Telekinec

Sooo... I'm still wondering if my sample is the problem or if my skin chemistry is the culprit. I was expecting to love this fragrance based on the notes, but I didn't get what I was hoping for.

It starts very fresh, almost synthetic-like with the pink pepper very subdued on the spiciness. I get absolutely no dates and the saffron only comes later. The latter is very metallic when it appears, almost like smelling fresh blood (?!). A bouquet of florals does make an appearance, but they're all pretty non-descript. Florals here are vintage-like, almost lipsticky and made me think of what my grandmother would wear. Drydown is powdery and sweet due to the vanilla, but also warm and slightly honeyed-like due to the amber and broom.

It's not bad, but it clearly has a specific vibe going here, for which I am not the target. If you love fresh, vintage, floral scents, this could be something nice, but I do recommend testing it out before. All in all, it's a like, not a love and personally, it's missing that little extra oomph.

A very mouth-puckering citric start that had me stopping for a moment. Citrus fruits are dialed way up on the sour scale and less sweet than what I thought it'd be. Underneath that there's a spiciness that enhances the fresh aspect and a subtle green undertone. As it moves on, it starts morphing into an array of florals backed by freshness and a slight spicy tone. Florals are very spring-like and they have a subtle, fleeting fruity and sweet aspect to it that adds dimension to the scent. I can't make out any distinct flower among the bunch, but they do work together! Drydown starts leaning sweeter with some powderiness and a creamy, warm woody end note.

It's very lovely: a true feminine-leaning floral fragrance. I can't attest it smells realistic, like sakura blossoms, since I've never smelled one in real life, but this fragrance could be worn by any lady wanting to smell like a beautiful bouquet of flowers. For my part, I did find it lovely, but it's a like, not a love and I'm not a fan of the powderiness I smelled, so it won't be going into my collection. Still glad I got to try it out!

This is another decant I got at the beginning of my journey where I focused on some of the notes, thinking I'd love them, instead of looking at them all and asking myself how they'd interact on my skin. Going through Ormonde Jayne, I realize how much I've learned since then.

Somewhere around Tauer's fragrances and Abu Dhabi from Memo Paris lies this one: another desert inspired fragrance. It sounds negative by the way I've written my sentence, but nah. It's definitely one of the more palatable ones I've smelled (I'm not the greatest fan of desert inspired fragrances), but still not something I'd wear for myself. Beginning is lovely, with the sweet, paste-like dates, the slightly metallic and creamy saffron and the refinied spiciness from the cinnamon. Things soon start to take a turn when the incense barrels through, uncompromising. Not heavy, but it does suddenly take up all the place on my skin. It's airy, but also very incense-like, smoky with a touch of woodiness in the background. I'm starting to get some cardamom at the base with a subtle sweetness... It definitely veers into the masculine territory for a good while. The far drydown becomes more my thing: a lovely, sweet and creamy vanilla tempered by the earthiness of the oakmoss and a touch of spicy woodiness in the background.

Like I've mentioned, I'm not a fan of desert inspired fragrance (at least none have made it into my collection yet) and I'm also not a fan of incense scents which is the main reason why it won't be making it into my collection. I was hoping dates and saffron would've stuck out stronger and longer, but the incense is definitely the star here (at least for my skin chemistry...).

I remember getting this siample back when I wanted to try as much fragrance as I could without putting thoughts into what I liked / didn't like and how notes interact on my skin. Now that I'm clearing Ormonde Jayne samples, I was pretty apprehensive in testing this one, with good reason.

The beginning is absolutely beautiful with the tropical fruits. I get pineapple as the strongest one, with a subtle sweet mango in the background. Didn't get any other notes although the sweetness did seem dialed up. There's some kind of spicy freshness I assume comes from the rhubarb and cardamom. Doesn't take long before tobacco comes barreling in and destroying everything in its path. I get a dark, almost smoky tobacco with a very strong leathery facet. It's very masculine to my nose and also off-putting since I'm not a great tobacco / leather fan. It ends up becoming a powdery tobacco for awhile before finally settling down on my skin. During its last moments, it becomes powdery, slightly fresh and synthetic, very masculine-leaning.

I won't be going for a full bottle for the obvious reasons listed above. Still glad I got the chance to try it out (the tropical fruit beginning was amazing), but I now know better to look at every notes mentioned in a fragrance instead of focusing on the ones I prefer (and hoping they'll stand out on my skin when they never do).

An effortless fragrance, Levant captures your attention due to its well crafted notes and how well the notes blend with each other. There's a beautiful beginning made with tangy, sweet and bright citrus fruits: a sweet refreshing spritz that remains throughout a good portion of the fragrance which is very nice. There's a subtle, fresh rose that brings depth and links itself to the middle notes. After that, we have lovely and delicate white florals with a peony note. Everything stays sophisticated and elevated. Peony and roses are the strongest notes on my skin along with the subtle citrusy notes I found at the top. Drydown becomes warm with the amber, but also a little bit musky and woody. Not too strong or overpowering, it ends the fragrance beautifully as the citrusy goodness merges with the bottom note.

I do have to say I wasn't expecting much out of this fragrance, but I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Definitely signature worthy and a lovely addition to a collection, I'd wear this fragrance during spring and summer for a citrusy / floral pick-me up. I will be finishing my decant and pondering on a full bottle...