This is Not Serotonin

#146 of My Fragrance Journey - Hormone Paris This Is Not Serotonin: The one that makes you sit with the discomfort before it gives you anything back First spray doesn't try to make you happy. Doesn't even pretend to. Bergamot comes in bright, almost sharp, and geranium right behind it adds this green edge that honestly reads a little medicinal on my skin - maybe even synthetic, if I'm being picky. I'll admit I almost wrote it off in those first thirty seconds. Nearly washed it straight off. But I didn't, and something changes - not because the fragrance itself softens, more because I stop trying to force it into being something comfortable. That's oddly the whole point, I think. There's something in just letting a scent be itself instead of demanding it behave like every other "mood" fragrance out there. Give it a few minutes, and it turns into this dense, wet forest smell - properly wet, like after rain's just stopped. Cypriol, dry nutmeg, cedarwood, all knotted together into something that smells like damp soil and moss gone dark with moisture and old wood that's absorbed decades of weather. It sits kind of heavy on skin, honestly, but there's not a trace of sweetness in it anywhere, nothing sugary pulling your attention off track. Woody, earthy, mossy, and that weight is the point - it's not trying to lift off; it's trying to root down. I noticed myself slowing down wearing this. Not performing calm - actually going quiet. It's not reaching for reassurance, and that's rare for a fragrance marketed around mood. What it offers instead is steadiness. Doesn't erase the uncertainty, just makes room for it, which - yeah, that's what keeps pulling me back to this one over and over. It's got this quiet confidence to it that doesn't sit in either camp, masculine or androgynous. It just exists past that whole conversation. Earth, wood, air, skin. A presence with its own centre, not one borrowed from somewhere else. Over the next couple of hours, that bright momentum starts sinking into something steadier. Projection drops off, the woods deepen, and that green opening becomes more of a memory than a presence. Oud is what rises through the moss first, and it's not loud about it, not ornamental at all - more like a low gravitational pull, something you feel more than smell. Ambergris comes up alongside it, and this is where the fragrance starts smelling less like perfume and more like just clean skin. Vetiver's the one holding it all to the ground underneath, keeping the whole thing tethered so it doesn't drift. It doesn't really end so much as it settles - and it stays settled for a while, seven to ten hours depending on your skin, which is longer than I expected going in. Where it loses people, probably, is climate and patience. This wants cool, damp weather - spring or autumn, something with rain in the air. In heat it gets a little too complete, if that makes sense - loses the breathing room, goes still when it should keep moving. And that first medicinal hit up top? Some people are going to wash it off before the good part even starts, which would be a shame, because this isn't built for instant anything. It asks you to actually sit with it. I won't pretend this is an easy blind buy. The dampness, the sharp herbal opening, that dry cypriol base - it's a lot if you're used to linear designer stuff. But if you want something that actually feels like steadiness rather than happiness, something that smells like forest floor rather than a candle version of one, this earns its reputation. It's not bottling happiness. It's reminding you that happiness was never the ground you were standing on to begin with. Vibe: Rain-dark moss. Old cedar bark. Cool forest air at first light - the quiet that shows up once you've stopped arguing with yourself. Performance: Seven to ten hours, easily. Settles into a close, grounded aura of oud, ambergris, and vetiver that stays without ever really disappearing. Fit: Cool, rainy days - spring or autumn - when you actually want to feel grounded and left alone by the world for a bit. Ever notice how the fragrances that ask the most patience end up being the ones you trust the most? More scent stories and visuals on Instagram - @lavendercloudsjd

Love this stuff very unique smell! In a good way

Very pure explosive cinnamon in the opening, heavy but really pure ( as if you smell freshly grind cinnamon right from the grinder) , right away followed by smooth vanilla, barely if none any coffee notes are detected, tobacco tonka hints comes after, very deep and clean faint musk in the dry down but the cinnamon lasts to the end. Beautiful, good for layering with some tobacco or other same ballpark scents. It is similar to One Million Prive with some muscled-steroids cinnamon notes + subtle sweet vanilla. However I layered them both 😀. EDIT: I tried Oajan lately when I was on a travel, for the first time as it’s almost unavailable where I stay, and I found that Serotonin is a dupe ( with a twist) of it.

Cinnamon on the front end, tobacco on the back. Not getting much vanilla or coffe at all. My first impression is this is a Spicebomb clone but that’s not a bad thing. Best in cooler weather. [Edit] - After several wearings there is something in the base that is unappealing. Sort of a play dough type note

Loved the decant I got....BUT there are major inconsistencies per batch. The decant was cinnamon and incense heavy but managed to be delicate at the same time. The florals pushed through and it mellowed out into something that smelled unisex but slightly more feminine leaning. The full bottle smells like the baby of Spice Bomb and Angel’s Share. Admirable fragrances but too masculine and cloying for my taste. No resolution when I reached out to the brand so overall I’m disappointed.

It would be easier to tell you what I do get: cinnamon galore and some tonka bean. I never did get any coffee or tobacco notes, nor anything else that's mentioned. I'm 100% serious. Maybe it's just my skin chemistry and just my experience; who knows. Also, this smells so much like Angel's Share and Khaltat Night Attar that I definitely don't need all three.

عطر إستوحى إسمه من هرمون السيروتونين ، و هو المسؤول على إستقرار الحالة النفسية ومشاعر الرفاهية والسعادة لدى الإنسان . العطر عبارة عن قهوة مسكّرة بفانيلا و متبّلة بقرفة ، سقفه من التبغ و فرشه تونكا ؛ مع غطاء زهري زنبقي أوركيدي أبيض يحفز و يعزز الحالة المزاجية . أداءه أسطوري ، يملئ المكان و يستحوذ على الإنتباه ...