Karmacoma

I was lucky enough to receive this ahead of the official release to experience and feel at one with, and it's safe to say, it is another feat for the creations of Anomalia. First thing I have to say is Bourbon Vanilla is always a risk for me personally as I either absolutely despise it and find it far too heavy, or it is a mysteriously constructed guilty pleasure. In this case, it is the latter. Yes, the vanilla is evident, but in combination with the saffron, soft musky leather and woody facets, it is absolutely dreamy. The saffron is the star for me here, although saffron is like kryptonite to me, it can be a polarising note for some people but I think here it will be really broadly appreciated. I personally think it may be a little too dense for airy spring radiance, but throughout the rest of the year I can see this really shining and coming into its own. This is purely on very early impressions so this may be altered, but as it stands, I really enjoy this. A very textured, radiant but equally sensual.

This is absolutely amazing. It feels like a spiritual successor to Ganymede. This is the only other perfume aside from Ganymede which has evoked this "sci-fi otherworldly" feeling in me. It's unlike anything else

First of all this is a very beautiful bottle. I love the combination of angles giving it a very modern, precise and mathematical feel. The jagged cap with the gold base is more complex than it looks as it’s both the collar and cap in one piece. The fragrance itself is also something of a surprise to me. I shouldn’t like this perfume. It smells of principally vanilla and akigalawood which would almost be my description of a personal kryptonite. And yet. Yet. It works. It’s glorious. The sweetness and the woodiness harmonise with each other in a way that’s surprisingly complementary. It lasts forever too. I think this is one that fans of Bisch style perfumes will love. Instead of the more standard transparent florals up top that he uses you have this lovely gourmand vanilla but with the same overall shaped experience. Really good stuff.

God, I love fragrances. People who don't understand fragrances cannot understand the joy and happiness it brings us. It is more than just a hobby. It is just something more than sniffing something nice that defies rational explanation. One of the great joys of this vocational love of ours is when, out of nowhere, you smell something that does something profound to you. We all know the feeling. Unburdened with expectation or the proxy pressure of the Fragrantica notes, you sniff something on your skin that hits you like an injection of endorphins right to the heart. Your pupils spread across your eyes and you open your mouth to say something but nothing comes out save for a sexually-charged release of breath. Goosebumps flock across your skin, chasing down your arms and up your back. You give an involuntary shiver. You bite your lip. Then the release. A long, luxuriant release of breath as the smile dawns across your features like the most beautiful sunrise anyone has ever seen. Then there is an amazed chuckle of almost bewildered humour at how something as humble as a smell can grab your soul and shake it like this. We all know that reaction. It is precious because it is rare. Very, very few fragrances can move you like that. But that is what Karmacoma by Anomalia did for me. It is this vanillic entwinement, run through with the same suede note from Animalique by Byredo and a similar sweet Bourbon vanilla to Spiriteuse Double Vanille by Guerlain in the astonishingly beautiful way it feels as it radiates off your skin. The vanilla and benzoin (and some Iso E Super I think?) grows in warmth and prominence as it dries down. Then there is this wonderful paper note which just ties the suede and the vanilla together and removes all the wetness from the scent, and some saffron in the heart in the far background to just paint it all with a slight minerality. The result is honestly one of the nicest vanilla-centric fragrances I've ever come across. It is just astonishingly well blended and so well balanced. It is strong but not beastly, sexual but also sensual and sweet but not cloying. It projects but not offensively and is also a superlative skin scent as well. Three Word Summary - All I Wanted Layering Suggestion - Stellar Silk by BDK. Outfit suggestion - shirt, jeans and a jacket neatly hung up in the hotel room. You were supposed to wear them to dinner but you both never made it out of the hotel room. The room service is going cold in the hallway outside. Scent - 10/10 Sillage - 8/10 Drydown - 9/10 Bottle/packaging - 9/10 Performance - 8/10 44/50

My recent novelty from Anomalia, which I have been wearing for several weeks in April. Karmacoma smells like confidence- an unusual vanilla which isn't sweet or classically gourmand, but leathery and spicy. Sounds expensive, but not vulgar. This is the kind of niche I like - no obvious codes, no mainstream sweetness we all are tired of, just a distinctive signature that feels personal. For me Anomalia did something super clever here: a gourmand that does not feel gourmand and predictable. Not a mainstream vanilla, more niche, textured, more adult.