KJV

About two years ago, during a purchase at an AF in the Souk, I picked up "Buddha Wood" as a sort of "additional buy" while browsing through the other offerings. I liked the name, I found molecular scents intriguing, sandalwood (or so I thought back then) is always a good choice, so why not?
So, I sprayed it on my skin, but no, that was not "my" sandalwood, too synthetic, somewhat sour... Nope, not for me. And so the AF disappeared into the depths of my perfume cabinet among the samples and AF clutter.
Back then.

Recently, one evening, I finally decided to do a bit of decluttering. Everything went onto a large tray to sort through the jumble of samples and decants calmly at the big table in the living room, to check my notes, update my lists and folders, and select the unnecessary to soon contribute it to the general Parfumo cycle through a giveaway...
And then I stumbled upon the "Buddha Wood" AF. No, I didn't spray it, just smelled the sprayer, but somehow a tiny amount got onto my fingers.
And I was blown away. Absolutely!
I spent the night with my fingers in my nose. OK, not quite, but I just couldn't get away from this scent...

Accordingly, the next day, a full test was on the agenda.
What do we actually have here?
A fragrance from a Danish manufacturer of molecular scents. OK, I know a bit about molecular scents, the infamous "Molecule 01" from Escentric Molecules is in my cabinet, acquired to play around with a bit, but ultimately I found it rather boring, too pale on its own, and as a "scent enhancer," it felt more like glutamate in food to me. You can use it, but you can also skip it, I don't need it.
And what does the creator of "Buddha Wood" say?
Ah yes, the scent develops only on the wearer's skin, individual aura, a unique scent signature for each individual, etc... blah blah blah... heard it all before, molecular scent after all, pure synthetic.

I actually have nothing against synthetics; I am well aware that even in the bottles of those who advertise with "natural fragrance materials," there are not just the purest natural essences. And of course, I also know that many "synthetic fragrance materials" come across as purer and clearer than the original essences, and I generally like purity and clarity. In fact, I don't even care whether a scent is produced synthetically - as long as it smells good on me.
Synthetics certainly have their advantages; Zarkoperfume highlights them by explicitly stating that the scents are 100% cruelty-free, 100% vegan, sustainable, and resource-saving. I find that appealing. That synthetic fragrance materials might be better suited for sensitive skin and allergy sufferers, I acknowledge, but since I am hardly affected, that doesn't earn any extra points.

Enough of the theory - how does it smell, this molecular scent, more precisely: How does it smell on me?
What had I noted down two years ago? How did I comment on the scent back then?
"Sour-synthetic-fluffy," I wrote back then, and that it wasn't "my" sandalwood.
And today, after testing numerous sandalwood scents without finding "my" sandalwood?
"Synthetic-fluffy," yes indeed, and I love it! It radiates, it shimmers, glimmers, and shines, I find it stunning! I wrote that there was no development two years ago. True. But it doesn't need to develop significantly because, like with Iso-E-Super, I perceive it in recurring waves that envelop me, and I like this effect. It is really strong; even though I didn't spray much, it feels like I am surrounded by a wonderful cloud of pure, bright, lovely sandalwood, as if I just came from a Buddhist temple where I became one with the universe through meditation. I am floating! Simply beautiful...

And what about that sour undertone that bothered me back then?
I don't perceive it that way anymore today; could it be that my nose, my perception, and sensitivity have evolved with all the testing? There is something alongside the sandalwood, that's clear - but I can't define it, it actually leans towards a fruity direction that I can't really name, and I even find it beautiful, although I rarely like fruity notes in scents. I am thrilled.

Just for fun (hahaha!), I check Idealo, just to see what it costs... An orange "Sale" blinks at me. Providence? Must be...
My clicking finger hovers over the shopping cart for about an hour while the Swabian in me whines and asks annoying questions. Ultimately, it twitches - not a second too late, because the 55% has long turned back into only 12% while the scent was already in my cart...

Earlier, I received the email that my package is ready for pickup at the parcel shop.
Now it stands before me, in its shiny white cardboard tube made of recycled material; I find the whole presentation very nice, the shape and design successful, even if the cap doesn't quite match the otherwise high-quality impression.
I am happy - and once I have taken a picture and weighed it, I will apply this wonderful scent again and float through the rest of the day in unity with the universe...

*

Addendum:
Upon closer inspection, I must, however, lower my rating of the bottle.
I find the shape and design very successful - unfortunately, the workmanship is less so; the presence of a seam in the glass, for example, shouldn't have been necessary, and the fact that the label is stuck right there emphasizes it unfortunately.
I would have expected a bit more. The scent, of course, is not affected by this, but it is a bit of a shame.

The gentian water immediately transported me back to the crystal-clear mountain lakes of my childhood. My father was an avid mountaineer, and so we went on mountain hikes as children, sleeping in mattress dormitories in mountain huts and even bathing in those icy mountain lakes.
I smell pure, clear mountain air - and finally believe I understand what "ozonic" means.
Maybe I will find "my" Aquatic up in the mountains?
And what does the incense have to do with it, where does this radiant lightness come from?

I am deeply impressed.
By clarity.
By minimalism.
And by the fact that this scent has shown me that the time machine "scent-memory" can also work in reverse - not only when you smell a fragrance from the past but also when a modern scent hits exactly the right synapses.

Can you really smell gentian? I can't judge, the gentian in our garden smells like very little to nothing at all.

In the green fragrance battle, the gentian water is definitely at the forefront - although, in my previous experience, it doesn't really belong there but rather in the "blue" corner.
The bottle is already a dream just from the pictures.
The longevity far exceeds my expectations - the sound of mountain lake splashes continues to rise even after 8-9 hours.

Do I want to wear it?
Should he wear it?
A decant is a must.

How many times have I written that I steer clear of re-releases of the fragrance favorites from my youth because I don't want to ruin my memories?

All talk of yesterday.
Well disguised in a completely new outfit, the re-release of Magie Noire has sneaked onto my wrist in our small-town Müller. Don’t ask me how that happened, because the prayer wheel that is supposed to protect my beloved scents from long ago and the memories associated with them is still spinning reliably.
Actually.

And then this minx sneaks onto my wrist and the bitter-dark scent goes straight to my brain, and I immediately see the old bottle in front of me (which I already found hideous back then), in my parents' bathroom at a time when I wasn't even a teenager yet. Pure time travel. I wasn't old enough for this scent; my mother didn’t even have to tell me that. Maybe that’s what saves the scent for me today - I didn’t wear it myself, unlike the scents that were "hip" when I was a real teenager, like Opium and Poison, with which I then had my own experiences separate from my parents' house.

Did I recognize it again?
It feels more like a solid slap in the face - for being able to forget this scent, for not even being stopped by the name...
I deserved that solid slap in the face because Magie Noire proves to me at least that there are indeed re-releases that manage to evoke images and feelings in my brain that I no longer have in conscious memory.

That was almost a year ago. After the hot summer of 2019, by the end of September, I had taken home a sprayed strip where it then clumsily disappeared into the nirvana between the sofa landscape and the wall and fragranced the living room for a solid 2 days before we did a big clean-up again and fished it out of the usual "black hole" between what felt like thousands of cat toys. It was allowed to continue scenting elsewhere, and indeed, I noted 13 days after the spray date (!!!) that the strip still smelled fantastic.
In my own notes at that time, I was still convincing myself that there are modern, new scents and that I shouldn’t get hung up on it, especially since I really had a lot of exclusive scents to test at that time. But I began to doubt, especially since many "exclusive" scents had actually disappointed me, and I hadn’t found that dark-bitter edge again.

The next skin test was inevitable. And once again, Magie Noire completely swept me away. Now no longer as a memory scent, but rather as an oriental with an edge and that little bit of animalic that makes a scent truly erotic. What all the samples and decants I had tested in the meantime couldn’t fulfill - but maybe I was on the wrong track in my search?

Now it has arrived. A 10ml decant has come to me, and I can hardly keep my hands off it, even though the decant was more of an "add-on."

To turn this purely emotional personal situation description into a somewhat decent comment, I’ll say:
Yes, this is a "bang" of the old school with high complexity, perhaps even a typical example of an oriental chypre (that’s more for chypre fans to judge), the animalic is soft but enticing, everything very well balanced.
Longevity is great, I can't assess the sillage.
I also recommend a low dosage for the current version - it could still spray a bit too much eroticism at the workplace.

Conclusion: Great scent, even in the re-release. Please dose discreetly - otherwise it gets weird to cheap.

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Well, at some point I have to start writing a comment, and completely irrationally, this fragrance has been the one to get my attention. And yes, the text is almost a year old, I just never really dare to share my notes - so please be kind to me :-)
A lot has already been written about the scent, and I am certainly not capable of sniffing out anything more; there are surely better noses out there. But maybe you are still interested in my little Simply comparison from last year :-)
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The smell of leather is quite a thing on its own, and there are numerous variations.
From the stinking raw hide to the finely perfumed white suede gloves with violets (like from the novel "Perfume"), it's a long way.

As a child and teenager, I had the opportunity to visit a leather camp several times - finished tanned, sometimes dyed, selected hides for furniture. But even in that category, there were countless variations...
And above all, a specific smell that, for me, defines leather.

So how does one recreate this scent in a perfume?
I don't know; it doesn't seem to be quite so simple...
Violets seem to have played a role in this for centuries :-)

When I first had the sample of "Simply Elixir" under my nose, I immediately thought of my long-deceased grandma (absolutely in a positive sense!!!). In fact, I have no idea what fragrances she wore, but the leather-violet combo was definitely part of it. Surely in an exclusive variant.

Back to leather, back to "it's quite a thing on its own and there are numerous variations." For my nose, this is exemplarily celebrated in the three Simplys:
According to the fragrance pyramid, they all have the same base and, of course, the violet at the heart - but the impression that settles in for me is completely different.
The principle is simple (*knee-slap*) - but it works for me (as a leather newbie, I'm just wired that way): the white is the fine goat leather gloves, the red is the suede coat, the black is the biker pants...

I find all three beautiful - but I was looking for a leathery autumn scent, and it was indeed the Elixir sample that got me hooked on leather.
The white is also beautiful, starting fresh-floral, overall light and bright, the leather much more subdued - and, well, just bright fine suede :-)
The red is spicy from the start, the flowers smell heavier, and cedar comes into play - I perceive it as the most expressive and characterful. And perfect for autumn.
The black is the bold, slightly oriental variant (I don't understand why at least this one isn't declared unisex - for me, that would be the red), and I see the similarity to Fahrenheit stronger than in the red.

Ultimately, I got the red - that is "Simply Elixir."
Not a suede coat, not as a memory of grandma (she's already with me).
Simply because I think it's absolutely fantastic.