4
Lactonic Egyptian Musk
Velvet Haze is indeed an Egyptian musk fragrance. Sure there's a strong resemblance to the NR line, but the same would be said about literally any Egyptian musk fragrance nowadays. Velvet Haze is not a dupe by any means.
The opening is unpleasant to my nose. I don't love the way the lactones were executed here as they don't fit smoothly into the composition and that's usually what they are supposed to do. Instead I find that there is an odd juxtaposition between a bitter dirt accord, and a strangely milky overripe fruit accord. This unsettling push-pull character lasts for the first half hour of wear and then slowly fades as the Egyptian musk accord comes to the forefront: it's all lived in musk and tamed patchouli. I like the dry down very much for it's familiarity rather than for any compositional innovation.
Aside from the opening, Velvet Haze is easy to wear and easy to love. It's probably a big seller for Byredo. However for my personal preferences, I strongly prefer the composition of NR for Her as it's more overtly femme while Velvet Haze is solidly unisex and monolithically musky.
The opening is unpleasant to my nose. I don't love the way the lactones were executed here as they don't fit smoothly into the composition and that's usually what they are supposed to do. Instead I find that there is an odd juxtaposition between a bitter dirt accord, and a strangely milky overripe fruit accord. This unsettling push-pull character lasts for the first half hour of wear and then slowly fades as the Egyptian musk accord comes to the forefront: it's all lived in musk and tamed patchouli. I like the dry down very much for it's familiarity rather than for any compositional innovation.
Aside from the opening, Velvet Haze is easy to wear and easy to love. It's probably a big seller for Byredo. However for my personal preferences, I strongly prefer the composition of NR for Her as it's more overtly femme while Velvet Haze is solidly unisex and monolithically musky.