This is the last arrival of my April orders. I’ve been hearing good things about SJP Stash for a long time and it’s been on my wish list for over a year. Jomashop had a sale on it, marking it down from about $30 to just under $20, so I pulled the trigger and it arrived today. I’m pleased to say that it actually lives up to the hype. Woody, nutty and warm, I think it will make for a great fall/ winter scent. And it definitely punches above its weight class.

Can’t wait to try it! https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DuRv5hNTV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I am so excited about this I couldn't wait to come in here and post. Y'all know I'm a HUGE fan of Imaginary Authors. I joined their loyalty program when it was created in 2024 and I've been buying their fragrances exclusively on the website to get into higher and higher levels. Each level has better and better perks. At level 3 you get access to their Rare Books Room which has some of their discontinued and sold out fragrances available. At level 4, they offer an exclusive fragrance available only to people who have reached that level. Level 5 - the highest, which I have not yet reached - gives insider access to fragrances in development and a $200 loyalty reward on your birthday. They have teased the Level 4 exclusive fragrance for about a year now, showing the name, Hall of Hallucination, but also showing it as unavailable. It finally released last week, and I used some of my tax return to jump on it. I've been waiting like a kid on Christmas for it to show up in my mailbox, and it arrived today, two days early! It's now the most expensive fragrance that I've paid full price for in my collection. Doing the initial out of box test spray, I am overjoyed. It's beautiful. Funky, kind of weird, and lives up to the name. It just popped up on Fragrantica, and I got to be the first one to click "I Have." I'm so happy right now I could burst. I'll do a full review in a couple of weeks when I've had some time to wear it for a bit and get to know it better, but so far I'm absolutely chuffed. :D The samples that came with it were for Bull's Blood and Slow Explosions. It also came with a free tote bag.

Last of my PDM samples. I didn’t even realise until I checked today. Before trying it, I was a bit gutted to be ending on a fragrance I had never seen anyone talk about. That changed quickly once I tried it. The opening made me go “wow”. The note breakdown didn’t make much sense to me because right off the bat I got bergamot freshness, sage and lavender aromatics, sweet praline, and warm saffron. Stays the same in the mids with less freshness and the dry down becomes simpler, with the warmth stepping back and a touch of sweetness remaining alongside oud, patchouli, leather, and vetiver. It’s luxurious, warm, fruity, woody, leathery, slightly green, and perfectly balanced. Definitely a cool to cold weather frag. It’s everything I wanted Oud for Greatness to be. This also confirms my oud tolerance. Anything stronger than this feels unnecessary (sorry not sorry @Paul Bartnicki) I don’t think I can give an accurate performance estimate today as my skin is supposedly dehydrated. However, this is roughly a 7-10+ hr fragrance with strong projection for the first few hrs. The sillage and scent trail are excellent too. I really like this DNA and want to explore more fragrances in this space. I don’t want to be blinded by just this one, so suggestions are welcome. I’ve heard Widian Liwa and Ormonde Jayne Muscat sits in a similar realm. Overall, I’m giving it a 9.7/10. It smells objectively perfect. Second only to Cedrat Boise for me. Luckily it’s not popular and has no good clones, so it could easily be a signature scent. I still need to retest performance, but the fragrance itself is excellent. Points deducted for lack of uniqueness and the price tag. Top 3 PDM for me and possibly the first I purchase. Currently it’s a top 10 fragrance of all time for me. What are your thoughts on this?

I didn’t see this coming!