LOOK AGAIN: On Bortnikoff: “When you have access to raw materials as exceptionally high quality as those used in Bortnikoff scents, the word “cologne” should never be mistaken to mean a fragrance is light or fleeting. Instead, it’s an invitation … Continue reading Cologne: Two Ways
After a year like no other in my lifetime, or likely in human history, it seemed like as good a time as any to respond to the “Covid Blues” with expressions of the sensory variety. Along the way a handful … Continue reading Expert Discoveries
“Aristocratic white smoke of prestigious cigars diffuses in chambers heated by peaty Scottish whiskies and the warmth of fireplaces burning oak logs. Fumidus means smoky, and smoky it is. The smokiness of aged Laphroaig scotch served neat, It is also … Continue reading A Double Life
WAIT FOR IT..: “Dryad is a sylvan fantasy of friendly trees linking their branches together to form a sunlit, green canopy over your head. When Papillon was founded in 2011 it was our aim to create perfumes that are evocative … Continue reading Finish to Start
BEAST(L)Y ESSENCE: “The signature scent of the Bortnikoff house, Mysterious Oud is more than just another westernized agarwood creation- it’s a wholly original creation that combines exquisite oud from all over the world (including renowned “10k by Feel Oud”) to … Continue reading The Mood of Oud Unleashed
BARBARICIZED: “Invasion Barbare is a tranquil, comforting scent, as soft as it is piquant. It is a soft-spoken fragrance, there is nothing overly forceful about it, and yet it is full of charisma. One gentle whiff of its delicately-spiced notes … Continue reading A Fusion of Soft Spice
SKIN DEEP: “Many oud-based fragrances smell pungent and oily, but Patchouli Oud plumps for a dry, almost herbal take on its subject matter, for a result that runs surprisingly close to the clipped elegance of vintage powerhouse masculines. The oud, … Continue reading Moudy + Sensuous
“As a perfume connoisseur, Neela had a keen awareness of the difference good natural raw materials can make. She began her work with Bertrand Duchaufour by giving him free rein to use a costly palette of attars and resins that … Continue reading Sunbeam to Sofabed
“As the seventies turned to the eighties, the nightlife at Bains Douches turned from the glitzy excess of disco to a new sound that was both melodic and modern, but also rawer and more emotionally intense than what had come … Continue reading B/W + Mint All Over
“Spring in Paris has almost become summer today. The shades of evening begin to descend. You sit in a cafe in the city center and look at the Seine. The sun goes down and the colors of the day mix … Continue reading Psychedelic Snapshot
THE BREEZES: This is our first visit to the house of The Different Company, and hopefully we will be dabbling more in the future. Luckyscent describes it as something that : “can best be described as a smokey-fresh vetiver with … Continue reading EP 99: Shining Through
COCKTAILS + CONCOCTIONS: This was not at all what I expected. Proves you should never have said premeditated visions. They describe it as: “The exquisite oils and resins of Amber Aquilaria are of such rare quality that larger scale production … Continue reading EP 92: Shades of Burgundy
