So after church today, my friends and I are going to be doing a watch party for a new music video dropped from one of my favorite singers, Laufey, a jazz/modern pop artist. The video itself is a fairly big deal, and featuring a lot of famous faces like Hudson Williams and Alysa Liu, and because of that, we promised we wouldn’t watch it or even LISTEN TO THE SONG until we could all experience it together. Anyways to celebrate this special occasion, i decided to wear one of her personal favorite fragrances, which is Santal 33 from the Maison of Le Labo. This was the iconic, flagship breakout scent that helped this house gain traction and project their signature DNA onto the world, and my does it live up to the hype! It’s a unique, dry, slightly leathery take on australian sandalwood, with an almost dill, slightly ozonic undertones. To some people it smells slightly salty and almost pickle-like. To me it reminds me a bit of wet concrete during the rain. It has a strong, dry yet wet feeling notes of sandalwood, balanced out with a dry, paper papyrus, combined with violet, some slight spice from cardamom, all tied together with a distinctive leather accord. The base is a bit powdery with some slight iris blended with amber. This is a highly polarizing but also very unique fragrance. It’s nothing unpleasant at all, but also unusual and very distinctive. The popularity is well earned, and it has almost a calming like quality to it. It actually has some really similar undertones to Dior’s “Fahrenheit”, specifically the older batches. The combination of violet, leather, and woods, with the slightly ozonic nuances put it in a similar realm, although Santal is a bit more calming and less aggressive. It smells very different to all different kinds of people. To some it smells like dry woods, to others, a dill leather combination. To me personally, it reminds me of wearing a brown leather jacket, arriving in a cozy, industrial looking cafe after a long walk in the rain, and observing the city outside of the window.

One of the most popular lines in the blue genre, with a clean, versatile, and mass-appealing profile. It was released in 2010, the first release from Chanel since 1999's Allure Homme. Created by the now retired master perfumer Jacques Polge, a Woody Aromatic fragrance, it blends traditional masculine notes with a contemporary, citrusy freshness. It opens with an sharp, energetic burst of grapefruit, lemon & mint, accented by the subtle heat of pink pepper. This opening is fizzy & bright, with an immediate sense of cleanliness. As it transitions into the heart, the citrus softens to make way for a spicy aromatic blend of ginger, nutmeg & jasmine, which adds a nice layer of warmth. The dry-down is where the fragrance reveals its woody character, settling into a smooth foundation of New Caledonian sandalwood, cedar & vetiver. An infusion of incense & labdanum gives the base a smoky, slightly resinous depth. For an edt, it performs rather well, lasting almost 6 hrs with good protection for the first 90m. After this it becomes more of a intimate scent. Its equally effective in a formal office setting as it is at a casual gym session. While it can be worn year-round, its bright citrus profile makes it particularly shine during the spring & summer months. Whether you are dressing up for a black-tie event or heading out for a weekend brunch you can't go far wrong with this. My Rating 7/10 Scent 2 Longevity 2 Sillage 2 Y/N 1

I recently gave the men’s style brand Intelligent a go when I picked up their fragrance tester set (OK, I kind of gave into the hype from all of TLTG’s glazing). What I found was a nice little line of relatively good quality inspos. I ended up using the gift certificate that came with the set to buy a bottle of Iron (which to my nose is an inspo of ADG) but they had several others that I think were full bottle worthy at that discounted price. Well today, I noticed that in Intelligent sells on Amazon and they are having a 30% off sale on most of their line. For 50 to 60 bucks, I think a bunch of their frags are worth it. For what it’s worth, here are my raw notes on all of their offerings. I have a nose that’s pretty sensitive to certain notes, and I think a few of their frags have a musk that rubs me the wrong way - so take my notes with a grain of salt. - Intelligent Platinum: nice but not quite fbw for me. Lightly juicy sweet fruits, aromatics. Kind of like Polo 67 / Coach EDP - Intelligent Silver: cusp of fbw. Aromatic woody soapy. Some bite/sourness in the mids that takes away a bit from the experience. - Intelligent Iron: full bottle worthy. Woodsy aromatic earthy green, kind of like a more earthy ADG. - Intelligent Neon: cusp of full bottle worthy. Very bright citrus. But something bitter - the musk choice? Open is a bit harsh otherwise a very hearty citrus - Intelligent Carbon: full bottle worthy? Earthy lightly rich warm leathery, very easy to wear. Reminds me of a Moncler. But super weak performance on my skin. - Intelligent Cobalt: meh but interesting. Zingy musky aquatic aromatic. Loud and kind of grating, possibly the musk choice. - Intelligent H2O: full bottle worthy? Yep it’s a sweet smooth aquatic scent, a higher quality take on Invictus Aqua. Faintly fruity. Easy to wear. - Intelligent Hydrogen: meh but interesting. Aromatic tangy musky. Something offputting and animatic - musk? orconox? - Intelligent Argon: cusp of fbw. Lightly sweet elegant aromatic lavender cinnamon and spice. Like a more elegant and refined Spicebomb EDT, but easier to wear. Also a bit like Rehab