geranium

The current state of my perfume samples, featuring a Muji tray that's perfect for keeping them in somewhat of an orderly fashion (organized by family). Aside from an already planned order from Etiket, I think I will indefinitely put on hold exploring new perfumes, at least in the form of ordering samples online.

Batch 2 of reviews for the lucky scent order (part 1):

Dustia Erwan
A creamy freshie? It seems a little contradictory in concept but does work well! The aromatic component again smells familiar, but I can’t identify. Actually it’s kind of like a green tea accord (like how Innisfree’s green tea range), or maybe bamboo? Reading the official description, I did pick up on the liatris and vanilla as creaminess, but don’t get the harvest impression. I think the vanilla is overwhelming all of the toasty notes of hay and oats on my skin. Will try again in different weather to see how it changes.

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Imaginary Authors O’ Unknown

It is powdery and possibly iris-y, similar to Sylvia Delacourte’s Florentina and Dovana. But I don’t get any of the tea and moss, which is what attracted me to the fragrance in the first place :( The scent is pretty linear over the hours, staying powdery and soft. Will use up the sample as a cuddling scent, but pretty disappointed otherwise.

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Nishane B-612

A very lively floral opening, but grounded by something that is well blended with the higher notes. This is a case of love at first sniff. The liveliness is kinda zesty, but not citrus-y to me. The grounded something I'm tempted to say is like a creamy wood. The overall impression I get is of a chypre. Looking at the official notes, there is a lot more wood than I'm currently smelling. Although now that I know it has lavender, I can identify the smell in this fragrance. The various wood notes do become more prominent as this fragrance settled, it's now undoubtedly a woody scent with aromatic touches. The scent doesn't project, which is fine by me and seems characteristic of an extrait concentration. This is quite a nice scent for Toronto's nice summer days, onto the full bottle list it goes!

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Maitre Parfum et Gantier Route du Vetiver

Oh gosh the opening is nasty, smells like tar / asphalt. I have no clue where this comes from, since the top notes are suppose to be a green accord and black currant according to Fragrantica. I suppose vetiver itself can have the smoky aspect, but I didn’t imagine it would come off as tar. But after 10min or so, I can smell some nicer notes coming through. The something nice is a floral? Supposedly jasmine, but just smells like a general floral to me. This did not very well through a hand wash, and all that is left is a faint floral smell. I ought to try this again.

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Maitre Parfum et Gantier Iris Bleu Gris

I totally recognize the opening note/accord but cannot identify it. After a couple of minutes, it turns into a powdery-floral…incense. Kinda strange. I wonder if this is the smell of the iris root, since one blog review strongly says so. Then again, I don’t even have a memory of what the iris flower smells like. But if this is what iris root smells like, then it really does smell old-fashioned haha. There is also a sweetness to this that contributes to the old-fashion feel. Maybe I shouldn’t be using old-fashioned as a descriptor, since that has negative connotations that I don’t intend. It’s a very retro scent I suppose, a glamorous retro scent. Sorta of like a generic high end toiletry from an heritage hotel? I’m not sure why grey, grim, or cool is often associated with iris root, I don’t get that impression at all. If anything this is like the warm tone of an incandescent light bulb.

However, I think I’ll stop chasing niche iris perfumes…and end my search overall by just trying Prada’s infusions again. It’s been a very disappointing search overall ;_;