Well gents, im gonna end up wearing whatever I want anyways, but i do appreciate the collective wisdom of the group. I have a 1st date with a very attractive 28 yr old university student tomorrow. She's more of a country girl, than city. She asked me out because "the city boys dont get it, and she prefers a country gentleman". Shes from my area, but temporarily living away for school... this is the 5th attempt Lots of wild fire smoke in the air. Temperatures around 32C (89.6F). Most likely a patio dinner, drinks, walk, etc. Eventually i will get called to work and it will end. So which frag to choose (i honestly haven't decided yet)

Finally received my travel size fragrances about a month late. 1st one is Victor and Rolf Spice Bomb Extreme. Not really summer fragrance but it's nice. Definitely different the the original. Decent longevity!

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. 😀

Today I’m wearing the brand-new Moore Azul from Happyland Studio, and this one caught me a little off guard. Moore Azul is the second collaboration between E.J. Wells and Alex Moore, and it takes Happyland in a noticeably fresher direction. The official notes are lemon, bergamot, fresh florals, musk and tonka bean. On paper that sounds pretty straightforward, but on skin there is more going on than the note list suggests. Right from the opening I get a bright blast of lemon and bergamot. It is crisp, clean and energetic without becoming overly sharp. The florals start showing themselves fairly quickly, but I wouldn’t call this a floral fragrance. They mainly give the citrus some lift and keep everything feeling airy. As it settles down, the musk becomes much more noticeable, with the tonka underneath smoothing everything out and adding just enough sweetness. The tonka doesn’t turn Moore Azul into a gourmand or make it heavy. It gives the fragrance some body so it doesn’t smell like another thin citrus freshie that disappears after the opening. And that’s probably what I like most about this one. Happyland has always been known more for its dense, bold, sometimes quirky artisan fragrances, and Moore Azul feels like E.J. Wells showing another side of the house. It’s still recognizably Happyland, but cleaner, brighter and much easier to reach for in warm weather. This is definitely a spring/summer fragrance and exactly the type of Happyland I can wear when the temperatures start climbing. In fact, Happyland themselves specifically position Moore Azul as a crisp spring and summer release. Performance: So far I’m getting good projection and a noticeable scent trail without it becoming overpowering. That’s important with a fresh fragrance. I don’t necessarily need something screaming off my skin in the heat; I want something people can smell around me that still feels refreshing. Moore Azul isn’t trying to reinvent fresh perfumery. What it does is take a familiar citrus/floral/musk structure and give it some of that Happyland artisan personality. It’s clean, masculine leaning to my nose, extremely wearable and probably one of the easier Happylands to recommend to somebody who normally finds the house a little too heavy.

I’ve been trying to give this a chance for such a long time. It’s one of the most beloved fragrances on the market today, and so many of my fellow brothers here love it so much. But I just can’t get into it. The opening is nice, I’ll give it that, but the dry down is just a huge grapefruit bomb and it’s all I smell. It gave me such a massive headache that I had to take some aspirin and lie down. I honestly think I might be allergic to something in the ingredient list because this has happened nearly every time I’ve tried it, but doesn’t happen with the clones / inspirations that I’ve tried. Im happy y’all love it, and I won’t yuck on y’all’s yum. So I will apologize, but I am done with this one.