RollinStone

Here it is, the new “Muse” Eau de Parfum. I have been eagerly waiting for this perfume over the last few days. Admittedly, a bit of skepticism crept in over time. Not because of the listed notes, but rather because one of the marketing images features a very stylishly dressed woman. Is it too feminine for me and will it spoil the notes? Well, I thought to myself, you don't have to ruin it now, after all, it is listed as Unisex and the notes suggest a surely good spring-like scent!?

What did I get? A perfume!
Surely, some might think, that’s just a perfume, what else could it be!
No. I mean a perfume that smells of the highest form of French perfume art. This must have been what the old classical perfume school looked like, transforming natural ingredients into art.

It is not a hastily thrown-together scent.
Someone has put serious thought into this.
It is a creative masterpiece.

The scent starts off a bit rough, if you are not familiar with ink in fragrances. But who doesn’t know the smell of ink? I think pretty much everyone has accidentally stained their fingers with it in their youth ;)
I liked the smell back then.

A brief history of ink - Source: tinte24.de
No, this time it wasn’t the Swiss. The first written documents date back to 5000 BC from the ancient Egyptians. They wrote with reeds on papyrus and were already able to use black and red inks back then. The inks were made from soot (black) or iron oxide-containing earths (red), along with water and a gummy binder.
Independent of the Egyptians, the Chinese began writing with ink around 2600 BC: They applied a kind of lacquer with a bamboo stick. It was many years later that the Chinese started to produce their ink from soot as well. They burned lacquer and softwood charcoal, pressed the soot into sticks, and ground this dry pigment in water until it could be used for writing.
Also widely used in the past was squid ink. The first mentions in Europe can be found in the writings of the Roman author Cicero (106 to 43 BC).

Interesting what is written there, I didn’t know that until now!
Let’s get back to the scent.

So the ink is present right from the start.
After 3 minutes, it becomes slightly floral-violet with a gentle depth. The frankincense is also immediately present and plays a really nice supporting role. The ambrette seed is very animalistic and polarizing. The combination of ambrette seed and iris absolute brings a fine leatheriness, and it is subtly powdery as well. Of course, the ink from the beginning is still there and gradually takes on a slightly sweeter, yet somehow fresh quality.
The vanilla is well noticeable, but so light that it hardly stands out.

I see the scent as 100% Unisex.
I can imagine it being incredibly attractive on stylishly dressed women.
On confident men, it surely has the same effect on the opposite sex.

After applying it, I immediately had associations with my last trip to Paris last year.
I strolled through this fascinating city, the weather was great, the people happy, food at every corner, the whole city smelled of Muse, the subway, the alleys, the museums.

Wonderful and totally incredible that they managed to capture this beautiful city in a scent.

In any case, this scent has awakened something in me.
The desire to take a little trip to the city of love again in spring.

One statement is not enough here.
The house of Creed is currently surprising in full force. Known for their fresh/spicy/fruity all-day scents, they are now exploring completely new realms, and in my opinion, they hit the mark perfectly here.
With Delphinus, a creation has been crafted that will flatter most "sweet" autumn/winter noses.
The fragrance has a relatively complex progression and at times reminds me of many wonderful/tried-and-true scents in the same direction.

It starts creamy/gentle and minimally spicy. After about 5 minutes, the incense becomes present and gives me slight Babycat "Le Vestiaire - Babycat | Yves Saint Laurent" vibes.
Then the iris butter vibes from Dior Homme Intense (2011) sneak in.
The floral addition of heliotrope and orchid gives the fragrance a delicate freshness (purple touch). Barely noticeable, but there.

Amber-colored it is all the time. I have always found "amber" scents to be too sticky and oppressive until now. Not here.
It is a warm scent, but not artificially warm, and also not too sweet warm.

I won't go into the base notes explicitly; read them and imagine them... as naturally and perfectly intertwined as possible! I know, it's hardly possible, as you probably highlight certain notes unconsciously from experience and misinterpret the fragrance... so please, please test it yourself :)

All in all, everything harmonizes so perfectly together and makes this "amber" masterpiece feel so rounded, light, wearable, and natural, as I have not experienced in "amber" fragrances before.

#Autumn #Winter #2024/2025

Godolphin is its name. The horse, it wears a new and beautiful saddle. This wonderful saddle was crafted by the most renowned saddler in the city, stitched together by hand with the best available Italian leather.
Royally caressing this new soft saddle, Godolphin knows how to appreciate it. With his head held high, he gallops proudly around the arena, wanting to say, look closely… my saddle has turned out so beautifully, and above all, the scent that emanates from it is a dream.
The master saddler, of course, thought of everything before handing it over to Godolphin, meaning he not only shaped and stitched this saddle perfectly, but he also used the best natural fats and oils during the finish, so that this saddle remains supple, comfortable, protected, and pleasantly fragrant for as long as possible.


A little personal story on the side:
Back when I was searching for a leather scent, even before I knew this wonderful community here… I, like many others here, surely watched a lot of YouTube and let myself be informed/influenced more or less :)

There were indeed several leather scents on my list, but only Tuscan Leather and Godolphin sparked serious interest in me back then..

One weekend, I went to the Breuninger in Stuttgart and sprayed both scents, two sprays each on my wrist/pulse points.. and then the direct comparison began.

TL is a great scent, and one could certainly say that Godolphin was inspired by it, but in direct comparison, it was a bit sweeter to me, or the raspberry was a bit too overpowering.

In contrast, Godolphin, in my opinion, is more complex, a bit spicier, and above all, less sweet.

The leather association comes across very delicately in both and is clearly perceptible.

That same evening at home, about 6-7 hours later, when I brought my nose directly to my wrists, I hardly noticed any difference anymore, and one could have thought it was the same scent..

But indeed, during the first hours, Godolphin appealed to me more, and thus the decision was already made that same evening.

There is absolutely nothing to complain about regarding the longevity and sillage of Godolphin; one must rather be cautious with the dosage at first until one finds their sweet spot with it..
For me, it's two sprays on the back of the neck, and I have it with me all day at work and even beyond.

Conclusion: Godolphin is definitely worth a test, provided one can appreciate "leathery" scents.

Thank you for reading!

Best regards

The last comment on Duro is strangely quite some time ago. Odd.
P.S. I’m dedicating my second comment on this great platform to it.

The days feel like they are getting shorter, the temperatures are gradually adjusting, and nature is working in full swing to be prepared for the really cold times. Early in the morning, the dew spreads out.

And I’ve gotten a craving for something new and woody!

I’m a city kid, born and raised in a medium-sized German city. But of course, I have often been to the outskirts and in forested/rural areas... Duro smells to me like a damp forest in autumn, working hard, with a lot of fresh and moist moss on cold stones. Very powerful. But not just that. It is quite linear in its scent development, but this damp and powerful moss (subjective feeling) seems to fade a bit over time, and a very slight sweetness comes into play, well balanced with the wood and the spicy accord. Cold leather also flashes through??? I can’t pinpoint more details at the moment.. but I really like it so far.

I tested Duro three times before ultimately deciding to purchase it. The second time, I also tested TF Oud Wood alongside it, which I liked very much as well. About 7-8 hours after applying both, I could hardly smell a difference.. However, in the first few hours, the power of Nasomatto blew me away and drew me in so much that I knew I really liked it and could easily imagine occasions to wear it.
Now it has joined my collection since last Saturday! Yay*

You can find it online nowadays for under 100€, which is a very good deal if you like it. Since I conducted my three tests in a very good offline perfumery.. I bought it there at full retail price. I couldn’t have done otherwise with my conscience.. it was even the last Duro in that perfumery.

It lasts a very long time, for me it’s 10-12 hours (4-sprayer neck). I find the sillage very pleasant. In the first 7-8 hours, it is well perceivable at one to two meters, but without being negatively intrusive. After that, it fades hour by hour..

I would also say it’s a scent for people who are grounded in life, who know what they want.
It’s not a party scent. Nevertheless, I think it can be worn well in a refined manner in a quiet bar in the evening. Also in the afternoon for shopping or similar activities, in my opinion, it can be worn well, but one shouldn’t be too casual in their attire.. the scent demands an expressive wearer to bring its presence to the fore.

Duro gives you that extra portion of focus. Not because it’s exhausting, but because it’s so potent and can be well associated with joy of life.

I’m really looking forward to occasionally wearing Duro this autumn/winter!

My wood scent of 2019

Hello everyone,
I have been a silent reader here for quite a while and must say you have created a great community/platform. Since I discovered you, I have spent soooo many hours browsing and reading your sometimes exaggerated (in a positive sense) comments.
The creativity of some users here is simply impressive!

P.S. My first comment.

For the past few days, I have been thinking again about which fragrance could be added next to my (still) small and modest collection.
As spring is just around the corner, I have put some "fresh" scents on my watchlist that I want to test one by one, such as Bigarade Concentrée, Bergamote 22, Nio, Uden, and XJ 1861 by Xerjoff, along with a few Creeds..
Today, I was in Breuningerland Stuttgart and got to indulge a bit, or rather, I tackled my aforementioned watchlist. Today, Silver Mountain Water, Virgin Island Water, and Millesime Imperial were in focus, which I wanted to test on paper first to get a little impression..
That should have been it for today.
But then, while slowly leaving the perfume department, I made a quick stop in front of the MFK display case, just to see what they had from Mr. MFK, when a very nice saleswoman approached me and asked if I needed help.. I briefly told her that I was still undecided about which "fresh" scent I wanted to get next, with my gaze directed at Amyris, as I knew it was supposed to go in a "fresh" direction as well.. She immediately said: Here, I just got this one in and started talking about gin and freshness... at the same time, she sprayed it on the paper for me. I must admit, Gf captivated me the most today. This cool and woody freshness somehow drew me in right away. Hardly sweet, maybe minimal. Very masculine. For the short sniffing session on paper, I found it very good, but I want to test it again more thoroughly on my skin before I decide on a bottle. If the development doesn't drift too much and the H+S MFK character holds up.. then I will most likely treat myself to a bottle for the upcoming warm seasons.

Oh, one more thing, I am not a fragrance note expert, and I find it (still) difficult to filter out the individual components, and I will never write such great stories as some here... but I am a passionate perfume wearer and very eager to learn about component filtering, especially since signing up here and the resulting entry into the niche world :) .

I will save my rating until I have tested it on skin at least 2 times..

And sorry that the fragrance itself was a bit short-changed!

Best regards