Today I received my discovery set from Cursed Fragrances. Eight 3ml scents, four male coded and four female coded, split with my wife. The house leans heavily into the gorgeous gothic trope, with kooky spooky names and notes, and all their marketing and correspondence committing heavily to the bit. Letters in black envelopes with wax seals, florid communiques about crypts and darkness, beautiful graphic design that screams Twilight. Even the pictures accompanying the notes are tinged in melancholy. It’s absolutely charming. I’ll do a write up of the scents once I’ve tried them. Particularly looking forward to Ritual Spirit, with its base note of Infernal Smoke. 😀

SO.... Here is an update on my SHEIN purchase of Creed Oud Zarian... It's fake. Several other friends, some other harsher Redditors, and my fragrance guy were able to do 2nd looks and it appears to be a really good dupe, including the inserts. The giveaway is the stem the cap sits on. That was something I didn't think of or show my "researchers." That's the tell. I'm not a ego-driven member of this group, so I can admit to being duped and learn from it (the Redditor group I was in and a few others- are some really harsh critics. Tough voices, but I do feel educated). Although honestly, It's still a very strong clone and I absolutely love it; not an original, just damn good with the same performance strength and sillage. BUT... where is the WIN & GRATITUDE fit in on this whole thing? YOU. You're the win for me, as well as the gratitude. I feel that although it's not authentic, it's the experience of sharing this with you and knowing that although it's questionable, I didn't sit on it after presenting it to you all OR ignore the text messages I got from a few friends after a second look. The Win- you all care enough to cheer me on with what I thought was a great deal. Some of you questioned it and it allowed me to be open to a second look myself. The Gratitude- same as the aforementioned, but it goes further in knowing I walk away smarter from this AND I got a damn good dupe, as well as some education on the mechanics of atomizers and how Creed's is different. The batch numbers may look the same, but that atomizer stem, the shrink wrap... I'm smarter with knowledge of Creed now than I was yesterday. That's because of you all who responded to the posts. Thank you.

Got a sample coming in the mail, and was curious about what you guys think.

Never being on an Ebay Live auction before I carelessly clicked the bid button and won this. Supposed to be a dupe of LV Imagination. It's similar as olfactory memory serves as I've only smelled Imagination in a LV store. The Mrs. said she liked it so thats a win. The opening is nice but I'm reading its performance is lacking. Oh Well. Jean Lowe Fantasme by Maison Alhambra is a unisex fragrance released in 2026. Its composition opens with oud and cocoa, develops through patchouli, caramel, saffron, and rose, and settles into a base of leather, black currant, and frankincense, suggesting a rich blend of woody, resinous, sweet, and leathery face

1968 they sold an aftershave so irresistible that every bottle came with *SELF DEFENSE INSTRUCTIONS" to fight off the women ⚡😬 That wasn't a joke, that was the actual marketing.😎📺 did you wear this cologne? 👇 #60s #retro #nostalgia #vintageads #backintheday