So today was my first full wearing from my brand new bottle of Jubilation XXV - met up with an ex and wanted to smell great on the cool sunny day we had here. Well, I don’t know if I went nose blind or what, but even though I shpraaaayed it on heavily, I could barely smell it. It was like an instant skin scent, despite a relatively heavy application. My ex knows I’m into fragrances and even though I had recently applied it, she could barely smell it either. So I came away feeling pretty disappointed with my new Amouage and felt like I needed to compensate with a solo beast mode night now that I’m home. Now, given that Amouage is probably like a dollar a spray, I didn’t wanna go crazy reapplying it, plus I didn’t wanna feel more disappointment. So I was wondering, what might be in the same ballpark if I were to layer things? Hint of citrus, tons of resins, amber, smoky woods and dark fruit… so I came up with a Frankenstein’s monster of about ten sprays each of Mancera Intense Cedrat Boise and Rayhaan Terra. Now, does it smell anything at all like Jubilation XXV? Nah, not really. But… I’m sitting in a nuclear fragrance cloud that hits all the notes I was looking for and is actually very pleasant to wear. I think it’s a good sign that I can’t stop sniffing my arms. And after a disappointing day of like zero projection off Jubilation, i’m getting the olfactory stimulation I was looking for!

My greatest mistake, with a double error, happened last year !! Davidoff Cool Water was one of my favourite fragrances during my adolescence, just following Versace l'Homme and Drakkar Noir. Last year I was online looking for something new, and I found a very good offer for a 125ml Cool Water bottle (around 30$). Nostalgia for my youth immediately took over, and I bought the bottle with no hesitation...and unfortunately without information and further details of the flanker. It was called Intense, I just thought "Wow, an intense version of my original Cool Water"....what could go wrong ??? The moment I received the packet and sprayed was the moment I discovered Fragrantica Notes 😭 And I really felt stupid 🥶I was so disappointed, not only for the new fragrances I didn't love (it's not soo bad after all), but to have missed my Nostalgia Moment 🤣 Well I didn't lear to avoid blind buys, but at least I learned to study in detail what I buy befor purchasing it !! 😉 And what was your worst experience in blind buys ?