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Fragrance Junkie Central

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!

 

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Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@Samtian It’s fairly linear, delivering exactly what you’d expect, yet I find it interesting precisely because it’s not trying to be anything other than a sandalwood scent. So often I find sandalwood being “prettied up” with lots of other stuff to make it more palatable to the general population, but I like Santal Gray as is, and if I want to do something else with it, I can try layering it. So far Lake & Skye has made some really nice fragrances, so I may pick up their newest offering, Saffron Dusk, next!

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@LCResz - Staying power seems to be an issue with a number of fragrances, not just the clean ones.  Santal Gray sounds like my kind of scent. 💖💖💖

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@Titian06  That’s true, lots of perfumes don’t have great longevity and/or sillage, but for some reason clean perfumes are especially short lived on me. Even lines I think work okay for me, like Henry Rose and Lake & Skye will require reapplication after a few hours, more like colognes than EDP, irrespective of their stated concentrations. If you know of clean perfumes with great staying power, please clue us in!

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@LCResz @Titian06  Yes, a lot of "natural" perfumes don't last long because they don't contain synthetic fixatives and their ingredients break down quickly, especially very volatile compounds like citrus notes. The "natural" or "green" ones with synthetics do tend to hold out better in my experience but I've yet to come across any that last all day. My favourite "natural" house is Hiram Green - they are decent in terms of longevity and some like Moon Bloom are really beautiful. By no means long lasting though. There's another called Auphorie that was also okay for longevity and had really interesting scents but they don't ship to Canada so I'm not up to date on their latest releases.

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Thanks, @pocketvenus , for the info (that makes sense) and the recommendations! 🙂

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@pocketvenus I will look into Hiram Green and Auphorie! Thanks! ❤️

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@LCResz You're welcome! Actually, now I'm recalling The 7 Virtues Peace Perfume Discovery Set had decent longevity but to be honest, the synthetics were so strong that it sort of defeated the idea of a "green" house for me. I think if you want more naturals, you just have to accept a real drop in performance but of course, I'd love to be proven wrong!!!

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@pocketvenus I’ve tried 7 virtues and I agree with you, the synthetics used are too forward for my liking. The hunt continues!

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Couple more new releases

 

Etat Libre has a new one out that may take awhile to make its way to North America, Frustration

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Found on the 9 Rue des Archives, Etat Libre D’Orange explains that much of its inspiration comes from its location. Located on a quirky corner of Paris’ artistic and vibrant Le Marais quarter, the perfumery brand crafts eccentric and bold scents like the Frustration fragrance. A blend designed to awaken the strength of your inner child, it’s infused with cumin and cinnamon and closes on chestnut wood accord along with bourbon vetiver. Additional notes include rhum, vanilla, ciste and vinyl gaiacol

 

This sounds good, I'd like to give it a try.

 

Byredo's latest release is Eyes Closed

 

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an olfactory experience that emotes connection and transcendent, limitless love. Like intertwining souls, an unexpected coupling of patchouli and papyrus enters into delicious collusion with orris butter, ginger and carrot. Candied spices of cinnamon and cardamom invoke infinite warmth and tenderness, like the soothing balm of a kindred spirit.

 

Seems a little close to Seven Veils but I think that one was discontinued?

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

The Etat Libre one sounds lovely!

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A new one from Kurkdjian, perhaps named to follow the success of BR540?

 

In the light of a pure sky rising over the city ascends the elegant silhouette of 724. Urban landscapes and their surrounding architecture overtly influenced the graphic aesthetic of this musky floral eau de parfum. Luminous, vibrant and comfortably addictive, 724 invites you to feel the city rhythm. In the top notes, a fresh urban accord is perceived. It is the sensation of clean, energizing freshness, formed of bergamot from Italy and the verticality of aldehydes with sophisticated, slightly metallic, effervescent facets. At the heart of this fragrance lies an airy aura conveyed by a bouquet of flowers structured by jasmine absolute from Egypt, sweet pea and mock orange. In the base notes, this universe of whiteness surrenders to an enveloping, comforting sensation thanks to a sandalwood and white musk accord.

 

Fragrance Notes: Aldehydes, Bergamot oil from Italy, White floral accord, Jasmine from Egypt, Sandalwood accord, White musks

 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

I saw this one was coming but haven’t t tried it yet. Hopefully I can grab a sample when I make it down to the NM at the “fancy” mall nearby! @pocketvenus 

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@sister13 I hope you like it ❤️

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BP set - med.jpg
 
I was intrigued by Bon Parfumeur when I first saw the brand appear on the Sephora site and picked up Bon Parfumeur Perfume Sampler Set the moment I caught sight of the notification that it was available. All the scents in this set are soft and wear close to the skin. I thought this would translate to the scents wearing down and dissipating quickly, but I was wrong in that regard. I was able to pick up most of the scents in this set after 6-7 hours of wear, with one lasting just over 8 hours. With a couple of the scents, there's a slight difference in the description contained on the box and the one on the product page on both Sephora and the brand's site. I enjoyed all six fragrances, with three of them - 103, 402 and 801 - being added to my fragrance wish list. As far as discovery sets go, this was well curated in my mind. A wonderful intro to the house. I'm definitely interested in delving deeper into Bon Parfumeur.
 
001 CITRUS
* Notes: orange blossom, petitgrain, bergamot
Described as: A refreshing cologne (from product page: A sweet, floral cologne)
My Two Sense (Cents): I picked up neroli at the opening, not overwhelming, on the milder side. The more citrusy notes come forward next, in a very subtle, unassuming way. It's a general citrus scent, not overly fruity, more fresh and clean, but not in a Pledge or Pine Sol sort of way. The final dry down is pleasantly sweet and delicately floral. The notes on 001 are all lovely with each layer beautifully transitioning into the next. If I were to note an area or areas for improvement, there would be two - (1) amping up the intensity a smidge would be nice, and (2) having a more lingering scent.
 
103 FLORAL
Notes: tiare flower, jasmine, hibiscus
* Described asA sun-drenched flower
My Two Sense:  Ahhhh. This is love.
For me, every trip to Hawaii has included, at one point or another, being surrounded by a sea of distinctive white florals that is quintessentially Hawaii. It's a lovely scent, but I find it to be pretty strong and can oftentimes be a little overwhelming, intoxicating really, to the senses. After seeing the notes for this fragrance, I was a little concerned that 103 would be as well. That, fortunately, was not the case. In fact,  quite the opposite is true. 103 is definitely floral in nature and the fragrance reminds me of a bouquet of white florals from Hawaii, but in a soft, elegantly understated sort of way. Another fragrance just got added to my holiday wish list.
 
203 FRUITY
Notes: raspberry, vanilla, blackberry
* Described as: A red hot berry
My Two Sense: This one does not hold anything back on its opening, which to my nose, has a very raspberry undertone, with a hint of spice and floral. From there, the sillage of subsequent scents I pick up, from the light powder floral scent to the slightly woodsy smell, are more muted, faint, low-key.
 
402 VANILLA
Notes: vanilla, toffee, sandalwood
Described as: A caressing vanilla (from product page: An opulent vanilla)
My Two Sense: Soft, vanilla - not cloying nor artificial nor overly gourmand. This is a very soft, subtly sweet, almost airy vanilla and caramel scent. I was pleasantly surprised by this one; another favorite from the set.
 
501 GOURMAND
Notes: praline, licorice, patchouli
Described as: A delicious praline (from product page: An assertive praline)
My Two Sense: I got ... nothing. A second spritz on my arm brought out a very light nutty scent, followed by an even lighter musky and powdery scent, which I think may be the patchouli in it. I often associate patchouli with a stronger, more pronounced smell, that to me, can, at times, be very heavy; this is quite the opposite - each of the notes is actually very soft. This was the wildcard fragrance for me from the set. I typically love gourmand scents but the blend of notes in this one was unfamiliar to me. The combination turned out to be one I find unique and like, and I think that's attributable to the more intimate style of all the Bon Parfumeur's fragrances in this set.
 
801 AQUATIC
Notes: sea spray, cedar, grapefruit
Described as: A briny freshness 
My Two Sense: The "briny" description made me brace myself before spritzing this aquatic fragrance on my wrist. I see or hear the word "briny" to describe a fragrance and I think it's going to smell pungently of sea salt or seaweed. Not so with 801. The initial sea salt scent is very pronounced but it feels like the more herbal and woodsy notes help to give it both depth and freshness. The citrus that follows is beautiful, and reminds me of a very subtle version of Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine, one of my favorite citrus scents.
 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

I have this one on my wishlist. 103, 203, and 801 sound lovely @itsfi 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Thanks for providing such detailed reviews, @itsfi! They sound very nice. I'm glad you like them.

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@itsfi Thanks for all these detailed impressions!

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Thanks, I was curious about this. Seems like it's not for me. 

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This is great, @itsfi !  I also bought the sample set as soon as it was available.  I haven't started trying them yet as I'm going through some other samples first. 💖💖💖

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Hermes is following Frederic Malle, Bvlgari and others in releasing a perfume for children

 

hermes-cabriole

 

Cabriole features orange blossom, osmanthus, honeysuckle and sandalwood. 

 

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Aesop is coming out with another scent for its Othertopias line and shockingly, this one also has aquatic properties. I guess the nose, Barnabe Fillion, has a thing for wet fragrances! The notes for Eidesis include petitgrain, black pepper, aquatic and floral notes, frankincense, cumin, cedar, sandalwood and vetiver. I didn't quite like this line for myself and was skeptical but I found them all interesting and boundary pushing. I am definitely going to try this one when I can. 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Obsessed with Aesop scents! Can't wait to pick this one up! 

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