Scent/Fragrance of the Day thread

[El Argentino]

Just another positive review for Un Jardin Sur Le Nil. L'Incandescent is right on the money. I picked some up at a duty free place in Uruguay this summer and have completely loved it.

 

[Rambo]

I think all the Hermes frags blow and have short longevity. SO THERE!

 

[Baron]

Maybe Caltex should try Cartier Declaration. I think that one is great, timeless, and not exactly common as it's a few years older. But it's absolutely modern and distinctive and as a plus it's not expensive. Malle Bigarade Concentree is Elena's update on that theme if he wants something a bit more exotic and a lot more expensive, but I prefer Declaration anyway.

 

[GreenFrog]

musc ravageur.

 

[Britalian]

Sample:
SMN Peau D'Espagne.
Nice and woody (oak?) and leathery (maybe) for want of better adj.
After six hours it had almost disappeared but nice while it lasted, for a Autumn day .

 

[L'Incandescent]

My Maison Francis Kurkdjian samples came in, so I'm giving Aqua Universalis a try today. This could just as well have been called Office Water. It's a very sheer, translucent citrusy floral. The top is a very pleasant bergamot; for me the lemon emerges a little later. It's got a light, sweet floral heart and dries down to a light musky base. Emphasis on light. It's got that just-stepped-out-of-the-shower clean vibe that's been so popular lately. I'm not a big fan of that genre, but I have to say Aqua Universalis is a very good specimen. I think it sits close to the skin, and the longevity is not great.

Anyone try the newer Aqua Universalis Forte? I don't have that in my collection of samples, but I'm a bit curious.

 

[rach2jlc]



I think all the Hermes frags blow and have short longevity. SO THERE!

My Caleche parfum says differently, asswipe. (haha j/k) I think I spritzed it on the first time in the late 1990's and on a clear day I can still smell it.

And Belami? Equipage? Although, I have to agree with you that if we're averaging the eleven-second longevity of Eau d'orange verte probably brings the rest down by a lot.

Maybe Caltex should try Cartier Declaration. I think that one is great, timeless, and not exactly common as it's a few years older. But it's absolutely modern and distinctive and as a plus it's not expensive. Malle Bigarade Concentree is Elena's update on that theme if he wants something a bit more exotic and a lot more expensive, but I prefer Declaration anyway.

Good suggestion. And it's easy to find. If he likes it, he should then try other fun, stinky citruses like Pamplelune (Guerlain).
Another affordable citrus blast would be Monsieur Balmain.

SOTD: Patyka Chypre again today. Back in 2005/2006 this one got some buzz 'round Basenotes and in the parfumsphere (it was stocked by Aedes for a while), but then sort of just disappeared. I can see why. They released four or five scents as classic retakes (an amber, a woods scent, a chypre, etc.) This one feels too much like a classic chypre. I love Chypres, so I don't mind, but it doesn't do what the "great" chypres do (I'm thinking of Mitsukou and Miss Dior), which is take the familiar oakmoss/slight citrus/woods/patchouli and reinvent it. This one feels very much like what I read the original Chypre Coty felt like to a perfume-fan who found a bottle recently. ("Oh, wow, yeah... it's... a Chypre. That's it. ") It is nice, but it never really goes anywhere unique, and given that it was fairly expensive (in the L'artisan pricerange back in the day), I can see why it didn't "hit."

As well, the ylang-ylang and geranium in the topnote come on too strong and give it an almost bugspray vibe for the first bit, which is hardly something you want in a "classic" fragrance.

 

[Master-Classter]

Yesterday and today tried the MMM Untitled and L'eau. Both have a strong galbanum not that I dislike, and for EdP's they don't seem to last at all. Like a few minutes after spraying they're skin scents. I actually forgot I was wearing anything. Anyway, a few samples of both are going into the swap box.

 

[rach2jlc]



Yesterday and today tried the MMM Untitled and L'eau. Both have a strong galbanum not that I dislike, and for EdP's they don't seem to last at all. Like a few minutes after spraying they're skin scents. I actually forgot I was wearing anything. Anyway, a few samples of both are going into the swap box.

Ah, interesing! Didn't you say you also hated Chanel no. 19? That one is galbanum and then some more galbanum. I always find it fascinating when we find a note we hate; I'm that way with Tonka bean (and also benzoin). Give me a tonka heavy scent or one with benzoin and I go "ickkkk." Givenchy Pi, for example, makes me want to scream.

 

[L'Incandescent]



Yesterday and today tried the MMM Untitled and L'eau. Both have a strong galbanum not that I dislike, and for EdP's they don't seem to last at all. Like a few minutes after spraying they're skin scents. I actually forgot I was wearing anything. Anyway, a few samples of both are going into the swap box.

I tried Untitled at the insistence of an SA at Saks once. She told me it was a scent that people either loved or hated. She waited with curiosity to see how I'd respond. I swear to God, I literally smelled nothing at all. She told me she could smell it from where she was standing--maybe a couple feet away. Even after she sprayed it liberally on the paper, I smelled only paper. Needless to say, she did not get the sale!

 

[CalTex]



5. Young people typically wear clean scents in my experience, and so they all tend to smell the same! But there are non-clean scents that aren't in any way "old-mannish." (That's a worry that lots of people have--that they'll smell like an old man. I think people vastly overestimate that problem.) Baudelaire is definitely not old-mannish.

Yes that is exactly what I was trying to avoid lol, I am definitely going to see if I can get my hands on Baudelaire (going to try Sephora? and NM) simply because I like the fact that they are not one of the big times. Is it possible for you guys to give me a "description" of it? I know I can check other sites, but I have little faith outside of our congregation.

As for houses to try - L'Artisan, Frederik Malle, Etat, Tauer, Maison Frederic, Tom Ford.
Personally, I think the best bang for the buck fragrances are the old YSL fragrances, especially the ones that Tom Ford did - M7, Live Jazz, Jazz, and Body Kourous. I can't believe I ever got rid of my BK bottle. Kourous and Rive Gauche are timeless as well. The best bang for your buck in the niche category is L'Artisan. Hands down. Almost everything in that line is $100 and there are at least 10+ fragrances that are very good to excellent.

I am going to look into YSL BK since you seem to regret having gotten rid of it.

Good suggestion. And it's easy to find. If he likes it, he should then try other fun, stinky citruses like Pamplelune (Guerlain).

I have nothing against moving away from the citrus scents but I just dont know where to start and I clearly cant trust the SA at NM.

Thanks for the help guys, I am definitely going to try to look into all of your suggestions. I am now looking at expanding my collection from 1 bottle to 4 and I will update once I have smelled some of the recommendations.

 

[L'Incandescent]



Yes that is exactly what I was trying to avoid lol, I am definitely going to see if I can get my hands on Baudelaire (going to try Sephora? and NM) simply because I like the fact that they are not one of the big times. Is it possible for you guys to give me a "description" of it? I know I can check other sites, but I have little faith outside of our congregation.
I am going to look into YSL BK since you seem to regret having gotten rid of it.

I just applied a bit of Baudelaire so I can get the description just right. The top is a sharp, piercing aromatic scent--to my nose, it's the juniper that really stands out. But here's one of those cases where it's misleading to divide the fragrance neatly into top, heart, and base. The heart and base notes are present right from the get-go. The aromatic herbal notes are accompanied right away by a somewhat high-pitched smoky incense. As the fragrance dries down, a bit of amber peaks through. (Amber is the name of an accord [a blend of notes, like a chord in music] that includes vanilla, benzoin, and something else. It is resinous and sweet.) That amber accord makes the fragrance much more well rounded than it would otherwise be. (If this analogy makes any sense to you, it's sort of like the role that the bass part plays in a piece of music.) I've seen reviewers of this claim that it's a generic copy of masculine classics like Equipage and Antaeus. I think those reviewers must have been drunk either when they smelled Baudelaire or when they wrote their reviews. This is definitely a masculine scent, but other than that, there's hardly any commonalities. This stuff lasts forever. It'll be there on your skin 24 hours after you apply it if you don't scrub it off. Projection is good as well. Honestly, I don't think you're going to find this at Sephora or at NM. I think the only place in the US that sells Byredo is Barney's. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Rambo's advice about Body Kouros is good. BK is quite popular among fragrance fans. It's also very affordable. It's a weird scent in a lot of ways, which is maybe why Rambo got rid of it. It's a bit incensey, but for me at least the top is dominated by eucalyptus. As it dries down it becomes quite a bit sweeter. A lot of people classify this as a gourmand (roughly, a fragrance that's reminiscent of a sweet dessert), but I don't quite smell it that way myself.

Finally, +1 to Baron's recommendation that you try Cartier Declaration.

 

[Rambo]

Cal - I HIGHLY recommend Live Jazz. Its an amazing summer fragrance and can be found for less than $25 most places for a large bottle. If you like those manly style scents, try and track down an old bottle of M7. I sold mine to Parker a while back. Maybe he can decant some for you.

Cupcake - Check the last page for my Forte impressions.

 

[L'Incandescent]



Cupcake - Check the last page for my Forte impressions.

Aha, thanks. You found it to be light, huh? That's what I was hoping it wasn't! Especially since it's called Forte!

 

[Rambo]



Aha, thanks. You found it to be light, huh? That's what I was hoping it wasn't! Especially since it's called Forte!

You have to understand the way I describe scents. Heavy is Bel Ami, Rose Poivre, etc. Heavy is "I smell like an unwashed ****." Light, is basically anything below that. My other descriptives - manly, feminine, and Telly Savalas. I'm sure I'll come up with some more in the future.

So far, out of the MFK scents that I've tried, it was my favorite. I figured you'd like Luminere Noire.