Catsylvania

Some spices are great in cooking, but no matter how you try, they don't cut it in perfumery. So far, I must say that Reckless Leather is my personally least favorite in the current state of the Library...

I won't bother going on to a rant over how many times can a brand milk a cash cow, but one thing should be noted straight away. Shalimar Souffle de Lumiere has absolutely nothing to do with the original Shalimar. Not even any of the flankers...

The opening felt rather bizarre, a slightly dusty, chemical in a way, blow of sweet cocoa with a weirdly compressed smoke notes. Luckily for me, the rum in this diffused the overall composition and toned down the sweetness...

When I stumbled upon Ultrared in one of the Chemist Warehouse stores, I wasn't even aware of this scent's existence. A quick search yielded a promising pyramid, which indicated the presence of anise and licorice!...

Very peculiar opening, a green iris mixed with a quality rum. This tandem sets the scent off to an impressive start. The rose and oud combination is exceptionally solid, albeit nothing out of the ordinary. It's a standard yet wonderfully...

A while ago I remember a large number of people mention Fancy Nights as a dupe or some sort of a substitute for Chanel's Coromandel. Upon testing both, this could not be further from truth. What they might share is the overall sweet balmy patchouli...

I have two splash bottles, both seemingly 50s and 60s vintage releases. The older bottle (dented with a pink lid) contains a darker colored liquid that, while it smells the same as the "younger" bottle's contents, seems to overall...

Yardley's Pure Silk (not to be confused with Mayfair's later version) is a powerful 80s oakmoss based floral chypre. The florals have a strong spicy undertone, however, the florals fused so perfectly together, I personally find it hard to pick out any individual...