Best and worst blind buys of 2018?
Worst:
Nudiflorum by Nasomatto
Layton Exclusif by Parfums De Marly
Fleur Universelle by Lalique
Best:
Santal Carmin by Atelier Cologne
Sound of a Ricochet by Floraïku
Unknown Pleasures by Kerosene
What about you guys? What were your best & worst blind buys of this year?
Best blind buy was CH Men Prive
Worst was YSL La Nuit L'Homme
Apparently the older batches are good. They reformulated it a few years back so a lot of reviews on YouTube are of the older scent and not the newer one. The new one has zero projection and only lasts an hour or so. It's as if they out 10ml in the bottle and then fill the rest with alcohol
For me, I just thought it was a scent not most people would like and strong but yesterday I encountered someone wearing it in the wild. I noticed it and knew what it was but smelling it on someone else is different. It smelled great! I'll give it another try tomorrow actually.
I personally don't hate it or anything, but I can see why some people would. It's just so sweet, and it's so incredibly strong you can't get away from it.
OMG the Tabacco Vanille is so intoxicating it says 'stay away from me'. It is the only sample I have that didn't get fully used. I sprayed my friend with it and he was pissed.
Élie Saab Essence No 2 Gardenia and Pharrell Williams Girl were keepers.
The worst for me -- they all smell good and are well made/blended, but they just aren't me -- Pour Un Homme Caron, Eau de Patou, Givenchy II, Berdoues Maasai Mara. IMO more suitable for men.
Best:
ELDO Noel Au Balcon. I almost never blind buy full size but I am so glad I did. I love it, the perfect winter scent.
Hiram Green Slowdive (travel size)
Worst:
Berdoues Assam of India (a rollerball)
Hiram Green Moon Bloom (travel size)
They aren’t bad and I’ll still wear them but I definitely wouldn’t have bought them if I’d tried them first.
I’ve got the Berdoues on the wishlist as a blind buy - what made it a miss for you?
I literally own all your other three mentioned too so I think we have similarities in taste. I love LOVE Hiram green but moon bloom is my least fave (and the others are all truly equal loves for me) - only for the tuberose which is a really tough note
It just didn’t live up to expectations for me — it was pretty faint with a meh burst of citrus at the start. That said, perhaps it’ll be better when it’s warmer. It’s also possible my love of spiciness makes it harder for me to enjoy the more delicate tea note.
I was hoping Moon Bloom would be more fresh/purely floral than it turned out on me — I ended up liking L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Nuit de Tubereuse more.
Moon bloom is intense isn’t it. Not as full on as carnal flower thank dog. Will have to try that L’artisan. For unexpected tuberose I liked Luci ed Ombré by Masque Milano.
I hear ya about spiciness - strong tea please not weak!
Thanks for the rec! I’ve never actually tried carnal flower (I am afraid I’ll like it — same with portrait of a lady).
It’s like the uber-tuberose. If you like the note, I don’t think there is anything that beats it.
It sucks but I have to blind buy 90% of my niche fragrances since my city doesn't have any shop that carries them.
What happened with Nudiflorum? Do you own other Nasomattos?
I bought it because I read some reviews that it was a smoky floral but on my skin it turned into the most disgusting second-hand smoke.
I don't have other Nasomattos yet... Planning on blindly buying Narcotic Venus but tbh after the mess that Nudiflorum was I'm kinda worried.
Sorry to hear that. Did you buy a full bottle? Nasomatto sells 4ml roller bottles on their website which I find to be a good compromise. They are 1/3 of the price of a FB and by the nature of roller bottles they can last for a long time.
With you on the Nudiflorum. None of the reviews capture it - it wasn’t very nice to me at all and quite unpleasant
What do you do with your bad blind buys? Resell? Swap?
I particularly like cypress so I'm an exception to that crowd, I think. It's certainly not something to wear running on a hot day though, I've noticed it can mix with BO pretty badly.
And yeah dude, Halston Man seems like what spraying Axe into an aluminum recycling plant would smell like.
Worst:
Serge Lutens A la nuit (The animalic note from the jasmine is too much for me, slightly better on clothes but on my skin its a disaster)
Best:
TF Tobacco Vanille (It's winter where I live right now and my god is it amazing)
TF Amber Absolute (My favorite from the TF line now. So deep, so dark)
Best was Elysium, worst was Molecule 1.
Worst:
Alaia by Azzedine Alaia
Narcisco by Narciso Rodriguez
Nothing wrong per se with either just very much not for me. Blind buys are dangerous.
Madonna Truth or Dare -- I used to wear Fracas but just don't care for it anymore so should have known this wasn't for me since so many people described it as an "homage" to Fracas
Best:
Van Cleef & Arpels California Reverie
ELDO You or Someone Like You
Maison Lancome Jasmins Marzipane
Pending:
Ordered Velvet Teddy from MAC while purchasing other stuff during a 25% off Cyber Monday sale. Still waiting to get it -- but can return in store, phew.
Oh man, I've blind bought a lot since getting into this hobby. As far as this year, it's too much to go through looking at pages to get a more accurate 'count', but going off memory which might be wrongggg...
Best:
Chypre Palatin - amaaazzing
Roja Vetiver Parfum Pour Homme (though I think I tried a sample of the EdP prior) - I love vetiver, soooo. :)
Eau Sauvage Parfum 2017 - I love the 2012, and the 2017 is pretty much the same; might re-acquire this one.
Spicebomb Extreme - om nom nom
Declaration Essence - I enjoy these types of frags, stuff like this and Eau d'Hermes. Gf swooned over it, haha.
YSL Pour Homme Haute Concentration - Need more time with this, as it's pretty new to me, but that opening is pretty good :D. Really enjoying (and enjoying exploring!) the classics/vintages.
Profumo di Firenze 1954 Terrarossa - Nice vetiver scent, perhaps better than Grey Vetiver EdP.
Vetiver Royal Bourbon Oriza L. Legrand - I mean.. vetiver, soo. (Can't remember if I had a sample or not beforehand)
Guerlain Homme L'Eau Boisee - ...vetiver, lol, but not heavy - and pretty easy to wear!
Chanel Sycomore EdP - VETIIVVERRRR. I had smelled the EdT years prior.
Gucci Envy for Men - Pretty damn good, I'd like to acquire another bottle.
Not best (but not bad):
Chic for Men - just not quite my style, and might have strong olfactory fatigue with this one.
Areej le Dore Russian Oud - Not quite a love, but probably one of the better obvious OUD centered frags I've tried, pretty good. Bottle was maybe a little shoddy, which maayyy be part of the reason why I sold it.
Rochas Moustache (vintage concentree) - It's alright, but I'm not real big on ginger I guess.
Kouros Cologne Sport - Decent, but not necessarily good enough to keep. Also it seemed to like 'burn' my skin (the sensation of being too cold or something - know what I mean?), probably from the menthol/eucalyptus/whatever the hell is in it.
Kouros Eau de Sport - Now, don't get me wrong, it's an amazing smell... but to me it basically smelled like Kouros, which is my #1. So there wasn't really a 'wow' factor to it. Plus it was a splash bottle and I... don't really like splash bottles.
Kouros Fraicheur - This one is actually pretty good, and I might have a little regret selling it off.
Penhaligon's Castile - Good smell, but not a wow. Like a nice soapy smell?
Homme de Gres - It's okay.
L’Homme Ideal Cologne - Nooope. Not bad, but I'm not sure if the grapefruit note/accord works with my skin.
Tommy Hilfiger Weekend Getaway - Decent, but just kind of.. well.. boring.
Other:
Waiting on a little vintage bottle of Paloma Picasso EdP. Hasn't arrived yet.
I don't know if there's any more.. probably?
Eh, not really - it helps to 'recycle' as well, so to speak. Out with old frags, in with new frags so some of that money gets re-used. Also helps to sell stuff for more than you got it for, haha, I've gotten lucky a couple times.
Best - Carlisle PdM
Worst - Dunhill Icon (I need to give this another try, only spent $10 so I don't feel too bad)
Honestly I'm not sure. I think I was expecting a much more citrus, summer fragrance. Maybe OneNote doesn't agree with me. I really need to give it another try.
What do you like most about Prada Luna Rossa? I wore a sample of it today and enjoyed it, but I’m just starting out!
For me I think it just seems like a warm and comforting scent, I think I’m drawn to the amber, I’ve never really liked patchouli, but in this fragrance for some reason I like it. I wish it lasted longer on my skin, but that’s my only complaint. I bought the gift set, I love the shower gel, wish they sold it separately
only have one cheapie blind buy that I can remember offhand was jaguar performance real nice soapy frag.
Best:
Citrus Splash - Alexandria fragrances (clone of Tom Ford Mandarino Di Amalfi)
Gucci Guilty Absolute
Worst:
Semi Bespoke 2 - Dua Fragrances
For my best, Citrus Splash nailed cloning my favorite Tom Ford from the Neroli line, plus gave it crazy longevity. Gucci Guilty Absolute is hands down my best blind buy of all time. Absolutely blown away with that fragrance. Not for everyone, but for those who like and appreciate it, it's a real gem. I blind bought it scared and remembering thinking to myself "shit this could blow up on me" but upon first spray I was in love!
Best: creed git, tf oud wood
Worst: carven leau intense, imaginary authors slow explosions
Lots of people love it. Its complex and the dry down is fun. I just didnt like the mint opening. You should try it though. It's cheap enough to blind buy.
I have the Oud Wood. Ridiculously expensive and I dare say worth it.
Best: Victoria's Secret Paris (it should be so cheap & kitsch, shouldn't it? But it's woody & feminine & I love it.)
Worst: Oscar de la Renta Esprit d'Oscar. Straight-A reviews on Fragrantica, but it stinks so bad I can't even use it as air freshener.
Oh, Paris sounds lovely! I will have to get my nose on that. :)
My only real blind buy of note was Bvlgari Aqua Amara which I've really enjoyed so far, definitely a success for me. Isn't quite as long lasting as I was led to expect, but still decent for a fresh scent and I like the mandarin note. I did pick up one of the 4 packs of the Cuba cigar bottles in the same order which I don't particularly like, but given they cost about €3 each I struggle to really call that much of a failure.
Amara lasts on me, but it doesn't project at all. I have to spray 5 times for anyone to smell me while I normally only need 2 or 3.
+1 Aventus. I blind bought a sample - so it may not count. I was actually scared that it was going to be headache inducing because I figured yes - of course the most liked cologne out there would have the worst affect on me.
But... turns out my nose and head loves it! For me it does live up to the hype.
Worst:
1 Million Cologne
CH Men Privé
The One Royal Nights
F Black
Best:
The One EDP
PDM Oajan
1 Million Lucky
Performance is terrible. Gives me a skin rash 1 out of every 2 or 3 wears. Scent is nothing more than "alright". The literal opposite of versatile.
I have to agree with this. Smells great but performance is gone in like 2 hours. This is a good cologne to have if you are going to get close to someone else.
It's just like The One EDP, without everything that makes it good. It's not the worst The One flanker, but definitely not the best.
You can try it still, don't have to take my word for it haha. IMO it's The One Baroque, but it's hard to get your hands on
Best:
D&G The One edp - just a beautiful scent. Niche quality at a designer price.
Worst:
Dunhill Icon - Smelled like a piece of wood doused in cheap aloe vera.
Havana Aramis - smelled like a weak tobacco leaf stuck in a sweaty man's armpit.
Decant-wise, I'm still not impressed with Roja Dove. A Midsummers Dream was a complete letdown. Nothing impressive aside from the price tag. Creation E is nice, but not blown away by it. I think I may prefer Jazz Club and The One over it.
Wow... I find Icon to be one of the most versatile frags in my collection, I'm spraying that at least one a week for the past 6 months.
Best
Slumberhouse Ore. Normally I don’t like chocolate scents but this is so warm without being too rich or cloying.
Worst
Areej Le Doré Koh-I-Noor. The musk and florals seem to clash too much for me. Had to scrub it off.
Ormonde Jayne Qi. Light, pleasant but nothing special.
Worst:
Individual
Aventus (I know, I know...)
Beverly Hills Polo Club Blaze (Spicebomb Clone)
Best:
Dylan Blue
Aqva Amara
Ultra Male
Best: Fat Electrician. I love this strange and quirky but friendly scent so much. It's my daily dumb reach. I also love 1740 though I wear it a lot less than Fat Electrician. It smells like something the Devil would wear if he wanted to be flirtatious and seductive. It's dark and sinister. Grand Soir was also a very good buy. It can become annoying as it constantly barrages your nose with its awesomeness. Gotta go easy on the trigger. It's my most complemented fragrance this year.
Worst: Interplay Extrait by Alexandria Fragrances. I have Dark Knight and Arabian Forrest by them and love them. But I can't stand IP Extrait. It smells like latex gloves which I assume comes from the "ambergris". Others say it smells medicinal and like a hospital. I can see why.
Worst:
Versace Eau Fraiche
Mont Blanc Individual
Middling (would'nt buy if I sample but get used):
Tom Ford Vanille Fatale
Best:
Drakkar Noir
Tom Ford Noir de Noir
Aventus
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