What did you test today?

My friend gifted me the Les Jardins Francais collection by Buly and I tested each one today. These are very impressive, though not every one of them is good for every day wear.

Les Jardins Français - Patate Douce des Caraïbes et Carotte d'Afghanistan

Les Jardins Français - Betterave d'Irak et Rhubarbe d'Egypte

Les Jardins Français - Cresson d'Orient et Persil de Sardaigne

Les Jardins Français - Verveine des Andes et Basilic d'Ulu

Les Jardins Français - Concombre d'Inde et Menthe de Syrie

Les Jardins Français - Groseille de Scandinavie et Tomate du Pérou

Rose Tonnerre

Red Tobacco

This is very artificial to my nose, though I probably wouldn't dislike it in passing on another person. It's a common quality with Mancera & Montale perfumes for me. I think I'm good with not trying more from them in the future.

Silver Mountain Water absolutely gorgeous 🤍

Azure Lime

Gentleman Givenchy Eau de Parfum Boisée (could have been a different flanker but was one of these and smelled like Bentley for Men Intense

out of the 3 Silver Mountain Water is hitting my wish list for sure.

né il giorno né l'ora. Needs a few more tries before I come to any definitive conclusions, but hey, at least it warrants more tries. A lot of fun, this one. Completely mundane, yet delightfully new and refreshing. Citruses hidden beneath layers of musks and resins genuinely made me laugh.

Over the last few days I've sampled:

Blanche Bête - really liked this one and was happy the dry down didn't turn into another basic vanilla like many fragrances with vanilla bases do. Not sure I'll get a full bottle of it, but maybe a decant. I'll decide after I finish my sample eventually.

Relique d'Amour (2012) - Really liked this one and was surprised by how much I did. I still need to sample it more, but I kind of already want a bottle of it from first impressions.

Escentric Molecules 01-05: Got a sample set of this free with a recent purchase. I'm pretty "meh" about them. I did like Escentric 02 , but not enough for a bottle.

Nightingale : I liked this a lot and get why others have said it has a vintage vibe to it. It reminds me of Parfum Initial by Guerlain - not that it smells exactly the same, but it's in the same powdery vein. I love the bottle art, too, which tempts me because I love birds, but it might be another decant purchase if I do get it because it's not one I'd wear a lot, but still like it enough to want to have it on hand.

Macaque Fuji Apple Edition: An included sample that was in the order with the Nightingale sample I ordered. I never would have tried this on my own, but I'm glad I got to because I did enjoy it. It's not something I'd personally wear, but it makes me want to try other Zoologist fragrances aftersampling it along with Nightingale.

Cardinal : I wanted to try this because it was said to be similar to Comme des Garçons' Avignon, which has been hard for me to find a bottle of. I ended up getting it in a decant size and wow, very nice, very strong, and I'm happy with it as an alternative to Avignon.

Fracas Eau Fraîche

V Eau de Parfum

Oud Radieux

Bal à Versailles Parfum

Splendida - Magnolia Sensuel

Animalique

Encre Noire à L'Extrême

Big Pony Collection for Women - 2

I find most Montale & Mancera fragrances to smell very synthetic. It seems like the primary design criteria is "big and loud" with the rest of the fragrance structure falling in line behind that. Having said that, sometimes the artificiality works for me. I actually like Red Tobacco because it smells an awful lot like gasoline. Which is an odd note to enjoy, but I do!

Today I'm testing Opus XII - Rose Incense and enjoying it quite a bit. In the beginning, the inky note pulls downward on an otherwise etherial, dusty, bright pink rose. However as the composition is unfolding (I'm about 2.5 hours in) the inky note has faded, which leaves me smelling rose, myrrh, and frankincense, all of which are lovely but smell like the olfactory equivalent of treble and mid-range audio. This is leaving the composition without any bass and that always smells incomplete to me. We'll see how the rest of the evolution goes!

I tried the new Stronger With You Powerfully which smells a lot like SWY Intensely but with a little cherry on top but my nose has not been working properly recently, however my wife said after an hour it just smelled exactly like Intensely so yeah maybe buy something with cherry to layer on top of intensely instead of a whole new fragrance for an hours difference? Saying this I am a cherry lover btw. 

Tested Eau Capitale Eau de Parfum didn't like it.

I tried Foresta Magica, Fig Extrait, Orange, Hibiscus and Tartak Augustyna as I received some samples with my order. Really disappointed by Foresta Magica I had it on my list to try and it's not it for me. Hibiscus is okay, but I realise I am not the biggest fan of it in perfumes. Tartak Augustyna smells exactly like a wood workshop, interesting concept but not something I'd necessarily wear. As for Fig and Orange, good blind buys, but more likes than love

Testing Black Caviar today, the last of my three Electimuss decants. Usually whatever decant I save for last turns out to be a huge disappointment, but a girl has to get lucky sometimes. I'm actually enjoying this one a fair bit. I might have a thing for pungent bitter aquatics. Who'd have thunk it.

Sorry, I'm just seeing this, and yes, I really agree with your comments! I actually used to love the smell of gasoline myself when I was a child, so I can totally see where you are coming from. 😄

Got my order of LVNEA samples and started testing Ghost Pine Perfume Oil and Violet Woods .

My Nishane discovery set just came in the mail, which also coincided with me reaching my little 350 tested perfumes milestone. So I gave that 350th spot to Ani Extrait de Parfum.

And sure. It's neat! The pastry variety it goes through as it dries down is fun and delicious, and ambergris base keeps them all warm and fresh. It's not for me, but I can see why it's held in high regard by other people.

Tested Green Tea Eau Parfumée as it was at my parents’ house. While I love bergamot and citrus in general, here the top notes remind me of dish soap. The drydown is decent. It’s good enough I could use it as a room spray but I don’t think like I would buy it for me. Maybe I will change my mind. My mother dislikes it as well. Maybe we used the same dish soap !

Unfortunately not tested : For Her Eau de Parfum In the train, a woman left me magazines (the ones with free fragrance samples) at my table when she left. However I was overwhelmed by the gesture and too scared of being seen as a theft by the other passengers so I didn’t even bother to take them. I feel guilty because it was so kind.

Tested Rum Bay Rum the other day from a sample obtained from D.S. & Durga. Very familiar smelling, but i can't specifically identify which fragrance it smells like. It's a pleasant fragrance bu it didn't excite me. I'll be able to get another wear out of the sample and maybe I'll get a better feel for this.

Spent this morning with Tuberóza Extrait de Parfum – a lovable tuberose salad. It's not exactly what I'm looking for, but it is interesting! I might have to wear it again. It's not an immediate "yes", but I do feel an inner nudge to keep it for the time being. The best Nishane out of the 6 I've tried thus far.

Spent the evening testing Guilty Absolu de Parfum pour Homme. It's not for me, but it has its praiseworthy moments. A matter of personal taste, like any other, but imo it's much more cozy and balanced compared to Guilty Elixir de Parfum pour Homme. I wouldn't wear it, but it's something I could enjoy on someone else.

Hinoki in Hinoki I'm really liking it...

Jardins de Bagatelle.

il Flâneur Eau de Parfum Review coming tomorrow.

Beautiful lilac in Totally White/126 to compare it to En Passant.

Testing Sultan Vetiver. The notes are chock-full of things I love, and yet (or maybe precisely because of the expectation that inevitably comes from that?) the end result smells like 4/10 to me. My darling vetiver... Damp, rotting away beneath a pile of spicy glue, pungent leather and acrid booze... Welp, I suppose that too is an experience.

Bittersweet Oud. While I enjoyed the scent when I smelled it on a blotter, I wasn't able to pick it up on my skin. Sadly, it did nothing for me.