Smellhambra

This was my first “big girl” perfume years ago and it has withstood the test of time - it continues to be a unique yet wearable warm spicy scent. Mimosa and Cardamom blooms beautifully in hot and humid Southeast Asian weather, with a strong and punchy opening of spices and yellow florals drying down to a creamy, soapy skin scent that retains both of the notes in the name of the perfume.

Sillage and longevity are above average for a Jo Malone, lasting about 3 - 5 hours till it becomes a comforting skin scent. Nonetheless I’d still recommend this one for its distinct and unusual scent profile while remaining a comforting and easy reach. The low projection and high wearability actually make it perfect for an office or professional setting.

CDG 2 is a chimeric beast, with elements drawn from floral, fruity, spicy, woody, inky and fizzy notes. Yet instead of clashing in violent disharmony, the different notes coexist peacefully and pleasantly. Personally, the vegetal coriander note came out strongest on my skin, accompanied by the cooling sensation of yerba mate, an ephemeral swirl of violets and aldehydes, and the faintest hint of sooty, woody, East Asian ink. Overall, CDG 2 achieves the balance between yin and yang that it seeks to deliver.

However, as much as I enjoy the scent and took a full bottle home from Tokyo, I must admit that CDG 2 is fickle and almost fleeting, flickering in and out of perception on the skin. I typically have to spray more than usual (5 sprays on skin and hair) to get low to moderate projection and lasting power. That said, it occupies a truly unique spot in my collection and I’m happy to keep re-spraying throughout the day to get that addictive, ever-changing chimera of smells.

The oblong bottle that has to lie flat used to irritate me because I had to store it on its side and it didn’t fit in aesthetically with the rest of my collection, but I came to appreciate that it’s in keeping with CDG’s playful, tongue-in-cheek ethos of anti-fashion. The juxtaposition of the sci-fi silver bottle and the childish scrawl of the giant ‘2’ on the front of the bottle is also yet another way in which CDG forces us to think about disharmony and balance with every spray.

The opening was strong on spices as expected of Nishane, with a powerful wave of cardamom wrapped around a bouquet of feminine florals, especially rose. Lasting power was weaker than most Nishanes, but I liked the softer, powdery yet syrupy gentle rose scent that came out in the drydown. It smelled similar to a milky bandung drink for those who are familiar with Southeast Asia.

Beautiful and feminine but I won’t purchase a full bottle as I think there are more suitable rose scents for me out there - I’d prefer more edge and spice and wetness.

I was influenced by Reddit and Victor Wong's AMA to buy a bunch of Zoologist samples and boy were they EVOCATIVE. Tiger is one of their of most recent releases, and other than the fact that I just like big cats, notes like carrot seeds and papyrus and saffron sounded really appealing to me. This was my second time trying out the fragrance. It was a rainy day and I initially planned to wear the melancholy L'Orpheline but suddenly felt like putting on something more transportative and aggressive.

The scent indeed conveyed a vivid image at the opening, bringing to mind a big cat stalking through the tall grass. Despite being identified as a heart/base note by many fragrance communities, I found that the frankincense came through super strongly from the get-go, then softened a little throughout the day to let the carrot seed, papyrus and vetiver take center stage. I loved the fresh, almost citrusy feel after a few hours, taking on a softer spiciness on my skin as opposed to the initial loud opening. The lovely woody papyrus note that I love in other fragrances like Santal 33 and Papyrus Moleculaire also surfaced nicely.

Longevity was pretty good, with 2.5 sprays lasting a good half a day at work. By evening, the kumquat lingered a lot more strongly, which complemented the papyrus nicely to create a citrusy freshness with just a hint of smoke from the frankincense. This is definitely a unisex perfume, especially for days when one wants to feel powerful and assertive.

Despite this being my favourite Zoologist so far I don't think it's full bottle-worthy just yet since the main thing I enjoyed about this was the papyrus, and as mentioned above I have better options for that. The combo with frankincense and carrot seeds and citrus was nice but not something I'd reach for a daily basis, especially because I wasn't fond of the strong frankincense opening.