Daffy089

Another 13 also, one of the flagships of the brand. I have done Le Labo wrong. Somehow, the salespeople in the stores often seem a bit too unfriendly to me, showing too much attitude. The rather negative vibe has transferred to my attitude towards the house's fragrances, and I have often made a big detour around the Le Labo sales area in perfume houses in various cities.

Mea Culpa, so I gave it another chance and was really positively surprised. Not by the saleswoman, who was as dismissive as always, but by the fragrances of the house. There are really some great ones, and Santal 33, which I originally found absolutely terrible, is now becoming a favorite for one of my next purchases. Thé Noir and a few others are also on my list. Basically, Another 13 should have been there too. I like pear, moss, jasmine, and Ambroxan has not stopped me from buying fragrances so far. So everything was actually set up for the purchase.

Well, no. The scent neither smells good nor bad to me; it almost doesn’t smell at all. When I first smelled it (or rather didn’t smell it), I thought it was still the aftermath of my COVID-related loss of smell. But even now, months later, with a functioning nose, I can hardly perceive it. So it smells good (what I can perceive), but if I were to rate it on a scale of 1-10, I might smell a 2 or at most a 3. Strangely, I don’t have this problem with DS&Durga I don’t know what; I can smell other fragrances with Ambroxan. The saleswoman responded with a "not everyone understands Another 13." She is probably right; I don’t understand why it smells so faintly to me. What I can smell is metallic and cold, not at all like I usually know Ambroxan.

Accordingly, my rating for longevity and sillage is also low. It may smell all day, but I definitely don’t notice it. So 13 remains, unfortunately, not a lucky number for me; maybe I will understand the scent someday, and then it will be one.

Well, who is disturbing the Christmas spirit that arises at 8 degrees at the end of September?

It is probably the conflict over which perfume will be my Christmas favorite this year. In one corner stands Angels' Share by Kilian, in the other Oajan by Parfums de Marly. In a third corner (if we had a triangle) would probably be Ambre Narguile, but it would take a real Christmas miracle to get my hands on that one...

Originally, I thought I would get either Angels' Share OR Oajan. But sometimes you just have to treat yourself, and in a moment of enthusiasm, I ended up ordering both. So, Angels' Share AND Oajan.

My mom is totally into both scents (Oajan is probably her number 1 favorite perfume), so I will send her some decants, and there's no need to worry that the two bottles won't be empty by the end of the Christmas market season. I will probably even keep the Angels' Share bottle, as its picture-perfect design really stands out on the perfume shelf.

And the scent doesn't need to hide either. Quite the opposite. A dream of a gourmand. Unisex in perfection (gourmands can sometimes be on the edge here). Good to very good longevity and sillage. The price doesn't quite get me into the Christmas spirit, but it's manageable.

So: If you love cinnamon and vanilla, this is just the right place for you, and you should treat yourself like I did, best to Christmas already now. At 8 degrees in September.

The question of the day for me is already in the title. How can it be that this fragrance is rated so highly? I am the third owner of this bottle, which I purchased from someone in the souk (the shipping was top-notch, by the way). The person I got the fragrance from, who did not like it, had it from a user who also did not like the scent. Three owners, three times the same opinion.

Is it supposed to be the best of Aventus and BR540? Excuse me? This thing smells cheap to the max; I know discount deodorants that are better. Synthetic to the maximum possible, yet strangely it has a catastrophic longevity and sillage. I really can't explain how it got a 9.1 for longevity. Did I buy a fake? I trust the people here in the souk, but this is truly inexplicable. This is the only fragrance in my collection that has been commented on negatively by everyone around me.

The wildest thing about the fragrance, however, is the bottle; it’s truly unbelievable how ugly it is.

In short: it’s now sitting in my bathroom as a room scent.

The only devastating thing about the scent is the hole it leaves in my wallet. Otherwise, it’s rather gentle.

By that, I do not mean the longevity and sillage, which are truly exceptional. But the scent itself is quite soft; nothing bothers or scratches, and it is simply "rounded." It may sound boring at first, but it is anything but that. I have been wavering between purchasing Musc Ravageur and Portrait Of A Lady, the two flagship scents of the brand. In the end, I chose Musc Ravageur simply because it smells more pleasing, and I don’t have to explain to my family where this strange urine smell comes from (see my review of Portrait Of A Lady).

Actually, I went to Oberpollinger today to get Angel Share. They didn’t have it. Oajan is almost 40 euros more expensive than online. The Xerjoff stand was picked clean (and there wasn’t a saleswoman in sight), and after I wanted to try the missing Erba Pura, I then tried Kirke. No luck there either. The same emptiness was found at MFK, where Grand Soir and Oud Satin Mood should have been. So, I went to Frederic Malle; that stand is almost always reliable, and they aren’t cheaper online, so I can buy them at Oberpollinger too.

Now back to the usual dilemma: should I buy Musc Ravageur or POAL? Since Portrait of a Lady wasn’t available in 50ml (I did say that the stand is reliable), the decision was clear for me. Musc Ravageur it is. I could only have won, as both scents truly belong in the collection. MR is the perfect scent for this time of year. Rainy, cold, dark. It gives you such a cozy feeling and has something homely about it. Plus, I got two testers from Frederic Malle, so it couldn’t have gone better. Or could it? For my wallet, it could have gone better if I hadn’t quickly popped into Oberpollinger today.

I don't know what Mojave refers to.
Maybe to the desert, possibly to the river and the associated place, or perhaps to the indigenous Mohave people. Unfortunately, the notes don't help me here either; they somehow fit all three explanations but also none of them.

However, I know what the Ghost refers to.
Not to the wonderful scent, as it is anything but spooky. Rather, it refers to the performance of the fragrance. The longevity and sillage are indeed ghostly. Once sprayed, after a few hours, at most a spectral aura can still be detected; the rest has unfortunately vanished like Casper the friendly ghost. While the ghost may be friendly, the price of the perfume is anything but friendly for the performance delivered.

Unfortunately, poor performance is often found with Byredo.
Really beautiful scents, but the sillage and longevity are dreadful. Even with this perfume, it seems the ghost hunters were at work and forced the Mojave Ghost to flee.

What a shame, with decent performance the scent would be a dream. Unique, clean, yet at the same time without a fabric softener vibe, a compliment magnet. However, compliments only come at the beginning; after that, as mentioned, it's hardly noticeable. A slightly less friendly Casper and more poltergeist would have done the fragrance good.