Round two, fight!

Incense Oud by Killian
Guatemala cardamom, pink pepper, Turkish rose, Egyptian geranium, methyl pamplemousse, Virginia cedarwood, Indonesian patchouli, Indian papyrus, Somalia incense (oil and absolute), sandalwood, Macedonian oakmoss, Spanish cistus labdanum, musks.

"...boasts no actual oud in its list of materials. If Incense Oud lives up to the second half of its name, it is through the interplay between the woodiness of cedar, patchouli and sandalwood and the ambery, leathery accents of cistus labdanum and oakmoss. The incense, which makes up 25% of the formula, reads as a dark presence, its citrus facets magnified by geranium, methyl pamplemousse (a grapefruit-smelling material) and cardamom – the latter perhaps a subtle quote of the cardamom coffee popular in Arabic countries, its anisic facets combining with pink pepper to refresh the scent. Turkish rose oil, though highly dosed, is seamlessly worked into the blend as a counterpoint to the dark woody facets; a cocktail of musks permeate the scent with their soft animalic notes. Exceptionally smooth, polished and full-bodied, Incense Oud may just be the most darkly sensuous interpretation of its starring notes."

Initially surprisingly soft and floral, strong sandalwood and a really sort of... clean scent? Surprisingly little spice at this point. If you could think of the Platonic ideal of warm clean laundry fresh from the dryer that would be it.

After a short time it developed to a sort of minty overtone with sort of a sweet hay undertone, not strong but somehow pretty intense. I also smelled something almost like very clean fresh sweat which oddly kind of made it for me! I couldn't stop sniffing it to figure out what that smell might be.

With extended wear the floral is pretty much gone and it feels quite sophisticated. Nothing really stands out particularly at this point, it's just warm and creamy and quite spicy. I normally find this sort of spicy "Oriental" style scent really overwhelming and unpleasant but I feel like this is what this style of scent is supposed to be.

This definitely grew on me all day but I am not sure if it's what I was looking for as a signature scent. I will definitely be giving this subsequent wears and I actually could see getting a very small bottle for special occasion wear, but it's not what I would wear day to day.

It also bears mentioning that it's a whipping $236 per ounce, just under $400 for a bottle!

Un Bois Sepia By Serge Lutens
sandalwood, cypress, vetiver, patchouli, opoponax

"The cool, spicy and green top notes of cypress and vetiver conjure the memories of classic English fragrances. We find that unexpected touch of retro incredibly charming. The heart of sandalwood, velvety, deep and sensual, is pure luxury. The theme of unabashed decadence is continued in the base, where patchouli and opoponax create a dark, subtly animalic atmosphere. The contrast of the chilly, aloof top notes and the warm, sensuous base is irresistible."

Initially very sweet and powdery becoming spicier on drydown, I guess what I'm smelling is the opoponax?

My cats all really liked it and sniffed the spot I applied it really obsessively, which was a little weird. My husband couldn't smell it at all and it almost completely flattened out to a pleasant but very old fashioned scent after half an hour.

I would expect to experience this scent ghosting off of the furs of a proud elderly New York socialite but it didn't really do anything for me.




Still to try
Gaiac No 1 By M. Micallef
bergamot, jasmine, cloves, gaiac, vetiver, vanilla
Cadjmere By Parfumerie Generale
myrtle branch, sap, red tangerine, rosewood, Kenyan cypress resin, coconut milk, sandalwood bark, ambrette seed, vanilla
Tam Dao (Eau de Parfum) By Diptyque
Lime, Coriander, ginger, sandalwood, cedarwood, musc, vanilla, amber wood

Two perfumes enter! One perfume leaves!

Hinoki By Comme des Garcons x Monocle
Cypress, turpentine, camphor, cedar, thyme, pine, Georgian wood, frankincense, moss and vetiver

"Hinoki is a dry, woody-fresh scent with an intangible 'something' that gives it a mystical edge and the ability, much like CdG’s Incense Series, to conjure the exact emotion and feel of the idea behind its creation and name."

At first vetiver and moss with a hit of the lemoncake sweetness of frankincense, a touch powdery but clean without being soapy, masculine but not unpleasantly so. I have been known to to wear straight vetiver so I actually found this pretty pleasing.

Drydown was more cedery and almost ozone, fading very quickly but leaving a neat sort of orange bell pepper and water scent for a few hours. My husband couldn't smell it on me at all after two hours and even to my nose it was GONE within four.

Final verdict: Not THE ONE, but I'd wear it. Might be neat as a summer scent.

L'Eau by Diptyque 
cinnamon, clove, geranium, sandalwood, rose

"This iconic fragrance is an infusion of spices and flowers, inspired by a Middle-Age recipe. As diptyque's first eau de toilette, it is slightly magical and deliciously enigmatic..."

The overwhelming impression I get of this is like kissing the freshly shaved cheek of a dapper elderly male relative. At first strongly cinnamon but on drydown it has a spicy sort of lily(?) character. Soapy to the extreme and masculine but in a "my off-the-boat very old school Italian Great Uncle" way.
Not a *bad* smell, but so not even remotely in character.

Final verdict: Nopers

Still to try

Gaiac No 1 By M. Micallef
bergamot, jasmine, cloves, gaiac, vetiver, vanilla
Cadjmere By Parfumerie Generale
myrtle branch, sap, red tangerine, rosewood, Kenyan cypress resin, coconut milk, sandalwood bark, ambrette seed, vanilla
Incense Oud By Kilian
Guatemala cardamom, pink pepper, Turkish rose, Egyptian geranium, methyl pamplemousse, Virginia cedarwood, Indonesian patchouli, Indian papyrus, Somalia incense (oil and absolute), sandalwood, Macedonian oakmoss, Spanish cistus labdanum, musks.
Un Bois Sepia By Serge Lutens
sandalwood, cypress, vetiver, patchouli, opoponax
Tam Dao (Eau de Parfum) By Diptyque
Lime, Coriander, ginger, sandalwood, cedarwood, musc, vanilla, amber wood

Smell is a word, perfume is literature.

"Smell is a word, perfume is literature".

-Hermes Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena

I need a new signature scent.

I've been using the same perfume pretty exclusively for about three years now and I can't smell it at all anymore. I can't even smell it when I put it on, never mind throughout the day. That's no fun because I wear it because I like how it smells and also that's when you start putting on too much and asphyxiating people in elevators.

As much as I don't wanna, it's clearly time to diversify my scent portfolio.

Pepé Le Pew - Warner Bros

My signature scent is the Tam Dao which is a woody fragrance by the French perfumer Diptique I currently wear the Eau de Toilette version. They describe the notes as Sandalwood, Rosewood, Cypress, and Ambergris and it is widely considered to be the "holy grail" scent for sandalwood lovers. 

Tam Dao works for all seasons and situations, and other people tell me I smell good on a regular enough basis that I suspect they're probably not *all* making it up for the sake of pleasantry.  I actually feel kind of weird when I don't wear it. 

Added bonus: I *never* put on perfume when I know I will be visiting my father, he has has life threatening breathing problems due to COPD/Emphysema and perfume is an asthma trigger for him. However if I happen to drop by at random Tam Dao does not so far cause him any issues. 
(Obligatory PSA: Quit smoking now folks.)

I have always been fairly sensitive to smells, so of course one of my random superpowers is MAKE PERFUME SMELL REALLY STRONG. My chemistry is pretty weird too and I cannot wear most florals or musks or anything powdery. I turn pleasant florals into walking weaponized botanical gardens, musks become Play-Doh, and even slightly powdery things turn into an olfactory sensation akin to being socked in the face with a giant bottle of baby powder. Whenever possible I spray my perfume on my torso under my clothes so that you have to be very close to me to smell it. Even perfumes I really like can overwhelm me if I apply them to the classic pulse points at the wrists and neck.

So many times, though typically by "too much" I mean "any".

On the up side I can wear patchouli and even die-hard patchouli haters say it smells nice. *shrugs*

It's pretty hard to find a feminine scent which is based on wood or herbal notes and excludes the no-no ingredients so I am not looking forward to the search to find a new one. I did go pretty heavy into the whole Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab experience for a while because they were so good about listing notes, but ultimately I found her tastes a bit too sweet and musk centered for me. 

My previous go-tos were either BPAL's Cathdral (a church incense inspired blend) or layering a very well aged patchouli and a very not-ambery amber (I'd say it was more of a spicy honey scent). On special occasions I would layer the same patchouli with BPAL's LE scent The Candy Butcher (Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone) and while these all smell nice and I would still wear them if the whim took me I don't think they fit me as well anymore.

I am going to start with the other non-floral scents in Diptyque's catalog and branch out from there but I'm not expecting this to be easy. It's hard enough to find one scent that is so perfectly you that you feel vaguely incomplete without it, now I'm going to try to find a second?

Do you have a signature scent? How did you find it?