Tiane

After being very impressed with the Navitus fragrances so far, I had the opportunity today to test a scent from the sister brand - Vivamor Perfumes - for the first time.
From the Vivamor Discovery Kit, I first chose Candy Pop because I was promised roasted chestnut. I really like the scent of chestnuts, and I find it unfortunately appears far too rarely in perfumes. However, I don't smell much of the chestnuts here.
At the beginning, the fragrance smells very intense of caramel and butter, a bit of vanilla, and really very sweet. And surprisingly flat. I would have expected more complexity.
It strongly reminds me of an e-cigarette liquid that my brother once adored, which had some fancy name. Some pancake or cookie scent. It’s definitely like someone took a deep drag from a delicious gourmand liquid and blew it in my face. As if a visible and dense cloud of fragrance molecules envelops you. That’s okay for a moment, but if it went on like that for too long, it would be a bit overwhelming.
However, the scent quickly becomes less intense and reminds me more of Lann-Aël. The intense sweetness diminishes a bit. The popcorn turns into cereal, but the butter doesn’t turn into milk; it remains distinctly noticeable, as does the vanilla. I also imagine a bit of apple. There’s little floral, little citrus. Unfortunately, I don’t smell bergamot at all throughout the entire duration. I think that would have really benefited the fragrance, adding a touch of freshness and an additional interesting note to round it out.
After a while, a non-sweet base can also be sensed. Possibly cedar. This unsweet note reminds me of the Navitus fragrances I know; perhaps they share the same core DNA after all. The strongest impression remains that of buttery sweet grain. So, caramel is not necessarily what I associate most with Caramel Pop.

Overall, I feel like something is missing here that would make the fragrance more interesting. I like gourmands. But rather those that surprise with unusual notes (chestnuts, sesame, peanut, etc.), which are not sweet and where gourmand notes don’t stay isolated. Just like in Divine Aphrodisiac where vetiver joins sesame and peanut.

Caramel Pop is rather a somewhat surprising gourmand.
Anyone who simply celebrates buttery sweet grain with vanilla undertones and doesn’t want to smell anything else throughout the entire fragrance journey will be very satisfied here. I haven’t smelled anything comparable. And what the fragrance also does really well at the beginning, I find, is conveying compactness and heaviness. Very dense molecules. A bit of sugar dissolved in butter and heated until all the water has evaporated.

In the end, I am only minimally disappointed. It was a sufficiently solid start into the Vivamor world.

I wish it were a fragrance from a renowned perfume house. An expensive, noble jewel. One that outshines all other bottles when it stands on the shelf. Almost a collector's item. Desirable. Known and revered in certain circles.

I have often been delighted by a scent, written an enthusiastic comment, only to grow tired of it so quickly. Not that I would completely retract the comment. It was all genuinely felt at that moment. But it just didn't last long. The sample was promising and enchanting. The search for the bottle exciting. Then the bottle arrived. Disappointing.

Here it was different. Blind swap. Few expectations. Smells damn good at first. I wear it for several days in a row. Still enchanting. Wow, this could be a candidate for a comment. Signature scent? I don't think I have one, why limit myself? But I still can't get enough of it.

Well, I just wish the fragrance were unique and high-ranking in every respect, in every detail it communicates - from name, bottle, packaging to marketing and the way and where I buy it - as unique and high-ranking as what it communicates olfactorily. If I already find this special scent, couldn't it please be a perfume that is perfect all around? I feel superficial with this thought, which I actually? am not. Maybe it's simply the fact that it deserves it.

The scent is not oriental at all in my perception. Not cloying or heavy. If anything, it is an extremely bright, light gourmand. Flowers play a rather subordinate role. It is also not animalistic or particularly spicy.

What I perceive as most dominant is walnut and the lightest white chocolate vanilla. I usually don't like to compare perfume with desserts - I can only handle scents that smell very foody and sweet to a limited extent. The description tempts, but wearing it shocks. Unfortunately.
But here the white chocolate fits quite well. Nevertheless, the scent is rather unsweet. Only vanilla and rose provide a subtle sweetness. It is indeed a tad woody. But also airy. Calling the amber in the fragrance pyramid dry was extremely fitting. You can hardly smell it, and it is not very animalistic, but very mild and tame. I am still not sure if the scent is powdery. I think it has something powdery, but never dusty. More like sparkling, even. Sometimes I have this association that a scent smells sparkling, like champagne sparkles, just without alcohol. It could be that the hawthorn triggers this for me. I had seen through googling that many find the smell of blooming hawthorn in nature disgusting. I don't know exactly how that smells. For me, hawthorn is cool elegance. Chanel beige.

I don't want to write much more about the scent. I hope there will be (many) more comments.
If the fragrance is not an expensive, rare jewel, I want to focus on the benefits. I hope that many of you - especially my gourmand, vanilla, and powder friends - can enjoy this vanilla-nut airy delight thanks to the affordable price.
It is special one way or another. It doesn't have to be exclusive. I like to share this treasure with you.

From Sylvaine Delacourte's collection of musks, Florentina seems to be the most popular so far.
Florentina is undoubtedly a beautiful fragrance and will certainly secure a firm place among the powdery scents. However, I find it a bit too agreeable, too perfect, and a tad too sweet - at least too sweet to wear every day at the office.
Smeraldo is the scent that fascinates me the most. It is not super eccentric, but less sweet and more interesting, promising not to become boring too quickly (is it a known perfume phenomenon that one gets used to a scent far too quickly and then immediately needs something new?).
Perhaps it's also because I don't know a comparable fragrance. Maybe one of those moments when you discover a new olfactory world and are simply blown away because there is suddenly so much new hunting ground ;-)

With Smeraldo, I find it striking that the scent impression varies greatly depending on how close you get to the skin. When I smell very close to the skin, the fragrance smells herb-bitter, herbal, and especially citrusy at the beginning.
The scent cloud that surrounds me a few hours after spraying smells completely different - not herb-bitter at all, but floral-fruity. "Floral-fruity" is actually a scent description that lies somewhere between an insult and a warning for me. However, I mean it in the best sense here. Not sweet-floral-fruity-syrupy, but naturally fruity and subtly floral.
Specifically: I perceive a wonderfully intertwined mix of pear, angelica, and hawthorn most strongly. I would not have thought that pear could work so well in a fragrance. But we are not dealing with an overripe pear, nor a sour, unripe pear. And we are far from pear aroma. It smells different, mildly green-fruity. This might also be because the fragrance notes have been wonderfully blended together, creating a completely new scent impression. Overall, this is definitely more than just the sum of its parts.
The warm-spicy angelica can be detected and reminds me of Angelique Noire, where I also find it absolutely stunning. The hawthorn reminds me of Chanel's Beige and adds elegance to the fragrance. I can only sense the rose and think that it beautifully rounds off the overall impression along with a slightly citrusy scent.
Often, this overall sweet-mild, cold-warm, and green-smelling mixture reminds me of the start of Omnia Amethyste (scent note "green plant juice"). Some might associate the scent with wild woodruff or coumarin.
Neither vetiver nor cedar stands out to me; we definitely do not have a vetiver-heavy fragrance and no pronounced woody base. The mastic shrub does not make the scent woody, but simply gives it a slightly edgier and more interesting character.
I currently enjoy wearing Smeraldo very much in winter and find it suitable, but it will certainly fit even better in spring and summer. Truly a year-round fragrance.
Smeraldo feels super elegant and reminds me, in the way it combines high-class with understatement, of Chanel's Beige. However, I like it much better. I would actually love to have this fresh, noble understatement for the office every day - and I mean right now. It also fits well in the office. Although it almost feels too good for that. I think it's time for me to get familiar with how to start a sharing. Because I can no longer manage the 100 ml bottle - after 10 ml, something new is needed again. The new hunting ground also needs to be explored :)

Systematically, I go through each new fragrance sample and test them, deciding whether to keep them or place them in the souk.
Sometimes, thanks to dear Parfumos, there are completely unknown scents that I have never looked up.
The only thing I know about these fragrances is the small writing on the sample tube.
With these samples, I have little expectation before testing, hardly anything that would influence me.
However, this also means that I am not as excited. It is not the same appreciation as I feel for a fragrance that I explicitly wanted to acquire in exchange, one whose scent pyramid I know inside and out.
I probably do not dedicate enough time or attention to these faceless fragrances. Because I do not know their story.
In the end, I probably too often hastily place the samples in the souk.
How many true fragrance treasures might I have already overlooked?

Fath de Fath was one such sample that I received as a goodie months ago. A small original sample with golden writing.
Jacques Fath meant nothing to me. Never heard of him. Although I love gold, the writing on the sample seemed rather old-fashioned.
I expected a floral bomb that would overwhelm me and would quickly end up in the souk.
But there was something about this fragrance. The sample was quickly empty - and Fath de Fath made it onto my watch list.
I am so glad that I recognized back then what a wonderful fragrance I was allowed to test - and I am confident that I will not overlook true fragrance treasures in the future when I encounter them.

After many months, I hold a sample in my hands again. I am now really getting to know Fath de Fath - taking my time...

I primarily smell peach and a little plum along with the wonderful soft and warm base - where I believe I can smell all the listed fragrance notes. They are incredibly well blended. The flowers are subtle and powdery.
At first, the scent is spicier and slightly bitter (tuberose?), later it becomes softer and reduces to peach and vanilla.
It is not what I would call an oriental. Is it a fruity chypre?
Other fragrances that I perceive as "peach scents," like Taylor by Taylor Swift or Ame Toscane by Isabell Derroisné - seem pale and one-dimensional in comparison.
I am not sure how much I can rely on my memory of Royal Extract by Guerlain; it has been so long since I was able to test it. But I believe there is a certain similarity.

Fath de Fath actually evokes memories of Indian myths that I read as a child.
I do not remember details - just that there was a divine nectar - Amrita or Ambrosia.
It must have fascinated me back then. The golden color that I have loved for a long time.
The promise of immortality. An irresistible, sweet taste, a divine treasure.
The moment feels particularly special to me. The fragrance has brought forth a detail that otherwise has no significance for me, has never occupied me.
Especially since I generally hardly deal with the past. I do not like photos and quickly part with anything that serves only as a memory - toys, CDs, books,...
I am impressed. and I am sure: this is exactly how Ambrosia must smell.

Fath de Fath is a life elixir, warm and golden like the sun.
The crystal bottle refracts the light into all the colors of the rainbow.
The fragrance exudes just the right amount of sweetness. Heavy, yet subtle and elegant.
A masterful composition - multifaceted, complex, harmonious, and unfathomable.
A precious, golden nectar reserved only for the gods.

I was so sure that I had found a variant of Sensuous Nude here and had already prepared a comment, which I then mostly discarded shortly after when the association with Isles Lointaines suddenly dominated. I had never experienced such a strong change in my scent impression in such a short time. Therefore, Montana 80 is a transformative artist for me, a refined and complex fragrance.

The first impressions after spraying are: tropical-fruity, light coconut, a little different, summer. By no means a typical summer fragrance. No mainstream sugary fruit punch. No aquatic or fresh scent. Because there is a base here that brings a heavier counterpoint to the fruity impression.
A melting woody, warm base like in Sensuous Nude.

I will stick with the comparison to Sensuous Nude, as overall I still have the strongest idea of “Light variant of Sensuous Nude” with Montana 80, and based on that, one can best get an impression of the fragrance, in my opinion.

The direct comparison:

Montana 80:
- Top note: Mandarin, pink pepper
- Heart note: Iris, bay leaf, orange blossom, tuberose
- Base note: Amber, sandalwood, vanilla, cedar

Sensuous Nude:
- Top note: Sicilian bergamot, mandarin, black pepper, pink pepper
- Heart note: Honey, jasmine, coconut water, lily of the valley, musk
- Base note: Amber, melted woods, musk, heliotrope, sandalwood, vanilla

The tropical touch, which I sometimes perceive as more fruity and sometimes more floral, sets Montana 80 apart. The floral mixture in the heart is generally obvious, which is diffuse and slightly tropical. In Sensuous Nude, jasmine dominates here.
What is common to both is the base and a similar coconut note (not sweet cream coconut, but rather coconut water). Strangely, one can also smell slight coconut notes in Montana 80 that are not listed in the fragrance pyramid.
I find the amber-wood, vanilla base of both fragrances very similar and super delicious. In Sensuous Nude, the base note combined with honey and jasmine feels significantly stronger to me, which is why I perceive it as heavier and sweeter and wear it more in winter than in summer (coconut in the fragrance does not necessarily make it a summer scent). Montana 80 is fundamentally less punchy, the base less dominant; together with the tropical-fruity-floral touch, it therefore comes across more as a summer-light variant of Sensuous Nude at times.

Montana 80 has very good longevity, a balanced, good sillage - not too close to the skin, but also not intrusive.
After a few hours, the fragrance - if you don't sniff directly at the skin - has a bit of Isles Lointaines for me, predominantly appearing diffuse and floral, reminding me a little of Monoi. I can't quite explain this transformation, and I wonder if I'm the only one who smells this floral scent towards the end?

Overall, Montana 80 is an exciting and very pleasant summer fragrance. Exciting not in the sense that it clashes; it certainly doesn't make enemies. But in a more subtle way, exciting. Through various facets, a beautiful progression, and a slight exoticism without reminding one of sticky mainstream summer fragrances. Montana 80 is definitely worth a test (and for me, a comment).