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!

 

[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.

[itscarin]

I'm late to the party, but has anyone smelled the MAC Shadescent "Velvet Teddy"?  I recently smelled this for the first time and I love it so much because it reminds me of rootbeer.  Then I read the fragrantica profile and my mind was blown: tobacco.  I guess what I was interpreting as rootbeer may have been the tobacco leaf.  I may have been thinking it reminded me of rootbeer because when I think of rootbeer I think of all the craft/artesinal rootbeers that have a smokier flavor like they're "aged" in a a smoked wood barrel. 

I'm just curious as to what other people think about this scent.  There's something about it that is evocative of childhood to me.  I thought that maybe it also smells like marshmallow scratch and sniff stickers or something.  Something about the scent struck me as very 80s.  What's everybody else's first impression of this scent?

[pocketvenus]

@itscarin, I definitely know what you mean about root beer although to me it's also kind of dark cocoa flavoured. To me, it's a dark, vanilla-based scent that isn’t overly sweet and good for the price point. It opens up a little boozy and spicy and there’s a nice cacao depth in the dry down. If you’re asking about VT in relation to E&J’s Bourbon, I find the openings are similar but E&J is lighter, more floral and much woodier. I'm not sure I associate it with the 80s. To me, the 80s are big, opulent flowers and huge orientals. The chocolate/root beer accord and sweetness in VT reminds me more of a gourmand, although it's not described this way, and I strongly associate gourmands with the 90s.

[itscarin]

@pocketvenus Thanks for responding!  I don't have the most refined nose.  There was just something about it that reminded me of marshmallow or licorice scratch and sniff stickers.  Just out of curiosity, would you call Giorgio Armani Si a "gourmand"?  I know it's categorized as Chypre, but there's something about it that's warm and sweet to me.    

[pocketvenus]

@itscarin, oh when you mentioned licorice and root beer I thought that was spot on, it's a good description!! I haven't tried Si, but I'll come back here when I do 🙂