New Arrivals (Part II).

I told you guys to expect more packages this week. My last parcel this week was a good one.

I have received 3 fragrances on this occasion. Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood, Frederic Malle Bigarade Concentree, and Prada L'Homme Intense. Such a good haul!

I've had the sample for Oud Wood for years. When I first tried it many years ago, it didn't catch my attention for whatever reason. So it sat in my samples container until the end of last month. I was going through my samples to try to gauge what I might buy this year and my nose got to this one and I had to stop for a few seconds to truly take it in. I wore it on my skin that entire day and my only thought was, "Have I made one of the biggest blunders in my fragrance journey?" I couldn't grasp how I passed on this years ago when it was first released. I will add that I took a long break from buying fragrances, sampling, and from the community overall. I still posted a review every now and then on Fragrantica but I wasn't truly active. So when I started going through those samples, it's like my nose had been reset because things that I went for immediately years ago were no longer on my radar. I passed them over for other things that caught my attention. It's no wonder why Oud Wood ended up on my Wishlist, like many others. My wishlist on this site grew from like 13 to the point where I'm approaching 100 (if I haven't hit it already). All from my samples container.

Bigarade Concentree is a similar story to Oud Wood but with another layer added. I passed Bigarade Concentree years ago due to being ignorant about Frederic Malle's brand in general. The only scent I owned from them was Musc Ravageur and, at that time, I thought that one would be enough for me. I only wear Musc Ravageur on dates or special occasions. That's when it hit me. I had watched robe08 (you'll see this name pop up quite often in the future) talk about Bigarade Concentree and how the perfumer for this one, Jean-Claude Ellena, nailed it. Jean-Claude Ellena's fragrance resume speaks for itself. I own Jardin Sur le Nil and I used to own a bottle of Terre D'Hermes before I sadly used it all. I still need to get another bottle of it. Ellena is very good at making fragrances light, airy, and almost transparent. When I spray on Un Jardin sur le Nil, I can smell the garden. I can close my eyes and picture the vegetables. It's that good. When I tested Bigarade Concentree the second time around earlier this month, I knew I had to own it. I found a Frederic Malle scent that I could wear anytime. I can tell you right now, this thing is going to get a monster score in the versatility department.

Last, but definitely not least, Prada L'Homme Intense. My bottle of the original Prada L'Homme has roughly 20 mL left and I'm using it sparingly at the moment. In my review that I posted on this site, I said that Prada L'Homme is my swiss army knife fragrance and I meant it. The proof is there. I burned through that bottle at an alarming rate. I wore it more than all of my niche stuff combined. Needless to say, I knew I was running out and I either had to get a backup bottle, which was definitely an option on the table OR be tempted and buy the flanker - the Intense version. I checked reviews from just about every fragrance review site possible. I watched YouTube videos. I did my research because I don't just buy flankers for just any designer. I have to enjoy the original somewhat and be given a reason to take a chance on the flanker. Keep in mind, this is a BLIND buy. I had no idea what to expect until I opened the parcel within the past few minutes and immediately sprayed this one on my right hand. I feel like I need a separate post for this one because I'll be typing for a while if I don't stop myself now. All I'll say for now - I made the right decision. This flanker was worth it in my opinion. It is now my SOTD and I look forward to testing this A LOT. I bought the 100 mL bottle too versus the 50 mL bottle I bought of the original Prada L'Homme. It was a gamble but it paid off.

As you can see, I'm very excited about this haul. Over the past few days, I now own Pardon from Nasomatto (it just wore off on my skin by the way after 1 shower, 8 hand washings, and over 24 hours on my skin), Oud Wood, Prada L'Homme Intense (my SOTD), and Bigarade Concentree. I have a few others that I'm seriously considering but that's going to wait for a bit. I gotta give my wallet a break! These 4 will be perfect for testing in the coming months and this is just another day in the journey. 

I'll end here as I feel like I just rambled for the past 35 minutes. Thank goodness this isn't a YouTube video or people would be sick of it by now. Hope you're all well. I'll be writing here again very soon I hope. 

Have a good one.