halfwhiteboy

Creed Oud Zarian has been on my radar since it was announced a couple of months ago, and it’s frustrating to still not see it on our third-world shelves (although I don’t know if it’s still not available locally as of writing). So when I had the chance, I sought it out at the Dubai airport (but only after feasting my nose on Amouage fragrances and taking home Opus XVI Timber ). Yes, it's priced a lot higher than Creed's other offerings but the moment I smelled the mist coming out of that dark, reddish purple bottle, I was hooked.

What’s there to do with a nine-hour layover in Dubai? Check out fragrances at the duty free shop of course! And since I’m deprived of the chance of trying out Amouage ’s newer releases back home (Art of Scent hasn’t updated their Amouage catalog in years), my wife and I headed straight to where they kept bottles from this Omani house. After sniffing to our hearts’ content, I took with me Opus XVI Timber , the latest addition to The Library Collection .

Since its release, Bianco Latte EDP by Giardini Di Toscana proved to be quite the hit among fragrance lovers, and it’s not difficult to understand why. It’s a sweet, lactonic gourmand that’s easy to like, perhaps because it’s a universally familiar scent, one that especially appeals to our sweet tooth, which certainly is a happy association. It radiates simplicity and as such, is more approachable instead of alienating. This “friendliness” is only projected further through its presentation by employing a predominantly clean, white motif with minimal accents of sky blue and gold.

It’s been a little over a year since I got this, a little over a year since Guerlain released Habit Rouge Parfum . Naturally, I was curious because I adore the original Guerlain Habit Rouge EDT . It was love at first sniff and I regret not getting into fragrances sooner so I would have enjoyed that masterpiece longer. That said, I also missed the boat on its many flankers, which is why when I got wind of this 2024 parfum version, I got excited.

Our bottles of Commodity fragrances have unjustly suffered from neglect for so long. The brand has since folded up and has subsequently been revived yet we’ve still barely used ours, if at all. So today I’m bringing out Tonka EDP .

Throughout my so-called fragrance journey, vetiver has become a note I've learned to recognize and love. Because of how multifaceted it is, I've been enamored by it. Aside from being primarily earthy, I also love how, depending on the type of vetiver or its extraction perhaps, it can also be grassy, rooty, dusty, lemony, or woody. In the case of D.S. & Durga Cowboy Grass , it's a handsome combination of different traits.

The first and last time I wrote about a fragrance from this house was more than four years ago. That frag was Ormonde Jayne Sampaquita . We have quite a few bottles from this British house, so I guess I should wear them more and as such, post more about them. Let me start then with Montabaco Parfum , which is part of their The Four Corners of the Earth Collection . I understand there’s an EDP version of this and then Montabaco Intensivo  and a few other flankers but I haven’t tried any of those.

I discovered Shiro fragrances while visiting heaven (a.k.a. the fragrance section) of a department store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo almost two years ago. I consciously sought out brands I haven’t heard of or simply hadn’t had the chance of trying. Japanese brand Shiro caught our interest; and being the fragheads that my wife and I are, we took our time. In the end, we brought home a bottle of Shiro Marvellous Star .

It’s always a joy getting my hands on vintage gems, let alone fragrances that I wasn’t even hunting down to begin with, just like this partial bottle of Versace L’Homme . If my interpretation of the  Raiders of the Lost Scent ’s article is correct, this is a second era, 1993 bottle. Even though newer batches still carry the old design, the atomizer's style is reflective of what was in vogue at the time. As for the bottle itself, it has its own character, aided by the frosted glass leaf accent on each side.

I don't know if it's just me but I no longer see much fuss over  Oud for Greatness by Initio Parfums Privés  nowadays. Yet just a few years ago when it was first released, it was quite the hit among fragheads, appearing frequently in posts in our Facebook fragrance groups. Somehow, that ubiquity made me lose interest in it, much like how I never cared for Creed Aventus  at the height of its popularity. However, I was drawn to the bottle’s striking design. There's something about that flashy combination of black and gold that just appealed to my tastes, so eventually, I gave in. 

Smoking Hot by Kilian is yet another gorgeously crafted fragrance from the house. While I miss the elaborate presentations of yore (think Black Phantom 's hefty and lacquered skull coffret), I do appreciate how the brand's current packaging occupies much less storage space because it's so thin.

Brought this out since we’ve been experiencing intermittent rains. Because of the word “fumée,” I was expecting something really smoky from Serge Lutens Écrin de Fumée . Well, simply put, I don’t get much smoke. It’s far from the deep and delicious smokiness of Clive Christian E Gourmande Oriental , let alone the photorealistic campfire vibe of Atelier des Ors Bois Sikar . But what is the scent then?

It’s been a long while since I last posted about a fragrance, which is a shame, as I have quite a number that I wish to share. I guess I’ve been both busy and lazy but no matter, here’s one now: Batuk Parfum by Wren Atelier . We got this bottle, along with a couple more, late last year, at the time when the house released new (and a few old) fragrances in their redesigned bottles and packaging (which for me more appropriately affords the brand that prestige it so rightfully deserves). My wife and I have both used it a few times before we were overrun with other more recent purchases. But thanks to our annual Buwan ng Wika paandar at the office, I was reminded of this beauty and so, pulled it out of hiding.

I've already been seeing posts about Domus Emeterius from frag groups on Facebook but it wasn't until they became part of The Rockwellist popup at the Powerplant Mall sometime in November that I got to sample their offerings. Long story short, White Oud was one of two bottles that went home with me.

Launched way back in 2012, The Devil Scent Project by Olympic Orchids was inspired by an online novel called Quantum Demonology. The collection is made up of five fragrances that represent the unique scent of the Devil and his ex-wife Lilith. The novel, written by Sheila Eggenberger, contains evocative descriptions of the scents of both characters. We've had samples of all five scents for quite some time now but were somehow "forgotten" over the years until a few months ago when my wife and I decided to test them. Full 30ml bottles followed and oh, how frighteningly dark the juices are! Dev One: Foreplay According to Olympic Orchids' website, Dev One  is purported to be the lightest and happiest of the collection, representing the early phase of the story when Lilith, the female lead, is being tempted and seduced into a neo-Faustian deal with the devil (or "Dev"). It’s the scent of falling in love despite misg...

I think it's safe to say that a lot of fragrances out there feature coffee in varying degrees. Coffee, for one, has a really nice flavor, not to mention an exquisite aroma that would certainly be a shame if not used at all in perfumery. To certain compositions, it adds depth and flavor that enhance the overall olfactory experience. Yet for all of coffee's wonderful attributes, I have only come across a few fragrances that truly shine the spotlight on coffee instead of simply employing it as an additive or accent. And I could not think of a better example thus far than Kerosene Follow . 

The red juice came as a surprise; a bit scary, to be honest. Since I've had this bottle for quite some time now, I'm not sure if the color changed due to age or if it was actually red to begin with. If there's any bearing to all this, the stand that keeps the bottle in place inside the box is also red, the only such one in The Library Collection (two are black and the rest are gold). Anyhoo, judging by its visual impact, Amouage Opus IV holds a lot of promise in how the scent itself makes an impact.

I got this at the height of the pandemic in 2020, not knowing that it's been discontinued (or maybe it wasn't yet at the time). Since I love patchouli in fragrances, I never bothered looking it up and just jumped the gun. The irony is I never even opened it until recently. From the very first spray, patchouli barges in with all its woody and earthy glory, firmly establishing its dominance, as if making it clear that Tom Ford Patchouli Absolu is absolutely a patchouli-centric fragrance. What I love about this creation is how it's expertly layered with several different supporting notes—some obvious, others imperceptible to my nose. It's never one-dimensional. It's a composition with depth without stealing the patchouli's thunder—at least at the onset.

As with all other fragrances from the Ermenegildo Zegna Essenze line , the name of this one is clear about what to expect of its main scent profile: Peruvian Ambrette . The problem is, what in the world is this ambrette from Peru? A quick search, however, points to a type of plant whose seeds produce a musky scent.

The name says it all. J-Scent Roasted Green Tea smells exactly just like what it says on the label: roasted green tea. The first time I tried it, I smiled. Even though I'm primarily a coffee person, I do appreciate good tea as well. The smell instantly brought me back to that moment when we were having matcha at a Japanese traditional-style tea house in the middle of Hamarikyu Gardens in Tokyo. The fragrance is such a delight to take in and of course, wear.