Seasonal Check-In: Winter 2024

What could be a better addition to a blog than an actual blog post? Similar pages often give readers a look behind the veil, sharing just the right amount of detail to remind us all that a human heart beats beyond the words on our screens.

This is designed to be short, sweet, and experimental, going over fragrance-related topics as well as diving into my other hobbies a bit. It could become a regular thing if writing it is fun enough. Without further ado, this is what's been going on.

Primary Winter Rotation
Valentino Uomo (2014) - Casual wear, office
Milk (Expressive) by Commodity - Casual wear, office
Soul Cafe by Savoir Faire - Evenings out
24 Gold Oud Edition by Scentstory - Casual wear
Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir - Casual and formal wear

New Acquisitions

Luna Rossa Ocean (Eau de Parfum) by Prada - Gifted
Jimmy Choo Man Blue - Gifted
Sun Men by Jil Sander - Purchased
Amber Pour Homme by Prada - Purchased
L'Eau d'issei Pour Homme by Issey Miyake - Purchased
Encre Noire à L'Extrême by Lalique - Purchased

Generally speaking, I'm not super inclined to often purchase what the online community calls "cheapies." Keyword is often. Not because there's anything inherently wrong with them, but because there is sometimes a risk to quality when one travels further down that rabbit hole. The fragrances I purchased above, however, don't count as far as I'm concerned. I'll speak more on them in the future.

For a look at the Fragrances that have left the collection, click here.

Other Stuff

Current Reading List

After Dark by Haruki Murakami
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Recently Completed Books

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Shows I'm Watching

Rap Sh!t
Wheel of Time (Season 2)
Reacher (Season 2)
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Invincible (Season 2 - whenever it comes back)

Video Games I'm Playing

Baldur's Gate 3
God of War: Ragnarok - Valhalla
Halo Infinite
Cyberpunk 2077
Stardew Valley

So yeah. As stated previously, this is experimental, but I see myself doing this again in the spring with maybe some changes to the format. I also have some other posts lined up before then, so please be on the lookout.

Talk to you soon.

-The Fragrance Maven

Comments

Review: Ascension by Savoir Faire

Perhaps one of my favorite songs of all time is Ascension by Maxwell. It's the way that the opening bass line grooves around a foundational upbeat tempo created by tried and true percussion rhythms. Layers of sound broaden the scope of the song with the addition of bongos, a guitar, keyboards, and synthesizers until finally, Maxwell's voice ties it all together with a falsetto note delivered from the heavens. Ascension is one of those songs that is guaranteed to get me on the dance floor hitting a two-step and flowing like tides pulled by the moon. While I'm not completely certain that Ascension , a fragrance by the Black-owned company Savoir Faire, took its name from the classic tune, I would be shocked if that wasn't the case at all. Ascension embodies the notion of "soul" similar to Savoir Faire's other popular offering Soul Cafe (future review), but takes a significantly lighter and more ethereal approach. Featuring notes of bergamot, black pep

If You Like By the Fireplace by Maison Margiela, Try These 5 (Really, 6) Fragrances

The end of winter draws closer (it is technically already spring even if it does not feel like it). I figured that now would be a good time to discuss one of the more popular winter scents in my online and real-world social circles: By the Fireplace by Maison Margiela. More specifically, I would like to put together a recommendation list for fans of BTF who are looking to expand their horizons or take that "next step" in their fragrance journey. Several fragrance content creators and influencers have done recommendation lists, taking one popular fragrance and listing similar things that people might enjoy. Personally, I am a fan of The Fragrance Apprentice's "If You Like _____, then You Might Like These 5 Fragrances" series on YouTube, so I will be borrowing that format for this discussion. No, I did not and will not ask for permission, please go touch grass. We will be covering five different categories for these recommendations. 1. Clone - A fragrance that is

Leaving Things Behind: New Years De-Cluttering

Not long ago, I wrote about my relatively large collection and the desire to downsize, and accepting the realities that come with the act of collecting throughout the years. Ironically, my collection has since grown. But what would be a better follow up to that than a post that actually explores my process of thinning out and making room in my collection? There are four fragrances that I intend to part with for reasons ranging from general redundancies to shortcomings in quality. But instead of simply just selling them and moving on, I wanted the opportunity to revisit and archive them in this space, as most of them are special to me in some way or another. Paper (Expressive) by Commodity When I said "most of them are special to me," I wasn't talking about this one. I still don't really know how to feel about the whole "fragrances that smell like nothing" trend. My gut tells me that it's rather pointless, but there are audiences for this kind of thing.

The Fragrance Maven

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