Fragrance Review: My Top Three Fragrances

So I have decided to do a little blog about my top three favorite fragrances of all time. These are fragrances that I just absolutely adore and would probably cut myself if they ever discontinued. Okay I'm exaggerating. I would probably hang myself instead...

Jokes aside..these are three fragrances that are perfect (in my opinion). Collectively, the three represent categories: 1. My go to scent (the one out of the three I would call my signature...and neither of the three, by the way, is Sweet Redemption by Kilian, which is my signature scent).  2. The fragrance I wear when I am tired of the scent that reflects category 1 but is beautiful and an everlasting attestation to why I love the art of smell.   3.  The fragrance I wear when I want to be different...unique...and mysterious...while still maintaining flawlessness in design.

And without further adieu...I present to you, my top three fragrances:


1. The Signature:   New Haarlem by Bond No. 9
Bond No. 9 truly outdid itself with this one. Composed by Maurice Roucel, NH is a sweet oriental brew revolving around coffee, sweetened with vanilla and tonka, made fresh by bergamot and lavendar, and grounded by woods and patchouli. This is a heavenly concoction. Those who like to wear fragrances for themselves will enjoy this because it is a heavenly smell. It smells delicious...like a dessert. I do have a full review on this so I won't get into details, but the drydown is just glorious. The fragrance projects well, but starts to project even stronger as it dries down, which in my opinion, is perfection since the drydown is my favorite part (smells like a sweet, french vanilla cafe, with very faint coffee, but creamy and honeyed patchouli and tonka bean melange). I love it because it is airy, versatile, and long lasting. The sillage is gorgeous and is complimented nearly everytime I wear it (which is very often). I still wear this in the heat, with one or two light sprays, and catching whiffs of NH is heaven for my olfactory sins.

2.  The Signature Replacement:  Terre D'Hermes Pure Parfum by Hermes
Composed by in-house Hermes perfumer and all time great nose, Jean-Claude Ellena, Terre D'Hermes Pure Parfum takes the original EDT version one step up the ladder and a rocket ship even further. The earthiness of the original is stronger in this, but so is sweetness, and the ruggedness. The EDT mellows out in the citrus department over time, where as the EDP, the citrus becomes stronger as the hours pass. This is personification in a bottle...the sweetness represents a gentleman...the type to pull your chair out, hold your door, and tell you how ravishing you look even though all this is taking place pre-shower, pre-makeup, but immediately post-waking. The ruggedness reflects side B of this unassuming man who will handle business when need be. This is a man who will stop on his way to Graceland to take off his shirt and fix all four of a young lady's tires, to expect only a bottle of water in payment...but instead finds himself engaged in some guilt-free passion in the back of that newly grounded vehicle. He is not afraid to get dirty....if need be.


3. The Unique Scent: Ambre Narguile 
Yes it smells like apple...but not apple pie..nope. More like Apple Cider. But a very light, delicious, transparent and smokey apple cider...yet very intriguing. This is the fragrance I spray on when I want to wear something different, daring, and not reminiscent of your average "cologne." I wear this when I want to feel mysterious. I wear this when I go out, wearing a black v-neck, black jeans, black boots, and my hair pushed back. I also wear this when I want to feel comforted and cozy despite the chaos and debauchery around me in NYC. This is a fragrance that truly captures the smell of flavored shisha tobacco but done in a very sweet and tolerable fashion to eventually intoxicate any nose that should fall under its spell. This is a magical scent and very unisex. The dry down is a gorgeous olfactory trip that can reminds me of a bakery where the dominant aroma is that of an apple cinnamon tart (I barely get tobacco in the dry down). Truly unique, mystical, and has an enigmatic personality for any man who wears this. I think women who wear this are bewitching yet inviting, and seductive nonetheless.



So there you have it. My top three fragrance that I cannot live without. These are fragrances I will always come back to.  Even my signature, Sweet Redemption by Kilian, as much as I love this scent, I feel as if I do not have such a pious relationship with it as much as I do with the above mentioned.

Fragrance Review: New Haarlem Revew (Bond No. 9)

via [ Drexel University  ]

 

 The only Bond No.9 worth paying full price for. There are other good ones like China Town and Brooklyn...but just good...not lavish.

Group: Sweet Oriental

Smells like: The pleasure one's mouth receives upon eating a sweet Turkish delight or Baklava, while immediately emulsifying the dessert with a coffee with light cream and sugar.

Rating: 9/10

This stuff is amazing. Forget about the deliciousness and the mouth watering aspect of this fragrance. There is so much complexity to this fragrance despite only having about 5 to 6 notes.

Only my man Maurice can do something like this. What Roucel has done here is take a simple note, Coffee, and turned it into a fragrance that evolves into the various stages of a wonderful time in New York City history: old school Harlem!

In the era the fragrance tries to depict...Harlem was a "New" Haarlem (that's how it was spelled back then with two a's)..and that's what the fragrance is portrays...the evolution of a wonderful part of Manhattan that was slowly becoming inspired by speakeasies that play Miles and Coltrane in the background...jazz clubs with a smokey airiness of coffee is it clashes with the sweet perfumes of the waitresses mingling with the woody colognes worn by cats in fedoras and suits and canes and tie bars...who, after a long night of snapping fingers and dancing and playing cards, would step out, woman in hand, letting all the aromas inside their beloved joint to succumb to what's left of the nature in Manhattan.

Coffee with Lavender is hard to picture...but throw in the sweet earthiness of Pathchouli and a light cedar base..and Roucel not only created the perfect combination of Coffee and florals, but so well blended that anyone who embarks on this trip is sure to be pleased.

New Haarlem is very sweet, but EXTREMELY tolerable...and ready?...waitt for it...YES..tolerable EVEN in the SUMMER (long as you go light on the trigger). Most will tell you that this is a cold weather scent...true, but I don't think it's exclusive to cooler moments. The reason is, New Haarlem is this phenomenal airiness to it..overtime the coffee mellows out, and the patchouli/lavendar/vanilla begins to rise - the gorgeous thing about this evolution is, in the cooler periods..one will say "Wow, this is perfect for the winter..what a cozy and warming scent but sweet enough to distract my senses."..During warmer moments, catching whiffs of this gorgeous scent one will think "wow...what a crisp, sweet, coffee'ish, airy scent."

Very versatile.

Longevity: 9+ hours (12+ on clothing)

Sillage: Mesmerizing scent trail. "I want to eat you alive.." type compliments to "what...is...that...fragrance...I can't stop sniffing you!" ...thank god I got all day ;-) I wore this in Miami once, yes, Miami...two sprays, one on each forearm, and catching whiffs of this was such a delight while walking along Ocean Drive, letting the breeze from the Atlantic carry this composition around me.

Projection: Not a MONSTER in the sense of Godzilla...but let's call it Bigfoot...will get the job done should one stumble upon it.

9/10

Will always be a part of my collection. Always.