Browse The Aroma Book.

1828

Histoires de Parfums

A fresh spicy citrus-and-lavender scent with green woods and incense, classic yet distinctive and very enjoyable to me.

89

Floris

A complex citrus-lavender scent with woody, powdery, animalic and clean-laundry facets, ending on incense; interesting, but more feminine than I expected.

A Taste of Heaven

By Kilian

A sweet lavender fougère that warmed into amber before a slightly bitter herbal drydown; pleasant, but not bottle-worthy for me.

Acqua Decima

Eau d'Italie

A bright high-class cologne of citrus, herbs, neroli, woods and musk, with a natural essential-oil feel and strong summer appeal.

Acqua Viva

Profumum Roma

A very classic but very well-executed citrus, neroli, woods and musk cologne, ideal for summer and clean everyday wear.

Afrah

Amouage

Basil and champaca gave way to Taif rose with oud behind it; a later wearing felt much sweeter and more synthetic to me.

Al Mas

Amouage

A very sweet fruity Arabic-mukhallat profile with a refined feel and a bitter-almond facet.

Al Shomoukh

Amouage

Hindi oud, rose and a possible davana facet made a smooth, very good attar that leaned slightly feminine to me.

Allure Homme Édition Blanche

Chanel

A creamy, sweet lemon fragrance with a polished texture that briefly reminded me of Creed.

Aqua Universalis Forte

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

A more orange-forward version of Aqua Universalis, with a bright vitamin-C-like citrus impression over the familiar base.

Ashjan

Amouage

A harsh citrus opening softened into rose and possible neroli, but the cleaning-product association never left for me.

Asrar

Amouage

A very sweet Arabic-mukhallat style of saffron, spice, musk and amber that later developed an oud impression I perceived as synthetic.

Aventus

Creed

One of my favourite Creeds.

Ayoon Al Maha

Amouage

A simple rose-led attar with a possible ambergris facet; feminine to me but nicer on a second try.

Bahjah

Amouage

White musk, citrus and oakmoss created a polished Western-perfume style that I liked, though not enough to justify the price.

Baume du Doge

Eau d'Italie

Incense, cinnamon and sweet resin gave it a Duchaufour/Amouage character, with a caramelised burnt-frankincense gourmand twist.

Bergamote 22

Le Labo

A bright, clean and soapy bergamot opening that I liked much more than the later bitter woody-vetiver drydown.

Bleu

Chanel

A grapefruit-led, polished aromatic-woody scent that I found versatile and very well executed despite a familiar designer character.

Body Kouros

Yves Saint Laurent

Vanilla, almond, tonka and possible coconut over animalic notes and a little citrus.

Bois d’Ombrie

Eau d'Italie

Very dry woods, apple and tobacco with a shisha-like feel and a slight Fahrenheit association; decent, but not my style.

City Oud

Dueto

A very synthetic-smelling, soapy oud style that reminded me strongly of Amouage Lyric Man.

Cologne Pour le Matin

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

A classic sweet-citrus and neroli cologne made much more herbal by thyme and rosemary; I liked it more on a later wearing but still found it expensive.

Cologne Pour le Soir

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

A sweet, animalic amber centred on labdanum and benzoin, with resinous, powdery facets and a character that reminded me of a lighter Amouage Gold.

Declaration

Cartier

A rose-and-cumin opening I disliked, followed by musk, vetiver and an Ellena-like drydown.

Dia

Amouage

A wearable, Western-leaning mix of citrus, frankincense, rose, amber and possible lavender that I found good overall.

Eau

Hermès

A strongly spiced impression centred on cumin and clove.

Eidiyya

Amouage

Citrus, rose, possible neroli and oud over a lightly spicy amber base; pleasant but not memorable to me.

Elixir

Penhaligon's

Fresh yet balsamic and resinous, with pine and woods giving it a clear autumn/winter character.

Epic

Amouage

A frankincense-led woody oriental with amber, sandalwood, oud and musk, especially appealing in the incense-heavy opening and sandalwood drydown.

Eternal Oud

By Kilian

A straightforward Middle Eastern-style rose, oud and musk combination.

Fahrenheit

Dior

The opening could smell off-putting at very close range, but the scent cloud around it was excellent.

Flash Back

Olfactive Studio

A very positive, strong cologne-style scent that immediately stood out to me.

Galloway

Parfums de Marly

Fresh citrus, white florals and musk with a classy cologne character; it grew on me and felt particularly suited to spring, summer and work.

Gokuhin Kyara Enju

Seijudo

My favourite kyara incense so far, and one of my favourite Japanese incenses overall, with exceptionally classy packaging.

Gokujo Kyara

Seikado

On first burn, I could clearly perceive the kyara character, and I liked it a lot.

Gold

Amouage

A rich oriental of oud, patchouli, rose, musk, amber and jasmine, with a clear animalic facet that reminded me of civet.

Green Irish Tweed

Creed

One of my favourite Creeds.

Homage

Amouage

Rose and citrus over a creamy texture I associated with sandalwood, with white musk underneath.

Incense Oud

By Kilian

Strong smoky frankincense and a sour davana opening over a very woody rose, oud and spice structure.

Iwan

Amouage

A green citrus-floral opening of basil/petitgrain, neroli and white musk improved significantly in the drydown, though it leaned feminine to me.

Jasmine

Amouage

A light jasmine-sambac-style scent with possible sandalwood, but later it came across synthetic or extended to me.

JF

Floris

A clean aquatic-cologne style that initially recalled Green Irish Tweed but felt less green, more lavender-heavy and more generic.

Karin

Kunjudo

The unburnt stick smelled very good to me; enough to make me want to revisit it and possibly buy a full box.

Kaze no Sho

Gyokushodo

Unburnt, I got strong camphor; during the burn, the balance of camphor and agarwood made this one of my favourites from that round of samples.

Kobe

Xerjoff

A citrus and neroli-heavy opening with white florals moved into incense and a sweeter benzoin-and-tonka drydown.

L'Humaniste

Frapin

A clean, fresh citrus-cologne opening ideal for spring and summer; good, though I questioned the price.

Limes

Floris

Citrus over heavy petitgrain, neroli and orange blossom, with a slight cleaning-product association.

Majan

Amouage

Rose, white musk and an ambergris impression dominated; okay overall, but that facet reduced the appeal for me.

Millésime Impérial

Creed

Molook

Amouage

Rose, oud and a very potent ambergris impression; the drydown improved considerably as it became more oud-focused.

Mori no Sho

Gyokushodo

A simple first impression: a pleasant agarwood-focused scent.

Morouj

Amouage

White musk, rose and an ambergris impression; good except for that facet, which bothered me.

Myo-ho / Infinity

Shoyeido

Mainly sweet agarwood to me, and one of the nicest in the set.

Naseem Al Janoob

Amouage

A harsh air-freshener opening moved into sharp green jasmine and an old-fashioned floral character.

Nesma

Amouage

A very sweet Arabic-mukhallat profile of amber, rose, spice and possible saffron/neroli, eventually reminding me of shamama plus rose.

Nio

Xerjoff

My top-ranked Xerjoff.

Opus II

Amouage

A very enjoyable lavender opening in a classic cologne style with a delicious drydown; one of the Amouage perfumes I considered buying.

Oubai

Yamadamatsu

The unburnt stick smelled promising to me, but once lit the smoke dominated and I enjoyed it less.

Oud

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

A soft synthetic-oud style fragrance, less forceful than Tom Ford Oud Wood, with a sour twist that reminded me of davana and possibly some rose.

Paestum Rose

Eau d'Italie

A rosy, feminine Jubilation-like incense/amber scent that settled into a familiar synthetic rose-oud profile; not for me.

Patchouli 24

Le Labo

For me this was overwhelmingly smoky with a little sweetness: interesting as an artistic composition, but not something I enjoyed wearing.

Prelude to Love

By Kilian

Sweet petitgrain and neroli with possible rose and vanilla created a gourmand-like North African association; pleasant, but unremarkable to me.

Pure Amber

Amouage

A softer ambergris-style attar with an animalic facet that reminded me of civet; it still smelled synthetic and unpleasant to me.

Rayaheen

Amouage

A beautiful, very strong Taif-rose and frankincense opening with a henna impression later on.

Rose 31

Le Labo

A clean rose that turned animalic, spicy and powdery; the cumin facet was the part I enjoyed least.

Ryoun

Seikado

On first burn, it struck me as an okay agarwood scent, more raw-material-focused than blended.

Salamah

Amouage

Fresh citrus and rose with frankincense emerging later; quite good despite a slight essential-oil after-smell.

Santal 33

Le Labo

A striking creamy sandalwood opening shifted toward fig, woods that reminded me of cypriol and a plastic/synthetic edge, with exceptionally strong longevity.

Sauvage

Dior

A polished modern masculine with a familiar designer signature, good quality to me and notably lavender-forward.

Sel Marin

Heeley

A top-tier beach scent for me: light citrus turning aquatic, salty and marine, then unexpectedly spicy before settling into woods.

Shamama

Amouage

Woody, ambered and spicy with henna, reminding me of inexpensive red-amber or ambergris-style attars.

Tahani

Amouage

A sweet mukhallat signature I usually dislike, with strong davana first and much more saffron on a second try.

Tayyiba

Amouage

A fruity, feminine Western-perfume style with a synthetic, generic drydown and a slight Homage association.

Tribute

Amouage

A deep and powerful tobacco, frankincense and rose attar that I found exceptional and potentially interesting for layering.

Uden

Xerjoff

Reminiscent of Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche, but less creamy and more focused on citrus and woods.

Vetiver 46

Le Labo

A citrusy, powdery and very woody perfume with an incense character, eventually settling into a vetiver-and-musk drydown.

Vici

Histoires de Parfums

Citrus, pine and smoky incense with galbanum and angelica emerging later; green, resinous and pleasantly unusual.

Voyage

Hermès

A pleasant iris-led impression that leaned feminine to my nose.

Woroud

Amouage

A rose-led feminine attar with a polished but possibly synthetic white-rose character.

Zahwa

Amouage

Sweet rose and amber with a chemical edge that improved significantly in the drydown, which later developed an unusual crushed-ant association.