Yatagan

Uncommented Fragrances No. 190

Eventually, one lands on Parfumo, and the search for the next big hype, the next kick, and the next surprise begins. After testing nearly 13,000 fragrances, I can confidently state that this is often just a mirage. Disappointments prevail, and the disillusionment with blind buys, sharing, and decants dominates - more and more. Strangely, this has not led me to resignation. I am still curious.

In 2024, as a reward after much triviality, I did make a charming discovery in the realm of artisan fragrances, which I had initially turned away from in 2018, only to return to them in the 2020s: Kamila Aubre. A small Belgian brand, a one-woman project by the eponymous perfumer, which I like in every respect: the approach of preferring natural ingredients, the selection of fragrance materials, the simple bottles, and the aesthetic online presence are all convincing. Moreover, some fragrances truly offer something new, even if not everything appeals to me equally:

- the idiosyncratic yet simple meadow scent Dark Meadow Eau de Parfum
- the reinvention of an aquatic fragrance with Shell 1927 Eau de Cologne
- the dark, dense blend of coffee, cocoa, and mushrooms in Ella and Lil Eau de Parfum
- the corporeal iris-tea-mushroom mixture in Gloire de Dijon Eau de Parfum
- the enchanting salt-hay-lavender and juniper berry infusion Tir a'Mhurain Eau de Parfum

And now, therefore, Soliloquy Eau de Parfum: the perfumer's self-talk - far removed from common chatter about niche, mainstream, and hype.

Amber here does not mean amber, ambrox(an), or cetalox, but apparently really still means sperm whale by last name. Together with the earthy spicy and subtly animalistic scent of porcini mushrooms, as well as the tannins from tea, an aromatic bitter, somewhat muted, and rough mineral smell emerges, emphasized by further harsh green tones. I do not really perceive sour bergamot; perhaps the bitter substances play a more significant role here as well.
Whether this is still perfume, scent, or odor must be decided after a test. For me, Soliloquy Eau de Parfum is both a pleasant scent and an everyday wearable fragrance, as well as a meditative self-experience: the self-talk speaks softly, somewhat shyly, but distinctly and clearly with me.
I believe that Kamila Aubre generally aims in this direction and has created some beautiful treasures in the process.

Merry Christmas to all readers!

Uncommented Fragrances No. 189

For obvious reasons, this review is gender-specific: I apologize for that!

As a long-time Tabac user, the famous opal glass bottle of Tabac Original After Shave Lotion (not to be confused with the other versions of Tabac Original) is still a staple in my bathroom, even though I now prefer other post-shave products, such as "Lotion opaline | Les Bénédictines de Chantelle."

In my opinion, the aesthetics and functionality of the Tabac bottle are unmatched, and if someone were to ask me about the most beautiful flacons in the history of fragrance, it would make my Desert Island list, alongside the flacons of Mitsouko Eau de Toilette and the cylindrical spray bottle of Ho Hang Eau de Toilette (as a surprise guest on this list).

Of course, a bottle is worthless if the contents don't impress, but fortunately, that is the case with the three mentioned above.

The new Tabac Original edition Tabac Original Black Edition has already caused some nervousness among bearded individuals: a beautiful bottle, almost as lovely as the original in white, but how does the content perform?

After a first test a few hours after purchase, I can conclude that I find the scent only moderately appealing (which isn't as bad as one might fear when looking at the list of ingredients). Citrusy notes, pepper, and cedar leaf are thankfully identifiable, lavender and incense are subtle yet plausible, Cypriol and most of the aroma chemicals behave appropriately. However, what bothers me - as so often - is the excess of ISO-E-Super, which I usually don't find that super, as it dilutes the fragrance with a delicately woody, vaguely creamy, sweetish, and somewhat musky veil that overshadows the other notes and makes them appear warm and soft. According to surveys from the fragrance industry, ISO-E-Super is very popular.

If you belong to that group, buy the fragrance!
If not, buy it anyway for the beautiful bottle!

Uncommented Scents No. 188

Mathew Sabatino and his small manufactory (he calls it a workshop) Barnaby Black first caught my attention about six years ago when the first of his fragrances could be imported to Europe. All scents are convincing due to an almost strict closeness to nature and the idea of foraging herbs, roots, and flowers outdoors to distill fragrances in-house. His motto: "go out into the forest, forage wild aromatics & botanicals & put that into every bottle." It doesn't get more authentic than this, and you can smell it: green, herbal, coniferous, bright resinous, earthy: found by the roadside, gathered, and processed in the shed behind the house. What stands out is the consistently high quality. Hardly any product falls short; it is always not just "smell," but a wearable scent (assuming a preference for the mixture described above), and despite a certain pattern, the end products do vary significantly.

One of his newer results from the aforementioned foraging activities is now the Solid Field Songs from 2023, not to be confused with Field Song (without the plural -s and from 2018), a perfume that is very similar but not identical.

Currently, Field Songs seems to be available only as a Solid (perfume cream), which simplifies shipping to Germany. Furthermore, I find this form quite practical. You can easily carry the scents in a bag and apply them at any time, even if the aura is rarely too strong: The projection essentially remains reserved for the wearer.

I noticed Field Songs primarily because of its distinctive ingredients. First, there are the three unobtrusively beautiful sisters by the roadside: Ragwort (not to be confused with Blue Ragwort), Goldenrod (known in Germany mainly as Canadian Goldenrod), and Yarrow (often confused with Wild Carrot). With all three, unfortunately often overlooked as weeds, I love the small, delicate yellow and white flowers that can create a carpet of sunshine, especially in dense growth.

Since they are rarely processed in fragrances and smell rather herbal, grassy, like a dried flower in nature, I cannot make any further differentiation here, but I will return to the overall impression of the scent.

In addition, Field Songs features familiar notes such as Artemisia (bitter herbal, wormwood-like), Juniper, and Mint. And if honey were not included, the overall result would likely smell much more repulsively bitter and herbaceous green, but it achieves a good balance between moderate bitterness and subtle softness.

Together with the aforementioned three sisters from the roadside, a very quiet song rises, which you can really only perceive through the rustling of the wind likely processed within, and which smells green herbal, slightly woody, bright resinous, and waxy (due to the coconut oil-beeswax base), minimally sweet, and in fine contrast aromatic bitter: very intimate, very ethereal, very shy, but beautiful.

Uncommented Scents No. 187

Reyna, the head and nose behind Botica Botanica, summarizes her intention as follows:
"I want to create a unique experience ... using all-natural and beneficial ingredients. I want it to be a personal experience -- shared only with those who are close, not everyone within a 15 foot radius."

That’s already very sympathetic, but it only partially applies to "Beach Agate | Botica Botanica," as the projection is quite impressive. Also, regarding "all-natural," one must question how natural scent components like sand, salty air, driftwood, seashells, and campfire can really be, but at least it is true that there are various essential oils that rely on natural ingredients for the aforementioned components.

Shell grit (ground seashell) is readily available - and appears repeatedly in fragrances, such as in "Onycha | DSH Perfumes," "Flores Island (Eau de Parfum) | Flore Botanical Alchemy," or Mer - salt is naturally available as sea salt, burnt wood possibly in the form of a base with Amyris oil, driftwood as an accord among others with patchouli, etc.

So how does it all smell together: smoke is diffusely perceptible, thus remaining subtle, the scent of salt and driftwood typically reminds one of seawater, yet associations with algae scents or aquatic fragrances do not arise in my opinion.
Seashells and sand add mineral accents, especially the ground seashells always have for me an underlying, very subtle, almost ethereal animal vibe: as if life in the sea - along with the seagrass - is captured as a splash of color in the scent.

Why the fragrance also appears sweet, I cannot say, but I would have preferred to do without it, and ultimately this impression leads to a moderate downgrade. Otherwise, I would have rated Beach Agate even better.

Uncommented Scents No. 186

After I stumbled upon scents with gorse through the advanced search here (cf. Marterosso Eau de Toilette and my last review on it), I quickly found "Gorseland | Jorum Studio," which already has gorse in its name (Gorse Land) and also boasts a bunch of incredibly rare ingredients.

Radiant-less (meaning flower-less) chamomile dominated the excellent "Hylnds - Spirit of the Glen | D.S. & Durga," Balkan geranium (a type of geranium / crane's-bill with geraniol, also known as a medicinal plant) can be found in the lovely "Pear + Olive | Slumberhouse," and gooseberry is a significant part of the majestic Land of Warriors: good prerequisites for an exciting scent, especially since you can truly perceive all three in Gorseland. Additionally, there are such rare fragrance notes as wood apple, tragacanth, elderflower, spiraea, and woodruff, which one might find in well-maintained parks, but here it should be referred to rather generally as a cuvée of green notes. Since I do not belong to the people who simply (almost) copy all ingredients and claim to smell them, let's leave it at that. Feel free to complain below if you wish.

In addition to the three aforementioned scent-defining notes, a shy lavender and the ordinary (not radiant-less) chamomile can also be well perceived. However, you should put in a bit of effort!
The analysis of whether one could detect cannabis here, I leave to the more experienced consumers: I do not like the smell and, fortunately, I believe I do not smell anything here.

You might now come up with the idea that Jorum wanted to pull a gag with Gorseland and could have mixed as many exotic green notes into a fragrance as possible, but Euan McCall usually knows what he is doing, and he indeed has a tendency to combine quirky, rare, and yet olfactorily aesthetic notes (compare his other fragrances) - and I swear to you: the aforementioned combination is extraordinarily beautiful! However, one must like chamomile and gorse. Then it fits perfectly.