“Like in so many other fields, practice is what helps improve. Stop and smell that beautiful flower on your way home. Do it every day, every year when it blooms again. To me, it is not the nose that we train, but the mind. We constantly teach our rational brain to recognise the stimuli around us, and practicing helps the information imprint.” — Roberta Ion The smallest daily practice is usually what sharpens us. Pay attention on purpose, come back tomorrow, and let repetition do the work. Enjoy the #Journey. Love to hear from ya’!

I've had a rough couple of months. It's just been one string of bad stuff after another. But despite that, I've had some really big wins and some bright spots that have shown through the clouds and made things better, even for a little bit. This board continues to be a source of light for me, and I really want to say thank you to @Raymond Reeves who surprised me with his unsolicited generosity. Thank you so much for the decants. I've been wearing Ottoman Amber every day since I opened the box, and I am definitely buying a bottle. It is the scent of my early adulthood, and it takes me right back to that place when i was in grad school, wearing a mixture of patchouli oil, frankincense, and myrrh that my then girlfriend had given me. I wore it on my wrists for years until it finally ran out. I still have the little bottle that I stored it in. It is the scent that my long time friends most associate with me, and I didn't realize how much I had missed it. But on that first spray, it was like coming home again for the first time in decades. My best friend told me yesterday that when she smelled it on me, she couldn't shake how much she associated it with the early days of our friendship. It is a scent that is so intertwined with my body chemistry that it may as well have been created specifically for me. I cannot thank you enough for this gift. I haven't even tried the others, yet, and there's a decant of Aqua di Gio Profumo in there that i am absolutely dying to wear. You have given me something that I didn't know I missed.

“He taught me to not be scared of my ideas and to work through the process with confidence and precision.” — Amandine Clerc-Marie Strong ideas need courage, but execution turns courage into results. Trust what you see, stay precise, and keep working the process until the idea becomes real. Enjoy the #Journey. Love to hear from ya’!

I am not sure how I feel about this fragrance. I mean, I am torn between enjoying it and finding it a bit too niche-ish for me as I am getting acquainted with the notes. Top: Pomelo (Madagascar), Prickly Pear, Green Apple, Orange Blossom Heart: Tonka Bean, Driftwood, Flowerpool, Olibanum (frankincense) Base: Sandalwood, Ambronova, Vetiver, Vanilla Opens fruity and fresh with that pomelo and prickly pear, then the heart gets dry and slightly smoky from the driftwood and olibanum, which keeps the sweetness from going syrupy. Settles into a warm vanilla and vetiver base. It's pitched as an autumn/winter, evening-leaning, date-night vibe. Does it sounds like something you would like to try?

Continuing through my Swiss Arabian Shaghaf gift box, today I'm wearing Shaghaf Oud Azraq. This one gets compared a lot to Honey Aoud by Montale, but I've never smelled Honey Aoud, so I can't comment on any similarities or differences. This is definitely honey and oud though. It's sweet, dark and strong. Every note on the list is present and detectable. This is one of the best scents in the Shaghaf line, but also one of the least versatile. I love the smell, but don't see many occasions where I'd wear it. Honey hits first. It's a sticky, sweet, thick honey. The oud, cinnamon, amber and vanilla play a supporting role. As it dries down, the honey gets less pronounced and the leather comes out more… it settles into exactly what the note list suggests it should smell like. Definitely best in winter. It's another well-made perfume from Swiss Arabian at a great value. I give it an easy 8/10 for my first wearing.