So while I was in Spain, I had the pleasure of visiting a few niche perfume shops. First was Le secret du Marais, where I picked up Bergamotto by laboratorio olfattivo and We are the Martians by Marina Barcellina. Very cool story on this one. I'll share later when I wear it again. Then I visited Spirit of Kings and they had everything that is popular and niche. Retail plus price though... Finally, I went to a niche/artisan perfume shop and met Elena Todeschini. The perfumer behind the Hesperia line, which is the name of the shop. She was amazing! I purchased a sampler pack of 8 fragrances for 29 euros If I liked any of them, I got the 29 back as a credit for a full bottle. I picked up Nerotic by laboratorio olfattivo and her own creation, Andalusia. Both are outstanding and I'm wearing nerotic today. I'll full you in 9n all of the fragrances as inweat them. Good times for sure!!

Yesterday was my wife’s birthday and I wanted to wear something that I know she would like, she gifted me this fragrance on Valentine’s Day.

I was excited to see this but wasn’t expecting it so soon after the release of Yesterday Haze 2nd Edition. Imaginary Authors typically does two releases a year with either a reformulation or a limited edition fragrance for a third one. If they follow the pattern this is their last release for 2026, but I would t be surprised if they had another Holiday promotion. Anyway, it is very woody and reminds me a lot of cape Heartache but without the powdery strawberry note. The focus is on woods and petrichor (the smell of rain on damp ground after a downpour). It’s been rainy and grey for the last few days, so this makes perfect sense for the weather. So far I’m really enjoying it. These kinds of scents resonate very well with me, and it will definitely be a fall and spring staple. The bottle is beautiful, too. I have yet to see the movie it’s inspired by, but all indications are that its extraordinary. And just for fun, do yourself a favor and shout “Petrichor!!” Like Michael Scott doing parkour in the office. You will never hear the note the same way again.

We finally got some legitimate fall weather. Got to pull out the clothes I prefer and reach into the other part of my fragrance options. On Saturday I went with one of my all-time favorites, Austin. To me, it says fall weekend the way VIW says summer weekend. Had me feeling good all day. Today I reached for my newest one, New Orleans, which they just released. The foundational DNA of the two are similar; this one leans into some cherry booziness as well. When City Rhythm does its holiday sale, I'll most likely add a bottle of this to the mix.

Saturday I went to my cousins wedding and wore this sophisticated fragrance for a special day, also wear it yesterday. It’s more fresher than the OG, the wedding ceremony was outside with the sunset and this was the perfect fragrance for the occasion.