I recently got my hands on samples of the three new Amouage Essences (Line 618, Sequence, and Remain), but it was Line 618 that immediately jumped out as my type of scent, especially as we go into warmer AZ weather. I wore it once to test and knew I had to have a bottle. Not available on discounters yet, but thankfully I was able to find a catch & release from someone to save a little coin. So how does it smell? It opens with a really nice mix of fruity brightness (pineapple/peach/plum) layered over soft incense before settling into a creamy, slightly milky heart with coconut and woods. It then dries down into smooth sandalwood, light leather, and a gentle smoky warmth. While it does have that signature Amouage depth, it’s in a much more wearable, easy-reach style that is going to work surprisingly well in the heat. Performance wise it sits in a really nice spot, about 6–8 hours for me, with a solid push early before it settles into a smooth, personal scent bubble. Not loud, but definitely noticeable. Honestly though, it’s the way it wafts that gets me… I keep catching it throughout the wear and can’t stop smelling myself. I can see where traditional Amouage fans might say it strays a bit from the house’s heavier DNA, but it still feels unique and well-crafted, and I’m all in on it. I love this. Within this release of the Essences collection from Amouage, each scent represents a point in time. Remain as a dot (past), Sequence as a circle (cycle/continuity), and Line 618 as the line (present, movement, progression). That “in motion” concept for Line 618 really comes through here with how it balances freshness and depth. These were Dubai airport exclusives before recently launching in the US which is why they haven’t hit discounters yet. Please, if this scent profile interests you, find a place to sample it. You can 100% smell its depth and complexity, but to me comes across so smooth and can be worn around folks not as into fragrance as we are and still be appealing. I wouldn’t say blind buy worthy at this price point, but if that’s your thing I support it.

I got a lot of boxes in the mail today, LOL My copy of the new Jean-Claude Elena book "Atlas of Botanical Fragrance" arrived today. I can't wait to read through it, but I wanted to share because it's just so freaking gorgeous. Each section is broken down into Woods and Barks, Leaves, Flowers, Fruits, Gums and Resins, Seeds, Roots, and Animal Products. Each page has a description of the scent, where it comes from home, and how it is used in modern perfumery. The following page is a work of art showcasing the perfume note. I've included a few here. The whole book I stunning. My iPhone pics don't do it justice. Very well worth the $30 price tag. I'll do a follow up after I've had a chance to sit down and really read through it. I might get a second copy like I did with the previous book to cut out the art plates to make some artwork to decorate my perfume cabinet.

Yesterday was the day I finally "Had Enough"!! 😎. I realized that I haven't been giving my full bottles enough love, as I have SO many samples that I have been trying to get to. The more I try the more that shows up!! Especially if I god forbid, buy a full bottle of something at least 10 more samples show up! A great problem to have I know. But the lack of organization gives me a bit of anxiety. Yesterday I put all of my samples into ziplock baggies to be sorted through and categorized at a later time. This allowed me to go back to my closet and "nerd Out" on what I currently have and How to best use them. A month ago or so, my wife and I took our collections down to the basement (finished) so that we can figure out a better way to display them. Since our collection (we both are collectors) has gotten too big to display in the main area of the house without changing a lot of things, so we agreed to do something downstairs. I proceeded to make 10ml decants of each full bottle of mine and had these 3d printed holders made on Etsy. They have worked out great. They now sit in my closet for an easy opportunity to grab and enjoy them. That however, didn't sit well with my OCD, so I decided to label each holder. - Spring/Fall - Fall/Winter - Spring/Summer - All Seasons This way I can rotate based on season and keep the ones that are appropriate in good view. This also helped me realize that I am much heavier in Fall/Winter scents than other seasons so it will give me a great place to adjust my sample testing in the future and help me focus on Full Bottle conversions that will better round out my collection. I will start going through my samples and put them all into large Ziplock Bags labeled the same way so that I can work samples into the proper rotation. Sorry if this is a bit too much for the group, but I am interested if others have some type of "Plan" when it comes to organization and sample testing. Have a great Monday Everyone!!

Today I attended a niche fragrance testing gathering and breakfast. Always nice to meetup with like-minded fellow fragrance enjoyers! Got to try out many of the mor epopular niche fragrances I haven't tested. There was plenty to go around, but here's the new ones for me that stood out, considering I tried them out from strip only: 1. M.Micallef Notorious XO. Been enjoying M.Micallef fragrances, but had not had the chance to try this one out. Didn't think I'dlike this one seeing plenty of gourmandish notes, but the boozy and spicy nature goe swell above the sweets on this one. Very nice, will be including a decant of it on my next haul. 2. Initio Narcotic Delight. Amazing. My focus went directly to how the declared fruitiness (cherry) blended with the sweetish tobacco and the spiciness. Absolutely decanting next as well. 3. Wasn't very impressed by the rest of the Torino line. I knew 21 only, and 22-25 didn;t impress me, the better one to my nose being 25. 4. Bond No.9 Lafayette Street. Not going to lie, this was very impressive to me. Now that's a fresh/sweet fragrance I can really enjoy. Floral notes not very prominent to my nose, it comes out more spicy/sweet to me, with citruses freshening it up. 5. Fragrances from the Mexico Perume Museum (MUPE). Three of them I found so good: Agave Mexica (green and citrusy, just a tad boozy), Coral Mexica (salty marine, coconut and very uplifting) and Chocolate Mexica (dark chocolaty, creamy, but very nicely balanced so it is not cloying or as gourmand as you'd think). Amazing. I understand sadly, that they're a yearly release, and once they're gone, they're gone. These were released on 2024. They can also be found in Fragrantica for a better idea. 6. Creed Original Santal, and OG Vetiver. I had never tried them nor was looking for them, but were actually pretty good! Very brighten-up sandalwood on the first, and vetiver not as prominent on the second, with citruses and fresher notes taking the stage. But the best of it was two guatemalan perfumers coming over. One I already knew, bringing some amazing summer scents based on banana note. First one being called Banana Young, being the fruitier, sweeter of the two, and Banana Summer, which my best way to describe is Virgin Island Water with a banana note and minus any booziness. Both were absolutely excellent. Extrait de Parfums... but me? Out of budget right now 😅

Acquired this decant in a trade last winter with @Jeff Beason and have been looking forward to testing it. Finally did that yesterday. Wow— this surprised me in a great way. Gorgeous and uplifting opening of the lemon zest hits immediately but with the zaps of the floral heart of cistus and lavender making me pause to recognize that this isn’t your typical, short-lived citrus top. In fact this performed beyond expectations. It’s my first time trying this brand, but I have a general read from the brotherhood that it has a luke warm following(?). It continued to develop over a couple of hours and a projected well within a few feet. Got family compliments! And, I smelled hints of it upon waking this morning so quite an impressive performance. Now I love freshies and Vetiver in general, and I will be enjoying this alongside some other tests before determining which wins a FB spot.