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My hopefully final fragrance thread. The previous part is here. I bought two more batches of 1ml testers to determine if there really are no alternatives to Lalique Pour Homme (Equus) (woody spicy), Celine Reptile (woody leather) and Chanel Antaeus (1980's fuck
boyman).Aesop Karst, 0. Very resinous juniper, but not as balanced as something like Sycomore.
Bottega Veneta Pour Homme Extreme, 0. Another very resinous juniper, almost pure turpentine in the drydown.
Caron Yuzu Man, 0. Very, very citrusy, like peeling an exceptionally fragrant tangerine. Then nothing interesting.
Celine Eau De Californie, 0. It's like Reptile, but without its signature notes. A very sparse woody fragrance.
Celine Fever pour Homme, 0. Pleasantly herbal and woody, and even my wife likes it, but it's a skin scent at most. Noticeable Iso E Super in the drydown.
Histoires de Parfums 1828 Jules Verne, -1. Very strong nutmeg note, it overpowered everything else.
Issey Miyake Le Sel d’Issey, +1. Novel, I haven't tried anything like it before. Fresh, synthetic, but not harsh like Cool Water. Surprisingly strong.
Issey Miyake Le Sel D'Issey Eau de Parfum, 0. This is the first EdP concentration that is almost identical to the EdT concentration. There's a hit of incense in the drydown, and the fragrance is somehow weaker than the original, but they are functionally the same.
Le Labo Another 13, -1. George's favorite, but it smells like the inside of a washing machine to me: warm wet clean laundry with traces of detergent.
Le Labo The Noir 29, 0. That one is a shame. To me it smells like a summer village: lots of drying herbs with a hint of sweat and something starting to go bad in the pantry, but my wife claims it's an overwhelming, synthetic, sweet stench.
Orto Parisi Cuoium, 0. Yep, it's leather. With a surprising raspberry blast that lasts a split second when you spray it. Not as good as Reptile, though.
Orto Parisi Seminalis, -1. It doesn't smell like anything to me, but my wife hated it with a passion.
Acqua di Parma Quercia Eau de Parfum, 0. It's not bad, but Aimez Moi Comme Je Suis beats it.
Antonio Puig Quorum, +1. Reminds me of Grey Flannel. The same sharp and bitter opening, but the drydown is different: GF is subtly floral, but Quorum is aromatic.
Cartier Declaration, 0. Boring. Smells like everything and noting.
Francesca Bianchi The Lover's Tale, 0. To me it smelled somewhat like the inside of a small leather bag where someone used to keep a decant of a floral perfume. My wife loved it and claimed the rest of the tester for herself.
Francesca Bianchi Sticky Fingers, 0. A very thick scent. My wife hated it, which surprised me after her previous reaction.
Francesca Bianchi Under My Skin, 0. Another very thick scent. Smells like spilt ink.
Gucci Guilty Absolute, 0. Not a bad leather scent, but Reptile beats it.
Hermes Bel Ami, +1. An oldie with a complex, but luxurious scent. Not exactly my type, but I can understand why Hermes has kept it around.
Kilian Dark Lord, 0. Another good leather scent, but Reptile beats it.
Zoologist Hyrax, 0. Smells surprisingly similar to Oud Palao. Thankfully, it's not as strong.
Final thoughts
No, there are no alternatives to my chosen fragrances, and I will buy decants of Reptile and Antaeus. If I had a time machine, I might've replaced Grey Flannel with Quorum, but that's about it. Maybe I'll get a decant of Issey Miyake Le Sel d’Issey as well, since I don't have anything like it.
Interesting. Wifey also poo-poos the A13? My own wife is blasé about scents in general (and at one point in our relationship I realized she actually likes certain odors I may have after exertion that I would characterize as stink) but she didn't have anything negative to say about Another 13.
She had nothing good to say about it. She made me buy a 30ml bottle of A Lover's Tale, though. For her own use. Another 13 is... what's the opposite of "right up her alley", "left down her alley"? What I mean to say, she really doesn't like synthetic fragrances, and Another 13 is unapologetically synthetic.
Ambroxan, synthetic ambergris. Interesting, thanks. A pheromone and is-it-bullshit deep dive may be in order.
It's not just ambroxan. A13 simply doesn't smell like any flower or leaf or wood shaving or peel you might find in nature.
Ah, so that is what you meant by synthetic. Yes. Soapy in its way--or like the drum of a washer, as you say (I never got that). I guess we'll have to just disagree on this one, but again I think it's interesting how smells hit people differently.
Another 13, if you will forgive the synethesia, is like a bright, light blue sky, but with white clouds, some thick, some less opaque, floating in wisps and tufts. Polo cologne was like its bottle--deep murky green with dark brown highlights, leading to a dark well. Some scents are like bright purple and orange mixed together, and those are the ones that I can't abide. A lot of perfumes marketed to women hit me this way--busy, clashing, neon but dark. I have trouble describing them in marketing terms like woody, amber, citrus, base notes and sillage, but I can see the scents in my head.
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