Corpocore

To understand this perfume, you have to know the dark foklore of Grimm Brothers tales. Not the polished versions served by Disney, but rather the horror-lined originals. This one is for the lovers of everything gothic.

Grimmtale tells a story of fear and darkness. You're locked behind heavy, iron bars by an evil witch. You can smell the floor underneath you, apparently soiled by animals or other unfortunate captives of the old hag. Everything is drowning in heavy smoke and herbs, and you realize you're the one getting slowly smoked.

I will not rate this perfume, as it should be experienced as an art form. It's not an easy fragrance, but people who enjoy Orto Parisi's Cuoium, or Zoologist's Hyrax will actually enjoy this one. It's heavily animalic in the opening, but it dries down to a beautiful, fragrant smoked wood. I wouldn't personally wear this, because I'm not that brave, but it was an amazing journey and experience, especially knowing the inspirations behind the perfume.

Dark, masculine, woodsy. The smell reminds me of pines, resin and dark forest, just after heavy rain. Faint smell of fire and smoke leads through a meadow filled with flowers. I know this fragrance gets compared to TF's Oud Wood, and I also bought it as a cheaper alternative, but this is a beast of it's own. Oud Wood was flatter on my skin, and was gone after 2 hours. Oud Noir on the other hand has a very consistent life cycle, with every stage being very pleasant, not overwhelming or heavy. I loved to wear it in the evenings or on colder days, but I could also pull it off in warmer weather. It became my signature scent and I quickly went through half of the bottle.

Then something happened to my bottle and the fragrance became an absolute BEAST. I do three sprays and I suffocate myself and everyone around me for the whole evening. My wardrobe smells like Oud Noir for few days after using it, and I don't even spray my clothes. My impressions also changed. It became much heavier, with a really strong, intoxicating opening. The powdery notes and saffron became more pronounced. I still like it, and I think this is a very original and unique fragrance that everyone should try. Personally, I'm not sure if I'll re-buy it in the future, perhaps opting for something deeper down the oud ladder.

I tested Creed SMW, liked it, couldn't justify the price, so got Armaf CDN Sillage instead. This was in May 2023.

The first day I sprayed it on my skin, I wasn't really sure if I like it or not. The opening was quite harsh to my nose, much harsher than SMW, but the scent trail was really lovely. I did 4 sprays in the morning and went about my day. In the evening of the same day I got the wildest fragrance compliment I ever received. A lady literally chased after me and asked me what fragrance I use, because it's divine and she HAS to buy it for her husband.

And honestly, since then, this is my story with Sillage. Huge compliment and attention getter. A lot of great summer memories were made while wearing it. Also whenever I use it after a longer break, the opening gets smoother and smoother. I guess it's a regular feature of most of middle-eastern fragrances.

It feels sporty and refreshing, yet classy and deep at the same time. I like to wear it at any time of the day for any occasion. I feel it elevates my outfit, and is best matched with a nice shirt to achieve that "old money" look (pls don't judge me :D). I probably gobbled the marketing for Silver Mountain Water, but Sillage to me is a scent of a guy who wears a Rolex Explorer, enjoys hiking and outdoor adventures. At the same time he enjoys some luxury, but in the form of quality, rather than flashiness. He buys quality clothes and wears them to death.
I truly don't get the comments about the longevity, because the juice I got (made in October 2022) produces monstrous sillage and lasts 12+ hours on my skin.

Is this a blind buy worthy? No. You have to enjoy classic, or even dare I say, slightly oldschool masculine perfumery to truly appreciate Sillage. If that's your jam, then go for it.

This or Armaf CDN Milestone? I have both, and often find myself having a hard time choosing one over the other, as they fill a similar niche in my collection. I decide on a whim.

This was my first scent, which I received as a gift as a teenager. Since then, no matter what, I always have a bottle in my collection, even though I rarely use it any more. Truth be told, I don't remember the smell of previous iterations and changes. I never cared if it was sold as a "Verse" rather than Versace. It was always an affordable, dumb reach, staple for me.

All has been said about the notes already, but to me it's just bottled nostalgia. I buy and collect scents which transport me to a specific place or mindset, and this is a perfect example, but I think it also just holds up nicely as an individual and enjoyable scent. Funnily enough people always seem to think this is some kind of luxury, expensive fragrance, and few videos I saw on Youtube seem to echo this sentiment.

I even did a small test recently. I flew out for holidays and tried to limit my baggage as much as possible. I decided to take just one fragrance, and Blue Jeans was my choice. I was really pleased with the results. Beach in the morning, and drinks in the evening, it performed really well as a summer do-it-all scent, got some compliments and overall made me feel really good.