Andasu

I recently returned from a holiday in Japan, and on my search for perfumes I could only get in Japan I kept encountering this. It cost about 3500 yen (or $35), and I liked it when I tried it in the little test containers they have out, so I picked up a bottle as a unique souvenir from my trip. I hadn't tried it on the skin at the time, but now I'm back home and I'm wearing it today, so I can give my full thoughts.

This is an aldehydic floral perfume marketed towards men. It opens with a blast of soapy, floral aldehydes, and something to give it that classic "this men's perfume smells like a men's perfume" smell that was so prevalent through the late 80s and 90s. Yet, this combination produces a minty, cooling effect, making it really nice for warmer weather. It was the middle of summer in Japan when I was there, so I can see that being lovely.

As it dries down, it goes into a surprisingly dirty combination of jasmine, sandalwood and musk. Japan really seems to enjoy more indolic jasmine scents, and I do too, so it was quite a surprise; most of the other Japanese stuff I had tried was fairly soapy and clean as far as florals go. This is still very soapy and clean, but that hit of dirtiness that came after the opening made it really interesting.

Someone I know compared it to N°5 Eau de Toilette, and I kinda get it? I wouldn't say this smells like Chanel No 5, but the structure is the same; clean, soapy aldehydes transitioning into a woody, musky floral. A Chanel No 5 pour Homme, if ever there was such a thing.

This is light, clean, and surprisingly full of character. I'm really glad I bought this, it's so interesting and I'll be wearing the hell out of it while remembering my trip to Japan every time.

This is a really weird one.

Looking at this before I tried it, I wasn't really sure what to make of it. It didn't sound like something I would enjoy, despite my love of vetiver. It claims almost none of the usual "perfumey" notes you would expect from a fragrance. No florals, no citruses, no herbs. What is this?

And then I tried it. My initial reaction was "oh my god, what the fuck is this?! Who would want to smell like this?!" It was so unlike anything else I had tried before. And then I thought about it for a moment and my reaction changed to "wait... I DO."

Dry, peppery cypress, earthy, smoky vetiver, and cold cashmeran is what I get from Encre Noire. That's about it. But despite its simplicity, it has many facets. It's damp and dark, like charred wood and burnt trees after rain. It's incense-like in its smokiness, giving it a contemplative vibe. There's a hint of green freshness, if you can catch it. There's a dirty sexiness to it as well; it stays close to the skin and it feels messy, but not raunchy.

This is not for everyone by any means, but despite that, I think this is one of the best fragrances ever made. I think even if it doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy, everyone should at least try this fragrance once because it's a very unique experience. There's really nothing else like it on the market.

Not to mention it's dirt cheap. I only paid $35 for my bottle. For something this good, that feels criminal!

This is everything to me.

Bitter, cold, green galbanum in the opening, with that classic Chanel floral and aldehydic elevation, before settling into a buttery, earthy iris and vetiver.

I first tried this a few months ago and I was completely blown away. I'd never smelled anything like this, and to this day I still haven't. It's everything I've been looking for in a perfume!

I love how full of character this is. Rumour has it that this was Coco Chanel's personal perfume and I can definitely see her wearing it. It's cold, uptight, sophisticated - the wearer is the most important person in the room, and they know it. It's not loud, they don't need to broadcast their importance - they simply are. And yet, this is elevated enough to not be so cold or bitchy it's off-putting.

This is easily worn year-round. The florals provide enough lightness to make this suitable in all but the warmest weather, and of course the buttery iris is lovely when the mercury drops.

Interestingly, I picked up a bottle of this stuff that dates back to some time in the 80s (I'm not sure when) - and the current stuff couldn't be more different. The greenness of the older bottle is colder and more complex, the earthiness of the entire composition more rounded. It also has a sweetness and a dryness that aren't present in it today. In its current state, #19 is much more about the iris than the older bottle, but still recognisably #19 and I love it to bits all the same.

This is one of my favourite perfumes of all time and I hope Chanel keeps making it for many years to come.

This perfume recently arrived in Australia, and I was very excited to try it. I love vetiver notes in perfume more than anything else, and this had me intrigued. So, the day it came out, I went over to the department store near my office, sprayed a bit on my wrist, and gave it a fair go.

At first, I was a bit disappointed, but as I went back to it, my disappointment turned to surprise. This was a very surprising one for me!

The first thing I noticed is that this is not a vetiver perfume. Not even close. There is a vetiver note hanging around in there, but it's not the star of the show by any means.

What I did get, however, was a minty geranium, some vegetal musks, and a prominent, seaweed-like aquatic note. Minty geranium is nothing new in men's perfumery, sure, but I love the smell of geranium anyway, so it's always welcome. The musks give it some density, not too much but enough to keep the scent going, and the aquatic note is surprisingly savoury, which I really liked.

This is weird. Very weird, and very bold. The brand and the manufacturer could easily have produced something boring for this name, but they didn't. This is unapologetically green and I love it. I'm so glad that they've chosen to do something weird with this. Green perfumes are here!

I like this a lot, but I'm unsure if I'd buy a bottle. I have other perfumes that I love that I would see myself wearing in the same situations that I would wear this. Maybe I will, just because it's weird.

I've been unfair to Sauvage. We've all seen the jokes about it, we've all seen how popular it is, and we've all probably tried it before. I've tried it several times before, and only now does everything click about it. I love to be a hater, especially of blue fragrances, and Sauvage is certainly no exception.

Except I don't really hate how Sauvage actually smells; it smells fine. It's citrusy, peppery, aquatic fresh. Nothing to complain about there. But what does stand out about it is that it is STRONG. Needlessly so. It's loud, it hangs around for ages, and it refuses to die. Sauvage completely obliterates every other scent in its vicinity.

But its strength suddenly makes a lot of things make sense. It's well-known by now that self-care and fragrance content are having their moment on social media, especially TikTok. If Sauvage is what gets the kids and the bros into fragrances, no wonder they think everything else is weak. Sauvage is so strong that just about everything else pales in comparison to it. If this is what the bros are all wearing when they go clubbing, of course they want something else that can possibly stand up to it.

I understand now why people are going bonkers for it. It smells fine, it's really strong, and it lasts for ages. However, it's also invasive, despite the smell itself being pretty inoffensive. Sauvage demands everyone's attention in all its loud okayness. If everyone I knew were wearing this, I'd get pissed off by it pretty quickly. It's absolutely not safe to wear to work because it really does fill a room. But somehow, it's not the worst masc fragrance Dior are selling, so I guess it gets a point for that.

At 175 AUD for a bottle, this is a little bit more expensive than some other blue fairings. But then Mugler's fragrances are also expensive and are also nuclear strength, so I guess it's worth it? I wouldn't buy it though, it's pretty lacking in character and its strength would certainly annoy me.