This one surprised me. Sauvage Extrait really doesn’t come across like another typical Sauvage flanker to me. It’s much drier, darker, woodier and more resinous, with the patchouli and oud giving it a completely different character from the familiar fresh Sauvage DNA. My first thought was actually Amouage. Not that it smells exactly like a particular Amouage fragrance, but it has that same type of dense, dry, woody, slightly smoky Middle Eastern niche feel. I can especially understand the comparisons people are making to the dry oud character of Amouage Royal Tobacco. This smells much more expensive and serious than I expected from the Sauvage name. Less blue designer fragrance and more like Dior decided to take Sauvage into Amouage territory. First impression: I like this quite a bit. It may actually be one of the most interesting Sauvage releases Dior has done because it doesn’t feel like they simply turned up the concentration. They changed the personality. Definitely a cooler-weather fragrance for me, and I’m looking forward to giving it some full wearings.

They even had matching bars of soap and a bottle of body lotion that was the best of the bunch

"Plunge into the exhilarating surf of the Celtic Sea. Immersed in the wild waters, every wave carries a fresh minerality. Joining a burst of bergamot, driftwood anchors this sea-salt fresh scent. Experience the untamed beauty of the British coast." I just picked this up yesterday and giving it a test drive. The description above references the British coast but the opening of bergamot & mineral takes me on a different journey. The first scent immediately after applying was reminiscent of a sunny summer afternoon sipping a limoncello spritz on Napoli’s Lungomare. I’m curious to see how the rest of the notes come together but so far enjoying this one.

Encre Indigo is Annick Menardo‘s unique black tea and vetiver combination from Lalique, arguably the best value-for-money house in the smell-engineering business. A niche house could package and sell this for $200-250. You can get it from discounters for $30-35. It is the best fragrance investment for the smallest amount of money you will ever make, along with its vetiver-infused Encre Noire cousins. To me this is incontestably a year-round fragrance. In the spring and summer it feels like what a drink of tall unsweetened iced cold tea tastes like. In the fall and winter, that same tea note is warming and comforting. I own about 15 backup bottles of my favorite frags. This is one.

When one bottle of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce just isn’t enough… you collect the sizes. 1000 mL / 296 mL / 200 mL / 100 mL (might need to hunt for a 50 mL) 1,596 mL of Fierce.. From the iconic oversized bottle to the classic 100 mL, this is less of a fragrance collection and more of a Fierce archive. Some collect fragrances. Some collect houses. I apparently collect Fierce in bulk. What’s the largest bottle in your collection?