Hello, Brotherhood! I'm a little late posting about Scent Fest SF, but I finally had a chance to sit down and share a little about it. I had the amazing opportunity to meet up with @Aditya Choksi and @Henry Clay , and we turned it into an awesome three-day trip. We had an absolute blast exploring beautiful San Francisco and even got to meet our very own @Antonio Centeno and @Lon Chaneyfield . If there's one thing I took away from this trip, it's how fortunate we are to build genuine friendships with people who share the same passion. For me, it's about much more than just hanging out, it has created friendships that go far beyond our love of "smelly water." @Antonio Centeno , it was a true pleasure finally meeting you, and man, you looked sharp! @Lon Chaneyfield , you were exactly as I imagined, a ball of energy, full of fun, laughs, and great stories. It was a pleasure spending time with you and your significant other (God bless her for putting up with you! 🤣). @Aditya Choksi and @Henry Clay ... what can I say? You guys are my brothers, and I'm honored to call you true friends. Thanks for the amazing laughs, conversation, and cigar smoke! As for Scent Fest itself, I was blown away by the incredible fragrance brands and houses that were there. Some of my standout favorites were Lorenzo Pazzaglia, Roble, Tankhouse, Jeroboam, Rose et Marius, Bohoboco, Mitti, Scentseum, and Algorithmic Perfumery, Zoologist, and many many many more! I'll be making a dedicated post about Algorithmic Perfumery because I thought the concept was incredibly interesting. They have you log into their site, answer questions to learn your scent preferences, and then create a fragrance tailored specifically to you. I had one made for myself and one for each of my daughters, and it was fascinating to see how they turned out. I'll share more about that soon.

I think a lot of people unintentionally blur together three different concepts: - Projection – How far the scent radiates from your body. - Sillage – The scent trail you leave behind as you move. - Longevity – How long the fragrance remains detectable on your skin. In fragrance communities, people often use the word “performance” as a catch-all for all three, which leads to confusion. Then, because “beast mode” fragrances are usually loud and long-lasting, people start assuming that performance = beast mode. That’s not necessarily true. For me, performance simply means how well a fragrance performs while it’s alive. A fragrance can project strongly, leave a great scent trail, and only last four hours. I’d still call that excellent performance with moderate longevity. For example: * Projection: 9/10 * Sillage: 9/10 * Longevity: 4 hours I would describe that as high-performing, not weak. It did exactly what I wanted—it just didn’t stay on skin all day. Likewise, a fragrance that lasts 14 hours but sits close to the skin after the first 20 minutes has excellent longevity but average performance if your definition of performance is projection and sillage. That’s why when I review fragrances, I separate them: - Projection - Sillage - Longevity This gives a much clearer picture than simply saying “performance,” since different people mean different things by that word. So, whenever I ask if a fragrance has good performance, I’m not asking if it’s beast mode or if it lasts 12–16 hours. I’m simply asking whether the fragrance actually works—does it project, leave a noticeable scent trail, and make its presence known while it’s on my skin, even if that only lasts four hours.

In order to make a dent, I put together my scent of the day for 60 days.