Namba

The scent of Revachol (iykyk). It reminds me vaguely of the scent that lingers once you leave a mechanic's shop, of all the oil and grease and slightly stale cigarette smell, but with the vanilla and "ice cream" making it quite sweet without being cloying or obnoxious. An ultimately very subtle scent, but one where I find I'm often idling with my hands folded near my face so that I can just keep breathing it in; it doesn't throw far and is only noticed when reaching near someone. A quiet hidden nostalgia that grounds the whole thing with the sort of salty undertone it has; I'm reminded of when I used to live on the coast and not in the desert. It's rain-slick ground warmed in the sun after a light shower. It's a little treat stolen after a good sweat. It mixes work and leisure. Love it. I find that the next day after wearing it, it deteriorates on my skin into a scent that is not far from the smell of petrichor; ozone waft that makes me picture oil on a puddle of water in the street.

I am sooo glad that Fantôme included this with my order as a free sample, because I might have never smelled it otherwise. Vanilla is a note I avoid like the plague; it tends to become overpowering and cloying on my skin while wiping out most other notes in a composition. Happily, that is not the case here. This is a marine fragrance first and foremost, with a hefty dose of noxious motor oil stirred into a glass of warm seawater. I find Namba robust and intriguing on my skin and keep going back to sniff my wrist over and over. There is a smooth undercurrent of vanilla below the depths, but it respectfully stays in the background and adds an unexpected element of coziness to an otherwise bracing fragrance. Namba is delightfully salty and atmospheric. Smells like a mechanic treating himself to an ice cream on the boardwalk during his lunch break. Unlike anything in my collection. I am most certainly going to purchase a larger size. As always, I applaud this house for its creativity.

I think this is a really cool, interesting atmospheric scent for summer. It's very ozonic and aquatic with a lot of realistic motor oil and a bit of a hot printer paper note. A little strange but inoffensive and wearable. Unfortunately, I don't really smell any vanilla ice cream in this at all... Maybe the scent of the air wafting out the door of an ice cream shop from across the street... Mostly it's just straight ocean air and motor oil. I still like it though. It's fun to layer under other fragrances to make them a little more complex. I don't wear it as much on its own, but I think it could be good on its own if you're looking for a subtle skin scent, but one that's unique and a little weird. In a good way.

Earth, ozone, petrichor, and something papery and vanilla in the background. Super fresh and comforting yet a bit solemn. It's the scent of a crisp stormy day where it is too dry to rain and the sky is a stark white above. The beach is rocky and empty with no signs of life or the typical delights of the seaside, and you are reading an old paperback, the binding slightly vanillic and falling to pieces in your hands. I love this so much. Perhaps to some the petrichor, earthy, airy note is akin to motor oil, but this scent has never given me that energy. I've tried both the EdP and the perfume oil and find them to essentially be the same, but I prefer the EdP for easier application.

I am in love with this scent. Reminds me of my childhood by the bay. Motor boats. Cafes. Love it.

Personally reminds me of a seaside town in upper New England (like Maine or something) on a cool but sunny day. The motor oil note actually ties everything together really well, and the ice cream makes you feel like you're on a fun day out shopping by the beach. It kinda smells like if Brandy Melville were a fragrance. It's not my style but if you think this vibe would suite you then I highly suggest :)

Reviewer @ciaobonefish nailed it. Namba is super ozonic with lots of petrichor. I get freshly rained-on concrete and steel, oil slicks, visions of stark gray high-rise buildings on an overcast day. The movie Metropolis comes to mind, the cityscapes and the scene where the workers make their soulless march to work. Brutalist architecture in a bottle... but it does have a freshness to it. This also smells much like hot paper, when it comes fresh out of the printer. Very interesting.

The same stunning powdery vanilla in ectoplasm but where that had the gorgeous green notes, it is replaced here with a photorealistic oilslick of motor oil. As it dries down I get a tiny hit of kelp/sea weed. This literally smells like powdery vanilla icing being inhaled at a boating dock where the water is rainbow from leaked boating oil and it has a marine funk of dirty kelpy water. It is also in the order of 1. Primarily vanilla icing powder/sugar 2. Motor oil as second noticeable note and 3. Ambience of seaweedy water. If oil/oilslick scents were my thing and I wanted a pretty gourmand wearable girly version, this would be my HG but green notes are my thing and Ectoplasm is literally my HG, they are basically siblings with different hobbies and ecto is for me.

I love how atmospheric this perfume - and most of fantome's offerings that I've tried - are! Namba totally transports you. For me, it's like being dropped in Bladerunner los angeles. The aquatic note is so unique, and combined with the motor oil note which is perfectly present but not overpowering, it creates a perfect rain on city streets scent. The vanilla note is also super unique, non-gourmand, and adds to building up a scent that takes you awaaaaay! This is one of my all time favourites. I've only tried the EDP, and I find it wears close to the skin, giving you just a little sniff every once in awhile.