Perfume Reviews by thrilledchilled

Oltremare by Bois 1920

I find this mineralic, oceany. I don’t get sweet at all, nor much rhubarb. I do get tea. Very pleasant and unusual. Juniper, maybe the mate.

Millésime Impérial by Creed

this is my favorite scent that I keep coming back to. I am not sure why. It has salt, aquatic elements, melon, ambergris. It is just fantastic, in the vintage editions. There are huge differences pre-2016 and I have bottles from that era.

Chéngmén by January Scent Project

Very lovely and balanced florals, champaca, aldehydes, costus, oud. The magic of this is that it is very well thought through and balanced, and the ouds are very pleasant as a background to the rest and none of them are barnyard or skanky. This is so well done as a perfume that uses oud as a supporting player rather than a star, and it really works.

Oud De Grand by Feel Oud

You have to enjoy jasmine and Thai oud. That’s what this is. The jasmine is very refined and real. It is not super strongly indolic, but seems to ooze quality and the oud is just right. This is a simple composition that depends upon two amazing natural perfume substances and it works.

Moving On by St. Clair Scents

Very very green. Develops a bit like aldehydes and galbanum as the centerpiece. A bit like Phileas by Nina Ricci. Very nice. Like putting your nose into a massive green bush.

Cheyenne by Parfums Karmic Hues

This perfume was shocking to me. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and I have a very large collection and have tried many many perfumes.

It really brings to mind a walk along a quiet mountain stream. The water is there, although this is nothing like an “aquatic”.

The soil, the trees, the fresh air. It is the most magnificent snapshot of the outdoor walk by the streams in the woods I’ve experienced. And it is deeply contemplative. If you were perfume for yourself, you will want to try this. It is truly a masterpiece from Karmic Hues.

Pool Boy by Clandestine Laboratories

Just love this cheerful, citrusy scent. It is such a delight, so happy, so lightweight and yet complex. It carries the scent of the idea of a pool boy, somehow. Really phenomenal to my nose.

I’ve got almost everything from the house. Mark sent me a sample of this maybe 8 or 10 months ago. I was struck by how good it is, instantly in love. Needless to say, I ordered a full bottle. In fact, now I have 3 bottles of Pool Boy.

This is Mark Sage’s masterpiece.

Think along the lines of what Jacques Cavalier is doing with Louis Vuitton these days, like Afternoon Swim, for instance…

…and Pool Boy is much better than your favorite in that line.

Pool Boy is unique because it is definitely sparkling and effervescent and summer-y, but unlike most “freshies” it’s also INTERESTING and keeps your attention, rewarding you with many facets. Most freshies are a bit boring and one-sided, but Pool Boy keeps on changing as you wear it.

There really is an ice tea to this and guava. Amazing. Not just one of my favorite summer-y perfumes, but one of my all time favorites,.

Chypre No. 1 by Darren Alan

very high quality chypre that develops beautifully. Smells very natural (because it contains a lot of naturals) and very pleasant.

Sacred Smoke by Darren Alan

fantastic nag champa scent, very skillfully made, very pleasant. A bit like an ultra high quality Furyo.

Mxxx. Extrait by Eris Parfums

Sparkling ambergris-heavy. You don’t make out the ambergris but it makes the fragrance vibrate in a wonderful way. Slight chocolate tones similar to a chocolate patchouli but a little more chololatey than that. A little subtle, not a heavy fragrance.

Flower Boy Extrait by D.L. Roelen

lovely slight smoke and then flowers and patchouli that combine into an incredible blend. The dry down is fantastic. Rose oil elevates this but it doesn't smell rosy.

The same perfumer, Jorge Lee, did most of the Nishanes including Hacivat. I enjoy those, but these DL Roelens are on a different level. Very avante-garde but very very pleasant. A 9/10.

Tropic of Capricorn by Olympic Orchids

A huge dose of hyrax greets you instantly but then you get the white florals and the the vanilla and a bit of fruit, the riper kind.

The hyrax is there very prominently for a long time but it is molded and shaped by the wonderful florals.

The jasmine and other white florals are top notch.

Definitely one of the most animalics in my collection and very worthwhile. This is not a kitchen sink full of notes, but is carefully thought through and the ingredients are very high quality.

I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.

Lui by Guerlain

I get smoky vanilla. Seems to wear light. Also benzoin and something that lifts it a little so it's not overly dark. Compared to say Corpus Equus or Bois D'Ascese, this is much lighter on the smoke and more resinous.

Not sure if it is sufficiently complex to remain interesting but it quite possibly is. I think it doesn't have outstanding longevity and as others have noted, the box is insanely big and takes up too much space in my collection.

Cavalier by Avon

spicy and wonderful and longlasting. This is somewhat like Calvin Klein Obsession for Men but much spicier and stronger in a good way. Absolutely an incredible value if you pick up an older bottle for dirt cheap.

Miyako by Auphorie

The beauty of this is that it feels totally natural. It smells like you are really smelling osmanthus and a garden of exotic fruits and flowers. But it's not overly floral in a perfumey way like, say, Arpege or Joy.

These brothers have created a perfume that utterly transports me to an exotic but unnamable tropical garden. Good on them!

I find projection, development and longevity to be very good.

Jil Sander Man Absolute by Jil Sander

Quiet but high quality vanilla. Just when you think it's faded, you get another pleasant waft. Reminds me of Mona di Orio's Vanille, which is a complement. Not as complex as that one, but fully as high quality. Very enjoyable vanilla.

Mortal Skin by Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777

This is like sexual ink. It's a beautiful fragrance and does remind me of that wonderful inky smell and the almost sexual feelings I experienced (without realizing it) as a young boy when I'd be reading the Sunday L.A. Times and smelling that ink.

This is what it reminds me of and kind of smells like. It's the most pleasurable perfume I own.

Take that, ha! It's true.

Bee by Zoologist Perfumes

Not crazy about it. Get beeswax and honey but it feels cloying and little development. Too linear and I like Hiram Green Slowdive much better.

I wanted to like Bee so much but I just don't. At the end of the day, not much going on other than cloying sweetness to my nose.

Encens Chypre by Sultan Pasha

it just takes your focus away from anything else but the breathtaking beauty and the shifting fragrance lines. Extraordinary.

Programme Homme by Lancôme

this is so elegant and smoothed over compared to any of the aromatic fougeres, it is just smoother, rounder, much more elegant...

This is not similar or the same as Sagamore.

Nuit Persane by Sultan Pasha

Purecaramel nailed it. This is magnificent spice, tobacco, honey, rose, and the best SAFFRON note imaginable. It is the finest trip through the best spice bazaar. Oh, man, this is one of the FINEST attars I've ever experienced.