Eilish No 2

Even though it's way too hot to commit to a full wear, I am trying out a new fragrance that is a favorite of Wendi's of Wendi's Parade of Perfumes: Billie Eilish No. 2. It is very woody, centered on a palo santo note. I bought it when I realized I don't have any palo santo fragrances, unless it's a secret ingredient in Ciara or something, and I'm very pleased with the purchase. I can imagine myself wearing it when it isn't sickeningly hot and humid. Lovers of dry exotic woods and enjoy it. It is very strange smelling, very niche for a celebrity perfume. I just have a travel-size; I scored it for half-price, and, as Wendi herself noted, it will probably be more than I need because a little goes a long way. To me Billie Eilish No. 2 is perfectly unisex and sylvan, a bit like A Forest Mystery, the dupe of La Fille en Aiguilles, but with more incense and less sap/resin. BE No. 2 smells a little dusty, a little medicinal, like the cellar woodshop-apothecary of a sexy forest nun. These days the shorthand for that vibe is gothic, but I don't really get that. I get most of the notes listed, but by the drydown it's mostly woods and some kind of your-skin-but-better skin musk. Some people are going to perceive the wood notes as pickly, which is something people say about most synthetic sandalwoods, but it's nowhere near as prominent here as it is in Le Labo Santal 33 and its many kissing cousins. Update, after several hours of a full wear, a few days later: I am really enjoying what I can only assume is the palo santo. I checked and I didn't have any other palo santo perfumes, and fortunately I love it. It's not as sour or animalic as some oud; it's just a dry, dry woody incense. The whole effect smells much less like a perfumed body than an environment (specifically, Pier One in the 1970s, crossed with Ace Hardware in the 1970s, crossed with the headshop appended to Spectrum Water Beds in the 1970s). It is extremely unisex, too, although the top note of apple blossom confers a bit more florality than one might expect. I don't really care for the insane-looking bottle, which I have also heard is very awkward to spray and not very well-designed, but fortunately I think my 10-mL glass vial travel sprayer will last me quite some time. At the same time, I'm tempted to buy a 100-mlL bottle because I love it and have a strong suspicion that this perfume will be discontinued. It's very weird for a celebrity perfume--or a contemporary designer scent, for that matter. It comes off very niche, very nongourmand, and considering that her first, wildly successful perfume (same weird bottle, but in gold rather than black) was a totally accessible girly gourmand, I think No. 2 probably gets some undeserved backlash by comparison. I like this a lot more than its predecessor, personally. It also goes really well with the citrus/eucalyptus non-DEET but hyperpotent, borderline acrid insect repellent that I wear by the house of Repel.

This is Eilish no1's cooler older androgynous sibling that you can't tell if you want to be or if you want to kiss It is a vanilla, yes, but absolutely not a gourmand! There's absolutely no sweetness to it and it's very smokey and heavy thanks to the incense (though, I think it reads more like a patchouli which is interesting for a top note! I usually find patchouli being a base note but the fact it opens with the smokiness is so lovely!) That being said though it's not an overwhelming heaviness either, it's like if cigarettes actually smelled nice. Like how people "romanticize" cigarettes to be. Admittedly when you first spray it it's terribly synthetic and smokey and almost overpowering, you're not gonna think you like it, but let it dry down and mingle with your skin and clothes and it clings onto you becoming more subdued and giving you an effortless "cool and chic" feeling! It turns into a nice woodsy smokey scent with just a touch of vanilla in the back to keep you smelling for more. The more it dries down and the more you wear it, the more the vanilla comes out but once again it never becomes sweet. I think it's more of a tonka bean smell that comes out? I think that's more apt to describe it. The closest thing I can compare it to is like a warmer version of Margalieas Jazz Club? But even then I do find myself preferring this over it... this is what I imagined Jazz Club to smell like, lol. I feel so hot and cool when I wear this lol, one of my favorite perfumes. The only thing I do wish was that it lasted longer? The initial incense does fade quite quickly to my liking, like within the first hour or so wearing it. The sileage goes from being moderate arms length to only being able to smell it if you're like sniffing directly were you sprayed it and honestly it isn't even a bad thing it's a lovely intimate frag! I find myself personally attached to that patchouli incense smell you get at the beginning though and I find it fades all too quickly into the intimate vanilla.

Update: This has really, really grown on me. Literally, the scent develops into this beautiful indolic, almost skanky note. I believe this is the palo Santo in all her funky freshness. I'm addicted. The bergamot mellows it a bit, too, while still being delicious and dirty to complement. I am making another review instead of editing because I have changed my view from Ok to Love It so that will be reflected in this review. I love it enough now that I bought a backup bottle just to not touch it and let it mature (not macerate! Look it up, gworls. it's rare that a perfume already bottled and in your hand is gonna be macerating. This is what happens as soon as frag oils hit alcohol. Tho with perfumes being mass produced faster than you can say Lattafa Yara it definitely seems possible! But I digress.). I managed to find it again at Burlington, but this time for $32 which is not bad at all. The initial $40 felt overpriced. I found the other two Eilish frags online for under $35, which again feels much more reasonable. The original bottles running upwards of $55 seems craaazy for what you're getting, but that's celeb marketing I guess.... Eilish 2 is my favorite, now, of all three Eilish frags. I have reviewed all of these respectively on here, and this one beautifully combines the woody skank and sweetness without it being too gourmand. I have enjoyed layering Eilish 2 on different occasions, with combinations of the following: Al-Rehab Choco Musk, Paris Corner Emir Cherry Cola, Lattafa Esraa, Lattafa Her Confession, Lattafa Maitha as previously stated, Khadlaj Hareem al Sultan Gold, Mix:Bar 09 Vanilla Bourbon, Fragonard Éclat, and Fragonard Diamante

On the opening spray, the fragrance opens up with citrus, peppery notes, and a woody aroma. The opening projects well off the skin and is nice and uplifted with the strong citrus notes. However, the woods become more pronounced after about five minutes and overtake the other's notes. The woods note is heavy in the middle, and you feel like you are in a damp forest on a cool and wet day. Mild but sweet floral notes accompany the woods in the back. Adding further to the feeling of being in a forest. The aroma continues to develop, and a smokey incense aroma joins the woods with a mild oud aroma. Honestly, at this point, I was surprised that this fragrance developed so well. It is deep with layers as it develops on the skin. The perfume projected well for the first 2 hours before coming in to sit about one foot from my skin for another four hours. I was really surprised by this fragrance. I was not expecting much and ended up wearing a niche-smelling beauty. This perfume is both complex and deep, with a beautiful developing aroma. Billie Elish has done a complete 180 with this release compared to her first release, which was a more mainstream and universally appealing scent. Elish 2, on the other hand, is a niche-level fragrance that would be loved by anyone who appreciates the unique and high-quality scents often associated with niche brands. Elish 2 combines Tom Ford's Ebene Fume smokey woodiness and Santal 33 by Le Labo Sandalwood notes. This is a great release, and I recommend you get your nose on this but on the skin and not on tester paper so you can let the perfume develop.

I really like this scent. I was a little nervous because most people either love it or hate it. This isn’t a safe blind buy just because of the name/celebrity behind the fragrance. This is quite unisex. Definitely reminds me of book by commodity. Same family. Which also gives me Santal 33 VIBES. Not at all a dupe. But maybe a relative or friend of Santal. The longer I wear it, the more I can smell the vanilla (more vanilla on skin for me) Palo Santo is definitely the dominant note. I also get hints of apple blossom every so often. Musk, papyrus, poppy and lots of bergamot. Very pretty. If you’re into unisex fragrances and love woody fragrances, then this one is definitely one you should check out. I do not like Eilish no. 1. But I really enjoy this one. I would have bought a full bottle but this is a profile I have all throughout my collection. Maybe once I’m through the others because I actually prefer this one to the others that are like it. It gives Niche vibes because it smells similar to what’s hot on the niche market right now. Very well done for a celebrity fragrance. Longevity and sillage are moderate but on clothes it pulls over 10 hours. And I’ve been dying to try an incense fragrance that doesn’t remind me of church as a kid.. this is it! I don’t know which incense notes make me think of perfumes I smelled as a child but most of them do. This one is beautiful and was exactly what I was looking for. Almost a modern(?) incense, if you will. 9/10.