplistic and not worth the price. Another member there said they liked it, but liked others in this series better. I should add this member enjoys a very, very broad range of scents.

Otherwise, the house gets decent reviews. Invasion Barbare and Chypre Palatin are probably the most popular. I've only tried the Chypre Palatin which I found to be disappointing, it had a promising start but then caved in on itself, so it scared me off the house a little.

[Samtian]

@pocketvenus  Thank you!!

[Mochapj]

Some more details on Olfactive Studios new Sepia collection

[pocketvenus]

@Mochapj, these sound really good, especially the chypre!

[Mochapj]

@pocketvenus agree, I'm very curious about the chypre although I'm a little less enthused by the price jump they've put on for this collection 😞

[pocketvenus]

@Mochapj, sigh, all the cool kids are doing it these days it seems!

[badgirl2]

@Mochapj thanks for this thread! It's nice to know my fragrance-ok, I'll call it an obsession-is shared by others! 🙂  I just ordered a sample pack of Alghabra Parfums from Luckyscent. Had never heard of them before and they seem fun...I like the 'tribute to Damascus' idea and they all sound interesting.  Is anybody familiar with them?  If you want to play...it's a good deal on Luckyscent right now, $18 for a 5-sample pack.  Looking forward to trying them!

[badgirl2]

@pocketvenus @Samtian Got my Alghabra samples yesterday so I will give my thoughts as I wear them this week.  Today I'm wearing King of Flowers, which Luckyscent described as opening "fresh, green and citrussy" and having these notes: Bergamot, grapefruit, amber, vanilla, white flowers, lavender, sandalwood, leather, iris.  So obviously I'm a fragrance lover, and I think my nose is pretty keen, but I get nothing like that.  I like it a lot, but what I get is something at once spicy and sweet. Definitely get the vanilla, but nothing like bergamot, grapefruit or white flowers. I swear the thought occurred to me that maybe Luckyscent mixed up my sample labels, but looking at the others I think this must be right, given the vanilla.  So in the end, it's definitely one I'd like to try a decant of to get a better idea before purchasing for $170 but I think for me it's a winner.

[badgirl2]

@pocketvenus @Samtian Today it was City of Jasmine. Luckyscent mentions this to be a masculine scent but, perhaps by accident, places it toward the 'femme' side of the slide bar. This is a decidedly masculine scent with a classic barber shop/shave gel aroma.  Now that I'm trying to describe these I find I'm obviously terrible at this, because this time I thought 'bergamot/vetiver' and found that Luckyscent describes it as: Apple, leather, jasmine, rose, vanilla, musk. In retrospect I can say the leather scent is what I thought was vetiver, and I guess I can discern apple at first, but seriously, there is no jasmine or rose discernable here. The scent did wear down nicely and lasted much longer than the other two I've tried. Still, as much as I like a good masculine scent, this is far too classically "dad" for me.  And I don't find it at all unique or likely worth $170 for those looking for a classic men's fragrance. More tomorrow 🙂

[pocketvenus]

@badgirl2, thanks for the review!! ❤️ Sometimes I find you can smell a note that isn't listed, it's totally normal 🙂

[badgirl2]

@pocketvenus @Samtian Ironically, today I tried Scent of Paradise and totally agree with Luckyscent! Finally, the Bergamot they claim is in everything else 🙂 While I'm not generally a citrus person, I do always appreciate Bergamot and am really enjoying this fragrance. Having an obvious Bergamot comparator, I also went back to From the Heart and now I can get a bit of Bergamot in it, blended with floral notes. As for Scent of Paradise, Luckyscent nailed it: A blindingly fresh burst of bergamot-led citrus dazzles the senses, building into a perfectly blended, gently sweet floral heart that deftly balances lavender, rose, and iris against the still-present citrus for an unforgettable yet oh-so-easy-to-wear combination that lingers for hours, while a gentle base of ambery sandalwood soothes and relaxes without ever feeling overly warm or heavy. Enticing, romantic, sophisticated and outright fun, Scent Of Paradise is truly a citrus lover's dream: spray it on, close your eyes, and allow yourself to be carried away. 

[pocketvenus]

@badgirl2, I ❤️ bergamot! This one sounds very easy breezy 🙂 Did you find it's at all like the Atelier Colognes?

[badgirl2]

@pocketvenus Yes I think so.  It was very light and easy to wear.  I really did enjoy it. I was thinking the price is high for a breezy citrus but I'd like to wear it/compare it directly to something like an Atelier Cologne.

[pocketvenus]

@badgirl2, so glad you found a sample that really clicked with you ❤️ Really looking forward to reading your thoughts on the other samples 🙂

[Samtian]

@badgirl2  Thanks for the review! From the Heart is the one I am most interested in, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of them.

[badgirl2]

@Samtian @pocketvenus Tried From the Heart today.  According to Luckyscent: opens bright and citrussy with fruitiness from peach and ylang. Notes: Bergamot, bitter orange, damask rose, lily, peach, ylang ylang, amber.  My thoughts: An interesting, warm floral that seems to me neither too old and "grandma" nor a plain/standard floral concoction. I will say that I am not generally a fan of mostly floral fragrances and prefer the warmer woods/spice/chypres etc. but I do have some fruity florals, floral-orientals and warm florals (like the JM Rose and White Musk I mentioned to pocketvenus, if that counts as floral at all). That said, From the Heart is wearing really nicely as a warm floral IMO. I did get a bit of citrus on the opening, though it was an effort to note it, so maybe I'm not so good at scent recognition after all! Definitely a little peach and I think more lily than rose.  Can't say I ever got bitter orange from it--I have a few scents that feature bitter orange (Jo Malone for one) and would think I'd recognize that.  So far both these scents are wearing close to the skin, and after a few hours I don't notice them but my husband still did. Even after just applying, while I felt like From the Heart wasn't very strong, my family commented that the scent lingered when I left the room.  That really was immediately after applying though.  Anyway I hope this is helpful, or fun at least 🙂  For me it's not what I'd go back to buy, but I'm still enjoying wearing it.  As an aside, when I went back to dab a bit more on I accidentally applied King of Flowers, yesterday's sample.  I don't know what's giving it a spicy edge but it's definitely there.  It reminds me a bit of a patchouli, a bit like Anne Pliska (which I also love).

[Samtian]

@badgirl2  Thank you!!

[pocketvenus]

@badgirl2 $18 for 5 samples is pretty good! I'll keep an eye out for reviews. It's a great concept 🙂

[Samtian]

@badgirl2  Ooh please update us on your thoughts! I thought a few sounded interesting.