Paper

*FULL-STEAM AHEAD WITH REVIEWS BELOW I must beg to differ with those in the reviews whom cannot appreciate the eloquence of this fragrance. Let me preface my experience by emphasizing that there is NOTHING remotely pickley about the sandalwood in this MASTERPIECE. NOTHING AT ALL. For those of you whom find yourselves gravitating toward the futuristically captivating world of molecules, I insist. This is a magnificent glance into the elusiveness of molecular fragrances. Simply stunning. If Vivaldi's 'Summer' could be bottled, this fragrance embodies the very suspense and momentum of said piece. On initial spray, I did everything in my power to allow it time to come to life, within about 15 minutes I found my nose a hostage to my wrist. This smell. My God, what a familiar smell. I continuously inhaled. My God, what is that smell? Why is it so darned familiar yet estranged. How perplexingly SUBLIME. What is that smell reminding me of?!?! I MUST KNOW. The journey unraveling was diabolically taunting. I couldn't put my finger on it. I recited the fragrance's name over and over, praying it would ring a bell somewhere in the recesses of what eeriely miring nostalgia I'd suppressed somewhere in the back of my memory. This is not a fragrance. It wears almost like as if one had inadvertently grazed an unsuspecting SPIDERWEB. Oh my! What is it?!?! What could it be?!?! Where do I reckon I've felt this?!?! I gasped ever so subtley as a memory sprang forth out of the pitch black of my loaded cognition. Grandpa?!?! I was overtaken by a deluge of tears and the world's most unsightly pressure coiling around my heart. As a little me struggled with every curious fiber of an impatient child's wonder as I reached for the handle on the publisher's box to hand my Grandfather today's newspaper. It surged over me in a silkened violent wave of ensnaring clarity. The infallibility I felt of being the vector between a man who knew where to look, I, a small child came unfurled with an arrogant pride for a man whom silently asked with a gesture what heinous tragedies have befallen the few? Handing my Grandfather the day's paper with the most deviant shit-eating grin of an innocent child shouting "Grandpa! Nobody reads these!" As he lit a cigarette in the comfort of the living room with a path of greenery leading the way to intricately detailed wooden fixtures and furniture that predated the turn of the century with Renaissance artwork work obscuring every wall. As I climbed into his lap, eagerly assisting him in flipping open to the first page. Holding my nose to the fresh density of the black and white print, as he pointed to the headline whispering in my ear "only those whom are illiterate would die in a river of denial." This fragrance is an ode to just that. The quiet, literate, observing mind. The yearning for a sacred time. A sanctuary that revered the unseen. The Tailor's timely detail. The vividly, porous color. The hauntingly inanimate. The vague ambiguity of the subversive press. The ever-so-distant yet deafening whisper of encroaching palpability that there will always be a seat reserved at this inarticulabley exclusive table. The Iso E Super reminiscent of the wood ("inanimate"), the Cedar beckoning you in like the density of the unknown (woods on woods on woods, without a compass you'd stand no chance), but the Sandalwood? The cloack of warmth, a capricious, yellowy-red, nebulous farewell in the distant horizon (the sun? or coaxing safety). Paper is the smell of certainty a new day is upon us. Question remains? Can you smell it too? Or could it be that the news paper vending machine hissed at you with the charm of PATRONUS?

I came across the house Commodity via Fragrantica and ordered the Paper and Book exploration kits. And so glad I did, because this really seems to be my type of fragrance house, as I generally like musky/woodsy skin fragrances and these 2x3 are all that. Commodity says that the Personal (-) and the Bold (+) are basically the same as Expressive but with added notes to make the scent softer (-) or more intense (+). Love the concept! I think the better projection of Expressive compared to Personal mainly comes from the Sandalwood (and is actually also stronger than Bold.) Where I don’t smell the sandalwood in Personal, it plays the lead role in Expressive. Right after I spray Paper expressive, I smell sandalwood with a bit of chemical glue (ISO E super?), but the glue is less strong than in Personal and it fades quickly. Once that chemical glue-smell is gone, I smell the lovely soft woodsy smoke that I also love in Personal. After reading the notes info, I guess this is the cedar I am smelling? The smokey together with the Sandalwood explains the name Paper: but it’s the kind of paper in really old books where the paper has almost gotten a sweet smell, not the scratchy sharp smell of new paper. It is the sandalwood that overpowers and lasts: I used only two sprays and getting whiffs of sandalwood all day long. Although I like this scent (especially in the first hours when I can still smell the smokey woods), I am wondering if it could have been even nicer if the smokey (cedar?) tones were better noticeable and not only detectable when I sniff my wrist. I see some other reviews compare this to Santal33. I tried S33 once and it was too masculine for me: too strong and sharp and too much masculine leather. Reminds me of leather jackets in a bar where people have been smoking, rather than soft suede. I can get the resemblance with Paper from the sandalwood and smokey tones, but to me Paper is so much nicer and softer and more wearable than S33. I would rather compare Paper Expressive to JHAG Sunny side up (which is a bit more milky gourmand) and A.N.Other WD/2018 (which is a bit more floral/fruity). Those all share the same sweet and creamy Sandalwood, and musky notes. Very similar but not identical. If you like one of these, I’d recommend to also try the others and see which one is most perfect to your taste.

This is the first fragrance I gravitated toward in my entry into this hobby! Smelling this on a strip in the store does not do this justice. Like a lot of skin fragrances, I feel that people have a pretty wide range of experiences with them from what it seems. I'd recommend a small sampler just to get a good sense of if you like this, as Sephora and other stores really drown out the notes. The opening notes are pretty harsh, very chemical/alcohol based, which was almost a turn-off to me. Like any good fragrance, the real test is in the drydown. This is an extremely linear scent in my opinion, what you smell about 15 minutes after applying is what you'll get. That being said, there is something very alluring about this fragrance. Wearing a jacket in the winter really accelerates and amplifies the scent from my experience. It's both clean and earthy, and is surprisingly deep despite a very minimal amount of raw materials intertwined in it. This is something that I think can work for all occasions and seasons. It has pretty good longevity in my experience. If you're looking for something that projects pretty far, I don't think this is the one for you, however if you're getting into skin fragrances, you're probably not looking for that. I think this is a good scent if you are working in an office setting where perfumes are not "allowed" but want something more cozy and warm, yet clear and sharp.

I’ve been testing a sample of Paper Expressive in different situations, and after loving it, I decided to wear it around the house earlier this week. When I leaned in to kiss my partner, she said, "You smell like stocking the shelves of the bookstore I used to work at as a teenager," which perfectly captures what this fragrance smells like. It's the scent of brand-new paper—like the way fresh paper still carries a hint of wood. For anyone who grew up a bookworm, like my partner and I, this fragrance instantly invokes nostalgia and comfort. The clean, moisturized skin notes in the perfume enhance that feeling. It’s simple yet complex at the same time, offering a beautiful balance of warmth and freshness. I was also pleasantly surprised by the sillage and lasting power. Just three sprays create a lovely scent bubble that lasts all day. Paper Expressive is also fantastic for layering; the Iso E Super gives a subtle boost to other fragrance notes, adding depth. I ordered a discovery set fully expecting to buy a full-size bottle of one of the other scents, but it’s going to be Paper, and we’re going to be best friends.

at first spritz you expect to feel either the scent itself or an alcohol smell, but instead you are greeted by a smell of glue, a bit of a foreshadowing of what is to come just like the glue in a book takes time to dry, this perfume takes its time to settle and reveal its true form, which is a symphony of nostalgic memories of study nights with panicked writing, followed by a wave of sense of accomplishment that follows after writing something to hand in to your teacher at the last second, and you know you've passed you also feel a hint of the sage tree, the predecessor of the paper that takes center stage in this fragrance it is not a scent that is challenging, nor sexy or daring, but it is reliable and true, a reassuring scent in a world full of uncertainties and digital brain rot, a scent that takes you back to a time of the ever so reliable paper.