jasperdezoet

I can see how Bloody Wood comes off as vampiric: the sour wine and hints of smoke do a great job evoking a cold, damp, mouldering crypt full of hedonism and debauchery. But in my opinion, the smell is also very human.

One of my favorite things to do is to explore antique co-ops and thrift stores. In my mind, this perfume smells like stepping into a thrift store in the basement of a historical building. There’s water damage, and the woman who runs it chain smokes. The shop is also filled with bold, flashy vintage clothing from the 80s, and the fabric absorbs the smell of mildew and stale cigarette smoke. Party clothes. People who have danced and drank and smoked to their heart’s content. People who wore their hair big and teased up. People who lived, got older, and passed on. People who grew tired of their party clothes and loved ones who would have sorted through the party clothes and relinquished them on the deceased’s behalf.

I suspect it is the cherry, oak, and wine notes together that give Bloody Wood a stale, musty quality. I would argue that the mustiness is central to Bloody Wood’s identity.

While the concept is fun, I would not recommend that anyone go out of their way to buy a full bottle of this. It’s too expensive for the too short lasting power.

Smells exactly like walking into a small business that sells high-end or hand made Christmas decorations once the weather starts to turn. Very warm and comforting as an American New Englander.

This perfume is a powerhouse. Baking spices, cedar, and bourbon by nature have big personalities that demand an audience.

Best for cold weather and cold weather only.

My only criticism about Whisky is that it’s a great scent with even better marketing. If this had been marketed with wholesome “home for christmas” imagery, I wouldn’t have given it the time of day. But leaning into a romanticized 70s rock aesthetic, complete with a beautiful woman in a shag cut, was a brilliant move.

If this fragrance were a color, it would be a dark magenta. It’s a fruity floral that borders on gourmand with the whipped cream accord and rich amber. At the same time, the black orchid, pomegranate, and mahogany lend it enough gravity to make it an ideal scent for a night out.

It’s true that Euphoria is a relatively standard y2k traditionally feminine scent. But it is a good foray for those who love those scents into something a little witchier. Euphoria evokes a similar “dark feminine” mystique that Black Orchid does, but without being as challenging or polarizing.

This is, notably, a rich, heavy scent that can easily get cloying or cause headaches if oversprayed or used in warmer climates. It may have average lasting time on your skin, but it will stay on your clothing for days. Spray your hoodies wisely!

A word of advice if you order a sample online: go with a sprayable vial over a dabber. Dabbing Jasmin et Cigarette directly left a sugary jasmine-lychee boba tea smell on my skin with no trace of cigarette. The atomizer will give the scent more depth, complexity, and balance.

On the surface, Jasmin et Cigarette is exactly what it says on the tin. But it's also a multitasker. I credit this partly to the notes. The cigarette note is dry and somewhat "stale, as opposed to the heavy sweetness of a perfume like Tobacco Vanille. Paired with an understated jasmine (you will not be getting Fracas-levels of white floral sillage and concentration), the scent is smoky enough for colder weather without being stifling in the summer heat.

The notes of hay, apricot, and cumin also add a layer of nuance: think a sort of "my skin but grungier" type of perfume. It achieves a similar effortlessly chic and daring profile like L'Air de Rien without being off-putting (like L'Air de Rien). If I had to describe Jasmin et Cigarette, the phrases that comes to mind would be "a complex female character" and "a lived-in room of one's own."

If ELDO wanted to create a perfume that reconciles "trashiness" with Old Hollywood glamor, with abandon for the rules and an air of sophistication, then they have been successful.

Jasmin... can work for daytime or office work, but really shines at night. It can be worn in all climates.

Let me give you all a tip on it in this one: try it on your skin before you count it out. When I opened the sample vial and simply just smelled it, it was like cough syrup. As in, it smells how cough syrup *tastes*. The dry down on the skin was a different experience. It was nice, dark, and smoky.

Every goth at heart should give this perfume a shot. This is a vampire Halloween costume in a bottle. Just be forewarned that this perfume is like a velvet curtain; it is heavy. You will love it in the fall and winter and avoid it like the plague in the spring and summer.