Coeur de Noir by BeauFort London

Photosource: Bloom Perfumery on Pinterest

Coeur de Noir is the first fragrance from the niche fragrance house BeauFort London that I have tried. What an experience that was!

I heard about this house's nautical inspiration from the sea, the United Kingdom and everything around the island. The design of the fragrance bottles brought a vision of old ships, shipwrecks, rum and wood burning. Starting off my journey with the fragrance house with Coeur de Noir affirms all my envisioned expectations.

~

Coeur de Noir has a very masculine opening, it must be the most masculine fragrance I have dared to try lately.

It has a very distinct smell of burning wood, leather and fresh tobacco.

The depth of the fragrance, and it is a heavy one, lightens up, but remains masculine, leathery and with a pepper undertone. 

It is damp, wet, and you can almost imagine yourself standing on the ship in the library looking around with no one around except yourself. You look through the papers on the table, spill the ink by mistake. The captain is just around the corner, his tobacco and glass of rum left untouched.

During oxidation, the fragrance becomes more spicy. On paper it is fresher with obvious hints of ginger, but unfortunately I cannot smell it on my skin. I would have loved this fresher element on myself, because it leans too masculine for me without it.

~

An hour in and the fragrance has remained the same, true to its initial notes of leather, smoke and pepper or what might be the note of tobacco.

Three hours in and the fragrance has settled down a lot, it actually becomes very wearable for me and reminds me of Memoirs of a Trespasser by Imaginary Authors.

~

Coeur de Noir is a rich fragrance that has a wonderful depth that I love in fragrances. The note composition is of ink, rum and ginger as top notes; leather and vanilla as middle notes; birch, tobacco and cedar as base notes.

Coeur de Noir is a unisex fragrance, but after trying it I immediately thought of my boyfriend and how wonderfully this fragrance will fit someone masculine.

~

BeauFort London is a fragrance house I will definitely continue revisiting.

Dolls by Moth and Rabbit

Photosource: Lulua.pl

Wauw, very unique opening! The fragrance changes between sugary sweet and floral, and all the florals compete between each other and have a few seconds of spotlight of their own.

I sense ylang ylang, then magnolia, then orange blossom. Ambergris powers through too and gives the fragrance a beautiful animalic undertone. Musk gives the fragrance a wonderful warmth and after a while all the florals fuse together and become an exotic floral garden.

~

What surprises me is that I have tried this perfume before and had a completely different first impression.

I have so many fragrance samples to try that I have only gotten to Dolls by Moth and Rabbit now, but I gave it a little peak in June and had a terrible experience. In short, I called it pungent and the notes indistinguishable. What difference a few months have on your nose! To be fair, I have also become better at liking perfumes I would not consider purchisable or wearable on me.

~

I usually do not like floral fragrances, at all, but Dolls is definitely growing on me. However, after a while, the fragrance gives me a slight headache and is almost too sweet for me to bear. Then it calms down, becomes quite wearable again.
What a rollercoaster of a fragrance!

Hours in and the fragrance is very pleasant and a definite like to have.

~

Top notes are cherry blossom, davana, orange blossom and geranium; middle notes are maple sap, ylang ylang, apple blossom and rose oil; and the base notes are musk, snow, ambergris, cedar and animal notes.

I do not experience any snow element to this fragrance, which is a shame, it sounds very interesting.

~

Dolls by Moth and Rabbit is the first fragrance that I have tried from this house. It was given to me by the perfumery shop Lulua when ordering another fragrance and I am so pleased that they did, because Moth and Rabbit is a niche fragrance house that I will definitely continue exploring.

Myrrhe & Encens Mystérieux by 100Bon

 

To all lovers of mysterious and deep fragrances, try Myrrhe & Encens Mystérieux by 100Bon!
This fragrance house has quite special compositions. They are never over-dominating, but they have a unique quality to them that not every nose will like.

~

The second fragrance from this house in my collection has a strong myrrh opening with just a slight hint of patchouli. It is deep and heavy, yet quite feminine. It is nothing like Davana & Vanille Bourbon in scent composition; Davana & Vanille Bourbon is sweet and fresh, whereas Myrrhe & Encens Mystérieux is a one tone fragrance with no change or play in the composition.

Musk and amber give the fragrance a lovely caramelised or even slightly burnt quality, which is only further supported by the base note of incense.

Even though this is a heavy fragrance, it does not lack a fresh opening or top note. I find it in perfect balance, but would not recommend it to someone who cannot wear monotone incense fragrances. This might be a good layering fragrances instead for those noses.

~

After oxidation, the fragrance lightens up, but don't be fooled, it's only very lightly!

I am missing the top notes, which are cinnamon and citruses (I am actually very curious how this fragrance would have been with citrus). The middle notes are myrrh, patchouli and amberwood. Base notes are myrrh, incense and musk, so this fragrance's composition is very true in performance.

Myrrh & Encens Mystérieux definitely belongs to autumn and winter, and I will be wearing it as soon as the leaves fall.

Bitter Peach by Tom Ford

 

Photosource: Fragrantica.com



Tom Ford fragrances have always caught my eye due to their amazing bottle design - it is sleek, minimal and looks luxurious. Everytime I would pass the stand with all the amazing fragrances, I would take a sniff of all the ones I could get my hands on. Years ago, I would wonder whether I should ask for a sample, but I would pass that opportunity, because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford the perfume - I didn't dare to fall in love with one, or even more.

It has been a couple of years since I have fully invested my interest in fragrances, but for some reason I would never dive into the house of Tom Ford, because anytime I did, I always ended up disappointed.

~

After trying some of the most popular Tom Ford fragrances, I asked for a newer launch, Bitter Peach, last time I visited the stand. I have been swarming around Lost Cherry for some time, but each time I visited the local Tom Ford stand, I was left disappointed and empty-handed, because they were always out. I asked for the equally fruity cousin, Bitter Peach, or so I thought.

~

Bitter Peach is nothing like Lost Cherry and its pungent, realistic and juicy scent of cherries. 
It opens with a soap-like quality, it is quite boring, really. A floral note is just as prominent as the peach, which is not saying much, because the peach is barely there.
Half an hour in and the fragrance has not developed at all, it remains faint and soapy. In actuality, it smells just like having washed your hands with a bar of soap that has a cheap peach and jasmine scent.

After an hour, the scent has gone. I have to press my nose against my wrist and breathe in sharply to be able to smell anything at all. I am sorry to say, but the longevity is an absolute joke. I really hope that my chemistry in reaction to Tom Ford fragrances is what causes this poor longevity, otherwise, I cannot fathom customers having to pay 130£ per 30ml bottle.
I usually do not mention price in my reviews, but because of how high it is compared to quality, I need to point it out.

~

I am no luxury snob, but I am very reluctant to buy fragrances that are made to imitate original ones. I respect the time it has taken to blend a fragrance and to develop its notes to perfection. Each fragrance is unique and should remain so, however, I do expect a quality product when paying a high price. Tom Ford fragrances are far too expensive for the quality that you receive and I have been considering whether I should try an 'inspired by' perfume brand, because Lost Cherry is an absolutely gorgeous cherry fragrance. For the tenth of the price, you can get your hands on it and smell like a cherry sorbet for more than an hour. Because I ended up trying Lost Cherry once on my wrist and the longevity was just as poor as Bitter Peach's. 

The brand itself, what it stands for, bottle design, everything, is taken into account when pricing a fragrance, but Tom Ford definitely misses the mark in quality and profits off of the fashion house name, which is a cheap shot, if you ask me.

~

Looking at the note profile, I am smirking at the poor performance of this blend.
Top notes are peach, blood orange, cardamom and heliotrope; middle notes are rum, cognac, davana and jasmine; base notes are Indonesian patchouli leaf, vanilla, sandalwood, tonka bean, cashmeran, benzoin, styrax, labdanum and vetiver.

Where have all these gorgeous notes gone?! All you get is a balanced dominance between peach and jasmine. 'Dominant' might not even be the right word, because this fragrance is too faint.

~

Bitter Peach by Tom Ford is definitely a pass for me. After all the bad experiences I have had with this fragrance house, I am wondering whether I will ever add one of their fragrances to my collection.

Venom of Angel by Piotr Czarnecki

Photosource: Lulua.pl



I was browsing for new perfumes to try when placing an order for my newest in, Unknown Pleasures by Kerosene. I always add some samples, because even though I love fragrances and wouldn't mind owning them all, I find it wasteful since I won't be able to wear them all in time before they go bad.

I saw a house of fragrances I had not heard about before and I was pleasantly surprised that it is a Polish fragrance house, so I snagged She Shihan and Venom of Angel. The beautiful look of the bottle design was what drew me in, but the impossible mission to learn something about this perfumer or the house is what made me jump both feet in.

Besides learning that Czarnecki is a dancer who wanted to attend the perfumery competition Art & Olfaction Awards because of his interest in perfumes, there is not a lot to go on.
Piotr Czarnecki is an enigma.

~

When choosing which fragrances to try from Piotr Czarnecki, I went, of course, through the note compositions, but I have to say that I might as well not have done that.

~

Venom of Angel is a wonderful concoction. Whimsical and very powerful. It is a feminine fragrance, but definitely not sticky; it is fresh, but not like either citruses or green fragrances; it is a little spicy, but it is by no means heavy; it is in fact a complete enigma of a fragrance.

~

I am better with fragrance houses that develop definable notes and perfume blends that stay true throughout the fragrance. Venom of Angel is difficult to define, it is one of those fragrances where the notes melt together and make a one scent profile. All I can identify this fragrance with is that it smells of pink, but not hot pink. Like a beautiful rosé.

~

Venom of Angel is exactly that, a powerful and poisonous fragrance, but sweet and very wearable. Though maybe a dowdy name, it captures the fragrance perfectly.

~

Over time, the fragrance becomes greener, less sweet. It losses some of its character.
It is neither woody nor does it have any coconut in it, which is surprising considering the note composition.
This fragrance is a blend of cedar, white chocolate, coconut, aloe vera, ivy, black pepper, sugar cane and olibanum.
The white chocolate is far fetched, almost a fleeting whiff, whereas all the other notes are completely undetectable to me.

~

On paper, Venom of Angel is quiet generic. It is still a lovely scent, but it performs better on skin, where it becomes more deep and sensual.

~

My first experience with a Piotr Czarnecki fragrance was one that will keep me interested in this house and I am looking forward to try more blends from him.
Venom of Angel is a definite like to have fragrance.

Falling Into The Sea by Imaginary Authors

 

Photosource: Ampersand SF

It is no secret how much I love fresh citrus scents, but they have to be done right. As soon as a citrus fragrance is too synthetic, my nose frowns.

Imaginary Authors are one of the best in making fragrances realistic and every note can be detected without a fault, however, I was surprised when I found an old review I had made a while ago of Falling Into the Sea.

~

The sample is the same, but what my nose caught back then was a strong lemon opening. Nothing else. I faulted the fragrance of not having any depth or uniqueness like the other Imaginary Authors perfumes I had tested and I experienced that the oxidation of Falling Into the Sea made it go from a citrus fragrance to that of a soap or candle scent quality one.
To my surprise, that was not at all what I experienced today.

~

Falling Into the Sea has a green opening with a strong citrus appearing quickly. That has not changed. It smells like a mouthwatering lemonade though!
It is a perfect warm and sunny summer holiday fragrance, but I do agree with my prior statement that it does not have the depth and intricacies like other Imaginary Authors perfumes. 
The lemon is, however, perfected like every other note from this fragrance house.

~

On paper, it is a pure gourmand citrus with a little hint of sweetness, not overpowering its freshness. I experience more visions of the sea and the beach when smelling it on paper rather than my skin.

After an hour, the fragrance mellows down to a less tangy citrus. There is a very subtle hint of sweet litchi, which is very endearing.
Falling Into the Sea is a less sweet version of Davana & Vanille Bourbon by 100Bon, which makes sense comparing both note profiles.

~

The composition of Falling Into the Sea is linear and consists of grapefruit, lemon, litchi, exotic floral notes, sand and bergamot.
All the citruses are there in perfect balance. Litchi sneaks in and gives the fragrance some well-rounded sweetness, but I am not getting the hint of warm sand or florals at all.

~

Falling Into the Sea has suddenly found a way with my heart and it is a definite would like to have fragrance.