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]

@pocketvenusI saw! I shared those on the TF thread recently but I usually only bother posting them here once I can find info about the notes. I’m guessing Metallique is going to be part of the lower priced signature line based on that bottle although from the notes nothing about it jumps out as being metallic 🤷🏽‍♀️

As to Rose Prixk, my gut says it’s probably going to be this year’s ‘controversial’ release that they bring out during NYFW in September. Last year’s was Lost Cherry and the year before was F Fabulous, so it seems to be a trend to put out something with a contrived name in that time slot 🙄

[pocketvenus]

@Mochapjgood call, you're probably right about the timing! I also wondered the same for Metallique, if it indicated a different prince point.

I've rarely smelled realistic metallic notes in perfumes. Maybe the name is a reference to razor sharp and shiny aldehydes? But then again, I don't recall the new fougeres being very metallic despite being named after metals. I guess we'll have to wait and smell!

[pocketvenus]

Has anyone tried the Jo Malone solids? I'm thinking of shipping a couple to a friend overseas 🙂

[RoseCharlie]

@pocketvenus - what a wonderful idea because you wouldn’t get any shipping issues with solids! I would love a solid of Red Roses by JM - I don’t own any Malone solids but I have many lush solids and one thing I love to do is use solids to perfume and hydrate my hair : )

[RNGesusPls]

I have their duo @pocketvenus !

They're great for on the go. The case for the duo is weighted and refillable. The solids have a creamy, balm-like texture that isn't tacky. They aren't as overpowering as their liquid ones, which I like since they're more for me and don't disturb the people next to me on the plane much. One swipe onto each of my inner elbows lasts for several hours…I should probably check again to see if they last throughout the day. Idk if this review is helpful, but if you’d like photos or measurements, let me know.

I have only tried the Blackberry Bay and Pear/Freesia solids.

[pocketvenus]

@RNGesusPls Thanks for the tips!!! <333 I appreciate it! These sound great for travel, I wish Sephora carried them. They’d make great stocking stuffers too.

[RNGesusPls]

No problem @pocketvenus ! I wish Sephora carried them too. I could only find them at Neiman Marcus before my flight. Nordstrom has them in stock now

And an update on the longevity. Indoors, massaged one swipe onto each inner elbow, and I can still smell it on my skin at the end of the day, about 9 hours later after application.

[pocketvenus]

I just learned that Diptyque will be releasing an LE scent for 2019, sometime around July, with the name 34. It's a pretty floral, magnolia I think the SA said, with a bit of tonka sweetness and dries down on paper to something powdery. They will also be getting 30ml bottles in stock of their more popular fragrances.

[pocketvenus]

I was wrong! The name of this LE release is Essences Insensées 2019 and the main flower of this scent is gardenia!

Tiare/gardenia combines green notes, a lively presence and a wholly ethereal freshness akin to a gentle ocean breeze. A vanilla absolute has been added to bring out the sensual qualities of this exotic bloom.

I will say there was a touch of “salty breeze” but it took a good long while for it to show up on paper. The vanilla is not overpowering. I would describe it fresh over green though. It’s not an earthy galbanum green but the green of fresh flowers.

[RGbrown]

Ooohhh, I'm almost tempted by this! I can't stand many florals, but my gardenia bushes just got done flowering for the year and I miss that scent already. I find gardenia perfumes to generally be too overwhelming though. I need to see if Diptyque is available anywhere around me. 

[ZombieMetroAnt]

Carolina Herrera’s ‘Good Girl’ Finds Its Counterpart in ‘Bad Boy’
Carolina Herrera is building out its men's fragrance portfolio with the launch of a new scent, Bad Boy.

 

Spoiler

Good Girl, meet Bad Boy. 

Carolina Herrera’s fragrance business is booming, thanks, in large part, to Good Girl. The scent, which launched three years ago, is said to do about 300 million euros at retail annually and is growing 30 percent year-over-year in the U.S. alone. Industry sources estimate it could bring in as much as 350 million euros at retail in 2019. 

With its women’s portfolio going strong, Herrera’s House of Fragrances is shifting its focus to the men’s market, where it hopes to replicate the success of Good Girl. And what better way to start than with a Good Girl counterpart: the aptly titled Bad Boy Eau de Toilette. 

“The brand Carolina Herrera is in a grand momentum,” said José Manuel Albesa, president of brands, markets and operations at Puig. “We see all the pieces of the brand growing fast, whether it’s the New York CH stores and fragrances. Good Girl was a phenomenal success. We thought it was time to develop the master brand three years later.” 

With Bad Boy, Carolina Herrera aims to “target a new type of man with a new masculinity,” said Ana Trias, senior vice president of prestige and premium brands at Puig. That target man, she continued, is “not afraid to take risks, is basing his masculinity on duality and bringing this strong and sensitive side to the fragrance world.” 

Neither Albesa nor Trias would discuss sales projections, but industry sources estimated that Bad Boy could do as much as 100 million euros in its first year at retail. 

Bad Boy is the ninth men’s fragrance in the Herrera House of Fragrances portfolio, which also includes 10 women’s fragrances and a genderless line called Herrera Confidential. Bad Boy includes notes of sage, green bergamot, pepper, tonka beans, cocoa and amber wood. It will retail for 97 euros and comes packaged in a lightning bolt-shaped bottle — the sculptural alternative to Good Girl’s high- heel, shoe-shaped one. 

Starting this year, Bad Boy will roll out to 7,000 doors across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and travel retail. It will be made available worldwide in 2020, mirroring the distribution strategy of Good Girl. 

“These are the historic areas where we have been very strong,” said Trias. “The travel retail associated to these areas is also very important for us. In some areas, it’s key for us.” 

The brand chose British actor Ed Skrein to be the face of the fragrance, as he embodies what Trias referred to as “modern masculinity.”

“[Skrein] expressed this idea of men’s contradictions and embracing different facets of his life,” said Trias. “We thought he was also a good alter ego for Karlie [Kloss, the face of Good Girl]. His career and his life, the way he explains it, makes sense with this masculinity we’re looking for: strong, but emotional at the same time, sensitive.” 

Bad Boy, said Albesa, will play a key role in not only evening out the fragrance house’s portfolio, but helping the larger Carolina Herrera brand reach its goal of becoming a billion-euro brand in the next few years. 

“We are working on a new plan, which is called House of Herrera, to reach one billion euros worldwide at the end of 2023,” said Albesa. “Bad Boy will help us with the objective of the brand to become a one billion brand in the next three years. We will be doing initiatives that will accompany this brand trajectory.”

[Tarabotti]

I didn't know where to ask this but did the  Sephora Clean Fragrance Sampler kit that was available for $65 sell out? It's not on the website anymore.

It contained:

– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL By Rosie Jane Leila Lou Eau de Parfum
(Certificate redeems for 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray)
– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL Clean Reserve Skin Eau de Parfum
(Certificate redeems for 3.4 oz/ 100 mL Eau de Parfum Spray)
– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL Ellis Brooklyn Myth Eau de Parfum
(Certificate redeems for 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray)
– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL Maison Louis Marie No. 04 Bois de Balincourt Eau de Parfum
(Certificate redeems for 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray)
– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL Phlur Hanami Eau de Parfum
(Certificate redeems for 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray)
– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL Skylar Isle Eau de Toilette
(Certificate redeems for 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Toilette Spray)
– 0.05 fl oz/ 1.5mL The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods Eau de Parfum
(Certificate redeems for 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray)

[pocketvenus]

@Tarabottiif it's not on Sephora's website, it's probably done. If you're close to a physical outlet, you could always try calling and see if there's any left?

[RoseCharlie]

Sigh I should know better than to blind buy FBs by now but I thought this would be a safe buy for me - notes list a little fruit, mainly rose, a hint or sugar and vanilla and a little wood (though Oud was notlisted). I don’t mean to put down anyone’s fragrance preferences because I think there’s no such thing as a right/wrong reaction but I just wanted to warn anyone who was contemplating a Mancera or Montale purchase and is very sensitive to a specific kind of note that they maywant to sample first. I get a whopping dose of this note that is hard todescribe here - to me it smells kind of like musk combined with pine sol combined with the nose searing quality of acetone without the acetone scent. There’s rose there and some other things but to my nose this potent brain stabbing fragrance note is so potent that I can’t focus on the prettier elements of the fragrance. I absolutely haaaaate it hahaha - and I have 120ml of it now - I don’t know what I was thinking! Worst purchase of the year! I asked around on the Fragrantica forum and a few people said they knew what I was talking about and that many though not all of the manceras and montales have it. I always wonder what it is - is it ambroxan? Is it ambroxan and Oud? Does anyone know what I’m talking about? I also get this note (though to a lesser extent) in amouage blossom love, JHAG Not a Perfume... some others but that’s what I am coming up with off the top of my head. What do you guys think do you sort of know what I mean? Has anyone tried anything by Mancera or Montale if you did what did you think? : ) thanks kindly

[pocketvenus]

@RoseCharlie

I've smelled a few Montales before and they struck me as kind of harsh. I'm pretty confident there's no real oud in your fragrance. Oud can have its phenolic and pungent sides but it's never scratchy in my experience. I'd guess it's probably ambroxan that's bothering you as that's the main ingredient in Not a Perfume. It's known for being used to make perfumes louder and long-lasting.

[RoseCharlie]

Thanks @pocketvenus  : ) yeah ambroxan sounds like a good candidate for culprilt and i can’t help thinking maybe a mix of ambroxan and super musks? There’s a kind of musky edge to the scent I don’t like... sigh ah well I’ll try to see if anyone is interested in swapping - apparently there’s nothing wrong with it and this is just how it smells (popped into the one shop in my city that has them to investigate). Weird how perfume is so SO subjective - all of the Fragrantica reviews deceived this as a beautiful fresh rose with fruit and sugar and I read close to 100 reviews before buying it. It’s hard for me to process that no one else is experiencing this like I am because to me it’s just blinding pine sol floor cleaner and musks with a hint of rose.  I once heard that coriander/cilantro tastes completely different to a small minority of people like 8% or something experience it as a soapy taste. Maybe something similar is happening here?

[pocketvenus]

Kilian's releasing an LE flanker, Love Don't Be Shy, Rose and Oud. It's a little odd to me because the house used to have a Rose Oud fragrance which has since been discontinued and I wonder if they're related. The notes are Bulgarian rose, marshmallow and oud. The bottle looks kind of tacky 😞

[pocketvenus]

Papillon is releasing its 6th fragrance, Bengale Rouge. This is probably one of my favourite niche houses so I'm really looking forward to trying this out! The notes are: Turkish Rose, Orris, Sandalwood, Tonka, Oakmoss, Honey, Vanilla, Labdanum, Benzoin and Sweet Myrrh

[elise222]

That sounds heavenly!

[Mochapj]

An interesting article about the first perfume created completely by AI:

https://www dot dw.com/en/artificial-intelligence-creates-perfumes-without-being-able-to-smell-them/a-48989202

[pocketvenus]

@Mochapj, interesting link, thanks for sharing! I can see AI being helpful in that noses need to memorize thousands of ingredients and this could maybe help them give more consideration to forgotten or more obscure ones or just lighten the initial load so they can focus more on being creative. On the other hand, if every nose was to rely on the same algorithms, based entirely on previous formulas, that coupled with factoring in popularity suggests to me that this could push noses toward even greater homogenization in fragrance corporations.