I have smelt some smells some more (working notes)

So what I did not realize when the entirety of fandom seemed to start talking about perfume was that at least two people I know in real life are super huge perfumery nerds, the kind who have a million carefully-organized samples, and that I can therefore actually smell some of the things that Dreamwidth is talking about in real life instead of just standing in Whole Foods huffing essential oils in order to try to get some reference for all these wonderfully evocative essays that keep cropping up on my reading list.

But what I also did not realize is that it's hard to smell things accurately! My previous experience with smells is pretty much "Bath and Body Works body mist" or full-on patchouli oil, with very little in-between, and that Herbal Essences fruity-floral thing that happened in the late 90s was super not my bag; I kind of assumed all perfume smelled like that, so the explosion of perfume fandom onto my reading list has been good for exploding my prejudices! Still, I feel a little bit like my notes here are like a baby trying to describe sunlight: SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO ONE OF MY FIVE SENSES. I DO NOT HAVE THE TOOLS TO TELL YOU WHAT, EXACTLY.

Do not expect any coherency from this list, but I did smell a lot of things and note down initial impressions. I'd like to go back and smell all of these in a more rigorous way with less of a crazed dash through the samples.

( Eau Nomade Thirdman )

( Jean Patou Sublime )

( Hermessence Ambre Narguile )

( Parfum d'Empire Ambre Russe )

( Sonoma Scent Studio Champagne de Bois )

( Sonoma Scent Studio Rose Volupte )

( Chanel Coromandel )

( Comme des Garcons Avignon, spoiler, the best smell I have ever smelled in my history of smelling. )

( Aftelier Secret Garden )

( Bvlgari Black )

( Also I am still meddling with essential oils for my own amusement. )