Haven’t posted my SOTD in a while. Going through a lot things since my Dad’s passing, honestly I was not in the mood of it. But today I’m officially coming back to my routines. I took my Mom to the beauty salon and went to some shopping with her. So I wanted to wear something fresh, uplifting and aromatic. D’Un Soir opens very fresh and spicy (citrus like), but at the dry down the beautiful dry and green rose accord shines through alongside with the creamy woody nuance. This blend is absolutely delightful, projects and lasts, and could work for any time and occasion.

I present to you the very humble beginnings of my collection. I started my journey in January, and through ordering many, many sample decants, spraying testers in stores, and watching way too much content, I’ve learned what I’m really looking for and what I like best. This began with the Explorer and Dylan Blue, as “starter” fragrances that I liked very early on. I found they were pleasing and easy to wear anywhere, and really got me used to wearing a scent every day. Bonus that my wife compliments them both all the time. They are still very reliable workhorses. My wife really expressed her love for the Light Blue eau intense, and it was very lucky to order one at $60 the week before it was announced to be discontinued and they shot up to $90. This will be my scent of the summer until I get Paradise Garden. The latest addition is Polo 67 EDT that I plan to use for work, mostly. I enjoy how classy it feels while still feeling fun and refreshing. They really did a good job with this line. Any suggestions for what I should add down the line?

Many of us own clones. I'm conducting a quick survey on spending patterns.

... I love George and his dry sense of humor

So when I was in Selfridges back in April, I came across the Chloé counter and the sales associate introduced me to the Atelier des Fleurs line which I hadn't seen before. I liked a few but the one that really caught my nose was Sous Les Pins by Quentin Bisch. On the way home, I saw it in the duty free shop for a pretty good discount (but still too high for a blind buy without testing first -- I've made that mistake before)... I came home and started looking for a decant or sample but to no avail, I couldn't find one anywhere so I kind of gave up. Then Fragmental had some videos glazing it, so I started looking again and found a little 10ml retail bottle that I snagged (it's a splash bottle, boo... so I had to fill an empty atomizer bottle I had). Wearing it on skin today for the first time. This is a gentle scent that kind of sneaks up on you. At the open it's a gently green and aromatic scent with a hint of non screechy floral sweetness and a gently woody/ camphorous backbone, lifted by a hint of eucalyptus. This isn't a projection monster but I definitely keep getting whiffs of it off my arms and have been for a few hours. It has a kind of molecule effect (I'm sure there's Ambroxan in here) and I might be going in and out of anosmia. It's nicely blended and after the pine fades it’s pretty linear into the woody aromatic dry down. It's funny, I wore House of Cosmo Polaris this morning and at first I thought maybe Polaris had survived eight hours plus a shower afterwards because I kept getting some similar notes -- but no, I think Sous les Pins shares some aromatics with Polaris (to make sure, I then sprayed some on my wrist where I hadn't applied any Polaris and I got the same vibes). I'm also picking up some commonality with the OG LNDH EDT... so I'm thinking there's some lavender, cardamom and maybe vetiver hiding in the "aromatic" and "green" notes that Chloé lists, and probably some cedar in the “woody” notes. But underlying it all is a gentle pine note in the open and early mids - very elegant, not harsh or pine-solly at all. To me this is straight down the fairway of being unisex and can be fairly versatile throughout the year and across different types of occasions.