Today has a little bit of everything in it. I’m starting the morning in the office here on Long Island, and later I’m heading into the city for an event. So this morning I wanted something that could comfortably do both — fresh and appropriate for a warm August workday, but with enough personality to carry me into the evening. Today that meant Wild Vetiver from Creed. This is one of Creed’s newest releases, and I think the name can actually be a little misleading. If you’re expecting a very dry, earthy, traditional vetiver fragrance, this really isn’t that. It opens much brighter. There is bergamot, pink pepper and Timur berry, which gives the opening this wonderful citrusy, almost sparkling spice. Then things get more interesting with Rose Centifolia, geranium and blackcurrant before the vetiver, cedar and amberwood begin to come through underneath. What I particularly enjoy is the contrast. The vetiver gives it that green, woody backbone I expect, but the rose and fruit keep it from becoming too serious or traditional. There is an elegance to it without it feeling stuffy. And on a sunny Wednesday that is heading toward the upper 80s, that feels just about right. 😎 It’s fresh enough for my morning in the office, refined enough that I feel completely put together, and interesting enough that I’m equally happy wearing it into Manhattan later today. That versatility is something I appreciate more and more. I don’t necessarily want to change fragrances halfway through my day. I’d rather choose something in the morning that makes sense for the entire day I’m actually going to have. And perhaps the best part of today really has nothing to do with fragrance at all. I get to finish my workday and head into the city to spend the evening with my son. Wild Vetiver just happens to be coming along for the ride. 😎🌿

Yesterday before work I hit the pharmacy for a prescription. While waiting, I browsed the perfume section to test something new. (I only pick 2 frags at a time to test.) I chose Acqua di Giò Profondo and Dior Homme Eau Man. At the opening I slightly preferred the Dior, but as the night went on I fell absolutely in love with it — it became a "must have" buy. So I go to look up the price online... and discover it's been discontinued for years. Today I went back to the pharmacy to investigate. The clerk (I'm a regular, we know each other) insisted the EDT they carry is the Eau Man. I told her to open the box — if it matched, I'd buy it on the spot. She opened it with total confidence I was wrong... and then her jaw dropped when the juice was obviously a different color. I tried to buy the tester bottle right there, but she didn't have the authority and the manager wasn't in. She suggested that if I bought a travel atomizer, she'd fill it for free — and mentioned they usually give away old testers for a $5 charity donation (didn't catch which charity, something women's-related 🤣). Perfect. Bought the atomizer, got 5ml free, made my $5 donation. Now the tester is locked away with my name and number on it, flagged as donated, just waiting on manager approval. If it goes through, I'm looking at roughly 50ml for $5 — on top of the $20 atomizer fill!! Pray to the perfume gods for me, brothers 🙏 I'm already thrilled with 5ml for $20 — but if that tester comes through, it'll be the best perfume score of my life!

Picked this up somewhat at random as part of a sample pack. I agree with many reviews that its very similar to Aventus in terms of overall style - with that combination of top citrus and underlying woody notes. I personally didn't find the opening overly harsh (I've seen some commentary around this), rather I found it fresh, and quite well balanced, the longevity and projection are somewhat average. However, its a pleasant alternative to Aventus, at a much more accessible price point. If I were considering an Aventus alternative, I think I'd likely opt for something like Afnan's Supremacy Not Only - which has a bit more potency, decent quality, and can be picked up for under £50.

A friend of mine was cleaning out her mom's closet. They are moving into a smaller home now that they are retired, and she's been decluttering. Lo and behold, she found a box of perfumes that had never been worn, and her mom told her to just throw them away. Knowing that I love fragrances, she offered me the opportunity to go through the box and take first dibs. There wasn't much of interest, and what was interesting I already had a bottle of. But there on the bottom, was 15mL bottle of Hermes Oud Alezan, one of my favorite rose and oud fragrances, and a holy grail on my wishlist. The 100mL bottle is nearly $450, and it does not show up on discounters very often. The mom said it was her least favorite from the discovery set she had bought, and that she had never sprayed it after opening it for the first time. Just like that, it was mine. I've had lightning strike twice in the last week. Maybe I need to buy a lottery ticket.

Here’s the fragrance news worth paying attention to as of August 18, 2026—with the fluff stripped out. - Roja London – Elysium Absolue Pour Femme launches tomorrow, August 19. It was created by Julie Lerendu of Robertet working with Roja Dove and centers on rose, lychee, fig, raspberry, sandalwood, patchouli, and amber. It’s a 75 mL EDP at $330. Early testing from Fragrantica describes very large opening sillage and roughly 12-hour longevity. - Regalien – Hidden Origins Collection is much more interesting from a perfumery standpoint. Three extraits were introduced: Aurora: Halfeti Dark by Dominique Ropion, Anemos: Cappadocia Wild by Hamid Merati-Kashani, and Agora: Golden Horn by Honorine Blanc. They’re 80 mL extraits at €270. Anemos is the one I’d put at the top of the sniff list: citrus, leather, oud, nagarmotha, labdanum and amberwoods. - Rasasi just released Hawas La Mer and Hawas Gold Digger. What makes this news interesting is that the inspirations aren't being hidden: La Mer is described as inspired by Louis Vuitton Pacific Chill, while Gold Digger is inspired by Ultra Male. La Mer uses peppermint, citrus, blackcurrant, jasmine, carrot seed, fig and amber woods. This is another good example of a Middle Eastern brand moving from loose similarity into clearly identifiable interpretation territory. - Gucci Guilty Eau de Toilette Intense Pour Homme is new. The structure is surprisingly simple: sea salt, lavender and palo santo. Rather than making “Intense” mean sweeter and thicker, Gucci seems to be going mineral/aromatic/dry woody. Of the new mainstream men's designers, this is one I'd actually test. - Fragrance continues to carry the U.S. beauty business. Prestige fragrance dollar sales grew 6% in the first half of 2026, while mass-market fragrance sales jumped 15%. More interestingly, prestige unit sales were essentially flat while average prices increased about 5%, and EDP/parfum concentrations posted double-digit growth. Translation: consumers are increasingly spending more per bottle and moving toward stronger concentrations rather than simply buying more bottles.