BamBamNYC

A mentholated explosion from the eucalyptus. A huge pile of freshly cut stems and tuberose. If it weren’t for the florals, this smells like a hot and humid greenhouse, lush with deep emerald leaves. Carnal Flower lasts surprisingly long for a green scent. I can put it on in the morning and smell remnants of it in the evening.

You know those pouches of hot cocoa mix? When you cut one open, there’s a comforting powdery chocolate smell? That’s what Over The Chocolate Shop smells like. It’s hard to do a realistic chocolate smell that’s not artificially nauseating; this fragrance has done a great job. There’s a detectable amount of iso e super (?) so it can easily make you go noseblind.

If I close my eyes as I spray this, I get the vibe of sitting by a tranquil pond dotted with water lilies, perhaps a few koi fish swimming by. It suits a rainy summer day. Lys Mediterranee smells realistically of lilies but it can become cloying / detergent-like as the aquatic notes dissipate a couple of hours later.

Frederic Malle says this is an extrait so go light on application. More than two sprays is too much. It is absolutely nuclear—I have strongly smelled this on someone as they walked by. If it gets on your clothes, it will smell of lilies for days.

Tam Dao is not for everyone as it takes woodiness to the extreme. However, if you love woody scents, you must get your nose on this. Diptyque excels at making restrained “natural” smelling scents.

Personally I love it as it manages to be both dry (cedar) and creamy (sandalwood) at the same time. It’s much more cedar than sandalwood, though. It reminds me of the incense sticks in Buddhist temples and altars, making it a deeply meditative scent.

This smells like coffee candy or the dried residue in a coffee cup rather than a freshly brewed cup of coffee, which is impossible to capture in perfumery (at least, if you want longevity). I wear this as a pick-me-up when I feel tired in the morning.

The cardamom reminds me of Turkish coffee. The lemon weirded me out at first (who drinks coffee with lemon?), but after multiple wearings I now appreciate the brightness that’s retained as the coffee note fades away.