Advent Calendars

A self-made fragrance advent calendar is a fun idea, love seeing what everyone's doing here for it! 

That's so sweet of you to want to do this for your wife @Mitchcraft ! I don't know what's available pre-made where you are - but TKMaxx carries refillable advent calendars, for a DIY method:

https://www.tkmaxx.com/uk/en/s...

Or for something more custom, these sellers on Etsy are based in the UK:

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=...

Day 7:Patchouli Paris

Opens with a deep, earthy, ultra-grounding patchouli. After that strong start, it fades quickly into a muddy, dusty, sweetened powder puff with weak projection and mid longevity. For the price, it feels average and unnecessary, especially when more impressive patchouli fragrances exist for far less.

Day 7 (since I started a day late)

Mangomina D - first time trying this one. I didn't know what to expect aside from mango, and I am getting the mango notes, but also something which my nose is interpreting as buttery. There is no butter in the note pyramid, but it really smells a bit lactonic, but in a buttery way. It might be the mix of the marine notes with something else. It's an interesting combo, but I am undecided if I'd like to keep it yet or not.

Day 8:Love Me Latte

It's a simple, cozy milky caramel-vanilla. I barely get any coffee. If the name didn’t tell me, I would never guess this was meant to be a coffee fragrance. Very smooth and syrupy.

Day 9:Delphinus

It opens like a soft powdery iris cloud, cosmetic-like, lipsticky, and a little like fine face powder. The almond comes through as a marzipan-like sweetness with subtle cherry undertones. As time goes by and the perfume settles, it starts to smell like sweet warm almonds on the vanillic base.

Day 8

Latte Pistachio - wearing this for the second time. It is a cozy scent. If I didn't have anything else which brought me the same cozy feeling, I might have even considered a bottle, but I do have other ones I prefer. They are not the same, but they bring me the same vibe of coziness and softness - Brit for Women Eau de Parfum, Milk Musk Eau de Toilette, probably there's others too.

Day 9

Pistachio Latte - my husband ended up pulling Latte Pistachio yesterday and Pistachio Latte today 😄 While I enjoyed Latte Pistachio, Pistachio Latte is not my cup of tea at all, like all of the Kalotinis fragrances I've tried so far. They are too sweet, too "bakery" vibes, rather than gourmand perfume. And the duration of this one is abysmal, it disappears in 30 seconds even though from the bottle it seems like it would project for 30 years 😄

@Runnergirl76 Glad to have you here! I think it's nice to share about all kinds of fragrances, imo the affordable ones usually don't have as much information/reviews so it's always interesting to find out about any hidden gems and what's worth trying. 

@Mitchcraft  That's such a sweet idea! I definitely think there are a few places that do that. I remember there was an article of all the advent calendars (mostly UK) with fragrance on basenotes last year (I don't think they've done one this time, unless I missed it). Not super current information but might be helpful. I do remember them being quite expensive though which motivated me to put together my own. 

Bookmarking Accrodisiaque and 001 Woman Eau de Parfum, they sound intriguing!

I had a bit of a hectic weekend and although I've been testing I haven't had time to write up. Might be a bit long, sorry.

Day 6:Mad Honey. This was one I was a bit apprehensive about since I find BTSO very loud (got a few random samples with an order), but I actually really enjoyed it. It smells like very clear honey and fancy, dewy roses. Opulent and just this side of gourmand. I probably will not get a full bottle but I'm definitely keeping the sample.

Day 7:Fanfarone Italiano is a very difficult one for me to describe, I think it's quite far from my usual style. It initially smells a bit like damp coffee grounds and a faint tobacco clarity. Then sweetens with time into a fuzzy, ambery drydown. Not unpleasant but not sure what to make of it either.

Day 8: The Big Smoke This one was unfortunately a scrubber. It was a synthetic tobacco right out the gate. Had a nice afternoon with Cabochard (1959) Eau de Toilette instead.

Day 9:Patchouli Mania was very pleasant. A bit spicy, a bit transparent from the tea. Woody but not heavy. I found it very comfortable and versatile. There is quite a nice, somewhat dark vetiver in the drydown as well. I could see this one making it into my collection.

Day 10:Revelries Starts quite fruity with a bit of clove fading in and out. There is a kind of comfortable sweet warmth to it and an almost jammy quality. I find it abstractly gourmand (delicious but not concretely something). Similar to Pastoral, though I think I prefer this.

Mad Honey and Mangomina D sound so good!

Day 10:Œillères

It genuinely smells like a golden fall afternoon in a field of drying grass and stray chamomile flowers, like burying your face in the hay. But, also, sweaty and animalic (cumin). Smells like a rustic fantasy with questionable hygiene.

Day 11:Glow

It's a fluffy, warm, powdery vanilla-amber scent. It feels instantly familiar, like something I’ve smelled many times before... There’s a soft powderiness, floral elements, and I even get a hint of fruitiness, almost like a sweet apple hiding in the background. The star of the show is definitely the sweet vanilla.

I've added Glow to my future tests 🤩

Day 10:

1970: Tonka, Expansion, Glamour - another one I've worn multiple times without being able to decide if I want to keep it or not. I remember when I first got the sample, it was an instant love and I wore it a few times, but then I left it in peace for a while and the spell it cast on me initially never came around again. I still find it pleasant - it's very soft, warm, beautifully executed. It has no sharp edges, just a creamy concoction to fall into. It's cozy and very suitable for cold Autumn and Winter days. At the same time it feels a little bit boring to me. I do enjoy it, but I wish there was a little bit more to it, something to surprise the senses.

The first part of your Œillères review sounds absolutely perfect but I have no idea how you persisted through that level of animalics. Interesting one to test though.

Day 11: Elixir, had this one hanging around for a while. I was a bit apprehensive because of the low ratings but it's actually very enjoyable. It's very bitter, spicy and almost green around the edges at first (I think the combination of coffee and patchouli). A bit like scorched wood. Then a sweet, burnt caramel rises up and it stays at that gourmand stage for a while. Quite persistent, but I personally don't find it cloying. I think that sweet, burnt smell is very similar to the one Kerosene often uses, like in Sweetly Known.

Not sure what everyone else is smelling for this one, there's some very interesting reviews.

Day 12: Eau Duelle Eau de Parfum

Very nice gourmand vanilla ice cream, impressively accurate. I got some bursts of pink pepper and if I really pressed my nose to my wrist I can detect the faint incense. Otherwise fairly simple, linear, and well done.

Next year I think I'm going to build some palate cleansers into the samples, I think I went too heavy on the woody/ambery/gourmand genre so I'm craving some unsweetened leafy greens. Oops.

Day 11:

Wore a lot more than I was planning to today. First up was Pulp - this one is really complicated for me to make a decision on. It's somehow incredibly alluring, but at the same time when I am wearing it - very off-putting. The scent is indeed of really ripe fruit or even slightly fermented. It is quite sweet, but in a very unique way. My mom said it smells like a basement to her which I could also understand 😂 I enjoy it from the bottle, but on me... It's just nauseating. I don't know if I can get along with this one.

Then I wore Ice(d) - minty mango. It's pleasant and quite refreshing, but I'll need to give it another go later this month.

To finish off the night, I used Today Eau de Parfum - such a beautiful fragrance. It's not part of my advent calendar but hey, I wore it and it was part of my decision to also wear all my bottles at least twice this year, so maybe it is part of the advent calendar in a way.

It was challenging. I dabbed a tiny amount from my dabber... it didn’t project much, which is how I was able to tolerate it for 6–7 hours. After that, I just had to shower, even though it was still going strong. I’m surprised that other reviewers said the cumin-musk situation wasn’t sweaty or dirty at all on them, so, maybe it’s chemistry-dependent. Fun to test anyway; you never know what to expect.

Day 12:Chelsea Staircase

Right off the bat I smell a dark, herbal honey. Not syrupy at all, more aromatic, with a touch of spice. There’s also a faint citrusy tea nuance, followed by a very unusual metallic note. Not cold, but warm and slightly rusty, like coins held in your hand and warmed by body heat. As it dries down, the metallic facets slowly fade and the tea becomes more apparent, dry rather than citrusy, like loose tea leaves sitting in a jar.

Day 13:Brioche

It doesn’t smell like brioche, baked goods, wheat, or yeast at all. Instead, it comes across as honey and floral hay, light, meadow-y, with gentle grasses and a transparent sweetness. There is nothing bread-like or buttery here whatsoever. Which is a real bummer given the name and expectation.

Day 12:

Another bottle today, just in the evening, to make sure all my bottles get at least 2 wears this year. It was By the Fireplace. I love this one, but it's so specific that it's difficult to find a good day to wear it. Yesterday we hosted a small Christmas gathering so it felt like the right occasion.

Day 13:

In the morning, another wear of Ice(d) to get more of a feel for it. It's pleasant, I felt some basil notes too in addition to the minty mango. Refreshing.

In the evening, Naxos - every time I wear this, I love this, and yet I often think I should declutter this decant because I never wear it. But it's absolutely stunning!

Day 14:Mistpouffer

Definitely reminds me of Christmas, like pine branches in the house mixed with the soft, comforting smell of sweet treats in the background. I wouldn’t call it sugary, but it carries a natural, sappy, resinous sweetness that feels organic rather than candy-like.

Day 15:Santal Austral Extrait de Parfum

It opens very wood and iris forward, like pencil shavings / dry sandalwood. It feels cool, austere, and slightly dusty at first. As it dries down, the sweet cardamom really takes over and the scent shifts into a warm, spicy composition, which makes the opening and drydown feel almost like two different perfumes.

I think it might also be a bit of a bias since a lot of people seeking it out like animalics? They probably have a higher threshold for what's considered strong.