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Notes on Fragrances

Spending money on Smells is a new thing for me, but I'm really enjoying learning and smelling more things.

Currently added in the order I've smelt them.

Key
Fragrance (with Fragrantica link)	Perfumer	Company	Size tested	Year tested

Jōvan Musk	Murray Moscona	Jōvan	30? ml	1999?
I got this for a present when I was a young fella. I've always liked musky smells. Don't know where it went, can't actually remember what it smelt like. It's super cheap!

Monsieur	Bruno Jovanovic	Frédéric Malle	50 ml	2022
Smells like a peaty whisky. Wintery, nighty. Very strong, I usually only spray a little bit, needs to settle before I go somewhere. I like it a lot, and it's what got me interested in fragrances. Feels intimate, not for parties.

Obsession Night for Men	?	Calvin Klein	125 ml	2023
I found a ⅔ full bottle of this at a job. Yuck bodywash smell at first, too sweet, but fresh, weird combo. A little later a mild fruitiness and patchouli, very sweet, bodywash smell still there. Bland. When dry there's some musk and vanilla, there's one smell in there I like, dunno how to describe it, almost tobacco.

Tao Dao	?	Diptyque	50 ml	2023
My partner has a bottle of this, and I like its cedary, sauna smell. Never tried it on myself.

Libre	Anne Flipo, Carlos Benaim	Yves Saint Laurent	30 ml	2024
I put this on just because it was about and I wanted to wear something when I went for a walk. The initial smell is a bit artificial, but once it settles it has a nice sweetness that I enjoyed smelling on my shirt even the day after.

Cologne Cédrat	Aurélien Guichard	Matière Première	1.5 ml	2024
Really beautiful lemon (citron, I guess—) smell when you first spray, but I think the lingering smell is a bit too perfumey for me. It does calm down and sweeten a little.

Pacific Rock Moss	Francois Merle-Baudoin	Goldfield & Banks	2 ml	2024
Ew yuck. Definitely fresh smelling, but mostly it just smells like a fancy version of teenage boy shower gel. Is that what they mean by 'marine' smell? I hope not! Having to smell this on my clothes made me feel almost sick.

Wood Infusion	?	Goldfield & Banks	2 ml	2024
Warm and smooth and a little citrusy, but not heavy. I think I really like patchouli? This is my first time smelling oud, I'm not actually sure which part of the smell it is. Has some of the same qualities I like from Monsieur, but not whisky-y; lighter and friendlier. When it settles it's still sweet (musky), with a very dry smokeyness that hits the back of my throat (is this the oud?). Considering buying this, but there're only 10ml and 100ml bottles…

Bohemian Lime	Givaudan	Goldfield & Banks	2 ml	2024
I was looking forward to smelling this one, it's supposed to be like finger lime. But it's another one that smells strongly of shower gel after spraying (the only listed note this and Pacific Rock Moss have in common is a type of cedar). Aftershavey lime comes through once it settles. After a half hour it's a bit nicer and woodier, but still yuck.

Ingenious Ginger	Hamid Merati-Kashani	Goldfield & Banks	1.5 ml	2024
I got sick of Bohemian Lime, so showered it off and put this on. Fizzy, powdery, sticky-sweet lolly smell. Very sweet, but a nice amount of wood and musk and patchouli underneath I think. I don't notice the citrus, and only a little ginger via its sharpness. Later it's still powdery, but more floral, kinda old-lady-y. My partner hates it, but I like smelling like lollies, so—

Desert Rosewood	Francois Merle-Baudoin	Goldfield & Banks	2 ml	2024
Smells of sandalwood (apparently rosewood) and strong, thick, powdery floral notes like lavender. I don't like it much, too much like incense in a hippy shop or drawer liners, but with a sparkly little sweetness underneath. But it was okay wearing this outside going to the shops when I didn't have to smell it much/often. I don't think I like lavender(/iris?) unless it's in the background tying other smells together. Five hours later the main smell is a creamy vanilla.

Fiero	Chris Maurice	Casamorati / Xerjoff	1.5 ml	2024
Fresh, citrus, a little bit of that marine body wash smell but not too bad, later a warm sweetness that's woody and earthy-floral, a little femme and powdery, but still has that sharp freshness. It's nice. Like a nice afternoon outside drinking prosecco smell that settles down elegantly as the sun sets. Not something I would wear often, but I like it. Hopefully I don't have to go to another wedding in my life, but if I did I'd wear this.

Philosykos (EDT?)	Olivia Giacobetti	Diptyque	-	2024
Smelt lot of things at Mecca today, this was what I went in to specifically try. Put some on my wrists and walked round for a bit. It's a very true-to-life fig tree smell and nothing else. Mostly I smelt leaves, but at times a creaminess and vanillayness that's not really for me. I love the smell of fig leaves, but on their own it's a bit boring in a perfume. If it wasn't so expensive it'd be a really nice hanging out at home smell, I enjoyed it a lot more in that context. There's one of those straightforward Demeter ones that's fig and those are cheap.

Divin'Enfant	Antoine Lie	Etat Libre d'Orange	1.5 ml	2024
Felt like putting on something soft for bed. This is very powdery and sugary, kinda like a marshmellow. Fragrantica has coffee, leather, tobacco, tonka notes, but I haven't got them yet(?). I think I'll have nice dreams.

Citrus Riviera	Ralf Schwieger	BDK	1.5 ml	2024
Zesty citrus, floral, later it's bodywashy and a little soapy, from a distance I smell musk. The citrus smell turns more clearly orange, which is nice. Nothing remarkable.

Powdered Veil	Mathieu Nardin	Miller Harris	1.5 ml	2024
Trying another pink powdery one for nighttime/sleeping. I don't quite know how to describe it. Like a sour floralyness, sweet and sugary and powdery, but yeah there's a sourness or citrus somewhere which is really interesting. Oh, I think it's smokiness, there's patchouli in the notes. I keep thinking 'it smells like a bee', but I don't know what that means. Only lasts a few hours. It's getting discontinued so is heavily discounted and very tempting…

Décou-Vert	David Maruitte	Laboratorio Olfattivo	1.5 ml	2024
Powdery, floral, and fizzy, greener than the other ones like this I've tried. ALmost like lime cordial, but not actually like lime. Gets warmer and vanilla-muskier.

Delina La Rosée	Quentin Bisch	Parfums de Marly	1.5 ml	2024
Initially a sharp floral scent, fresh water, smells like a vase of freshly cut flowers as it dries, or a bath full of flowers and bubbles. A little citrus, maybe crisp, sugary fruit. Can imagine wearing for casual drinks, though maybe it's a bit too florist shop for me to wear often. Oh, now it's getting a little ambery. Want to try it layered with something orange. Getting soapy now, almost dishwashing liquid, sticks in the top-front of my mouth the same way D: Damn, I was enjoying that.

White Sandalwood	Francois Merle-Baudoin	Goldfield & Banks	2 ml	2024
Incense, mostly soap: sometimes soapy carwash, sometimes dog soap. Hideous.

Parisian Musc	Aurelien Guichard	Matière Première	1.5 ml	2024
Musky, a little powdery, very green and bitter like dandelion and freshly cut flower stems, gets more figleafy as it dries :) Later it's just vanilla, maybe a little caramel. The dandelion and fig was nice in a musk, just a little disappointed with plain vanilla, but it was pleasant.

Villa Sorento	Roxanne Kirkpatrick	La Perla	1.5 ml	2024
Starts with a strong lemon smell, but a very cleaning producty one. Gets powdery, a little bitter like citrus skin or candied peel, a bit perfumey, a bit fizzy. Gets more perfumey and old ladyy, I think this is neroli, it's warm, but still background of cleaning products. The sample came in a vial with no diffuser, which sucks a bit.

Fig Extasy	Roxanne Kirkpatrick	Mancera	100 ml	2024
Blind bought this because it was figgy and on a big discount. Initially not super keen, pretty sweet, fig fruit, spicey, but it's a bigger smell than other figs I've tried, which I like. Later it has interesting woody smells, almost smokey floralness, warm, fig leaves. Gets smokier actually, bitter tobacco. About as much sandalwood incense as I can take, ie just a hint. Not Summery, more Autumn. Hmm maybe a real hot Summer evening outside would be good actually. fight fire with fire. It's not casual. Fig's still here. Always a fan of a magnetic lid, even if it's covered in tacky gold paint.

smell, fragrance, recommendations, log