Well boys, your favorite lover boy just pulled a huge risk… he caught feelings for someone in the fragrance world. 😭 I don’t want to go into too much identifying detail, because this involves another person and I don’t want to put her business out there. But I could use some advice from the older gentlemen here. I met this woman through fragrance and over several conversations, we ended up talking for hours. We had a surprising amount in common, shared interests, similar ways of looking at things, and honestly just had really good chemistry. It was one of the most natural connections I’d had with someone in a long time. Naturally, I caught a crush. The problem was that I couldn’t figure out what the relationship actually was. In person, it was warm, genuine, and incredibly easy. Outside of those interactions, communication was basically nonexistent. I’d invited her to do something outside the usual setting, she seemed receptive, but nothing ever materialized. I tried not to push because I didn’t want to make myself too much of a priority in someone’s life. Then I’d see her again and we’d immediately fall back into these long, meaningful conversations. She’d say things that made me think she genuinely enjoyed having me around and would encourage me to visit more. So I was stuck asking myself: How much do I invest in this? I wasn’t demanding romance. I wasn’t expecting her to owe me anything. I just wanted enough clarity to know whether I should treat this as a friendship, a casual acquaintance, or something that might eventually develop. Eventually I tried reaching out again, and after getting very little response, I tried to catch her in person because I thought an honest conversation would be better than trying to interpret everything through texts. That didn’t really happen. When I finally saw her again, at an event, the warmth I’d become accustomed to wasn’t really there. She was still polite, but the interaction felt much more distant. I was already exhausted and anxious, and unfortunately I handled the moment less smoothly than I’d have liked.

Well my brothers, I was visiting Macy’s today, and saw this on the counter. And I knew it was time to give this one a try. And I might I just say, while a lot of the designer releases haven’t been all that great, this one blew me away. Now before we get into review here, I am a bit biased. Sauvage elixir is one of my favorite designer fragrances, and I find the spice blend both nostalgic and intoxicating. Needless to say, my expectations were high, and even at the threshold, it still exceeded them. This is one of those fragrances that smell quite different on paper. It has to be experienced on skin before any reviews can be truly made. On paper, it’s dry, herbal, and intensely spicy. On skin, it’s intense, but made clearer and warmer, with more of an amber behind it. If it was dry smoke on paper, it’s a reignition of the flame on skin. Whilst the original Elixir had its own distinct style from Francois Demarchy, Francis K, the perfumer of Baccarat Rouge, and various other fragrances, much from Dior’s Private Collection, took that DNA, and put his own approach to it. The opening is a completely different take, of a completely different take, of the original Sauvage. It’s basically unrecognizable, while still maintaining that core DNA. Like Sauron being reborn in the flaming eye after his defeat. You get the classic Ambroxan, Lavender, and Bergamot, but it’s mutated into something different. Something much more strong. And the combination with the spices and woods make it so. The core note is just one, singular note, and the only one needed. Vietnamese Oud. It gives it a leathery, borderline animalic feature, but in a restrained way. This isn’t a sweet, appealing oud, but it’s completely wearable, and not a barnyard fecal oud either. Something in between. Like it’s restrained, but capable of being dangerous. The drydown is where you get that beautiful elixir DNA best, but still with its own style. A blend of two styles of cedarwood, patchouli, and vetiver. The combination of citrus and lavender in the opening with the woods and vetiver here are what give it the slight, barbershop vibe, but the intense spiciness and oud make it much darker and more ambery.