Landshark321

Sampling Mumbai Noise by Byredo, a 2021 release, a blend of oud, coffee, labdanum, sandalwood, davana, and tonka. It has almost a “chocolate with spice” vibe, something perhaps that I’m imagining from the coffee, and has a good bit of coziness mixed with provocation, an ever-so-slightly funkiness of oud and spiciness of davana mixed in with otherwise familiar and centered, yet robust, coffee/sandalwood/labdanum trio. It feels like an evocation of a coffee house or log cabin, with touches of smoke and fire, but overall, a semi-gourmand experience that’s dense and quite fitting

Its concentration is EDP and retail pricing is $330/235 for 100/50ml, in line with most of the house’s catalogue, though it’s also available via discounters.

Currently the only Byredo bottle that I have is Eleventh Hour (though I once owned Sunday Cologne), and Mumbai Noise is pleasant and striking enough that I might look into it.

8 out of 10

Sampling Montale – Rendez-Vous Chez Harrods, a release exclusive the UK’s Harrods department store, a great example of a multifaceted blend from the house that works very well and has gravitas while not being specifically heavy in rose or oud. Its character is accented mostly by saffron, pink pepper, and caramel, a sharp, heady, spicy, sweet mix. It’s enjoyable, has a familiar Montale/Mancera DNA, and performs well. While not remarkably different from various entries in the line, it does not smell particularly like any other that I’ve smelled before, though I’m sure some could correct me and find some similar entries.

It has standard Montale concentration of EDP and pricing of $170 for 100ml, though unlike most entries in the line, it cannot be found on grey market sites in the US. I think I need to give it some further wearing but overall quite like it.

7 out of 10

Sampling Tom Ford Amber Intrigue, a 2024 Private Blend line release that is exclusive to Harrods in the UK, which fittingly has a resinous component but should not be confused with Amber Absolute, for example, as respects the amber dominance, depth, and uniqueness. Amber Intrigue has some spices and dried fruits that, for me, conjure an outdoor market, while also having a medium-bodied resinous center that’s a little smoky, a little creamy, and just the tiniest bit animalic in the background. The official note listing includes dates, olibanum, labdanum, sandalwood, and vetiver, which roughly tracks with my experience of the fragrance. In fairness, there’s not really anything else (that I know of) in the Private Blend collection that smells like this, and it’s different enough from the sweeter, darker, denser Amber Absolute that it merits a separate fragrance, but I simply don’t see it as interesting as AA or even Myrrhe Mystere, the more recent resin-focused release from 2023.

The price on the Harrods website is $400 for 50ml, more or less typical of the higher end of pricing in the US for the Private Blend line. Setting aside tariffs, it’s fairly pricey at retail.

Overall, I’m happy to try this out but am not especially moved by it. It’s good but not great, which is generally fine, except for products in higher-priced lines.

7 out of 10

Finally doing a proper sampling of Guerlain Tobacco Honey, a 2023 release in L’Art et La Matiere collection, its principal higher-end line, and a fittingly sweet and spicy tobacco, fairly powerful, a bit sharper than what occurs to me as the most immediate comparison in By Kilian Back to Black, and for that reason, I find it to be good but not great, as I would expect either more ease of wearing or to be challenged in a different way than the headiness that I get out of it. The honey is not especially creamy, beeswax-like, or spicy, so it’s a bit unfulfilling as an expression of honey, though the tobacco component is good. Still, it’s overall an enjoyable wear but just not an immediate favorite, especially when contrasted with Feve Gourmande (formerly Gourmand Coquin), which excellently hits a lot of marks while not being too strident.

It’s EDP concentration with retail pricing of $595/440/300 for 200/100/50ml, so even at largest size, which is very large, it’s not modestly priced, and falls into the category of something that one would need to really love in order to buy any sized bottle of it. It’s sold in the US via the house website and some department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.

7 out of 10

Sampling Guerlain Feve Gourmande, released in 2023 as the updated name for Gourmand Coquin as part of the L’Art & La Matiere collection, essentially, and even though I am familiar with and love Gourmand Coquin, I was curious to see if there were any differences, so I bought a sample of Feve Gourmande.

Overall, it’s very similar, its sweet and spicy blend of chocolate, rose, rum, spice, vanilla providing a pretty sensational experience and a gourmand lover’s dream, the rose playing very effectively off of the sweet (but not too sweet), spicy, boozy blend of gourmand notes. It’s really a stunner, and I’m quite delighted that this new rendition smells pretty much identical to its earlier incarnation, which is great, as most of us despise reformulations, the least desirable form of change. My only guess, without yet doing a side-by-side, is that the opening of Feve Gourmande is ever so slightly less spicy/sharp than the opening of Gourmand Coquin, but that’s not a huge concern, that initial bite.

Feve Gourmande is EDP concentration and is sold in the US via the house website as well as department stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, with retail pricing of $425 for 100ml, which is quite pricey, but not a gigantic leap from $275 for 75ml, which I recall being the pricing in the late 2010s. Still, the 100ml-only size offering is limiting, so you’d really have to love and frequently wear this in order to even consider buying it. In conclusion, though, I love it and it’s pretty much the same as exceptional Gourmand Coquin.,

9 out of 10