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]

@veronika23, which samples did you get? Sometimes niche and independent scents eschew high doses common "fixative" synthetics and as such, they are more fleeting. Although some definitely use a huge amount of them too! And yes, EDT is less concentrated than EDP 🙂

[veronika23]

The two I am talking are Kerosene Broken Theories and Tauer Perfumes Lonestar Memories. 2 that you recommended IIRC. 🙂 I have a hard time smelling them.  I haven't gone through all that I've received yet but the brown paper that was in my box smells more than these two! 😄  I also have another by Kerosene and while it's not strong I can definitely smell it way more than the 2 mentioned above.

[pocketvenus]

@veronika23, if that's the case, I'm really surprized. Broken Theories is an autumnal scent, and in my opinion, too strong and heavy for regular summer wear. Lonestar is also fairly strong although summer-suitable. I'm assuming the Indiescent samples are still little sprays? Sometimes when you apply with a wand, the scent does not aerate and project as much but if you have a spray application that cannot be the issue.

The only other thing I can think of is that the perfumes could have been compromised during the shipping process due to temperature. I'm not sure where in Canada you are but extreme heat is not good for perfumes. I recently had a magazine shipped to me with some plastic wrapping and a part of it had melted 😮 😮 😮 seems like it had been stored against a hot metal edge of some kind.

I'm so sorry you're not getting a strong and distinctive scent from your two samples! I hope the others are okay!

[veronika23]

Thank you @pocketvenus!!!  Yes they are little spray bottles. I'll wait until I'm done smelling all of them and might write to the company. It just sucks because I was so excited for these and then I can't smell a da*m thing lol. Thanks again!!!!

[pocketvenus]

@veronika23, you're very welcome and I'm sorry the two samples were disappointing! Maybe try to see if someone else has the same impression as well? If someone else has the same impression it's more likely something happened to the samples 😞

[veronika23]

@pocketvenus  Well you said they should smell stronger right?... and the other samples aren't doing well either so I think it might be that. I wrote to them but nothing yet. Ugh. What is it with lack luster CS lately. I can't seem to get any service from smaller businesses.

[pocketvenus]

@veronika23, oof, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they get back to you quickly!!!

[veronika23]

Thanks! I hope so too 🙂

[Vmaster]

This is a photo I took of my collection in March 2018. The shelf is in my walk-in closet. There are 93 fragrances there (not including samples). Yes I have purchased quite a bit since then (currently 127).  It is a very large photo, so you can zoom in a bit. Do you recognize any fragrances? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[pocketvenus]

@Vmaster, I think I can recognize the brands of maybe only 60% of your collection 🙂 Is that Peety by any chance at the far right?

[Vmaster]

@pocketvenus Indeed, that is Peety by O'Driu (unadulterated of course). 

Here is a list of my all my current fragrances (kind of long - sorry):

A*Men Pure Havane by Thierry Mugler 

A*Men Pure Malt by Thierry Mugler 

Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Mix mukhallat by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Acqua di Giò Profumo by Giorgio Armani 

Al Fanar blend attar by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Al Shamia blend attar by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Allure Homme Edition Blanche EdP by Chanel 

Amber Absolute by Tom Ford 

Âme Sombre G1 attar by Sultan Pasha 

Antaeus by Chanel 

Arabian Knight by Arabian Oud 

Arabian Legend Silver by Arabian Oud 

Aramis by Aramis 

Aseel blend attar by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Aurum d'Angkhor attar by Sultan Pasha 

Aventus by Creed 

Black Afghano attar by Al Haramain 

Black Phantom by By Kilian 

Bleu de Chanel Parfum by Chanel 

Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi by Acqua di Parma 

Body Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent 

Borneo 5000 oud oil by Ensar Oud 

Bulgari Man Extreme by Bulgari 

Bulgari Man in Black by Bulgari 

Bulgari pour Homme by Bulgari 

Burberry London for Men by Burberry 

Carven Homme by Carven 

Chergui by Serge Lutens 

Club de Nuit Intense for Men by Armaf 

Club de Nuit Intense for Women by Armaf 

Dahn Oud Ateeque by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Dark Rebel by John Varvatos 

Déclaration d'Un Soir by Cartier 

Déclaration L'Eau by Cartier 

Devilscent #2: The Main Act by Olympic Orchids 
Dior Homme by Christian Dior 

Dior Homme Intense by Christian Dior 

Dunhill Icon by Dunhill 

Dunhill Icon Absolute by Dunhill 

Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert by Bulgari 

Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior 

Égoïste by Chanel 

Encens Divin by Givenchy 

Encre Noire by Lalique 

Fahrenheit by Christian Dior 

Faqat Lil Rijal by Rasasi 

Fou d'Absinthe by L'Artisan Parfumeur 

Gatsby by Pacoma 

Gentleman Secret by Arabian Oud 

Giorgio for Men by Giorgio Beverly Hills 

Greylocke by Phlur 

Guilty Absolute pour Homme by Gucci 

Gyan: Le Gemme Collection by Bulgari 

Hepcat by Phlur 

Herod by Parfums de Marly 

Ho Hang Club by Balenciaga 

Horoof Otriyah by Arabian Oud 

I Love New York for Marriage Equality by Bond No. 9 

Inquisitor by Solstice Scents 

Jazz Prestige by Yves Saint Laurent 

Je Suis Un Homme by Etat Libre d'Orange 

Jewel Blend mukhallat by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

John Varvatos by John Varvatos 

John Varvatos Oud by John Varvatos 

Jood by Arabian Oud 

Jubilation XXV by Amouage 

Khalta "Ateeq" Oudhy mukhallat by Laroche Art Parfum 

Khashab Al-Oud Heritage by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Kiehl's Original Musk by Kiehl's 

Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent 

L'Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer 

L'Envol de Cartier EdP by Cartier 

L'Homme de Coeur by Divine 

L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme by Guerlain 

L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Extrême by Guerlain 

Legend Intense by Montblanc 

Luciano Pavarotti by Luciano Pavarotti 

M7 attar by Swiss Arabian 

masculin Pluriel by Maison Francis Kurkdjian 

Midnight in Paris EdP by Van Cleef & Arpels 

Midnight in Paris EdT by Van Cleef & Arpels 

Midnight Oud by Juliette Has a Gun 

Moab by Phlur 

Montana Black Edition by Montana 

Montana Parfum d'Homme by Montana 

Moonlight in Heaven by By Kilian 

Mukhallat Bushi Sensei by Abdul Karim Al Faransi 

Mutamayez by Swiss Arabian 

Ombre Leather 2018 by Tom Ford 

Ottoman Empire by Areej le Doré 

Oud Abiyad mukhallat by Abdul Karim Al Faransi 

Oud al Amir mukhallat by Abdul Karim Al Faransi 

Oud Flamboyant by Givenchy 

Oud Kuwaity attar by Ajmal 

Oud Luban by Aftelier 

Oud Wood by Tom Ford 

Oud Yousef oud oil by Ensar Oud 

Oud Zen by Areej le Doré 

PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Avignon by Comme des Garçons 

PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Kyoto by Comme des Garçons 

Patchouli by Réminiscence 

Peety by O'Driù 

Pi by Givenchy 

Replica: By the Fireplace by Martin Margiela 

Replica: Jazz Club by Martin Margiela 

Rouh Al Aoud oud oil blend by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Royal Blend mukhallat by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Ruh Khus (Vetiver) attar (no brand name) 

Safari Extreme by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi 

Santos Concentré by Cartier 

Sedaf attar by Ajmal 

Sehr Al Kalemat by Arabian Oud 

Silver Mountain Water by Creed 

Singapore attar by Abdul Karim Al Faransi 

Sinner by Kat von D 

Sultan attar by Ajmal 

Sycomore EdP by Chanel 

Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford 

Tom Ford Extreme by Tom Ford 

Tom Ford for Men by Tom Ford 

Under My Skin by Francesca Bianchi 

Uomo by Valentino 

Uomo by Lorenzo Villoresi 

Versace pour Homme Oud Noir by Versace 

Vert des Bois by Tom Ford 

Vintage by John Varvatos 

Yatagan by Caron 

[pocketvenus]

@Vmaster, Thanks for sharing the whole list! That's very cool you have so many Middle Eastern scents. And ha ha ha ha glad your bottle of Peety is “unadulterated”!

I bought a sample of Satyricon from O’driu awhile ago and it appears to be no longer available to buy. I think I gave the sample away because I can't find it but I recall it having a bizarre dark chocolate accord with spice, stewed fruit and cedar of the pencil-shavings variety. Definitely niche!

[Vmaster]

I bought my bottle of Peety directly from Pleasure Factory (O'Driu) in Italy when it was first released. They sent some samples along with my order. My favorite from the samples was a rare one named Jasmine Mean Time (JMT). I loved it and decided to research it because I wanted a bottle. Come to find out that they created it as a special request for a company and only eleven 50ml bottles were created at around 1,500 Euros each! Ouch!! Anyways, it is a great dirty jasmine (I still have it).

Satyricon was created in memory of the movie of the same name. Pregoni (the Nose/owner) attempted to capture the various parts of the movie in that fragrance (sweat, decadence, etc). O'Driu is a wonderful house but my only complaint is that they only make a certain amount of pieces (bottles), and when they run out, that's it.

[pocketvenus]

@Vmaster, I didn't realize the scents were all so limited! I looked at the website and didn't recognize the names of what is available now 😮 That is very cool you have a sample of such a rare fragrance! And lucky that it's one of you preferred floral notes 🙂 He seems like a rule breaking nose, one of things I love about niche!

[RaquelBT]

Hi @Vmaster,

Oh wow, impressive collection! Thank you for sharing this with us. Do you have a favorite fragrance out of the bunch? If so, which one and why is it your favorite? 🙂

Best Regards,

❤️ Raquel 

[Vmaster]

@RaquelBT Thank you! I have a few that I really love, but if I had to choose, it would be Gyan from the men's Le Gemme collection by Bvlgari (in the photo, the big blue box back right on top shelf). Non-hippie patchouli and incense with a sweet jasmine sambac. A smooth & heavenly fragrance that can be worn year-round if I don't over do it on the number of sprays. My favorite florals are jasmine and rose notes, and this one does the jasmine perfectly for me - a sweet jasmine sitting in a cloud of smokey rich (non-stanky) patchouli. Actually the entire men's Le Gemme line is very impressive, as well as unisex.

Edit: The collection below. I want and love them all but my top favorites are Blue top (Gyan), Red top (Garanet) smoky rose, and Black top (Onekh) leathery oud.

[curlychiquita]

@Vmaster, this is awesome!  I love your collection!

[Vmaster]

@curlychiquita, Thank you.

[blackkitty2014]

@Vmaster, Impressive! I’m so jealous that you’re able to keep the boxes. It’s killing me to throw the boxes away but I’m running out of space. I only have about 30 full-size bottles though lol 😂 

[Vmaster]

Caron, the 2nd oldest fragrance house in France is being put up for sale. Hopefully whoever purchases Caron will do a lot better than its current owner, Alès Groupe, as they have been doing a horrible job with Caron. Sales for Caron have dropped from 10M euros/year to 8M euros/year which is not surprising as there are only four Caron boutiques - all of them are in France. Talk about limiting exposure! For those that are wondering, the oldest fragrance house in France is Guerlain.

[MlleCC]

@Vmaster:  I remember visiting one of the Caron boutiques in Paris and being fascinated by the crystal urns of perfume on display.  It would be interesting to see how new ownership may impact Caron's image -- whether they would retain the "old-world" look of vintage perfume bottles and powder puffs, or if it would go through a modernization make-over.