Stahl

April Aromatics was founded by Tanja Bochnig, who is also responsible for all the fragrances. She exclusively uses natural oils and extracts, preferably sourced from organic farming or wild growth. Naturally, only ethically acceptable suppliers are accepted, and even very "special" guidelines such as the phases of the moon or "the inner mood and energy" play a role in perfume creation. Tanja Bochnig aims to create a balance between external perception and inner well-being. It is also important to note that all creations are based on jojoba oil.

Bohemian Spice is inspired by the Bohemians of the 19th/20th century - mainly artists of all kinds who wanted to free themselves from the bourgeoisie and unfold freely. Based on this rather simple definition, one can already call the result successful right after the first spray! BS shocks with very intense resin notes in the top, supported by spices and a strong patchouli base. This is truly anything but mainstream and conformist! Additionally, I detect a slightly animalistic note in my nose, which fits well into the overall concept. The oranges certainly have a tough time here and rather help to connect the notes than to make them overwhelming. After a while, everything calms down a bit, and the woods come through a little more. Vanilla finally adds a touch of creaminess, but without any sweetness. Sillage and longevity are quite good on my skin - which is unfortunately not always the case with "natural fragrances."

The price is quite ambitious: 10ml for 69 EUR or 30ml for 189 EUR. That must be the price of spirituality...
Personally, I am not a fan of esoteric nonsense, also because often only purely monetary reasons are behind it. Nevertheless, Bohemian Spice is a really well-made perfume - moon phases aside, eco-approach notwithstanding. A comparable scent that comes to mind is "Mystra" by Aesop, although this one is still quite unknown as well.

I happened to come across a sample and had to Google it first, as this brand meant nothing to me at all. Even here at Parfumo, it was still a blank slate. Until now.

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Additional info: This fragrance is infused with "Herkimer diamond" and rock crystal - whatever that may do. On the homepage, you can also order 2.5ml samples of the 9 current creations for 13.99 - 15.49 EUR.

Today my sample of the 4th Arabian Night fragrance by Calice Becker arrived in the mail, and since I wasn't in the mood for Weiberfastnacht, I decided to take the afternoon for an extensive test...

In the official press text, Kilian or C. Becker describes that they wanted to deconstruct the amber with Amber Oud and then reconstruct it in a new variant - by adding Oud, vanilla, and benzoin to give it even more depth.

In practice, AO immediately hits me with exactly these notes.
In contrast to Andi, the Oud very clearly rises to my nose, as if Ms. Becker wanted to make it clear that there is indeed Oud present. Together with the amber, the benzoin, and the really heavily dosed vanilla, an excellently harmonizing quartet forms - although it must be said fairly that it is not really new or surprising.

I find it nice that you can still discover individual peculiarities from all the aforementioned fragrance notes: The most ordinary part is taken on by the amber, which envelops the others like a blanket. As already mentioned, there has been no sparing with the Madagascar vanilla. However, the high quality can still be recognized in the fine, balsamic sweetness.
The benzoin seems to be of the darker variety as it strongly supports the sweetness of the vanilla and brings a certain creaminess. Benzoin is also present in some incense blends, which might explain Andi's association. The Oud connects all the notes with a strongly animalistic top note - paired with the classic medicinal tone - thus creating tension and a kick in the composition. These animal and medicinal notes eventually lead to a certain spiciness over time, which is likely supported by the addition of West Indian bay (bay leaf). This is, by the way, not comparable to our native bay leaf, but rather resembles cloves a bit. However, what remains completely hidden from me throughout is the cedar or a woody note.

So, what conclusion can one draw now? Actually, I have to agree with Andi: There is little that is truly new here - but it has still turned out damn good! The question remains whether we are dealing with a candidate for purchase, and we end up at the price that currently holds me back.

My personal ranking currently looks like this:
1. Rose Oud
2. Incense Oud
3. Amber Oud
4. Pure Oud

I am already curious how "Musk Oud" will fit in and conclude the Arabic quintet!

Alessandro Gualtieri wants to make things, situations, feelings, and attitudes "smellable" with the brand Nasomatto, thereby sensitizing people's olfactory senses. In every composition, the result counts, not how it comes about - everything should be approached without prejudice! This is also the reason why he consistently refrains from naming individual fragrance components.

Black Afgano is my first Nasomatto, and after hearing and reading a lot about it, I approached it with high expectations. Naturally, the name brought me immediate associations. It should be noted that I am familiar with the smell of hashish or marijuana - and have always hated it. Even today, I can immediately tell when someone is smoking something, even in a huge crowd. So much for my "open-mindedness"! But upon spraying, relief followed: This is not the smell of "smoked" cannabis, but that of pure plant sap or resin - essentially a precursor to the "end product"!

On my wrist, a resinous-woody spicy ink explodes, which for me definitely has a strong green component (unlike how Turandot perceives it on her skin). Also, I lack any sweetness; it is rather bitter and dry. After a while, the smoke of glowing cedar wood adds to it, rounding off the composition to a truly remarkable overall result. For me, this smell would have been the true "Encre Noir," which Lalique has tried to capture in an equally excellent fragrance.

Nevertheless, it is not a candidate for purchase for me, as it is a bit too spicy and dry. Absurdly, it just feels very "serious" to me. However, since Black Afgano seems to be perceived very differently on various skin types, this may not mean anything. By the way, the fact that there is no real development during the very long longevity bothers me less.

Conclusion:
If you get a chance to try it, please do! We are really dealing with a very high-quality perfume here, which definitely has its right to exist - in my eyes, it is more suited for the mature male gender.

One more note: Definitely avoid wearing white clothing when wearing Black Afgano! My ink comparison also applies in this regard...


Addendum: Fortunately, Turandot's suggestions in the previous comment have been heard, and now "smoky" and "resinous" are selectable in the classification. However, I still miss "bitter" (hint hint)!

"The water glides over him as if it were marble, sinking into the groove of his muscles, disappearing into his pores..."

These are not lines from an erotic novel, but the introduction to Tom of Finland on the website of Etat Libre d'Orange.

The French are known for very bold and provocative creations - some even call them "rowdy perfumers". But one thing they will probably never be accused of is being boring! So what could be more fitting than a collaboration with another, unfortunately deceased provocateur or his remaining foundation?

Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), better known as Tom of Finland, founded it together with his friend Durk Dehner in 1984. The goal of the foundation was and is to preserve Laaksonen's artistic work for future generations and to manage one of the world's largest erotic art archives.
Etat Libre d'Orange was granted permission to use the name for a perfume, but only with one condition: it should not interfere with the natural scent of a man.
Consequently, Antoine Lie describes his creation as follows: "A guy who just came out of the shower, who is clean but not perfumed and puts on his leather pants."

So I spray the fragrance on my skin with a certain expectation...smell...wait a moment...smell again...and think only: Target clearly missed!
But immediately after that comes the big but - SO WHAT?!

Tom of Finland hits like a bomb, I smell sweetly spicy male sweat, leather clothes, musk with citrus notes...then it becomes softer, amber and vanilla come through and give it a certain creaminess that lasts until the end...and I can only think of one thing: SEX!

What surprises me about the fragrance classification of previous users is the alleged "freshness". Fresh is something different for me - the scent is the exact opposite and I find it very provocative, wild, animalistic, with many edges and corners. There will definitely be people who will turn away in disgust and others who will give themselves to it without restraint.

I also cannot imagine for the life of me confronting my colleagues with this, but I will wear it with great pleasure in the club! I am already curious about the reactions and will report on it when I have the chance...

If Mr. Lie were to change his description as follows, he would have hit the absolute jackpot: "A hot guy who just had dirty, uninhibited sex, is now putting on his leather gear again and riding his motorcycle to the next party..."

More of that!

PS: From Tom of Finland, there are also eight different boxes available, each containing different erotic drawings by Touko Laaksonen. Four versions are available with age restrictions and four versions are freely available.

Well, that was a classic case of false expectations - I didn’t expect much, but certainly something completely different from what hit my nose after spraying: It was really as if you had just washed your hands with jasmine soap! You can definitely detect light hints of almond in the background, but I have rarely experienced such a "soapy" scent as this one. The powderiness is still present, but unfortunately, I find no trace of the other notes

Overall, it is by no means unpleasant or disturbing - but I would never spend so much money just to smell like soap. By the way, despite being unisex, it is more suitable for women.