Il Mondo di Odore

Micallef's parfums all smell good to me. It's just one of those things. Her idea of smoothness is very compatible to my sensibilities. I'm not saying that everything I've sampled from the house of Micallef is bottle worthy. I'm finicky like most in this hobby, but I know a talent when I smell one. Enter Aoud Homme. I have been patiently sampling ouds at a very comfortable pace. I've eschewed my former frenetic pace of bottle purchases and must-haves. I'm more interested these days in sampling and then buying a dyed-in-the-wool "must have" for my new and improved wardrobe. I was looking forward to trying this since there are only 2 others in contention to be the oud I will break down and purchase. Upon initial application, I thought "surely this is the one". It smells that good. A transparent, resinous agarwood blankets the skin like Montale Lite. I was happy during the opening that it wasn't as all-encompassing as Montales have a ...

I purchased this blind one month ago from France and it took that long to arrive. I expected it to, so there was no concern there. I actually bought the Eau de Parfum Patchouli, but was sent the Eau de Toilette Patchouli Ambre. A little disappointed because of the mixup, I wasn't about to go through sending it back to France. Once I tried it, I immediately liked it and am persuaded to believe it may be a blessing in disguise. I say that because its volume is more polite than the likes of Bois 1920, Reminiscence or Mazzolari. Honore Payan isn't weak, so let's get that out of the way folks. It's about the same volume as Molinard ( which I like very much thank you ) and is related to Molinard and Bois 1920. It's as if you blended those 2 and presto ! Honore Payan is sweeter than Molinard but a bit less woody and biting than Bois 1920 Real Patchouly. It has probably the best assets of both and is a Jehanne Rigaud Parfum. Honore Payan opens with a blast of patchoul...

So.........you enjoy a blast of aldehydes in your perfume openings do you ? Nude by Bill Blass surely delivers in that regard. It lasts quite long as well before settling down into a floral-woody. Information has it that Nude was released in 1992. Personally, I have never heard of it until a generous basenoter ( Thanks AnthonyDG ) sent me a few extras in a recent transaction. That's also not surprising since I'm not too familiar with feminines of any decade, let alone the 1990's. Nude packs a good punch for 15 minutes or so before the volume relaxes and the fruity-citric-orris triumvirate exhales. The opening was a raucous volley of those 3 on me. It was quite good actually, just more aggressive than I had anticipated. Nude is a fragrance that starts vigorously and ends whispering. The transitions are very noticeable. The opening is a sharp blast of citrus, fruit and what I think is galbanum. The orris is right there in the mix ( on me ) from the get go and the accord...

I'm not exactly sure what this scent has to do with "Beating of wings", but I have a soft spot for this house. The price point of all their offerings is a bit much at $2.40 per ml, but that aside, I haven't sampled one from Profumum that wasn't well made and reeking of quality on some level. Allow me to say I think Battito d'ali smells exceptionally good, yet it will never be in my drobe. It leans a bit too feminine for tastes and is also a tad too sweet for me to wear successfully. I don't find it cloying, but I will say this fragrance has tenacity and an exceptional throw. I can't pull it off, but I sure wouldn't be mad smelling this on a nearby female. This also can be easily over applied, so keep that in mind if you have Battito earmarked as a sample wear. LS has the listed notes as : Cocoa poudre, Orange Blossom, Myrrh and Vanilla. The sweetness is derived from the Orange Blossom and Vanilla and yes, there's a feint creamsicle accord...

Leather of a different feather? I believe it is folks. You hear and see the term "unisex" or "shared" quite often these days, but IMO Cuir Ottoman embodies that crossover. LS list the accords as Jasmin, Leather, Iris, Balsams, Benzoin, Resins & Incense. Upon applying Cuir Ottoman, I sense a very likable leather lurking under a dash of Iris and an unidentifiable resinous aroma. The Balsams and Resin are what I enjoy most from opening to finish. There is a background incense that gradually gains volume as the life of the scent wears on. It never gets heavy or intrusive. It's simply "there" and augments the linear construction quite nicely. The leather note seems to be plugged into the incense accord and both slowly come to fruition after 15 minutes. What remains is a long wear of leathery incense and resin. It's very simplistic and very, very good. The volume of Cuir Ottoman is respectable as is the longevity of approximately 5 hours ( mode...

I recently received a sample of this from a generous basenoter and was glad since the only other Le Labo I can recall sampling was Rose 31. I have also been looking to add an Oud fragrance to my wardrobe for awhile now and I can't seem to find "the one" just yet. I have a few front runners, but nothing definitive. Oud 27 is very straightforward and linear on my skin and even the listed accords are simplistic. LS has Atlas Cedar, Incense, Patchouli, Saffron and Gaiac Wood. The opening combination of Saffron and Gaiac isn't exactly a blissful union, but within 10 minutes they find a way to blend more successfully. It opens with a bit of skankiness from the saffron as it intermingles with the cedar/incense duo. I've heard others regard this as fecal, but I don't get a feces aroma. I do, however, get a Johnson&Johnson band-aid note from the combination of cedar, saffron and gaiac. It's a tad weird and in spite of it not being unpleasant, it's a dea...

ChocaHoneyChouli. ChocaHoneyChouli. ChocaHoneyChouli. I can actually say that 3 times very fast and not mess it up. Okay.......a follow up to the infamous, love-it-or-hate-it Angel by Mugler. I recently sampled Alien's Liqueur rendition and truly was inspired by it. Like the Alien version, I expected to dislike the Liqueur version of Angel since the original was a bit too much scent for me ( and that's saying something). This is as dense, rich and enveloping as Alien Liqueur. Like Alien, it doesn't transition much and really reacts like an extrait. It may be just me and my perception, but there you have it. I immediately noticed that there was no enduring the topnotes of the original. For me, that is a good....no......great thing. A very rich accord of dusty cocoa, patchouli and restrained honey that has just been blown out of a cherry wood tobacco pipe radiate from the area on my body that I applied it. Truly less is more with the Liqueur series and can assume that 2 n...

Allow me to start by saying that I'm not exactly a fan of the original Alien release and the only Mugler I own is B*Men. Yes....I'm a patch fan and I picked up a few bottles very cheap a few years ago in TJMAXX. I have enjoyed other Mugler  releases, but I guess just not enough to go through the expense of adding them to my wardrobe. At least so far........ Enter Alien Liqueur de Parfum. I fully expected to hate this, but I do put some effort in keeping an open mind and wear them multiple times for fairness sake. My first sampling of Liqueur resulted in thinking it was different than the EDT and more wearable. It wasn't until the drydown hours and hours later that I kept smelling this awesome aroma long after I stopped thinking about what I had sampled. This fragrance, my friends, has otherworldly longevity and can be easily detected the next day on skin. It reacts like an extrait on me with minimal transition. The depth however is immediately apparent. The best I can d...

The original Santos was released in 1981. Eight years later Eau de Sport hit the market and this is the first time I have ever tried it. Eau de Sport is an Oriental with an emphasis on spicy. It's dark like its older brother but smells ( to me) less caramelized. I am wearing both side by side and Eau de Sport is a replica albeit a lighter wear. This may be the first Sport rendition of a namesake fragrance I've run across that is basically the same sans the heaviness. I like this scent and I'm enjoying EdS. This is Santos for the summer months. The implemented notes are similar in both renditions. Eau de Sport opens with less of a shimmer, a bit more transparency and with a quicker wood component. I think this is simply due to longer lasting topnotes in the original. It's a very masculine array of spicy citrus and woodiness that is also a bit aromatic. The heart accord is its bread and butter. the same goes for the original and concentree versions. The mids are an ...