i’ve been interested in perfume for the last 5 or so years, and wanted to review some of the samples i’ve collected, as well as my few full bottles. i also love giving people fragrance recommendations so feel free to send me an ask about that :)
tags:
#my reviews: all of my reviews
(all perfumes are tagged by brand and scent name)
below cut:
my review and recommendation disclaimer, my personal fragrance preferences, a guide for sending in a fragrance recommendation request and my personal favorite scents.
disclaimer:
all reviews and recommendations are subjective and based on my own preferences, highlighted below.
preferences:
- generally love gourmands and woody scents
- tend towards cozy, homey smells
- obsessed with vanilla forever
- love a weird note (if it translates well)
- actually not a huge fan of florals at all (i have some exceptions tho)
- i wear both masculine and feminine scents, but i own mostly feminine ones.
used to HATE this perfume, let it sit for almost a year…and now i like it. the notes of banana are definitely intense, but softened by the middle and base notes. sillage is moderate, longevity seems insanely intense. this is a unique smelling and well performing fragrance.
notes:
whew. this is a little bit of a weirdo! the rum is very present, as well as the bread and spice notes. at first, all you smell is banana and rum (which could be read as artificial, especially together, but i think it works). when the banana scent has mostly faded into the background, you get a delicious and almost photorealistic spiced banana bread. its slightly reminiscent of boysmells banana bread, but if it grew up and had a slight drinking problem. it’s a little masculine, very mature while still being fun and boozy.
sillage/longevity:
sillage is decent. it’s not a room filler but definitely could be oversprayed. it settles into a subtle scent, but it’s powerful at first. the longevity of this is insane on my skin. i sprayed it on my wrist a couple hours before i went to bed while i was thinking up what to write about it, and now upon waking up I CAN STILL SMELL IT ON MY WRIST. that’s crazy. that’s like 12 hours. and i’ve washed my hands at least twice in that time.
time/season:
this bad boy is a cold weather scent (to me). its powerful and it sticks to you, so i could really see this one becoming overwhelming in hot/muggy weather. i think it could be a day or night choice, it has versatility in that regard. however, this scent would be most at home on the wrist of someone grabbing a drink on a wintery evening.
mood board:
cool art professor with a drinking problem
personal notes:
i can’t say it enough times- i HATED this perfume at first. like refused to wear it. thank god i stumbled on this one again- i used to be obsessed with banana notes AND its winter where i am. double win :3
while this perfume has a few negatives, it’ll always be one of my favorites. it has very little longevity on skin and hardly any projection (it’s definitely a skin scent). it’s also one of the sexiest vanillas EVERRR idc idc.
notes:
this is (to me) a really deep, kinda dirty vanilla. it’s just slightly animalistic, like post-sex sweat, and SO warm and woody. intensely woody. i honestly don’t smell the apple or florals, the whole thing is rather one note to me (but it’s a good note!). i also get a good amount of smokiness, a little like a campfire or vanilla incense. however, ive read that the smokey note really depends on skin chemistry. i love this scent, to me it’s like a grown up version of a body spray i used in high school. sweet, deep, comfortable and seductive.
sillage/longevity:
well. okay. hmm. Not Great. for either. the longevity on clothes is actually decent, like it sticks to them very subtly for a couple days. it just doesn’t stick to my skin for very long. like it lasts an hour or two tops. and has very little projection.
time/season:
this is a whenever perfume because it’s so god damn light. i could see an argument for cold weather, but honestly it doesn’t matter. i like this as a cozy daytime perfume, but that’s also variable and i absolutely wear it at night too.
mood board:
hot weird girl in your community college forestry program
personal notes:
i know this one is super controversial but! i love it! also my boyfriend bought it for me and loves it on me SO yeah ok i am a little biased.
not a favorite. this perfume is extremely sweet and overly bright, a little headache inducing. the whole scent feels artificial and slightly sour. the longevity is decent, you can definitely smell it on yourself for a while and the projection is pretty good too, though not a room filler (thankfully for those of us who don’t like this one lol).
notes:
i honestly hate this perfume. the degree of plasticity and artificial sweetness that came through on my skin with this one was… harsh. the florals were a bit too much, very white and pink and cloying. the strawberry note feels extremely juvenile. i wanted an even more sugary version of say, miami milkshake, but instead i got strawberry medicine. i also don’t like the citrus and milk notes together. it’s just sour milk on me!!! the base notes are detectable and smell decent on the dry down but it’s so subtle it absolutely does not make up for the rest of this thing. you will like this perfume if your skin chem is extremely reliable with lactonic notes and you’re into that super ultra sweet, glitter body spray vibes.
sillage/longevity:
cards on the table, i haven’t worn this one long enough to really get a good idea of the whole body and ability of the perfume. however, neither the sillage nor longevity is bad- you definitely get some bang for your buck. but every time i spray this i get a headache so.
time/season:
this was intended to be a daytime fragrance for summer or spring for sure, but honestly this scent is already so much, i genuinely cannot imagine how cloying it would be in the heat. but! i’m sure it’s great on some people regardless of weather. i’m just definitely not one of those people.
mood board:
if karen smith from mean girls sang bubblegum bitch by marina
this is a classic for a reason. a phenomenal vanilla and coffee night fragrance that’s sexy, fun and flirtatious. it’s versatile enough to be beloved as a signature scent. the longevity is pretty middle of the road, and the sillage is decent as well. it won’t last intensely all day, but it doesn’t fade immediately.
notes:
this opens with a very bright, slightly fruity pepper scent which fades into a coffee/vanilla dry down. i never smell the florals in this, and i always initially smell black cherries and coffee, or a fruity coffee mix. i really like the cozy dry down with the comforting cashmere wood and cedar. it’s warm and perfect for cold weather but not so overpowering it would be out of place in the summer, especially at night.
sillage/longevity:
this is not necessarily a beast of a fragrance, but it projects enough that someone next to you would get a whif. it lasts decently on skin (maybe 4ish hours?) and longer on clothes. this is not a room filler which is perfect for layering, but not what everyone wants in a fragrance that’s been marketed as a clubbing scent.
time/season:
mostly marketed towards winter, which i can see, but i think it’s just a general Night Scent. you could wear it during the day, obviously, but that coffee note is like a perfect pick up in the later evening.
mood board:
2014 nyc tumblr baddie with a shoplifting habit
personal notes:
i love this perfume even though i thought i wouldn’t. i enjoy the nightlife in my city pretty often and this just fits that niche so well. 2010’s bad bitch scent.
Absolute - An extraction from a concrete using alcohol. The essential oil of scented flowers and other aromatic plant parts in its purest and most concentrated form. It is extremely expensive. A few important oils used in an absolute form are: geranium, lavender, lily, and rose.
Accord - A combination of a number of different scents which blend together to produce a new fragrance.
Agrestic - "Of the countryside"; odours of heather, forest depths, and the meadow.
Aldehydes - Aromatic chemicals isolated for the first time in the 19th century, but that also occur naturally. Certain aldehydes provide an increased diffusiveness, sparkle, and lift to perfumes, most famously in Chanel No. 5.
Almondy - Bittersweet, soft, and nutty scent.
Amber - An accord in perfumery that is supposed to recall the qualities of ambergris. It is often constructed with labdanum, Tolu balsam, or Peru balsam. Often an accord in Oriental perfumes.
Ambergris - A highly prized perfume ingredient consisting of the oxidized excretion from a sperm whale. It is rarely used in its natural form in perfumery because of its rarity, exorbitant cost, and concerns about sourcing ambergris from live whales rather than from shore-found ambergris. It’s said to have an earthy, sweet, tobacco, and pleasantly animalic scent. It primarily works to bring out other notes in perfumery rather than to impart a particular scent on its own.
Ambrein - The primary scented molecule in ambergris, isolated and used in perfumery. It’s warm, sweet, vanillic, and ambery, with facets of spice and tobacco.
Animalic - Describes fragrances with animal ingredients in natural or synthetic form, including civet, castoreum, musk, or ambergris. The voluptuous, erotic, and sometimes disturbing quality of animalic perfumes can register in an olfactory way, as something “dirty” or animal-smelling, or as a feeling, a mood, or a quality. Sometimes, it can be both.
Aromatic - Having a strong or distinctive smell.
B—E
Balance - A combination of different fragrance notes so adjusted in proportion to one another that none of the individual notes is more prominent than any of the others.
Balsamic - The resin from the bark of trees and shrubs (Peru, Tolu, styrax) that have a rich vanilla scent. Balsamic is a term used to describe perfumes with the soft, ambery aspects these resins impart.
Benzoin - A sweet, balsamic resin used in incense and as a base note in perfume for its vanillic scent and fixative properties. Also known as styrax because it comes from the bark of the styrax tree.
Bergamot - The essential oil from the peel of the nonedible Citrus aurantium fruit that looks like a small orange. Its sweetish, mellow lemony scent is a crucial top note in perfumery.
Calone - A synthetic “marine” note that is supposed to evoke the freshness of the ocean. It has a slight watermelon facet.
Camphoraceous - Describes a fresh, clean, medical fragrance.
Caramel - Sweet, rich, creamy, buttery scent.
Cardamom - An intensely aromatic, sweet spice from the ginger family, in the form of a pod filled with seeds.
Carnation - A smoky, sweet, and clove-like scent, the latter facet due to Eugenol, the primary component of clove.
Cassis - (or black currant bud) A sharp, fruity, almost cat-urine-like scented perfume note.
Cistus - (or Labdanum) A resin from the rockrose bush, traditionally gathered from goats’ beards as they fed on the plant. Labdanum is said to be the note closest to the scent of ambergris. Creamy, soft, vanillic.
Citrus - Fresh, light fragrance characteristic of citrus fruits, but also imitated synthetically.
Civet - In classical perfumery, the cream harvested from the anal gland of the mongoose-like civet animal, often described as cat like. Fecal-smelling when undiluted, civet “rounds” out other notes when used judiciously. Famous as an overdosed note in Guerlain’s Jicky (1889), it is considered one of the first abstract modern scents. Civet is primarily in synthetic form now.
Clove - An aromatic spice similar to cinnamon, but less sweet. Its primary component is Eugenol.
Coniferous - The fragrance note of pine, spruce, juniper and similar such trees, often used in men's fragrances.
Diffusive - A perfume whose fragrance quickly becomes apparent in the air surrounding the wearer.
Dry - The aromatic effect of perfume ingredients such as woods and mosses in contrast to sweet and warm fragrances.
Earthy - The subtle fragrance impression of earth or earth-mould which is found in certain essential oils such as vetiver and patchouli.
Equine - Notes of hay and leather.
F—M
Floral - The general fragrance of flowers.
Fruity - Citrus, berries, tropical, and other non-citrus fruit scents.
Fungal - Molds, yeast, and mushroom scents.
Green - General fragrance of grasses and green plant parts.
Harmony - A pleasing combination of fragrance notes.
Hayfield notes - Usually based on coumarin, which have an odour of new-mown hay.
Heavy - Denotes a fragrance in which the least volatile ingredients, such as mossy or animalic ones, are dominant, giving a very strong effect. Such fragrances are mostly used in chypre and oriental-type perfumes.
Herbaceous - The characteristic general fragrance of herbs and herbal medicines. Sage, rosemary and lavender are examples.
Honey - Used as an ingredient in early Arab perfumes and appears in later European ones (e.g., Honey Water). In modern perfumery a substance providing the sweet aromatic effect of honey and known as Honey (or Miel) is manufactured synthetically.
Indolic - The disquieting, ripe, animalic, and almost excremental facet of scents.
Leather - A perfume accord and category of perfume constructed from various notes, including birch tar, styrax, castoreum, and a variety of synthetic notes.
Light - Delicate, clean, and fresh-laundry scent.
Marine - Iodized scent.
Mellow - Soothing and calming scent.
Metallic - A fragrance reminiscent of metal, providing a clean, cool effect. Metallic notes are used in perfumes to assist in promoting an effect, not as main fragrances.
Minty - A fragrance reminiscent of mint, e.g., peppermint or spearmint. Such fragances are usually used to provide a special, fresh effect in a top note.
Mossy - The general odour of oils obtained from mosses and lichens.
Musk - Produced by the musk deer and excreted by the male during mating season. Musk deer were killed almost to extinction for their valuable musk glands, which were dried, and whose musk “seeds” were removed and steeped in alcohol to create tinctures for perfume. The scent of real musk is warm, with depth and a dark animalic aroma. Many synthetics now can mimic musk scent, but one of the most superior musk synthetics, nitro-musks, which were in Chanel No. 5 and countless other vintages, has been banned due to toxicity concerns. Musk can also be substituted with plant ingredients including ambrette seed and angelica.
Musty - Damp, earthy, or stale odor.
N—W
Narcotic - Exceptionally strong and heavy fragrances obtained from some flowers (e.g. jasmine and tuberose) and animalic ingredients, which need to be used with careful discretion in a perfume.
Ozonic - A perfume accord that attempts to create the smell of fresh air after a thunderstorm.
Peppery - Odour of pepper.
Powdery - Soft and clean scent.
Rich - Fragrances that have numerous layers, notes, and accords in all stages (top, mid, base), creating a multifaceted feel.
Rounded - The overall smoothness and fullness of a fragrance.
Sharp - A strong scent.
Smoky - The slight smell of smoke created in a perfume by certain oils such as Birch Tar Oil. It is used in men's fragrances to provide a leathery effect.
Spicy - Describes in general the distinctive fragrance of essential oils which have been obtained from spices.
Sweet - A sweet and rather sugar-like fragrance such as vanilla.
Tobacco - Fragrances resembling cured tobaccos, which are particularly popular in masculine toiletries.
Wintergreen - Has a very powerful and fresh, medicinal odour.
Woody - Fragrances reminiscent of wood. These fragrances are provided by wood oils, such as cedar, by essential oils from other plants having a wood-like aroma, such as patchouli, and by synthetics.
Sources: Perfume: The Art and Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert ⚜ The Perfume Handbook by Nigel Groom ⚜ Scent & Subversion by Barbara Herman ⚜ Scent: A Natural History of Fragrance by Elise Vernon Pearlstine ⚜ Introduction to Perfumery by Tony Curtis & David G. Williams ⚜ The Big Book of Perfume
