Category Archives: Fragrances

Oud Ispahan

Nose: François Demachy

Notes according to Fragrantica: “Top note is Labdanum; middle notes are Rose, Patchouli and Saffron; base notes are Agarwood (Oud), Sandalwood and Cedar.”

Year: 2012

This perfume is sublime!

I don’t like most ouds nearly as much. …But this classic rose and oud combination is so well composed I find it impossible not to not only enjoy wearing it but add it to my collection with the intent to genuinely wear it. It’s one of those sort of fragrances one likes to smell on themselves not just to wear to smell good because it’s just so delightful. So…evocative.

It’s sweet but not cloying, as a good oud is. And no…to my nose this smells like oud not some icky other scent oud is often described as smelling like. It’s rich, deep and woody. The patchouli and saffron definitely are the most elegant those notes can be, and they are possibly rather essential in creating this masterpiece.

Yes it debuted in 2012. Oh well. …I think it’s possibly timeless. And of course the drydown is lovely too. Sillage is moderate.

Comète

Nose: Olivier Polge

Notes according to Fragrantica: “Top notes are Cherry Blossom and Aldehydes; middle notes are Iris and Heliotrope; base note is Musk.”

Year: 2024

I love Chanel.

I really, really love Chanel.

I love the design of their bottles. I love almost everything they’ve ever made, even if I have no immediate plans to add ballet flats or a Chanel handbag to my collection for now.

So…even though this is mostly just La Pausa, 1957, Le Lion and…other Chanels…with…a lovely, glowing cherry blossom-iris twist…to my nose…it’s still gorgeous and worth it. Because I love collecting Les Exclusifs de Chanel and it’ll be fun to wear this one too.

So…it’s musky like 1957. Iris like La Pausa. And is it the aldehydes in some sort of ambery hue that remind me of Le Lion? The cherry blossom and the iris combined? It’s…almost boozy like No. 18 is too, actually. And in its favor, I will also say that despite being a bit too unoriginal it has a very nice drydown. It’s a stunning fragrance, just not…that different.

If you want to smell like a musk-powdery Chanel-magenta-iris this is the perfume for you. I really do like it.