It's now a little over a month since I started exploring perfumes. I find it both enjoyable and vaguely familiar. It feels similar to how I explore coffee.
You can form opinions from tasting one kind of coffee, but comparative tasting with two or more kinds at a time is where some tiny differences and nuances become more noticeable. I find this practice usable in comparing perfumes. Several brands execute scents and smelling notes differently. What I find more interesting than that, and sometimes annoying, is that smelling something once and smelling it again a few days later can leave different impressions. It's so strange.
I remember trying Diptyque's Tam Dao and instantly thought that it smelled like an old man who likes young women. Now, it smells like an Asian ointment to me. I want to understand why some women like this scent. There's a waxy vanilla from Byredo that I tried. It smells like heavy lipstick. I could not understand how anyone would like that. I also tried everything from Dedcool. Nothing from the lineup was worth committing to. I only half liked one and even then, I could not imagine having to finish an entire bottle of it.
So now I have six bottles! It's a bit much for only a month of exploring, I think. In order of purchase date:
Diptyque Philosykos
Diptyque L'Ombre Dans L'Eau
Tom Ford Tuscan Leather
Rasasi La Yuqawam Pour Homme
Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club
Tom Ford Black Orchid
I think this set of six bottles has enough variety, except maybe for La Yuqawam as it's very close to Tuscan Leather. Tuscan Leather made me say "wow" out loud when I first smelled it on paper. I just had to get it immediately. It's quite expensive though. So I can't see myself regularly replenishing it when I eventually finish the bottle. La Yuqawam is three times cheaper! It doesn't have the same level of wow, but it's still good.
Black Orchid is the last one I bought, just last week. I still don't fully understand it, but I like it enough. The sales associate showed me Soleil Brulant before I decided on Black Orchid. Soleil Brulant to me smells of the sun and citrus. I didn't like it on first sniff. It was sharp and almost pungent. It is also very expensive for me. I like it, but I'm not willing to pay that much for it. The sales associate gave me samples of it with the Black Orchid purchase. So I can at least try it for a while.
So far it's been fun! I enjoyed smelling everything. I tried a lot of Kilian before I left the store. That was not a good move. Now I have two Kilians on my list 🙄