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So we had a pretty nice sunny day here today and as work was winding down I thought this might be one of my last chances to wear one of my warm weather favorites, GNTonic. It does what it says - it’s just got this incredible sharp zesty citrus effervescent quality, super crisp and addictive smelling. Either I go noseblind to it or it just doesn’t last, but after about 90 minutes it retreats to just a few inches off skin (and after four hours I have to snuffle my arms just to detect it). So just as it was starting to die down tonight, I thought, heck, maybe this is my last chance to wear Vibrato too and layered some of that on. I figured that sparkly ginger and grapefruit would go perfectly with the lime and juniper in what was left of the GNTonic. And holy crap was I right, this combo is so good it feels like it could be illegal What a fantastic send-off to summer tonight

Part 5 — Rubbing Your Wrists Together Destroys Fragrance Molecules THE MYTH: “Never rub your wrists together after spraying. You’ll crush the fragrance molecules, bruise the perfume, and destroy the scent.” THE REALITY: Ordinary wrist rubbing does not crush fragrance molecules or break their chemical bonds. You can change how the liquid is distributed on your skin without chemically destroying the perfume. THE EXPLANATION: This is one of those pieces of fragrance advice that gets repeated so often that the explanation starts sounding like established science. We’ve probably all heard it: spray your wrists, start rubbing them together, and someone immediately tells you that you’re breaking the molecules. Fragrance molecules aren’t little beads you can crush between your wrists. What rubbing actually does is spread and transfer the liquid across the surfaces touching each other. That can change the area covered and the amount sitting on each wrist. Spreading the wet fragrance into a thinner film, along with any warming from friction, can affect evaporation and how you experience the opening. The size of that effect will depend on the fragrance and how vigorously you rub. But that does not mean a quick wrist rub automatically destroys the top notes, ruins the composition, or takes hours off the fragrance’s life. Even fragrance advice published by brands and experts can repeat the “breaking molecules” explanation. Repetition alone doesn’t make that explanation chemically accurate. There’s also a difference between lightly touching your wrists together to transfer some fragrance and vigorously rubbing the application area. Neither should be described as crushing molecules. My advice is still simple: spray and let it dry naturally. It’s an easy, consistent way to apply and evaluate a fragrance without redistributing it. And if you’ve rubbed your wrists together for years, there’s no reason to think you’ve been destroying every fragrance you wore. The takeaway is that letting your fragrance dry naturally is a sensible habit. Just understand the reason behind it.

So I thought I’d spin the wheel and try out the new re-release of JPG Fleur de Male. Woof, it is absolutely not for me. And I think… it’s not going to be for everyone. What I can say is it is very well balanced, relatively complex with a lot going on that all work together, but is just wholly unappealing to me. I’m not the biggest fan of florals (I’ve tested Le Beau Narcisse and Flower Edition and reacted pretty negatively to those) but was wondering if I’d like this one based on the interesting note breakdown. The florals in this don’t work for me the same way they don’t work for me in Le Beau Narcisse - something about the orange blossom has an edge that doesn’t sit well with me, it’s less smooth and less crowd pleasing than say what you find in YSL Myslf. But on top of that, there’s some really weird stuff going on in this new release - a fair amount of bright powdery green, with a hint of pine that I do like, but a dusty earthy undertone (maybe from the hay or tobacco note?) that to me really takes this in an unappealing direction. In the air it’s not terrible - but up close it’s not appealing to smell which is a must have for me (if I’m not sniffing my arms like a monkey all day, it’s not a keeper…). There’s kind of a retro feel about it as well, in a nod to the OG I think this will appeal to fans of the OG and maybe people who tolerate florals or more interesting : challenging designer compositions - but unfortunately this one is not for me. Anyone here tried the new one or love the OG?

I’ve been exploring fragrances featuring saffron, and in my quest for a bottle to fill that category I stumbled on a video from TLTG glazing this new Hawas offering as a great twist on the BR 540 DNA. So I ordered a decant which arrived today. And… woof, I *really* did not like this. There is something in the open that is completely unbearable - like a burning plastic smell, and not the good kind. I resisted the urge to wash it off, and it was pretty much an hour before that note kind of faded to the background. Along the way, there was a very sharp mineralic saffron that wasn’t doing the composition any favors either. At about 90 minutes in, thankfully the projection was dying down a bit, and I was left with an actually pretty pleasant mix of warm spice including much less mineralic saffron, aromatics, a touch of green notes including a kind of piney vibe, and some woody amber. If I had to give a rating just for the mids and dry down, I guess I’d give it something like a 6 / 10. But with that harsh open, this one’s getting something more like a 4.5 overall in my book. This might be one of those fragrances that you go nose-blind to, so it’s really hard to say exactly what the longevity is - but definitely after about four hours, it was barely a skin scent. I also got a decant of the new Trajan Noir to battle against it - I was underwhelmed by that one as well, it had a sour note that lingered well into the mids that I really didn’t enjoy. So TLDR, I’m disappointed by these releases and the search for saffron continues. I remember enjoying the OG Trajan so maybe I need to revisit that or just give in and get BR 540