Lovelybrutal

After hearing so much good (and bad) about this scent I had the opportunity to test and buy this on my recent US trip. As a German it is basically impossible to get my hands on this for a reasonable price.
My first contact in a Sephora with the spray wasn’t exactly what I call love at first sight, it was more like “Nah, I don’t have to spend money on this.” I can’t recall what exactly bothered me, but it just had nothing to do with a nice skin scent.
On a different day I gave it a second chance and tried the solid. This time I found it much more pleasurable and my husband also liked it.
A couple days passed and somehow I couldn’t forget it, so I had to get it as a spray…solids just aren’t my thing.
Today I wore it as my gym fragrance and at first the head notes hit me like somebody threw some pencils or much more their shavings at me. I remember that I had colored pencils at my grandmas, they’ve been there for forever. The whole cabinet they were stored in smelled like them.
But do I really wanna smell like this childhood memory? No, for sure not! And luckily I don’t have to. After a few minutes and especially during my workout on the treadmill it evolved into a sexy musky warm vanilla and is lasting for more than 8h…even after the shower.
Surely this perfume isn’t a must have, but it is something I can spray on when I don’t feel “perfumy”.
Finally a skin scent that I don’t hate…JHAG NAP makes me feel nauseous and is so potent on my skin that I can’t take it.

Those who like Delina will also love Damask. For me, it has the same DNA. The only difference is that Damask is a bit more lemony and takes over the part of rhubarb in terms of acidity.
Definitely a fresh and summery fragrance that is suitable for the masses. Do I need it in my collection? Probably not.

With the background knowledge that the fragrance was released as ’Fetish‘, you can get involved with it in a completely different way. It is a very harmonious interplay of leather, incense and a vanilla-sweet component. The motto comes across perfectly without being vulgar or obtrusive. You can't expect a dingy sauna club with the motto "Vinyl and Leather" every third Saturday, but rather the olfactory description of a somewhat different but stylish nightclub. Very sexy.

As a child of the early 90's, my first memories of fragrances come from the days when Angel was newly launched and was probably one of the first goumand fragrances, kicking off a new age of sorts for this type of perfume.
I seem to remember that my grandma wore this fragrance, not daily, but every now and then. Accordingly, I associate some nostalgia with Angel...long summer afternoons, the houses across the street bathed in the light of the golden hour, the old rattan bench, looking for shapes in the clouds. All that was a very long time ago and over the years, after a move, Angel also disappeared from my life.

Now about 25 years later I rediscover old scents, including Mugler fragrances. During my last forays through perfumeries I more or less gave Angel a wide berth, not because I didn't like the scent, but because it didn't match my previous prey scheme. A giant light blue star, then the name and a designer fragrance you can get anywhere?! No thanks.
But since I now also like to give popular and well-known fragrances a chance again, I landed in the endless maelstrom of TikTok with the polarizing Angel. While some love it and completely fog themselves with it, others can barely suppress a gag. I, on the other hand, am clueless and can't imagine anything under the countless notes even if somewhere in the very back of my memories Angel is stored.
So the only thing that helps is to go to the perfumery.
Once there, I have to find the tester, which was hidden behind some packaging first; finally I held the huge star in my hand and the tension rose ...
There was only a splash on the right wrist and that was enough to be honest. Directly assaulted me earthy wet patchouli (not really my favorite note) and still a lot of pungent fruit. Okay...clear case of "I don't really need that."
Again, the scent felt familiar to me, but the positive associations didn't materialize for the next few hours until the wet earth mostly dissipated to reveal a blend of cotton candy, tonka and vanilla. There's no denying the patchouli base, but all the notes seem to have combined into an earthy cotton candy. A combination that is certainly not for everyone, but is absolutely special. A whole bottle I certainly do not need, but perhaps a mini version may move in - for the occasional trip to childhood.

Again and again in recent months I crept in the department store around Amouage fragrances. The flacons appealed to me by their unique design and massive weight but unfortunately could not convince me in the "quick testing" - partly on paper, but also on skin. Something always did not fit, sometimes I even found them unpleasant.
Nevertheless, I wanted to give Amouage another chance, this time without shopping stress and the possible olfactory overload with felt 30 other fragrances within a short time.
Finally, I got hold of a sample of "Crimson Rocks" a few weeks ago.
My expectations for the fragrance were relatively high. I promised myself a sweet-floral Big Red bubble gum in a bottle. Cinnamon gum is now perhaps not exactly the noblest fragrance you can imagine, but the combination of cinnamon and rose seemed very tempting to me purely from the notes.

So I distributed 5 sprays and got first a thick load of pink pepper off, pungent unpleasant just in the direct combination with the cinnamon. Okay, clearly the top note should not hold forever, but somehow I felt not quite comfortable with it...anyway, I have to go through now.
Distracted by some meetings, the scent had time to say goodbye to its annoying top note and evolved into a warm and velvety cinnamon and honey blend with a hint of rose. Just what I needed on a day like this, gray and cold.
So I can say that I don't regret buying this sample. Almost certainly I haven't smelled something similar lately, but do I need "Crimson Rocks" as a fullsize? No, at this price, the scent has to deliver exactly what I like from start to drydown. I use my few milliliters when I want that certain dose of cinnamon again.