Top Notes 
Violet
Iris
Heart Notes 
Floral notes
Base Notes 
Caramel
Vanilla
06/04/2025
Ursaw
155 Reviews
Ursaw
2
Sweetened black tea horror story by Junji Ito
It's listed as "chypre" in the Discovery Set, and I find myself completely lost as to what "chypre" even is then. Because this is "gourmand", right? Candied florals, heavy caramel base... It's like violet scented coffee syrup.
Larger sillage (compared to my previous N.C.P. experiences). Projects barely an arm's length away, but in the wearer's immediate vicinity it's heavy. The air feels almost viscous.
Flowers-wise, I mostly feel the violets. Iris is just there to give the composition additional powderiness – elegant and subdued. Caramel, on the other hand, is not so elegant. Thick, heavy, one-dimensional and way too sweet for my comfort.
But then I notice something else. I don't know if it's a problem with my particular bottle or if this is just how 501 generally is, but something is wrong. It doesn't set. The first ~10 minutes pass, and I feel a vague discomfort. But people on Google say it can be normal for perfumes with higher oil concentrations. So okay. I give it a bit more time and try not to touch anything with the arm I applied it on.
The scent is very thick. Plump, almost oily. And tea-like? Cheap black tea with sugar. Lipton ice tea. The peach flavored one. I notice it about ~30 minutes in, and then it never goes away, even though by the end of the first hour I'm already deathly tired of it.
The tea lasts for about ~4 hours, then finally dries down to the sweet vanilla base, which lasts another ~3 hours into the evening. It's pleasant at first, but as time goes on, it slowly becomes more bitter. As if it's spoiling on my skin.
If that was all, I'd give it a 4/10, shrug and move on. But there's a bigger problem at hand. Well, at arm? The arm I applied this perfume on. Remember how I said that it didn't properly set in the first ~10 minutes? Well, it never did. At all. It felt like there was still a thin oily film on my skin for the whole ~4 hours until it dried down to the base.
If I dragged my finger over the area, it smelled like 501. I absentmindedly licked it. It was bitter. I brushed against my clothes accidentally one time and could easily sniff out the exact place I touched later. I hugged my partner ~3 hours in, and then could feel that same bittersweet tea-like smell on his skin. I licked him to check if I was going insane – nope. He was also faintly bitter.
I'm not an expert in perfumery, but this can't be right. If I spray a perfume once and its oily residue still can be scooped off my arm 3 hours later – that's a hazard. Maybe that's how it has to be to be useful for layering, but I can't imagine spraying anything else on top of this. To me it was already a nightmare.
Larger sillage (compared to my previous N.C.P. experiences). Projects barely an arm's length away, but in the wearer's immediate vicinity it's heavy. The air feels almost viscous.
Flowers-wise, I mostly feel the violets. Iris is just there to give the composition additional powderiness – elegant and subdued. Caramel, on the other hand, is not so elegant. Thick, heavy, one-dimensional and way too sweet for my comfort.
But then I notice something else. I don't know if it's a problem with my particular bottle or if this is just how 501 generally is, but something is wrong. It doesn't set. The first ~10 minutes pass, and I feel a vague discomfort. But people on Google say it can be normal for perfumes with higher oil concentrations. So okay. I give it a bit more time and try not to touch anything with the arm I applied it on.
The scent is very thick. Plump, almost oily. And tea-like? Cheap black tea with sugar. Lipton ice tea. The peach flavored one. I notice it about ~30 minutes in, and then it never goes away, even though by the end of the first hour I'm already deathly tired of it.
The tea lasts for about ~4 hours, then finally dries down to the sweet vanilla base, which lasts another ~3 hours into the evening. It's pleasant at first, but as time goes on, it slowly becomes more bitter. As if it's spoiling on my skin.
If that was all, I'd give it a 4/10, shrug and move on. But there's a bigger problem at hand. Well, at arm? The arm I applied this perfume on. Remember how I said that it didn't properly set in the first ~10 minutes? Well, it never did. At all. It felt like there was still a thin oily film on my skin for the whole ~4 hours until it dried down to the base.
If I dragged my finger over the area, it smelled like 501. I absentmindedly licked it. It was bitter. I brushed against my clothes accidentally one time and could easily sniff out the exact place I touched later. I hugged my partner ~3 hours in, and then could feel that same bittersweet tea-like smell on his skin. I licked him to check if I was going insane – nope. He was also faintly bitter.
I'm not an expert in perfumery, but this can't be right. If I spray a perfume once and its oily residue still can be scooped off my arm 3 hours later – that's a hazard. Maybe that's how it has to be to be useful for layering, but I can't imagine spraying anything else on top of this. To me it was already a nightmare.
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