For those that may remember him, Mike Payne spent a good chunk of his early fragrance and perfuming journey here in BoS. Since his time here, it’s honestly been incredible watching Mike and HoP Atelier finally come to life and now officially release its very first fragrance from the house, Paraiso Perdido. Back when he was here in the BoS, Mike was always fascinated with the science, composition, and artisanal side of perfumery. He was constantly studying, experimenting, and dropping knowledge here on Skool. You could tell pretty quickly this wasn’t just a casual hobby or trend for him. He genuinely cared about the craft and artistry behind fragrance. What stands out most to me is that he never rushed any part of the process. From learning raw materials and composition structure to refining the overall vision for the brand, every step felt intentional. The fragrance DNA, packaging, presentation, and overall identity all feel thoughtfully put together instead of trend chased or mass produced. And Paraiso Perdido absolutely delivers. Right off the top, you get this rich blast of rum that immediately grabs your attention before settling into an incredibly realistic pineapple and passion fruit accord. Not candy tropical either. This smells lush, dense, juicy, and textured. There’s a humid, overripe fruit quality to it that feels far more artisan/indie niche than designer tropical. It has personality and character. In Arizona weather, this thing is going to shine. The heat is going to push those tropical facets beautifully, and this is the kind of fragrance that stands out because almost nobody around you is wearing anything remotely like it. It smells 100% artisan/indie niche in the best way possible: handcrafted, creative, and confident. Really proud of Mike and how far he’s come with this journey. You can tell this brand was built with patience, passion, and attention to detail from top to bottom. I can’t wait to get this on skin, wear it out in public, and see where both the fragrance and the brand go from here. Huge congratulations to Mike and HoP Atelier on the launch of their very first release.

Super hot day here in the UK, so threw on some fresh scents and headed to a Car Boot Sale. Saw a stall selling fragrances. Designer and niche. £13 a box. Except the Tom Ford… that was £15. That fact made me laugh for about 20 minutes. Nice to see all the different brands use the same cellophane wrapping service. No purchases for me, obviously. As for my scents? Azure sure smelt close to Afternoon Swim, but if anything it lasted less time than the original. I’m talking literal minutes before it just wandered off. Acqua Di Gio (post reformulation) was lovely, and lasted a while, but even that became a skin scent a little quickly. Tomorrow is a bank holiday in the UK, and I’ll be hitting up a new Car Boot Sale. Let’s home there are less incredulous “bargains” to be had there.