The power of scents...

We experience feelings and emotions all the time through different senses, most of the time at the unconscious level, without even realizing what just happened. Scents are different. Smelling something familiar can bring you back to a very precise and specific moment, it's quite powerful...

A spritz of Chanel Allure Edition Blanche and I'm in my 3 piece suit at my prom. A spritz of D&G's Light Blue and I'm back with this girl. A spritz of JPG's Le Male and in with this other girl. Memories are linked to specific scents and in a lot of cases, it's a good thing. But what happens when you love a fragrance, but for some reason, it reminds you of a bad phase? Something you don't want to bring back. It's easy to just "try and ignore it", but that bad memory will pop out of nowhere from the massive database located somewhere in the brain. What I try to do with these scents is to associate them with something new, something better. I try to wear them at an event that will be reminded more positively. Although it's not that easy... 

Lately, I've been going through a tougher period and tried to wear very little perfume. I wore mostly stuff that uplift me even in the worst of the moods. It's not easy leaving a significantly long relationship behind, especially one full of memories related to scents (in the case of a fragrance enthusiast). At least, it's a beautiful memory... 

This might not make a lot of sense, but sometimes it just feels good to let it go and write stuff that's not so serious. 

C. 

10 Designer Fragrances of the last Decade...

With all the choices the perfume market has to offer, it's hard, if not impossible, to say: "I've smelled everything". There are thousands of fragrances out there for every taste and every budget. Often, as perfume enthusiasts, our attention seems to be grabbed by the fascinating niche and indie products, hand crafted perfumes who are sold in a very exclusive way. I agree to a certain extend that the "Designer" fragrances are not like in the 80's and 90's, where we've seen legendary releases such as Dior's Fahrenheit(1988), JPG's Le Male(1995), Gucci's Envy(1998) and so on...

But when we take the time and do our research, there are definitely some unique designer scents that hit the market in the last decade. I want to pay homage to 10 of these fragrances...P.S. These are not necessary my favourites, just a list of scents that I think anyone who has an interest in perfumes should smell.

• Yves Saint Laurent M7 (2002) : Infamous for its oud accord, M7 is what happens when Tom Ford is at the head of a designer house. Very unique take on oud in the designer market. This fragrance is very sweet, powdery, almost syrupy and sits on a woody base. Very soft and gentle oud note, nothing sharp in the composition. Nice fragrance for the fall and winter that will set you apart from the average Joe.

• GUCCI Pour Homme I (2003) & GUCCI Pour Homme II (2007) : I've smelled Envy, and I still think this line from the house of GUCCI is the best one as of now. GUCCI PH I is an oriental woody scent with lots of cedar and incense in it...very masculine and quite unique on the market. It's younger brother is even better IMO. It features a combo of black tea, cinnamon and pepper....Fresh at the top and the spice in it makes it burn on your skin in the heart....Beautiful tea accord and sweetness from the cinnamon as well. A must smell. 

• L'Instant de Guerlain Extreme by Guerlain (2005) : Although I consider Guerlain to be a niche house, they do have a line distributed a large amount of retailers, next to designer houses. LIDGE is part of that line. Even though it's getting harder and harder to find, this scent is being incredibly hyped. It is extremely high quality fragrance and it's very unique. The opening is an introduction to a great overall fragrance. You get a citrus/cedar combo with anise in the background, making the top really different from all the citrus based scents on the market. The heart of the fragrance displays a beautiful coco note with some woods, almost walking the gourmand but not quite there. I think this is one of the best to check out if you got the chance.

• Dior Homme Intense (2006/2011) : The "original" a.k.a. the vintage formulation came out in 2006 and since then, this one has been reformulated in 2011. Although there are few small differences, no matter which version you get is a quality fragrance! This one features a beautiful coco note, iris and a soft cedar note at the base. Favourable during night time. Very sexy stuff. 

• Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme/La Nuit de l'Homme(2006/2009) : YSL's response to the "modern" releases in the 2000's. Very well done fragrances that get a lot of love and attention. The original "L'homme" is a very  versatile semi fresh scent. Great signature scent. The "La nuit de l'homme" flanker is a little darker and sweeter, with improved longevity and projection. I do prefer the flanker but I think both are amazing creations and are worth trying. 

• Burbbery London (2006) : One of the most hyped fragrances in the community. It's a modern classic. London is an oriental fragrance with notes of cinnamon, porto wine, pepper, leather [etc]. It's a great everyday fragrance to be worn in the fall or winter. Works well in every occasion and it will keep you warm. Very complex, yet easy to appreciate fragrance that's worth a sniff.

• Narciso Rodriguez For Him (2007) : This is one of my all time favourites! Blended by Francis Kurkdijan, this scent is a masterpiece. Very simple formula, very complex result. The patchouli in this one is very intense and it's combines with musk and violet leaf. People often compare it to wet concrete and I can see that. It's very "noir" and mysterious, although not very hard to wear. This one will keep you entertained for sure. 

• Paco Rabanne 1 Million (2008) : Hate it or love it, sometimes you gotta give props where props are due. This fragrance is a top seller for a reason: It's appealing, loud and "different". Compared to bubblegum, this fragrance has a very sweet side. The opening is my favourite part due to the blood orange kick. There's is also a very subtle leather note. I think this is a game changer simply because it set a new standard in sweet fragrances in the men's section. On that note, watch how much you wear of this because you might smell like a few other people in the club...

• Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Malt (2009) : Inspired by the luxurious whiskey industry, the Mugler house said they used the original A*Men and aged it in whiskey casks in order to get that genuine malt flavour. Although I enjoy and love this fragrance very much, I don't believe in their stories... It does have a beautiful whiskey flavour note in it, combined with berries at the top and caramel and woods at the base. I do feel the A*Men architecture behind this flanker, but I think it lacks some components such as longevity and projection. Still, this is one of my all time favourites, for personal reasons. 

• Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris (2010) : Once again, I don't know how to position myself toward this house (niche/designer), so I decided to include it in this list. This fragrance is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Starting off with a leather note, it quickly turns into a beautiful dark floral scent, with hints of amber. To me, this is very reminiscent of Dior Homme Intense in an indirect way. It deserves much more attention than it has right now in my opinion. 

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Analysis of the Ramon Monegal line

This house was totally new to me. I was surprised by the beautiful presentation of their bottles...very unique. This house was founded in 2007 if I'm not wrong and it's located in Barcelona, Spain. I've always been interested in niche perfumery coming from other places than France. I would like to thank Carlos Powell for most of the samples from this house, as well as the Ogilvy store in Montreal for the frist 2 samples of this house, which picked my interest in the rest of the line!

Ramon Monegal - Agar Musk : Agar Musk in an aromatic woody spicy scent to me...The big players in this fragrance are definitely the oud, nutmeg and amber. I am looking forward for my first full wearing with this one.

Ramon Monegal - Dry Wood : Love at first sniff....Unlike the name of the fragrance, this one is anything but dry. It's green at the top, a little spicy and more green...I also detect some cedar and maybe sandalwood but they are in the back as of now. Again, this is just a first impression, I am looking forward to test these 2 fragrances...Very promising house. Let's see if they are worth the kind of money that they're asking for!

Ramon Monegal - Lonely Day : This fragrance is very unique and strange, yet pleasant! It reminds me of red wine or a fruit [pair] during the fetmentation process....There are also some floral tones in the fragrance!

Ramon Monegal - Kiss my name : This one was hate at first sniff...very reminiscent of an old lady oversprayig a 70s floral powerhouse...the jasmine is well done but totally not my cup of tea. This is a definitive pass for me!

Ramon Monegal - Entre Naranjos : This fragrance is most likely a winner for me! I heard many saying the Ramon Monegal line was very fresh but haven't really smelled anything fresh in a traditional way...This one opens up very citrusy. I get a sharp Neroli note which seems to interfere with an Orange/Lime note. Very well done and I am looking forward to test the potential of this fragrance on my skin!

Ramon Monegal - Umbra : When I got this sample, I expected a dark fragrance since "Umbra" is a Romanian word for shadow (Although this is a Spanish house,so I can;t really relate the term to this house...). This fragrance features what seems to be a creamy, balmy and soapy take on a green fragrance. I get an earthy vetyver note combined with a creamy woody note. Looking forward to test it on my skin.

   

To conclude this fragrance house analysis, I must say I can't position myself towards the Ramon Monegal line. I like few of them, but nothing stood out as of now. Of course, these are just first impressions so I need way more time with them before a final conclusion. Pretty presentation but a little too expensive in my honest opinion. Quality is present though, I must say.

Niche Sample Haul - First Impressions

From now on, I will write down my first impressions instead of shooting videos and put them on YouTube. Lately, I got the impression I smelled almost everything I wanted to in the designer game..I also feel like I own a lot of the bottles I feel are bottle worthy (Of course not everything, but I feel I'm ok at this point). I am much more into niche perfumery, not because I think they are all better, but there's a large amount of perfumes to smell that I haven't discovered yet. This post is dedicated to my first impressions on new scents I come across.

Samples from Ogilvy Montreal [I was served by Anna Costelli, really helpful and generous SA who offered me these samples]

Acqua di Parma - Colonia Intensa Oud : I was blown away from the first sniff...a nice citrusy opening with hints of oud giving it a very beautiful dark aroma. Later in the scent, leather kicks in mixing with the oud note, making it smell almost creamy like. It's not a medicinal type of oud, but a very gentle and well blended instead. At first I was concerned with the longevity since it's an Eau De Cologne Concentree, but I think it has the same amount of perfume oils as an EdP, which might explain its performance (over 8 hours on first wearing). This fragrance was launched in 2012 and it's probably my new favorite Oud based fragrance. 

Serge Lutens - Santal Majuscule : I was curious to sample this one...Santal Majuscule is a very "liquorish" take on sandalwood. At first sniff, it really reminded me of a rose based fragrance that I cannot remember the name, but it is very sweet, cloying [not in a bad way] and liquorish.The rose in it is more of a Turkish Delight type of smell. The overall impression is "similar" to Red Aoud by Montale for some reason that I still need to find out in my next wearings...This is not a conclusion. 

Ramon Monegal - Agar Musk : This house was totally new to me. I was surprised by the beautiful presentation of their bottles...very unique. This house was founded in 2007 if I'm not wrong and it's located in Barcelona, Spain. I've always been interested in niche perfumery coming from other places than France.
Agar Musk in an aromatic woody spicy scent to me...The big players in this fragrance are definitely the oud, nutmeg and amber. I am looking forward for my first full wearing with this one.

Ramon Monegal - Dry Wood : Love at first sniff....Unlike the name of the fragrance, this one is anything but dry. It's green at the top, a little spicy and more green...I also detect some cedar and maybe sandalwood but they are in the back as of now. Again, this is just a first impression, I am looking forward to test these 2 fragrances...Very promising house. Let's see if they are worth the kind of money that they're asking for!  

Introduction

In this first post, I will try to briefly introduce myself. You might know me under the name of ScentTimes (www.youtube.com/scenttimes) since this blog is directly related to my Youtube channel, where I make different vlogs and reviews on fragrances. I live in Montreal, Canada. I would describe myself as a "Scentellectual"...I love the art of perfumery, not only smelling the fragrances, but trying to study and understand them. I entered in this hobby with the goal of finding the best smelling fragrances...I think I partially accomplished this goal and now I'm on another type of quest: Finding the most unique, well blended & highest quality compositions on the market. Follow me on my olfactory journey and discover the wonderful world of scents.

Claudiu.