Unforsaken by Kerosene (revisited)

Over a year ago, I tried some fragrances from the house of Kerosene for the first time. All fragrances took me by storm being charismatic, fears and unique. Follow, Unknown Pleasures, Blackmail, Broken Theories... All were a force of their own. Another scent, that seemed to be less fears and dominating than the other ones, proved to be the one I fell for the most. That fragrance was Unforsaken.

Unforsaken is as I remember (read review from back then, if you are curious). It is a white floral that I actually like, which is an accomplishment on its own, considering how much I dislike florals. From the opening, it has a fresh citrus top note, it has a tropical undertone too from the coconut and tangerine.

This is going to sound strange, but bare with me. Unforsaken doesn't smell niche to me and I know that per definition, niche means something completely different, but what I do mean is that there's nothing quirky about this fragrance. Unforsaken is how I wish designer fragrances would smell like, but unfortunately, I find them bland, too sweet or overly blended and without a trace of the notes that are in them, whereas Unforsaken is very palatable, but at the same time I can define most notes in it. Do you catch my meaning?

The difference is quality, in my opinion. Unforsaken screams quality, masterful blending and paring of notes. Chefs kiss! After hours of wear, the scent is more creamy, still floral, but so endearing and delightful. 

This is a fragrance I will keep revisiting and perhaps one day, I will add it to my collection.

Sweetly Known by Kerosene

A sweet, caramelly and a little boozy fragrance from the get go. Sweetly Known is verging on gourmand ATM, but it isn't overpowering or cloying, to my surprise looking at the notes. It is somehow light.

After dry down, however, cardamom is revealed and it is gorgeous in composition with the rest of the notes! Sweetly Known has arrived at gourmand.

The scent reminds me a bit of Cardamom Coffee by Lush, but it is less pungent and actually wearable.

That is on paper, I'm sure that as soon as I spray myself, we'll have another story.

As expected, the fragrance is ampt up on skin. I get more booziness and the cardamom is in for the ride from the start! Sweetly Known, though very different, is a lighter version of Follow by Kerosene, in my opinion. It doesn't have a coffee note per se, but the cardamom and slight note of burnt match remind me so much of Follow. I found Follow absolutely mouthwatering, but not that wearable, whereas Sweetly Known is perfect for Autumn and Winter as a signature scent.

I could smell it for 6+ hours and the experience was so pleasant.

I kept sniffing, and back home after a long day at work, my boyfriend asked "you own that, right?". Answer is, unfortunately not, but his reaction to that was "you will. It is delicious!".

Sweetly Known is what I wish I had, I absolutely adore my Unknown Pleasures, but it is an absolute BEAST that wears me, not me it, whereas Sweetly Known makes me feel so confident and sexy that I just need this in my collection!

Wood Haven by Kerosene

Wood Haven flew under my radar when buying samples from the house of Kerosene the first time, but getting to know this house, I learned that it takes me by surprise every time. This time around, I scooped up Wood Haven and expected a deep woody fragrance that leaned more masculine, but with notes of citrus, specifically lemon, grapefruit and bergamot, I expected something light-hearted too.

On paper, Wood Haven opens with juicy and realistic citruses like that of all Kerosene citrus fragrances. Yum! The ginger and pepper is very prominent too, absolutely beautifully recognisable! I expected a deep and dark woody fragrance, but the woody notes is from cedar and vetiver, making it fresh and aromatic.

After dry down, Wood Haven is an aromatic citrus, the citruses are still the dominating notes, how? John Pegg, master of the citrus fragrances, please make a citrus amber fragrance with just a hint of vanilla!

On skin, Wood Haven has a leathery undertone from the get go. It is far more masculine, less fresh and the citrus is barely there. I find ginger and pepper being more prevalent than the citruses. A shame, if you ask me, because I absolutely adore citruses. 

After dry down, the scent is an aromatic leather, very different from what it was on paper and based on the notes. Wood Haven reacts to skin chemistry a lot. It has a light sweetness on my skin too, but it is difficult to pinpoint. The sweetness isn't gourmand, but like that of skin and warmth. 

I am a little disappointed with Wood Haven, the citruses are still so bright and prominent on paper, whereas on skin, cedar is the dominating note, but it is to be expected. The fragrance isn't called Citrus Haven after all!

Triptych by Kerosene

The opening of Triptych is very aromatic, very endearing to be honest. Not at all what I expected from the notes and the described accords. It is actually a little sweet. Very quickly does the surprising sweetness and depth disappear only to leave the fragrance very herbal and almost medicinal.

Triptych also has a true to Kerosene amazing citrus note. John Pegg is a master when it comes to citruses. On paper, the fragrance is an aromatic, citrus scent with herbal accords. I do not get rose at all. Triptych, though unisex, leans very masculine to me. I'm very curious how it performs on my skin.

Generous sprays on my wrist reveal a completely different scent. Triptych is largely dominated by geranium whereas the aromatic elements are just in the background. Light notes of lemon too. When the fragrance has dried down, it becomes more similar to how it performs on a piece of paper. More aromatic, less geranium, more citrus and fresh. Still leaning more masculine. 

Aromatic fragrances can easily become quite chemical and air-refreshener-like, especially with added citrus notes, but Triptych by Kerosene has its upper-hand, quality. Though aromatics are generally not for me, I have to agree that this is not the best from Kerosene, but a nice change to the other scents from this house and the respective scent families they belong to.

A last though is that the fragrance is far more aromatic on paper, almost spicy, whereas the fragrance remains a fresh and lightly aromatic fragrance on skin. 

Fields of Rubus by Kerosene

Sweet, a little boozy opening with notes of smokiness. There's a fresh tobacco note that keeps the fragrance grounded and not too sweet or cloying. The sweetness is slightly fruity, but not so much so that I can identify, which fruit it is. 

After dry down, the smokiness disappears and I find out that patchouli is what made the fragrance smoky in the first place.

This is just on paper, on skin, Fields of Rubus is a rich and surprisingly juicy patchouli fragrance. It is in fact very different from any Kerosene fragrance I have tried, and I've smelled a fair few by now.

Not too long after spraying, the patchouli becomes sensually dirty and tobacco is just as prevalent. The fruitiness is just in the background adding sweetness and slight freshness to the fragrance.

Reapplying, the patchouli in the beginning is so dirty that it almost smells like dark chocolate!

After dry down, the fragrance leans more masculine on me, but in a feminine way - make that make sense!

Fields of Rubus is taking me by surprise. I did not expect any of this, but I do enjoy the ride. 

Sacred Memory by Kerosene

Sacred Memory is true to the DNA of Kerosene from first spray. I get flash memories of Blackmail, Broken Theories and elements of other fragrances too.

Sacred Memory is truly just that, sacred memories of some of the many Kerosene fragrances I have tried.

I get a contrasting sour, woody note and lightly sweet berry undertone. It is oak, whiskey and tobacco in harmony with red berry notes. After dry down, the fragrance is woody and based on the somewhat sweet undertone of whiskey. I am excited to see how it performs with my skin.

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Wow. Turpentine, burnt wood, nothing pleasant to my nose, at first spray. Sacred Memory is a harsh fragrance! Unfortunately, the red berry notes are nowhere to be found on my skin, which would have been a pleasant contrast to the fragrance.

After dry down, Sacred Memory isn't as sour and chemical, but burnt wood is at the forefront with just a hint of something else, not whiskey though.

To my surprise, the fragrance sweetens up a little bit and it is as if the red berry notes are there after all. Unfortunately, Sacred Memory won't be a sacred memory to me.