Floomf
Reviews
Floomf
Expansive, gentle hay on a cloudy afternoon
When I saw that Chris Rusak was releasing a foin coupe I got so hyped. I love grass/hay scents. After the notes and description were released I was nervous - so much jasmine and civet, notes that I'm typically _very_ wary of. I shouldn't have doubted. It's great.
It opens with an expansive green, wet, fresh-cut lawn scent with a vague rooty undertone that leans suede/rubber or wax (orris?). My initial notes described it as "grass stains on new white sneakers". My nose is not particularly adroit, so I don't really get the cucumber or violet leaf in the published description, but i suspect the cucumber is what lends the vague watery accord. It's incredibly reminiscent to me of sitting on this athletic field of artificial turf during and after the lockdowns in summer of 2020. It's gentle, relaxed, unhurried - not things I associate with the pandemic itself but with the brief respite given by sprawling on the grass in the sun outside in the late spring with all the fear and chaos a safe distance away.
As it settles, the grass starts to dry out - the suede/rubber becomes a little more noticeable and the more watery accords of the top notes fade, transforming the fresh mown lawn grass into something much more hay-like and wildflower. It stays airy and expansive, with soft green powdery pollen and the waxy/rubbery note wavering on the edge of some kind of heady solvent, like fuel for a mower or oiled tools in a shed.
In the drydown, it becomes reminiscent of the base of AEOOJ. The rubbery/suede/waxy note fully transforms from rooty to solvent, mixing with a difficult-to-pinpoint musk. It lays close and light on my skin as a musky heady-aromatic floral, with the barest touch of hay. I don't notice the vanilla from the published description, and the "extreme dose" of civet stays very soft and subtle (at least to my nose). But perhaps I'm anosmic at this point?
After another hour or two later the airy rubbery accord disappears and in its place the musky suede is all that (barely) remains. It's animalic in a warm-fur-and-skin way, kinda like huffing the scruff of my cat or my friend's ferret. Fuzzy, comforting and pleasant.
Projection is good. It's no nostril-blasting nuke, but it develops an effective bubble. Longevity is low-moderate - it's down to a subtle skin scent after about 4-5 hours.
The PR copy says "Caji is a contemplative perfume, the sort of pleasure perfect for a day of inclement weather spent indoors, relaxing in comfort.". Today's a rainy, unseasonably warm day for December and I agree it suits the mood well. It's a gentle scent, overcast without being lugubrious. Also: my neighbor's cat loves it too! Must be the civet.
It opens with an expansive green, wet, fresh-cut lawn scent with a vague rooty undertone that leans suede/rubber or wax (orris?). My initial notes described it as "grass stains on new white sneakers". My nose is not particularly adroit, so I don't really get the cucumber or violet leaf in the published description, but i suspect the cucumber is what lends the vague watery accord. It's incredibly reminiscent to me of sitting on this athletic field of artificial turf during and after the lockdowns in summer of 2020. It's gentle, relaxed, unhurried - not things I associate with the pandemic itself but with the brief respite given by sprawling on the grass in the sun outside in the late spring with all the fear and chaos a safe distance away.
As it settles, the grass starts to dry out - the suede/rubber becomes a little more noticeable and the more watery accords of the top notes fade, transforming the fresh mown lawn grass into something much more hay-like and wildflower. It stays airy and expansive, with soft green powdery pollen and the waxy/rubbery note wavering on the edge of some kind of heady solvent, like fuel for a mower or oiled tools in a shed.
In the drydown, it becomes reminiscent of the base of AEOOJ. The rubbery/suede/waxy note fully transforms from rooty to solvent, mixing with a difficult-to-pinpoint musk. It lays close and light on my skin as a musky heady-aromatic floral, with the barest touch of hay. I don't notice the vanilla from the published description, and the "extreme dose" of civet stays very soft and subtle (at least to my nose). But perhaps I'm anosmic at this point?
After another hour or two later the airy rubbery accord disappears and in its place the musky suede is all that (barely) remains. It's animalic in a warm-fur-and-skin way, kinda like huffing the scruff of my cat or my friend's ferret. Fuzzy, comforting and pleasant.
Projection is good. It's no nostril-blasting nuke, but it develops an effective bubble. Longevity is low-moderate - it's down to a subtle skin scent after about 4-5 hours.
The PR copy says "Caji is a contemplative perfume, the sort of pleasure perfect for a day of inclement weather spent indoors, relaxing in comfort.". Today's a rainy, unseasonably warm day for December and I agree it suits the mood well. It's a gentle scent, overcast without being lugubrious. Also: my neighbor's cat loves it too! Must be the civet.
Like a gentle and carefree summer day
I love Tacit. It smells like carefree summer vacation to me: reminiscent of warm evenings on the porch with friends, or hanging out in the park in the sun, or driving back from a day at the beach with the windows down.
The opening is a blast of yuzu and other citrus (orange?) plus a beautiful realistic sweet basil. Those citrus notes are naturalistic and gentle/comforting, not sharp and bracing. Think less Terre d'Hermes and more like your hands after peeling a mandarin. The yuzu fades quickly but remains faintly noticeable into the mid, uplifting the beautiful naturalistic dominant basil as a nutty vetiver starts to rise into the mix. Eventually, the drydown is sunny, nutty, slightly spiced and gently dusty vetiver. Nothing swampy, humid or dour here - even in the drydown it stays optimistic. There's supposedly some clove, but I rarely identify it in the mix. If I sniff carefully I can still barely pick out the yuzu though.
Overall, taken at face value it's a very safe scent - nothing particularly groundbreaking, loud, or unusual. Projection is nonexistent at best but longevity is fine (for me). From description alone it seems generic and probably more expensive than it's worth - but there's just something about it that's hard for me to accurately convey (perhaps..... tacit? ) that I absolutely love. It's calm, uplifting, fresh, understated, beguiling, clean, nostalgic, and optimistic. My perfect spring/summer scent.
The opening is a blast of yuzu and other citrus (orange?) plus a beautiful realistic sweet basil. Those citrus notes are naturalistic and gentle/comforting, not sharp and bracing. Think less Terre d'Hermes and more like your hands after peeling a mandarin. The yuzu fades quickly but remains faintly noticeable into the mid, uplifting the beautiful naturalistic dominant basil as a nutty vetiver starts to rise into the mix. Eventually, the drydown is sunny, nutty, slightly spiced and gently dusty vetiver. Nothing swampy, humid or dour here - even in the drydown it stays optimistic. There's supposedly some clove, but I rarely identify it in the mix. If I sniff carefully I can still barely pick out the yuzu though.
Overall, taken at face value it's a very safe scent - nothing particularly groundbreaking, loud, or unusual. Projection is nonexistent at best but longevity is fine (for me). From description alone it seems generic and probably more expensive than it's worth - but there's just something about it that's hard for me to accurately convey (perhaps..... tacit? ) that I absolutely love. It's calm, uplifting, fresh, understated, beguiling, clean, nostalgic, and optimistic. My perfect spring/summer scent.
Stanky or sexy? Why not both?
Here are the published notes:
- Top: Petitgrain, black pepper, frankincense
- Mid: frankincense, cumin, cedar
- Base: sandalwood, cedar, vetiver
I get basically zero petitgrain or vetiver off this. From the top it's primarily pepper and cumin for me. The pepper fades quickly, but the cumin becomes more prominent in the mid along with the frankincense and sandalwood appearing and continuing through and a touch of cedar at the base as the cumin fades out.
I'm not really a cumin fan in general. It usually comes off either weirdly gourmand (curry) or more often just stanky body odor. Here, it's played as a stinky BO note - if you're sensitive to cumin it might something you can't get over in this fragrance as the cumin note is fairly prominent. I get what they're going for with it, however: they're trying to blend it as sort of an animalic, musky, human note. And it kinda works? Sometimes it's a little overwhelmingly stinky, but once it settles down a little bit I absolutely 100% get the vibe - it adds a sort of sweaty, sexy, rolling-in-bedsheets, post-coital accord.
The sandalwood is a little synthetic to me. It's a buttery sandalwood, slightly cedary and ever-so-slightly powdery. It's not sweet or fluffy at all - think salted butter, not milky cream. It's smooth though, and keeps the cumin and pepper in line. Combined with the frankincense, there's an intriguing smooth, floral and heady cloud that permeates through the mid and base, almost but not quite like a hidden tuberose accord that reminds me of a room with thick, stale air that someone lit incense in a few hours earlier, like a musty function room in a church basement.
Longevity is weak-moderate, about 5-6 hours. Projection is moderate, and significantly increases with body heat/activity. Sillage is weak generally but increases in the heat.
This one is growing on me as i wear it more. Which is fitting I guess, given the name is a reference to repetition as method of memorization/understanding. The PR copy is dumb, rolling around references to Narcissus and Echo, mirrors, "liquid stillness of a pond or looking glass". I kinda get the Narcissus angle though: desire, sex, bodily pleasure. Previously I said it reminds me of a musty function room in a church basement, and I can easily still picture that. But if I flip my perception around it's this intoxicating, sultry, just-fucked bedroom scent instead. I like it.
- Top: Petitgrain, black pepper, frankincense
- Mid: frankincense, cumin, cedar
- Base: sandalwood, cedar, vetiver
I get basically zero petitgrain or vetiver off this. From the top it's primarily pepper and cumin for me. The pepper fades quickly, but the cumin becomes more prominent in the mid along with the frankincense and sandalwood appearing and continuing through and a touch of cedar at the base as the cumin fades out.
I'm not really a cumin fan in general. It usually comes off either weirdly gourmand (curry) or more often just stanky body odor. Here, it's played as a stinky BO note - if you're sensitive to cumin it might something you can't get over in this fragrance as the cumin note is fairly prominent. I get what they're going for with it, however: they're trying to blend it as sort of an animalic, musky, human note. And it kinda works? Sometimes it's a little overwhelmingly stinky, but once it settles down a little bit I absolutely 100% get the vibe - it adds a sort of sweaty, sexy, rolling-in-bedsheets, post-coital accord.
The sandalwood is a little synthetic to me. It's a buttery sandalwood, slightly cedary and ever-so-slightly powdery. It's not sweet or fluffy at all - think salted butter, not milky cream. It's smooth though, and keeps the cumin and pepper in line. Combined with the frankincense, there's an intriguing smooth, floral and heady cloud that permeates through the mid and base, almost but not quite like a hidden tuberose accord that reminds me of a room with thick, stale air that someone lit incense in a few hours earlier, like a musty function room in a church basement.
Longevity is weak-moderate, about 5-6 hours. Projection is moderate, and significantly increases with body heat/activity. Sillage is weak generally but increases in the heat.
This one is growing on me as i wear it more. Which is fitting I guess, given the name is a reference to repetition as method of memorization/understanding. The PR copy is dumb, rolling around references to Narcissus and Echo, mirrors, "liquid stillness of a pond or looking glass". I kinda get the Narcissus angle though: desire, sex, bodily pleasure. Previously I said it reminds me of a musty function room in a church basement, and I can easily still picture that. But if I flip my perception around it's this intoxicating, sultry, just-fucked bedroom scent instead. I like it.
Aesop's Amber Embers Represent a Return to Form
Resinous and spicy, and a little barnyard (but in a clean way like wood/earth and hay, not manure and animalics). The opening has a blast of a sweetish/syrupy lavender that doesn't immediately fade but transitions really well into the hay/chamomile mid notes. The base is primarily myrrh and frankincense, with a slightly metallic earthy note. Dry and spicy, perfect for this autumnal shoulder season where it's bright and crisp. The PR copy text referencing "embers unfurling into a starry sky" is unusually apt.
Performance overall is low-moderate like most Aesop fragrances: Projection is intimate but noticeable, sillage is minimal, and longevity is moderate. You're unlikely to choke people out with this unless you really overspray, but I generally prefer more intimate and fleeting scents over nuclear beastmode scents anyway.
This one has reeaaaallly grown on me. I got a sample with a lil purchase of gifts from Aesop last month, and it was nice but not immediately captivating (especially at $200/50ml??? Way too expensive). But something about the dry/spicy character was interesting and when i saw a deal online i snapped it up. Since then it's become an almost-daily wear for me. It's great during both the day and evening. It also blends nicely with the scent of the dead leaves and cold air outside but stays warm and comforting enough to pair really well with the chunky knit sweaters and neutral tones i like for my outfits this time of year.
I wouldn't call it groundbreaking, but it's interesting and very wearable. A return to form after much of the Othertopias feeling like a misstep. I find it shares a lot of similarity to Aesop Tacit, but while that's an excellent spring/summer scent Ouranon is like its twin fall/winter scent. They share a similar profile/vibe to my nose even though the notes couldn't be more different.
Performance overall is low-moderate like most Aesop fragrances: Projection is intimate but noticeable, sillage is minimal, and longevity is moderate. You're unlikely to choke people out with this unless you really overspray, but I generally prefer more intimate and fleeting scents over nuclear beastmode scents anyway.
This one has reeaaaallly grown on me. I got a sample with a lil purchase of gifts from Aesop last month, and it was nice but not immediately captivating (especially at $200/50ml??? Way too expensive). But something about the dry/spicy character was interesting and when i saw a deal online i snapped it up. Since then it's become an almost-daily wear for me. It's great during both the day and evening. It also blends nicely with the scent of the dead leaves and cold air outside but stays warm and comforting enough to pair really well with the chunky knit sweaters and neutral tones i like for my outfits this time of year.
I wouldn't call it groundbreaking, but it's interesting and very wearable. A return to form after much of the Othertopias feeling like a misstep. I find it shares a lot of similarity to Aesop Tacit, but while that's an excellent spring/summer scent Ouranon is like its twin fall/winter scent. They share a similar profile/vibe to my nose even though the notes couldn't be more different.
