Category Archives: Blog Features

Ensar Oud EO No 2

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It’s been a long time since a new release gave me a frisson of instant joy, longer still since one moved me to write reams of pages upon first sniff. Ensar Oud‘s newest fragrance, EO No 2 parfum, did precisely that. Within moments of spraying, I rushed to dig up a yellow legal pad, my head filled with the story of what the fragrance conjured up, so real that I practically saw the sentences in my head, saw the visions of what the notes evoked. It was a moment of pure olfactory delight, something which has been all too rare for me lately.

Photo: Ensar Oud.

Ensar Oud EO No 2 — pure parfum version, bottle, and box. Photo: my own.
Ensar Oud EO No 2 — pure parfum version, bottle, and box. Photo: my own.
Ensar Oud EO No 2 — pure parfum version, bottle, and box. Photo: my own.

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Masque Milano Hemingway

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Names have a funny way of shaping one’s expectations, so when Masque Milano told me that the name of its forthcoming scent would be “Hemingway” and a tribute to the author, I had a certain olfactory profile in mind. I associate the author with the scent of rum, whisky, bourbon, and cigars, but Hemingway the fragrance was something quite different. To my surprise, however, alcohol did end up being unexpectedly involved, even if it was not actually intended to be a part of the scent and even if it wasn’t the sort that I had expected.

Photo: my own.

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Niche & Artisanal Giveaway: WINNERS!

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I have the names of the six winners of the niche and artisanal fragrance giveaway.  Before announcing them, however, I would like to explain the technical administrative and privacy side of things because there were 237 entries in total and a few people entered under similar or identical names. (To give just one example: Stephen, Stephan, Stefan, or Steven.) So I took the liberty of writing minor, innocuous information in brackets beside certain names in order to ensure that I had the right Stephen, Stephan, Stefan, and Steven and to separate them out. The bracketed information did not violate your privacy or reveal your personal identity. Typically, it was either the first initial(s) of your last name (where applicable), just a partial fragment of your email address, or your geographic location. It was merely enough to ensure that the right person collected their prize, nothing more.

So, without further ado:

Source: borrowreadrepeat.com

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Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez’s new Perfumes The Guide 2018

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Source: Amazon.com

Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez just published their Perfumes The Guide 2018, the first new version of the book in ten years. The Kindle version was released on June 28th, while the paperback version came out on July 13th or 14th.

I thought that everyone knew about the release, so I was astonished to hear more than a few people say in the niche/artisanal sample giveaway thread that they had no idea there even was a new book! It has been the subject of quite a few discussions in the perfume world already, which is one reason why I didn’t think to add to it with a review of my own here, but I’ve changed my mind after the comments, particularly as a good number of you went off to buy the book following my post and others have asked for my thoughts on certain fragrance assessments. So I decided to write a review, though it will be a little unconventional at times.

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